[center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/630508873102655513/735007391581732914/kon1.png[/img] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/630508873102655513/732382304319832175/konstantin.png[/img][/center] [hr] [color=f26522]<> [/color] The crisp, lightly accented tones returned as the Arthurian knight [url=https://youtu.be/QVmn7UFa97s]drifted in a lazy spiral outward[/url] from the previously marked AO towards his stated overwatch point, silver armor tinted red from the crimson glow of his beam saber. Beneath his helmet, the pilot's eyes scanned the seemingly featureless sands below, not affording himself the chance to metaphorically lean back behind the controls. Every so often, his gaze slid back again to the torn pile of scrap that he had felled, an unforseen threat that— if the amount of pings he had momentarily seen beneath them were any indication— were liable to repeat, potentially at any time. Far be it from him to expect a welcoming party an entire star system away, but still, the military experience within the expedition team was paying clear dividends where things stood at present. Such being the case... [color=92278f]<<... No complaints from me.>>[/color] Michael's pilot could only offer a strained acquiescence to his ribbing. That, combined with her performance (truthfully lack thereof) in combat, needed ironing out. A decidedly civilian element in the detachment, Stel... [color=f26522][i]Nebula, it was.[/i][/color] had what may well have been an orbital-grade Ferrari at her fingertips, bleeding edge tech from the far-flung facilities on Pluto— but it would amount to nothing if she couldn't leverage it. Her flight hours, from what he remembered, hardly scratched the double digits. Heavy simulation, but no live combat. No maneuvering its weight under duress, learning the response of mass to control. [color=f26522]<>[/color] They'd need to hammer that lead pit in her stomach out, before it got her killed. Joint exercises were doubtlessly on the itinerary, and if they weren't they [i]would be[/i], now that the expedition team had seen combat. Castle or Zakharin would likely need to give oversight until she'd gotten used to her Orbital. Maybe even he'd have to shadow her. Who knew? Good a kid as she seemed, they needed her up to speed and didn't have the time nor stage to wait on it. If that was how the chips fell, he knew how to play taskmaster. As the skies were painted orange, first by smoke and the by fire, Konstantin watched each chariot rise toward the stars, the returning victors of this first conquest into foreign land, silver plunder in tow. Once more he looked to the mysterious sands, many more untold battles and discoveries beneath. And then, as the final blaze screamed into the heavens, the Knight rode back to the Round Table awaiting high above.