Kaz could feel the sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. He had never really been put on the spot like that before, and it totally threw him off. Sure, he was a good pilot, but certainly not deserving of fans or post.... "Poster? When did..." It didn't really matter, Kaz decided quickly, and stopped his sentence halfway through. Rather than pursue the subject, he took Shira's hand and shook it firmly, the pause in conversation giving him a moment to regroup and take in more of the situation. She was a pretty girl, with lovely dark hair and a nice figure. The artificial limb was easy to spot immediately, as were the plates on her neck. As he was doing a quick overview, he did not notice the difference in her eye colors; that detail had passed right by him.<br/><br/>"Nevermind. No reason to apologize. I'm just another pilot." Kaz really didn't think of himself as anything special because he did not want to believe he was. When one felt exceptional, they tended to make more mistakes because their ego got in the way, in his opinion. The Ace insignia was not a badge to him, it was a blight on his uniform. If he had his way, he'd remove it.<br/><br/>Choosing not to let that thought consume his mind, Kaz shifted on his feet and leaned against the side of the elevator car, speeding down toward the hanger. "I heard we were gaining a new tech today. From what i've heard you're quite the attention-grabber yourself. I've read your research papers on the effects of radiation on people. That's a hot issue anymore, for ships like this and the new fighter configs as well." Kaz's way of dealing with unnecessary attention was to deflect it to someone else. If she wanted to know about him, he would just ask her about herself. Keep her talking so there would be no awkward silences.<br/><br/>It would have been easy to comment on the prosthetics, but he'd met plenty of people that were touchy about that sort of thing, so he chose to wait until he knew her a little better before inquiring. Besides, it wasn't a big deal to him. It didn't change the way he viewed her, but he could see how those with replacement parts would not enjoy talking about how it happened or how they have coped since.<br/><br/>"Tell me. What does Dr. Shiraz Brigandy believe to be the answer to the issue? How would you handle it?"