Birth of a Pilot

“Ow!”

Emil rubs his nose. In retrospect, leaning his face less than an inch away from the door wasn’t such a great idea, but he was getting bored and impatient! How was he supposed to know it opens outward?

“Emil, this is the second time this week you’ve made that mistake. Be careful!”

Oh, that’s how.

“Sorry, son, but if you are going to keep doing that, use your head next time. It has more cushioning.” The chief commander pats his son’s curly blond hair. It’s not often that the older man chuckles, but when he does, it’s at his own jokes.

“Ha, ha, very funny, Dad.” Emil gives him a look of playful indignance as he fixes his own hair.

Chief Commander Galhardo begins to look puzzled. “What are you doing here by your lonesome?”

“That’s what I came to talk to you about.”

Emil’s father takes a step back into his office. “Come in.”

The lieutenant captain enters the dimly-lit room, walking around to examine random items. His father once explained that he keeps it this way to remind him of when he used to have an office on Earth and would forget to open the curtains during daylight hours. That doesn’t mean Emil understands it at all. What makes even less sense is how his brother picked up the habit simply because their dad does it. That’s no reason to work in the dark!

Emil closes the door behind him, but not before hearing a sigh.

“Dad? Something wrong?”

The chief commander’s back is turned. “Are you and Lorenzo having an argument?”

The blond ducks his head between his shoulders. “Youuu heard that?”

“No. It is just an educated guess on my part.” His father looks back at him. “I thought that might be the reason he’s not here with you.”

“Ohhh, no. We’re good now. We talked it out!” Emil gives two thumbs up.

“Good.” Chief Commander Galhardo sits at his desk, taking off his cap. He smooths out his deep brown hair, one of the few physical traits that signify his relation to Emil… or would if the latter hadn’t bleached his curls. The chief commander’s face is lit primarily by the screen below him. What a spooky atmosphere!

“May I ask why you two were arguing?” He looks up at his son.

“Ah…” Emil twirls his hair around his finger. He spent so much time trying to locate his dad’s office that the details surrounding why he came here slip his mind. “Oh yeah! That Romero guy is kind of a huge jerk! He’s pushing us around and--”

“Emil.” His father’s voice is stern. “If you are going to complain about your coworkers, do so in a professional manner.”

“Yes, Dad.” The blond bows his head in shame.

His father doesn’t open his eyes.

“Yes, Chief Commander Galhardo.”

The chief commander’s eyes open. “You may continue.”

This is a bit of a pickle. It’s not that Emil can’t speak formally, but it doesn’t come as easy to him as it does his father and brother. He has to take some time to get into the right mindframe, and time is of the essence right now. What would Lorenzo say?

The lieutenant captain clears his throat and straightens his posture. “It has come to the attention of the captain and I that… Staff Major Romero’s invention is not fit to be tested. When trying to explain why, the staff major threatened us all with insubordination, and took-- recruited one of our rangers against his will.”

“Against the ranger’s will?”

“Affirmative.” Emil folds his arms behind his back. He bounces his right leg up and down.

“That sounds serious…” The chief commander mutters to himself in Spanish. “I’ll contact him right away.”

“W-wait!” Emil interrupts, in his normal voice. He immediately returns to his deep, professional voice. “I mean--Excuse me, if I may.”

“You do know that mimicking your brother’s voice is unnecessary, yeah?”

“I-- Wha?” Only now did Emil realize he’s copying Lorenzo’s tone. He’s even more surprised to learn that he also copied some of his brother’s mannerisms. “Um, sorry Dad, I think this is the only way I can talk professionally.”

His father stares at him, then shakes his head. “You are a very interesting boy. Continue what you were saying?”

Though he would rather have his father call Romero right away, something tells him things aren’t going to work out in the crew’s favor if he doesn’t tell the chief commander the whole truth first.

“I kinda agreed to a deal with Romero that if Angelo--the ranger he took--decided he wanted to pilot the robot, he would.” Emil sits in the chair in front of his father’s desk, taking care to sit in it like a proper young man, lest he have his father scold him for ‘disrespecting his office space.’ “Long story short, there was a misunderstanding, and Angelo did agree to pilot it, even though he didn’t want to, and now Romero’s holding that over our heads. Lorenzo also told him that we weren’t gonna tell you about any of this.”

The chief commander raised his bushy eyebrows. “Why would he say that?”

“Something about being unbiased? I dunno.” Emil shrugs, then stands up from the chair. “But that’s what we were arguing about. Lorie didn’t want me to tell you at first, but he couldn’t think of what else we could do, so now I’m here!”

“This is… quite a situation.” His father shakes his head. “I would be glad to help, but it will likely cause problems later on if I interfered directly, due to the promise Lorenzo made. It would not be the right thing to do.”

Emil almost objects.

