>>35858309
"Boss?" The mechanic's voice cuts in with a worried tone.
"Yes?" You respond, resisting some odd need to shake your head or breathe heavily.
"Uh, nothing! You were just staring a damn hole through the Destuco!"

...Were you even blinking?
>Say nothing.
>"Don't worry about it."
>"I was remembering a few...flashes I guess I'd call them."
Might wanna change the subject too.
>"Need any help with that??"
>"This your own project?"
>"Who's going to be using the mech?"
>"Can you tell me about yourself? Memory loss is a bit of a pain."
>[insert option]

>>35858334
>"Don't worry about it."

>"Can you tell me about yourself? Memory loss is a bit of a pain."

>>35858334
>"Don't worry about it."

>"Can you tell me about yourself? Memory loss is a bit of a pain."

>>35858334
>Say nothing.

>"Need any help with that??"

>>35858334
>"I was remembering a few...flashes I guess I'd call them."
>"Who's going to be using the mech?"

>>35858334
>"I was remembering a few...flashes I guess I'd call them."
>"Can you tell me about yourself? Memory loss is a bit of a pain."

"Don't worry about it." You say calmly.
"Understood Boss."
Teza immediately looks back the mech, continuing to work on it.
"Can you tell me about yourself? Memory loss is a bit of a pain."
"Well...I was born a few before the Cryptid Wars. Parents ran a lot, whether it be Cryptid or witch-hunting types. While we were camped in a forest I ran into a spiderweb, freaky-ass owner on me. Wanted the little bastard off and before I realized it there was a floating spider in front of my face, squiriming. Flung him away and right into an ant's nest. It was fun watching them fight...Anyway, that's when I found my powers Boss."
"How'd you get in the military?"
"Got bored of my scared folks after the war and signed up for the Hegemony troops. Found I liked to fix things during training, got some good instruction, nd before I knew it I was a combat engineer. Was shipped out to some of the Terran colonies..." Teza's face winces a little.
"Plenty of nasty business Boss. Few months after my tour I got assigned to Able."
"Why do you call me 'Boss'?" Something tells you that she won't be willing to discuss the colonies right now.
"You won a round of poker two years ago, this is my lifelong penalty Boss!" Teza laughs.
"We were all drunk to hell. hank God it wasn't strip poker, like machines but I don't want to see Suko's bare back, or Shizi's weird symbols, or Hazuko's body, or..." Teza shakes her head.

She's nearly done from the looks of it. Quadripedal with a large glass cockpit. It's much smaller than the Crash Ship you were in a few hours ago, clearly intended for only a couple occupants.
"Hmm....say Boss, what colors do you think this should have? Hegemony usually prefers red, black, or orange."

>"You pick."
>"Stick with the Hegemony's standard."
>[insert color scheme, up to four colors]
While she's painting...
>"Who's going to be using the mech?"
>"So, this your own project?"
>"How many of these are being made?"
>[insert question]

>>35859821
>"You pick."

>"So, this your own project?"

>>35859821
>>35859864
Sounds good

>"You pick."
>"So, this your own project?"

"You pick."
"Alright then, I got just the look for it Boss!" The floating tools are sent smashing into something on the other side of the workshop and several colored glue gun-like objects float towards the mech, spraying vast volumes of paint.
...
Ow.
You look away, your eyes feeling like they're aflame. For the human eye, Teza's painting of the exterior is beyond uncomfortable to look at, colors and patterns seemingly intended to induce as much as eye-strain as possible.
"Did I overdo it Boss?" Teza's nervous voice asks.
You groan.
"I think you gave me eye damage."
"Uh, we have stuff that fixes that Boss! Umm, there's eye drops on that table right there!"
You brace your eyes for a few moments of pain as you look at Teza to see where she's pointing. Girl's got her welding helmet down, must have something in the visor that lessens or prevents eyestrain.
Looking away, you look to see the table she was pointing at and quickly hurry over.
Bottle with an eye dropper. Suck up the fluid into the dropper, drop the liquid into your eyes.
Hold that damn eyelid open...much better. Feeling good as new within seconds.
"I'll uh, probably change the paint a bit..."
You don't reply and avoid looking at the mech as you sit back down, turning the chair away from the Destuco.

