"Eve Online!"
"That's what she says every time she drops in?"
"Every time!"
"That's crazy! Then what?"
"Then we get to see most of the action through her visor's live feed."
"On the command center's screens?"
"The main screens, our consoles, everywhere."
Nomad's command staffer leaned across the table, explaining it all to his friend from engineering while they shared lunch in the mess hall.
"No way, man! You guys are having all the fun while we rot down there wrapped in wires and grease."
"I'm telling you. It's a show to die for."
"Can't you show me some clips?"
"I love my job, dude. You know the protocols."
"But you gotta!"
He leans forward on the table. "Now, I didn't tell you this, but we tape, and the reviewing crew gets to take them to their quarters."
"You serious? Damn, I always thought section three guys were boring office drones. Turns out, even they've got it better than engineering."
"Anyways. You have my oxyshots?"
He slips two capsules to him.
"You owe me 90 units."
"When have I ever not paid you?"
"So tell me more."
"All sorts of action, man. It can't be explained. You have to see her in action. Imagine dropping down on a mech, cutting through steel with a plasma sword, splitting the metal into two."
"No way!"
"Her dual plasma guns... her exosuits... don't even get me started on her Xenomorphesis. She's on a whole different level. But that's when her live feed cuts off. She transforms and turns into a storm. Visor footage from nearby soldiers only captures blurs of her motion."
"So it's all true. She does have alien powers."
"Technically, her xenomode isn't alien. That's her machine core."
"But the commander has an Alien Trigger... is what my friend heard her scientist say."
"That's Dr. Salam. He performs all sorts of experiments on her to fine-tune her skills and powers."
"So with those powers, battles must feel like a breeze to her."
"Ahh... it's not like that. Her powers only manifest when the situation is critical, or when her survival is threatened, or when she's facing a really powerful enemy."
"I've heard her team discovered a way to artificially simulate her powers?"
"Nanotech xenopills. I heard it too from my friend in labs. I don't have much info about it."
"So what is it exactly that you do up there?"
"I help coordinate the soldiers on the ground during Eve operations."
"And when Eve's not on the field?"
"The other guy on shift. That's his job."
"How does it even work?"
"Let me cut your curiosity. So her last mission, on this deserted planet—we discovered Clarion outposts. Three outposts. 600 soldiers. Now that's standard, right? Easy mission."
"Yeah, okay."
"Wrong! Turns out, the outposts were just ice caps. Underneath—an entire hive the size of Nomad. Thousands of soldiers. Mutants."
"Damn, bro!"
"Our forces had already been deployed and they were taking heavy fire. By the time our dropships arrived, our troopers would have been wiped out."
"That's crazy!"
"You know Anya from engineering? Curly shoulder-length hair, big brown eyes, pixy face... cute enough to make you forget your shift?"
"I've often seen her argue with our cyborg boss."
"So she developed this needle for the commander. A nanofiber capsule that shoots straight down at incredible speeds and hits the ground without slowing down."
"You send cyborgs in it?"
"The Needle. It's for the space commander. So I'm watching her feed, and feeds from the soldiers. The package drops. She rips out of the needle halfway through and lands on the ground. Now, our soldiers weren't expecting anything soon. They were cornered. No life on their faces. No hope of returning home... Then comes the voice... *Eve Online*... Suddenly, like an angel breathed new life into them. Their faces lit up, yelling at each other like 'Commander has landed, keep the line!' and whatnot. It's like she sent her spirit even before she got there. Man, situations like those, when you're sitting in the command center, fingers crossed. Counting every second, praying, holding onto your seat... and then, next thing you know, she's there vaulting into action. Commander Mira is barking at us, and when Eve is speaking to command center, we just take the hint. That day, she saved 200 Nomad soldiers, and almost half the hive had already been neutralized by the time our reinforcements arrived."
He listened, stunned. "How about two months of oxyshots just for those clips."
"You're not the first one to get thrills and chills from all this. Trust me. If it were up to me, I would share them with the whole world."
"I envy you, bro."
"Yeah, getting to see Eve in action like that... it's the best job in the world. I'm glad I made it to Nomad. Ever actually met the queen?"
"Just a few times... like when she's passing by the corridor. You know how she is. Walking the way she walks, always looking straight."
"Don't let her catch you checking her out."
"It's really hard to couple hips like those with action like that. She's like a doll made for roses."
"The best part of my job? Getting to see the commander stride across the command center or slump in that chair. I'd just find excuses to leave my console, get a coffee or something, just to catch her slouched in that chair."
"Her beauty is damning. Back in Khatoora, I thought, alright, she must be a barbie... but up close... reality doesn't do her justice."
"Centuries ago she saved your planet."
"Now the entire mining belt belongs to people of Meshkoff star system."
"And now we have hundreds of Khatoora workers aboard Nomad."
"It's difficult. I respect her deeply, man, but I can't help myself drool. I've heard she's into her pilot. What's his name? Vayne?"
"The Soul Drifter pilot? Nah. She adores him. Besides, he's squad. Like family to her."
"What makes you think they haven't...you know?"
"You think that cause you haven't spoken to her. She's fierce and feral. Commanding. Her voice has power—seductive as it is intimidating. Once, I saw her yell in anger. It was almost like an electronic voice layered her growl. Like something inhuman beneath it. I literally pissed my pants thinking she was about to go xeno on us."
"Wanna trade places?"
"Not for all the money in the world."
"Lucky bastard."