multipup mashup - Thanksgiving edition

[noble_6]

The engineers have started construction on the first prototype. It's not anywhere close to ready--more like the outline of an aircraft than anything else--but it's exciting all the same. She spent most of the day nosing around the manufacturing hanger until they shooed her out from underfoot. (Not that anyone really shoos a Spartan, but Natalie

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[cupisempty]

"Nice sketches," Jake says. He's showered, he's wearing civies (including a worn leather jacket) and his hair isn't quite so regulation Marine.

Not that he creeps up on Natalie, he's not that stupid. His combat books make plenty enough noise to warn of his approach.

[noble_6]

She definitely heard the boots coming, but there was no guarantee that whoever they belonged to would stop at her table.

"Hey, you." She looks up, grinning. "Looks like you managed to catch some of that rack time."

[cupisempty]

He grins back. "Oh, yeah. And it's been awesome."

Mostly.

He's getting better at the whole 'sleeping' business.

[noble_6]

Natalie takes a second look at his clothes.

"You on R&R?"

[cupisempty]

"Nah, they're thinking of changing the uniform," he says. "Cammy fatigues are out and we're rocking the leather."

[noble_6]

"Probably scores higher in the fashion department than cammy," she admits.

"But you'd better hope all your wars get fought in bars from here on out."

[cupisempty]

"Hey, I could live with that. Cute girls and alcohol. What could go wrong?" He laughs softly, then shakes his head.

[noble_6]

"Not like cute girls and alcohol have ever been the start of a fight."

[cupisempty]

"Start of them, end of them-"

Not that Jake tends to appreciate girls who are capable of finishing fights, or anything like that.

[noble_6]

Certainly not.

"Or both," she adds.

[cupisempty]

"Thought that was implied." Certainly Chandra and Hutch and Sullivan can do serious damage when they want to, which is why they make such good Marines. He grins.

"Mind if I sit, or you busy?"

[noble_6]

She grins back.

"Not busy at all. Pull up a chair."

[cupisempty]

"Thanks you," he says, doing just that. "So, what you drawing? Or is it classified?"

[noble_6]

"To somebody from another universe? Doubt ONI thought to lock that angle down."

She slides the napkin across the table. On it is a rough, wire-frame drawing of this.

"It's a plane, or it will be when they finish it. They're trying to turn me into a test pilot."

[cupisempty]

"A test pilot." He looks up at her, clearly impressed.

[noble_6]

"It's been simulators for the past couple of months," she explains.

"I've had some basic training in the whole 'keep the nose of the plane out of the ground' concept, but this thing is for fighting in space so they wanted me to know a little more. They just started building the first prototype."

She may be just a little excited about this.