[b]Blackjack ([i]Ziggy[/i])[/b]

[color=00ff66][i]"Never set the cat on fire,"[/i] [/color]John Tyrell sang softly, eyeing the [i]Spirit of Adventure[/i] as he awaited his turn, [color=00ff66][i]"You only will annoy it. The heat will make the beast perspire, she surely won't enjoy it."[/i][/color]

There were transforming mecha out there, which made him heave a sigh. Elegant machines, to say the least, but many were shop-hogs, requiring difficult repairs. His Zacarias-Geiger unit, however, was just tailored made for the army. The idea was simple to grasp - a basic humanoid-shaped unit, on which you could then install modules to enhance the unit, allowing you to adjust it for various missions as well as quickly replacing damaged ones. But in practice, the machines became a hodgepodge of different modules - and Zacarias-Geigers' certainly were not elegant, even if it looked like they were wearing bits of armor.

After the last scratch up, the only headpiece they could find for his unit was a prototype. Barely field tested, prototypes tended to flake out at the worse possible times. Or was this an Army cost-saving thing? Keep the better modules for the units in the field and give the prototypes to the detached duty units?

[color=00ff66]"Well, at least they managed to get it all painted up for me,"[/color] he muttered, then continued singing softly. [color=00ff66][i]"Likewise do not ignite the dog, the snake, the gerbil, or the frog. No, never set the cat on fire. And mind your manners..."[/i][/color]

[color=ffbf00]"[i]Ziggy[/i], this is [i]Spirit of Adventure[/i], over,"[/color] sputtered in his headphones above the chatter. [color=ffbf00]"[i]Ziggy[/i], please respond. Over."[/color]
[color=00ff66]"[i]Spirit of Adventure[/i], this is [i]Ziggy[/i]. Over,"[/color] John grinned, keying on the mic.
[color=ffbf00]"[i]Ziggy[/i], you are cleared to land on deck. After landing, follow the deck marshal for your bay assignment. Over."[/color]
[color=00ff66]"[i]Spirit of Adventure[/i], I received cleared to land on deck and to follow the deck marshal for my bay assignment, confirm. Over."[/color]
[color=ffbf00]"[i]Ziggy[/i], confirmed, Over."[/color]
[color=00ff66]"[i]Spirit of Adventure[/i], roger wilco. Making my descent. Over.[/color]

The transatmospheric turbine built into his flight unit made a whine he could hear in the cockpit as he jetted over to the deck, flipping at the midway mark so he could slow the unit down to hover above the deck, then used his maneuvering thrusters to lower his mecha to the deck, feeling that moment the ship's gravity kicked in. He flipped the landing switches, hearing the clunk as the locks disengaged and the motors started rotating this wings overhead, making it look something like a peacock's tail towering over Ziggy's headpiece as they locked in place in this new position. Definitely [i]not[/i] elegant.

[color=00ff66]"[i]Spirit of Adventure[/i], I have touched down. Turning myself over to the deck marshal, over."[/color]
[color=ffbf00]"[i]Ziggy[/i], touchdown confirmed, over."[/color]
[color=00ff66]"[i]Spirit of Adventure[/i],"[/color] John called out. [color=00ff66]"Do you know if my luggage has arrived? Over?"[/color]
[color=ffbf00]"Blackjack, do I look like a [i]gigin'[/i] bellhop to you?"[/color] the controller complained, clearly annoyed. [color=ffbf00]"Get that piece of [i]umbela[/i] off my deck so the next mecha can land. Over."[/color]
[color=00ff66]"[i]Spirit of Adventure,[/i] roger wilco."[/color] John grinned, [color=00ff66]"Over."[/color]

Giving a hand salute to the deck marshall-bot, John followed it towards the hanger and atmosphere. He hated the thought his gear might not have made it. Last time someone pulled a prank on him and swapped out his spare uniforms for a damned tuxedo, command definitely didn't approve. With this ship mostly alien, this meant B ration packs, probably TravelRation, so he'd arranged for a care package to be delivered to the ship - two pallet loads of coffee and peanut butter, and a coffee maker for his berthing compartment - wherever that was. At least he had his thermos.

[color=00ff66][i]"And mind your manners, as circumstances may require, and never set the cat on fire."[/i][/color]