Project 13 Book One: From The Shadows

Chapter 22: Show-Off

Hail was the first to speak.

"You really do like to show off don't you? Whether it is your skill in battle or a new creation of yours. I guess it is your human side showing through." He smiled to show that he was only firing casual shots and not really meaning to hurt my feelings.

Marie spoke next after eyeing my ship quietly for a minute.

"How did you get it to be so smooth without any seams? It is unlike any ship I have ever seen! I presume you custom built it?"

"Woah! One question at a time please," I replied sarcastically "Yes I custom built it. I had someone make me the parts and then I assembled them and used my ability to join them so there were no seams. Georgia helped me finish and test all the wiring last night."

"Can't say as I did much, Lightning already had it all assembled correctly... she just wanted confirmation that it would work properly." Georgia smiled at me.

"It is battle ready then I assume," Marie continued "You probably would not have brought it out of hiding if it weren't, that is not your style."

"You are right, that isn't my style, I don't know when I can be attacked, and always need a counter, hence I never walk around without a way to counter attacks. As far as how, she is outfitted with a variety of weapons that I can use whilst riding solo, and also a gun that could be controlled by another person to increase accuracy." I replied matter of factly.

Marie continued eyeing my ship in silence for a little bit before continuing her barrage of questions.

"How does it fly? Is it designed for a single pilot or two?"

"It is designed for me to fly, but if anyone else tried to fly it I would recommend two people with a third for the gun in case of emergency."

"So if it is designed to be a two person ship, then why can you fly it?" Hail asked curiously

I shrugged "I have made certain modifications that accomodate my status as a mutant which allow me to have a closer level of control than most pilots, mainly found in the speed and accuracy of my ability to utilize the controls themselves. Additionally I tend to consider the fact that the second person would be running maps and working broadcasts and such. In THEORY it technically COULD be soloed by a regular human, it would just be clunky and inconvenient and would not be able to achieve the high speeds that it does due to the placement of certain controls and their sensitivity that match my personal preferences for flight."

"Ah, that makes sense. So in theory you think I could fly it?" Marie asked

"You would probably be able to do it with some practice in the cockpit, but I have an unusual control system for it that might be different from normal so you would have to get used to them. It isn't some repurposed jet like my other creations, it is a fully custom built and wired ship."

She shrugged "Makes sense. Everything has to be learned."

I smirked "Not to mention I probably won't be letting anyone touch my baby until absolutely necessary... It was designed to be flown by me, so as long as I don't think I will be killed in the near future, I will continue to pilot it to the fullest of its and my capabilities."

Marie frowned jokingly then responded "Ok, well when you do let others try it out I call shotgun on being the first to control it..."

"You may be the first human to control it, but I may train other mutants if applicable." I didn't say any more for the mere fact that the room we were in was by no means safe to converse and I wasn't in the mood to put up a barrier, especially since I was trying to conserve my energy after splurging it this morning. "Anyrate, Georgia and I have things to do. She needs to load up the rest of her stuff and I have to go over my schedules with each of the other cities, then we are going to head to the Leaky Keg for the first recruitment mission. I just wanted to let you guys know what my new ship looked like so that you would be able to recognize it in battle."