“However.” Chief Commander Galhardo continues. “ There is someone I can point you to.” He turns his chair away from Emil, pressing his fingertips together. “Commander Fitzgerald; he’s in charge of this base. From what I understand, he is a fair man, but Staff Major Romero did happen to be one of his pupils. It might be hard for you to convince him of Romero’s wrongdoing, so I want you to be prepared whenever you face him. Also, while the staff major’s use of authority may seem disturbing, he’s entirely within his rights to do so… unless you can prove he was being unjust.”

Psh, that’ll be easy. Emil thinks to himself.

“So prove it.” The chief commander must’ve read the confidence on his face.

The lieutenant captain nods.

“Tell me, what makes you believe the staff major’s invention is unsafe?”

“One of my rangers noticed a lack of safety features.” The blond begins walking back and forth. “If he crashed and flew forward, part of the machine would’ve punctured some of his organs.”

“Ah.” The chief commander presses his palms together. “Also, you are going to want to be a little more professional when speaking to the commander.”

“Of course.” Emil straightens up his back, and his voice deepens. His father stifles a laugh.

“Was the ranger piloting aware of these risks before agreeing to get into the robot?”

The blond takes a deep breath. “He was aware. The staff major did not inform us of these risks, but--”

“So he was aware before the agreement?”

“Yes, Chief Commander.” Emil feels this is unfair, but knows that arguing with his dad won’t get him anywhere. 

“Do you have any other evidence against the staff major?”

The lieutenant tries to think, but his thoughts are interrupted by a buzzing in his pocket. He takes out his phone.

“Emil!” His father turns his chair to face him. “Did I not teach you to not look at your phone during important conversations?”

“I know, I know, but this is important! It’s from Lorenzo!” Emil looks at his phone. “...Ooh la la~”

The chief commander sighs. “What are you looking at?”

“Some enticing new developments!” The lieutenant hangs his upper body over the guest chair. “Lorie and Jun went to go poke around in Romero’s lab--”

His father almost objects.

Emil stands up, raising a finger. “--With the permission of his team. C’mon, Dad, this is Lorie we’re talking about! He’d never do anything illegal.”

“Go on.”

“According to a testimony from a Corporal Engel around 1330 hours in Room TE-28, Staff Major Romero promised that whoever worked hardest on the robot would get a chance to pilot it. Engel reportedly boasted skipping breaks and sometimes even sleep to ensure she’d get the chance.” He pivots around, turning his back to his father. “Sounds to me like a little bit of bribery. Jun even thinks he did this to, and I quote ‘circumvent the break requirements.’”

“You three make very good points, but.” The chief commander pauses. “While it may be unethical, his actions are still legal by Interstellar Forces guidelines.”

“Hmph.” Emil slowly pivots back around. “But that’s not all they found.”

Chief Commander Galhardo raises his eyebrows.

“At 1300 hours in the same room, Lorenzo and Jun overheard Romero’s daughter mention that her dad asked if she’d be willing to pilot his robot.”

“His daughter?” the father asks. “I was not aware that his daughter was working with him here. Continue.”

The blond steps toward the chief commander’s desk. “Lorie noticed some… odd things about her. Cadets aren’t a thing here, right? There’s no cadets trained on this base.”

The chief commander nods, a little confused. “You are correct...”

“So how come Romero’s daughter is a cadet?”

Chief Commander Galhardo’s eyebrows furrow, making him take on the same expression his eldest son does when confused. “That… is puzzling.”

“Indeed it is, Your Honor!” Emil dramatically points a finger in the air. 

“I am not… a judge. Y-you know what? Continue. Just continue.”

Emil is too far on a roll to stop his lawyer impersonation. He taps on his phone as if it were a stack of evidence papers while pacing back and forth. “Moreover, her uniform doesn’t fit. Isn’t that strange? Interstellar Forces uniforms are tailor-made for the individual wearing it, meaning… it shouldn’t not fit!” He stops pacing for dramatic effect.

“She could’ve simply gained or lost weight after receiving it.” his father argues. “That has happened before.”

Emil shakes his head and props his hand on the guest chair. He stares at his father meaningfully. “Not in this case. Her uniform is too long. One might be able to outgrow a uniform, but shrinking into it is unheard of, wouldn’t you agree, Your Honor?”

“I… agree.” The chief commander appears to not know what to make of his son’s antics.

“And even if that weren’t the case, according to the Interstellar Forces Navigational Handbook Section 1.11, it says that only star rangers ranked ranger and above can pilot Interstellar Forces equipment! Is a cadet ranked ranger or higher? I. Think. Not.”

“Son, that is enough.” his father says. “You made your point. I think Commander Fitzgerald will hear you out. Just… don’t do the lawyer thing. Promise me that.”

“I promise.” Emil laughs.

“Head past the mess hall and take a right to reach the commander’s office.” the chief commander directs. “I will send you the exact location and his contact information as soon as you get going.”

“Can’t you do it while I’m still here?”

“It is more efficient my way.”

“I guess.” the blond concedes.

“Call him first to make sure he has time for you, understand?”

Emil salutes. “Understood.”

His father gives the faintest smile one could ever hope to see. “Good luck.”

“Thanks, Chief Commander Dad!” 

The lieutenant flares his arm out and exits the office.