Jaakko swallows a question that was on the tip of his tongue that probably would have made Yamashiro disappear under mysterious circumstances. Or he would disappear. In fact there were many questions that could make them both disappear. He finds one that's harmless.
"How is your squad coping it?" he asks.
: Musashi's taking it in stride as far as I can tell, but I'm reasonably sure she's just putting on a happy face so Nagato doesn't vault this here railing out of stress. However much they're broken up about things, it hasn't impacted their ability to do their job in the field, so at least there's that.
Yamashiro takes another drag from the cigarette. For a brief moment you think you see the corners of her mouth twitch up into a weary smile.
:
Tch, listen to me, I'm starting to sound like
her.
Out of the corner of your eye you see a small, bright flash on the horizon, followed by the sound of Arkhip shouting behind you.
: Oh, goddess- It's going down!
The
Andromeda, visible at this distance only by the fires that have broken out on board, is plummeting to the ground. Arkhip and Paladius watch it from where they're standing, the latter saluting the airship as it falls.
Walter takes a second short look at his leg before responding and placing it back down on the ground
"I'm guessing they gave me a lower grade as I'd just be flying, instead of getting back on the field as a soldier. I'm not too bothered by it, I could probably invest in paying someone to upgrade them or modifying them myself. I think I'll have to leave that for a bit later though, they serve their purpose alright for the time being."
: Maybe, but you'd think they'd at least give you something that won't catch on the inside of your fatigues. Like this:
She puts her own leg up on the bench where you placed yours, pulling her pant leg up to her knee to show off her own predominantly plastic prosthetic. Unlike yours, hers is very clean and uniform, with very few gaps for foreign matter to get in- though you reckon the framework wouldn't stand up to a sledgehammer the way yours would.
"At this stage I think I share that sentiment. I'm just afraid of what I'm going to do after all is over. War is all I've ever known and the one person I cared about is gone... I don't exactly have a home so military work is always my more attractive option. I doubt I could stick around with the imperials, their attitudes are insufferable. The Delta on the otherhand, with the state we left it in... more work opportunities I suppose."
Tippy looks at Nagato with concern for a moment.
"I hope you get the rest you need. For the better. Nobody deserves to be stretched and stressed like you have. Hell, if you wanna still keep flying I heard that they still hire crop dusters in some countries. All the flying and no shooting." Tippy adds, smiling.
: I dunno. I appreciate the sentiment, but dusting crops just isn't the same. Plus,
our cropdusters aren't manned anymore and I sure don't want all the hassle of immigrating somewhere else just to fly a piston plane over cornfields.
Poll