That's where it was.<br/><br/>That is where he knew her from. Kaz could remember very clearly the events of that day. The incident aboard the Pioneer caught all her passengers, and crew, off guard. What seemed like a normal day for many would end in disaster. Kaz was dispatched immediately as a peacekeeper, to help keep people calm as they fled about in terror, wondering if their ship was going to explode. The area was sectioned off completely, preventing anyone from entering or leaving the area unless they were injured or dead. He could still hear the sounds of fire roaring through the corridors as airlocks opened to vent the infernos before crews were able to enter. Kaz was part of the rescue effort, once the area had been secured.<br/><br/>Most of the engine room was a hot graveyard. Corpses were strewn about in all manner of positions, most of which being far too mangled to identify. He wasn't first to find her, one of the very few survivors, but he was one of the first to respond to the call for assistance.<br/><br/>"Oh... yes. Right. You as well, Dr. Brigandy. I'm sure we will be meeting again very soon." With a return to her smile, Kaz nodded his head respectfully, then turned and went his own way. He was glad that the conversation had stopped there, as he did not want to feel any more awkward than he already felt. Regardless of her position, gender, appearance, intelligence, or anything else, one-on-one conversations were usually a struggle for him. When there were multiple people involved, he could fade back into silent observation without anyone noticing. But when he needed to converse with only one...<br/><br/>His thought was interrupted by the sudden appearance of his Senior Officer, a larger, more brutish individual named Lee. He was pretty close to Kaz's height, but he looked like he had spent way more time in the gym. His hair was cut very closely to the scalp, giving Kaz the impression that he normally shaved it but hadn't done so in a while. His toughest trait, however, was not in his physique, but in the way he treated his crew.<br/><br/>Lee was a perfectionist, illustrated by the way he was constantly analyzing training exercises and previous sortes in order to improve his squad's effectiveness. He pushed his pilots to the brink on almost every occasion possible, not because he hated them, but because victory was so important to him. The look in his dark brown eyes was almost always disapproving, though internally he did feel some pride when he looked at those underneath him.<br/><br/>"Knight Markin, nice of you to join me here," Lee began sarcastically. Kaz knew it was a jab at his own punctuality, but it didn't bother him. He knew that he was on time. Lee knew it, too, though he would not show that he did. "Did you take the guided tour of the whole damn ship while you were at it?"<br/><br/>"I wasn't aware of any specific time for me to arrive, so I came here as soon as I disembarked." Kaz's reply was dry and humorless, almost lacking any emotion whatsoever.<br/><br/>The rest of the conversation proceeded as it always did. Kaz was debriefed and a review of his assignment followed. Not only would he provide exclusive protection of the Pioneer, but he would be testing new equipment, of course after being paired with a specific tech. Kaz wasn't the only pilot that would be doing this, but his would be the most exciting, and by that Lee meant dangerous.<br/><br/>The debrief ended, and Lee gave him the rest of the day to settle in and reacquaint himself with the ship. The next morning he would begin his assignment. As he left his Company leader, Lee offered one more piece of 'friendly advice':<br/><br/>"Just remember, Kaz... Lyceum spent a shit-load of money on you. Don't make them regret it."<br/><br/><div class="bbCodeSpoiler">
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<div class="bbCodeBlock-content">"As you already know," Lee began, "we've still a long way to go before we reach our destination and there is any number of things that could go wrong. We've already seen it happen once. If they folks living on this ship even knew how close they came to oblivion they'd probably shit themselves. A lot of people ask why the Pioneer needs an armed escort. No one's ever seen an alien, so why are we here?"<br/>
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"We're here because there's no telling what we'll find, or what will happen on board. The civilian police force is starting to push their luck with the rising population. Stricter regulations are going into place very soon to stem the growing number of inhabitants. You'll spend some of your time assisting with any hostile situations that may arise, similar to the Swat teams of Earth. When you're not doing that, you're going to be in your mech. We're fielding some new tech that we're really excited about, but someone's gotta be the test rat."<br/>
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Kaz shifted uneasily on his feet, furrowing his brow as he tried to imagine what that responsibility would entail. "Not that I don't love the thought of putting myself at risk over and over again, because believe me I <i>really </i>do, but why me? There are plenty of adrenaline junkies in Knight Squad that would kill to do this."<br/>
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Lee grimaced as he turned around to face the pilot. "Which is exactly why we chose you. You'll be smart about it. You won't take unnecessary risks. If you can prove it's safe, then we can start installing the new hardware across the board. Until then, you'll be working with Lyceum's brightest mind in the fleet, Dr. Brigandy."<br/>
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'<i>I had a feeling, somehow....' </i><br/>
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"Get to know her. She'll be riding shotgun from her terminal. But I want to make one thing clear. She does not get behind the stick, you understand me?"</div>
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