Congratulations
to all Maverick Hunters who participated in the Maverick battle earlier
today. Shore leave has been approved for
most hunters (see attached list). Enjoy
it while you can. Keep in mind you may
be called back into immediate service at any time. Enjoy yourselves and good luck in the future.
"Come in," Cain declared
as he swallowed.
The door pulled into the wall with a swoosh. Zero stood
in front of it, looking fierce but calm.
"Dr. Cain?" he said as he entered.
"In here," Cain called
out.
Zero stepped around the living room
and entered the dining room. "I'm
sorry I couldn't get here earlier.
There were some last minute approvals I had to grant for shore
leave. I sent them into your inbox for
approval, but I think they'll be all right."
Cain nodded from his place at the
table, not looking up from his meal.
"Yes, probably. We don't
expect to see much activity for the next few days. We hit them pretty hard." He rolled the pasta around on his fork. "Should be uneventful around here."
"Yeah, I wish every Maverick
attack was like that." Zero stepped
up to him and cocked his head to the side.
"Refueling?"
Cain chuckled, "Yes, it would
appear so. Three squares a day."
"It seems so inefficient to
have to take so much time out of your day to eat."
"Yes, sleep too. Our designers certainly didn't do as well
with us as yours did with you. Not
nearly as many fallacies." Cain
wiped his mouth free of tomato sauce.
"Forgive me, I'm being rude."
He turned away from his plate.
"I wanted to talk to you today about Lina. I'm wondering if she should stay in her
position."
"Why shouldn't she?"
"Well, I was a little worried
about her performance in the MCP today.
I'm always worried about human error in the post."
"But you're in the post,"
Zero pointed out.
"Yes, but I'm the... well, I
see your point."
"I'd prefer a balance of humans
and reploids in the force. It reminds me
of what we're fighting for. X would
agree with me."
"Yes, I suppose. But maybe we should consider replacing
her."
"With a reploid or human?"
"I don't want to choose sides,
but Janus came up with an interesting point in the cockpit today, that human
error can be costly in the long run."
"Janus mentioned that?"
Zero put his hands on his hips.
"That doesn't surprise me, Janus has
always opposed humans working in MHHQ.
Not that I blame him for his reasons, reploids are more sophisticated
machines that humans, e.g.," he pointed to the spaghetti on Cain's plate
for an example. "But there's no way
we have enough manpower to complete all the jobs we have in such a vast complex
if we made it exclusively reploid. Plus,
how would it look if humans chose to neglect the very force intended to protect
them? What would that say about our
treatment as intelligent beings? It
would be like using mice to make mousetraps."
"Mmm, I see. There're a few others who share his
opinion."
"Yes, but they're in
minority. Vocal, but minority. Most everyone in the HQ thinks its ridiculous. I
trust Janus implicitly, but he's wrong in this case."
"I see. Janus works under X, right? How's his track record?"
"Good. But that's only because he's never done
anything, more of a pencil-pusher really.
Too low-ranked to get out of the shadows. Never did anything to make him stand
out. I really don't think he'll amount
to much overall."
"Well, I've been looking
through the personnel files and there's a crack team of reploids coming
up. One's a communications officer, two
are mechanics, and one's looking to become a commander. He may even replace me when I retire,"
Cain laughed. "I predict, with
enough grooming, they'll end up playing some key positions in HQ."
"Maybe. If you can send me the files, I'll look at
them, tell you what I think."
"Surely. We'll probably be doing some transfers in the
next few weeks. Continental divisions
and such. I've gotten word from the
government that the space colonization program is go."
"Is it?" Zero said
excitedly. "I thought for sure it
would get cut from the budget."
"Well, apparently it's going
ahead. They've already constructed the
space station and they're going to be sending humans into it in a few
months. Of course, they'll need Maverick
Hunters."
"I don't think I'd like an
assignment like that. Too far away from
everything I know. Too isolated. I don't think X would like it either."
"You two are quite inseparable,
aren't you?" Cain mused.
"I owe him my life... on
several occasions. And he owes me
his. It's hard to break a bond like
that."
"I suppose so. Back in the day, my scientist colleagues and
I were the best of friends. It's a shame
we all moved on. Sometimes I wonder what
they're doing now. Ah, another human
fallacy, getting old." Dr. Cain put
his silverware back on the table.
"Well, should be getting back to work now."
"We still have to take care of
the upgrade components for the Talon 87 model reploids."
"Oh, bloody hell, you're
right. Probably going to be another late
night again, eh?"
"Afraid so."
"Ah, this is hard on me,"
he said as he grabbed his cane and stood up.
"I'll have to take some time off after this, it's getting to
me."
"I could take over the upgrades
myself if you want to rest," Zero volunteered.
"No, no, it's my duty to do
this. I can't shirk it, no matter how
human I am," he smiled. He and Zero
walked out of the room.
"There is at least one
advantage you have over reploids," Zero said before they made it to the
door. "You don't have to worry
about getting the Maverick virus."
"Ah, that is true, isn't
it? But you and X don't have that
problem either."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I
can rest easy. It's nice being free from
Maverick status, but that just means I have to earn it that much more. I have a responsibility to wipe out Mavericks
so that the others can rest at peace."
"You, me, and X. The last triad of defense for humans."