specific disease and sickness. We mapped the genome almost two centuries back, and although we don't know what causes every sickness, or how to cure it, every generation we get a little closer. When someone knows there’s a potential ticking time bomb somewhere in their future, why not trade a couple of years when they’re young to get rid of the possibility in the future?
The DLF was a great resource because of not only location but also access to several tools, beneficial to our mission. General Campbell needed me on Terra and the simplest way to do that actually was have me fly down solo. But I had absolutely zero training. Legion farms combat pilot school out to the Mariners based off Titan, but the DLF also had a moderate sized flight school, which was why I was at Tycho Station.
When I got there, I met by the crustiest Sergeant Major I had ever seen. I'm not sure what crypt the DLF pulled him out of, but he had to be pushing two-fifty. He could have given Schmiddy a decent run for who was going to expire first. He spotted the abundance of stripes on my arm and grabbed my arm like we had been buddies since basic. Hell of a thing, as Schmiddy would say. There’s some sort of kinship that develops when you start pinning them on. Like wearing your resume on your chest. The Legion doesn’t have Sergeants Major, which from our view is more of a billet than a rank. They’re the guys commanders go to for advice about the men and morale. I don’t have the right kind of personality to fill that role being good with individuals, not groups. I’m more of a technical expert, which is why I wear the gold mastery insignia of my branch on my collar. It made us peers in grade if not equals in position. As he walked me around the base, I found out he was a pensioner from a century back. Served on the original Ozzie, the sister-ship to my own Europe .
After he retired, and eventually settled back on Luna he decided to turn his skills to training. The kind of training that kept young bucks like me alive in the far reaches of space. Book knowledge is amazing but comes from scientists and writers. The kind of training this old soldier gave was hard-won and contained a full century of actual experience. As time goes by human kind becomes more and more reliant on tech, the old timers like him and me, to a much lesser degree, keep the new guys grounded in non-tech solutions. DLF was a good fit for him keeping him engaged, active, and all that expertise wasn't lost.
Since the main mission of DLF is to keep things from getting bad, he loaded me up on what he called “a little light reading.” I'm not sure if he was joking or not, but it looked like every book DLF had on reconnaissance and undercover work. He then turned me loose and said flight school would start the following day. He seemed less worried about that since the ship's onboard computer should be able to handle most of the heavy lifting. I needed to be able to look the part, and talk my way through approach and landing.
I had been hooked up with a stateroom so I hunkered down and started plugging away at the books until I felt like I couldn't fit any more in my head and crashed. When I was much younger I was a horrible student, but I have always loved to read. I’ve had to learn how to study in the Legion to stay proficient. Dealing with explosives gave me exactly the push I needed to refine my education standards. My survival on Terra was no less important to this mission so I had the incentive I needed to keep pushing.
The next day, we went through probably the most boring morning of my adult life. I don’t even get bored, but if I had a spoon on me, I would have scooped one of my own eyes out, to get a slight reprieve from it. I can’t blame my instructor, because just I didn't have the background, and he was trying to figure out how to make a comparable model for someone well past his learning prime. Despite looking half my chronological age, at least by Terran
The DLF was a great resource because of not only location but also access to several tools, beneficial to our mission. General Campbell needed me on Terra and the simplest way to do that actually was have me fly down solo. But I had absolutely zero training. Legion farms combat pilot school out to the Mariners based off Titan, but the DLF also had a moderate sized flight school, which was why I was at Tycho Station.
When I got there, I met by the crustiest Sergeant Major I had ever seen. I'm not sure what crypt the DLF pulled him out of, but he had to be pushing two-fifty. He could have given Schmiddy a decent run for who was going to expire first. He spotted the abundance of stripes on my arm and grabbed my arm like we had been buddies since basic. Hell of a thing, as Schmiddy would say. There’s some sort of kinship that develops when you start pinning them on. Like wearing your resume on your chest. The Legion doesn’t have Sergeants Major, which from our view is more of a billet than a rank. They’re the guys commanders go to for advice about the men and morale. I don’t have the right kind of personality to fill that role being good with individuals, not groups. I’m more of a technical expert, which is why I wear the gold mastery insignia of my branch on my collar. It made us peers in grade if not equals in position. As he walked me around the base, I found out he was a pensioner from a century back. Served on the original Ozzie, the sister-ship to my own Europe .
After he retired, and eventually settled back on Luna he decided to turn his skills to training. The kind of training that kept young bucks like me alive in the far reaches of space. Book knowledge is amazing but comes from scientists and writers. The kind of training this old soldier gave was hard-won and contained a full century of actual experience. As time goes by human kind becomes more and more reliant on tech, the old timers like him and me, to a much lesser degree, keep the new guys grounded in non-tech solutions. DLF was a good fit for him keeping him engaged, active, and all that expertise wasn't lost.
Since the main mission of DLF is to keep things from getting bad, he loaded me up on what he called “a little light reading.” I'm not sure if he was joking or not, but it looked like every book DLF had on reconnaissance and undercover work. He then turned me loose and said flight school would start the following day. He seemed less worried about that since the ship's onboard computer should be able to handle most of the heavy lifting. I needed to be able to look the part, and talk my way through approach and landing.
I had been hooked up with a stateroom so I hunkered down and started plugging away at the books until I felt like I couldn't fit any more in my head and crashed. When I was much younger I was a horrible student, but I have always loved to read. I’ve had to learn how to study in the Legion to stay proficient. Dealing with explosives gave me exactly the push I needed to refine my education standards. My survival on Terra was no less important to this mission so I had the incentive I needed to keep pushing.
The next day, we went through probably the most boring morning of my adult life. I don’t even get bored, but if I had a spoon on me, I would have scooped one of my own eyes out, to get a slight reprieve from it. I can’t blame my instructor, because just I didn't have the background, and he was trying to figure out how to make a comparable model for someone well past his learning prime. Despite looking half my chronological age, at least by Terran
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