ARES:Gods of War

Immovable Object

Commander Keyes left Chief Deputy Andersen's office with a ton more questions than she'd entered. She sighed, rubbing her face and murmuring, "I swear, someone should've told me the kind of mess we were gonna get into before I became a brain in a very fancy jar," and turning to face Kelly and the Sergeant. She spoke, "You folks also said Chief was here, right?"

"Aye, ma'am," Johnson replied, "He's out on a long haul op, though, so it might be a bit before you see him and his squad."

"Let him do his work. There's no rush," The woman shot back, then crossed her arms and looked at herself in the reflection of a tinted window. She murmured to herself, "A bit overkill on the redesign, I have to admit..." while she gave herself a proper once-over. Kelly didn't comment on it, arms crossed to her chest and helmet on her head. The Commander asked, "They did give me an M7 SMG, though, so that's a nice bonus. Means I'm not gonna be completely defensive."

"Any other things?" Johnson inquired as the group turned and started walking toward one of the many dozens of elevators leading to the Surface, namely the one specifically for the Outpost. He saw the Commander's face morph into that of a confused woman, before clarifying, "Usually some High-Spec Nikkes like the type you are have an enhancement or two hidden in their sleeves, y'know. Stuff meant to help us in combat. SO I read from some reports, anyhow, not like I understand much of that damn technobabble," as he slid a cigar between his lips.

"You're never gonna give that up, are you?" Miranda smirked. From his reaction alone, she knew the others had ribbed him about it enough.

Johnson rolled his eyes, his words sounding a bit off, "Chief's been pesterin' me about it, too, Commander. Lemme have my damn stress relief..." before lighting it with his trench lighter. He patted his pockets and pulled his last pack of Sweet Williams. He shook it, hearing the muffled bump of two of his favorite rolled-up addiction sticks. Sliding it back into his pocket and taking a deep puff of the third-to-last cigar, he murmured, "Prayin' to the good Lord for some extra out here."

Kelly snorted, then looked to the Commander and asked, "Didn't get to, ma'am, but I have to ask, how does it feel? Being a Nikke, I mean."

"Odd," Miranda replied without a second thought, "Like I'm still certainly me, but there's a little add-on. Speed, enhanced reflexes. It almost feels like things are moving slower than I am, or that I'm moving fast. Ingrid, the Elysion CEO, warned me that there might be a few 'growing pains' with being a cyborg, however, so... I'm preparing for much worse than a little dizziness."

Johnson nodded, "Let's hope it won't be botherin' ya if and when you deploy, ma'am."

"Oh, don't worry. I'm going to deploy, Sergeant-Major," She shot back, "I find sitting idly behind a desk rather boring, especially when humanity's survival's at stake. Thought you'd figured that out by now, what with the Index on Delta Halo and... Well, everything else during and after," and she smirked. The friendship between the two was like that of an uncle and a niece, or so Kelly figured. Her knowledge of familial bonds was rather lacking, obviously, so she might've been wrong.

He snorted, then gave her the biggest compliment he could think of.

"You sure sound like your father."

The Commander smiled at that, giving a nod in thanks, before examining the Ark itself as they walked through. The rising ceiling that acted as a hologram displaying the sky was obviously surprising to learn about, though it was a beautiful rendition of a false sky. She understood that psychology was somewhat more heavily studied in order to ensure that humanity could survive this long underground, including making the comfortable illusion that there was still a sky above their heads instead of the damp darkness of a massive cave.