>>35861562
"So, this your own project?" You put an emphasis on "own".
"Kinda Boss, it's a mix of a few designs, not all mech-related. Some by me, some by others, my idea to merge them and Command's decision to supply me a little. Some of them are thinking of using it for VIPs."
"Won't something with all those guns attract attention? Especially for non-military, if it's going to be used for VIPs?"
You imagine a celebrity pop idol riding in one, arriving at the planet she's going to sing at only for the mech to be mistaken as an attacking vessel and engaged with losses on both sides due to the automated weapons.
You can see it now, the idol who wanted to sing but turned into a mass murderer due to the over-armed invention of a psychic engineer.

"No attention it can't handle Boss!" And the answer of the engineer in question isn't helping.
"And what if a VIP steals it and uses all those guns?" Those aren't your words. You felt Rodney's mind putting forth a huge amount of
effort to ask that question, a feeling of disgust at the term "VIP" spilling out.


"Uh...there's anti-theft stuff we could install but I see your point Boss. Anyway Boss was going to see if you wanted to take it for a test drive, but if you can't even look at it that's a no-go...could repaint it now if you're fine with waiting."

Test drive?
>"Another time."
>"No thanks."
>"Go ahead."
>[insert option]

And after this you'll...
>Leave right away, you got other squadmates to visit.
>Ask a few more questions.

>>35861604
>"Go ahead."
>Leave right away, you got other squadmates to visit.

>>35861604
i honestly would love to have eyebleed causing colors on what we drive...
but if its for VIP use its probably best it doesn't have it.
so fine, get it repainted, wait for that to finish, then drive it

>>35861604
>"Another time."
>Leave right away, you got other squadmates to visit.

>"Go ahead."
>Leave right away, you got other squadmates to visit.

"Go ahead."
"On it Boss!"
You wait patiently as Teza audibly gets to work. Smashing as she discards objects, whoosing as she brings forth others, scraping and splashing.
"Done!" It took a mere two minutes you guess, not caring enough to check with your PDA.
Getting up, you turn to the Destuco Shipper.
The quadripegal mech's original layer of paint has been haphazardly painted over with the colors of the Hegemony, mostly black with red and orange placed in prominent positions that give off an impression of forcefulness.
Still nine visible armaments, same as before. Four look like standard cannons, two look like energy weapons, another two look like defense turrets, and lastly there's a large artillery cannon.
And it's not even intended for frontline combat. You step towards the mech, Teza finally getting off her ladder which is promptly flung away, loudly colliding with a wall. Throwing large objects must be good stress relief.
"How do I enter it?"
"Little hatch underneath it here, lowers a small platform."
Teza presses something on a remote she didn't have moments ago, and just as she said, a hatch on the bottom opens up and a disc-like platform descends.
"You have a place for testing it?"
"A full course already prepared Boss!"
"How?"
"Command and the station's AI, plus uh...you'll see!"
You step onto the disc, which slowly raises you into the mech while Teza gives you a thumbs-up. Her gesture lacks confidence.

>>35863531
The interior of the XXYX Destuco Shipper is lit normally, not too dark or bright and without coloring. The interior is sparse, there's a sleeping bag made of material you don't recognize and a control console in front of a chair below the cockpit window.
Calmly you walk towards the chair, taking a seat. From a screen on a console Teza's face appears.
"Ready Boss?"
"Not at all, how do I contro-"
"Automated sir! Now let's go!" At Teza's enthusiastic interruption the newly-completed mech shakes as the floor slowly slides open below it. The mech promptly plummets half a hundred feet into a metal pit before slowing to a halt as you hear engine-sounds coming from the back.
Boosters, you remember. Part of the wall creaks open, revealing a metallic tunnel. Without input from you, the Destuco charges forwards, the sudden increase in speed causing your head to slam backwards into the chair.

...And thus, it came to pass that your honorable Host known as Rodney Watkins was rendered unconscious once more.
Damn it.

That's all for tonight, computer problems aren't helping things.

>>35863584
Thanks for running. Looking a bit dead though.