Once again Simon found himself staring at a logo, saddled with the impossible request to critique it to his employer.

This time, at least, it had no sultry anime girl mascot on it, due, or thanks to, the graphic designer studio employed for the task: “ Artists for Armored Forces”, a.k.a. Artists AF, owned by Nadja Parabat, second daughter of Simon’s direct employer.

“Dad told us you were gonna be slow on the feedback” commented Isabella jokingly (Senior sales representative at the Peacemaker Corps, first daughter of Mr. Parabat) “Go on, now, dad told us you would give us feedback for free, don’t pretend to be embarassed just to extort a payment out of me, haha”. They were having a holocall through the NA2.0 commlink which, Simon thought with a speck of pride, worked far better than the standard issue commlink apps used by other mercs.

“haha” answered Simon “I mean, it IS unique… but it feels like it has less… um… -presence?- than the current three-logos line, sorry”

“Don’t say sorry Simon” said the PanOceanian Saleswoman, her long black hair bobbing gently left and right with her affirmative head movement “I can see the difference myself, I’ll talk to my sister about it, see if she can put a bit more “umpf” into it. Would you mind sending me an email with your comment?”

“Oh yes of course” said Simon timidly, toching a couple buttons on the commlink “I will… uhm… Mrs Parabat?… Isabella? Your’e breaking up… We’re entering the QAZ.. I Can’t” and then he punched the off button on the console, ending the call.

“Harsh” commented Valerya with a knowing smile, sitting across of him in the ATT. Her (her?) ill fitting druze uniform (nametagged Julie Stubbs) was completed by a full set of X-visor, viral pistol, combi rifle, D-Charges, Pitcher, and standard-issue Hacking Device, model WIP13.

“Corporate employee survival rule number one - never leave a paper trail if you can help it” quipped Simon, putting his helmet on. “Especially to your employers’ daughter”

“Would you listen to THAT!” interjected loudly a muscular red-headed Zellenkrieger, a fresh recruit by the name of Denma Connoly “This guy knows his way aroud the LADIES! I have NO IDEA why everyone else calls you an eyesore, you’re all right lad!” He affectionaly punched Simon over the shoulder, the hit reverberating through the whole ATT when simon’s helmeted head bounced off the armored hull.

“Well it’s not like I despise him as a person” commented a brawler sitting next to Valerya, caressing his enormous beard pensievly, like some sort of ancient Ellenic philosopher, only balder “It’s just that he is… expensive”

“Affirmative” confirmed the Hunzakut CyberNinjaBrian, in a perfect robot-voice (so perfect that Simon had lost an entire BitCred betting he had some high end cybernetics on him, only to discover he was actually allergic to implant tech, and convinced to be an actual robot) “Analysis of encrypted data shows he’s costing 10% more than the combined cost of a Monstrucker and a Yuan-Yuan”

“What do you need YanYans fer?” boasted Denma flexing out his gunshow “I’m worth three o’ them! Don’t you worry yer pretty little head, Simon, I’ll work your yanyan’s worth off as well, then you can buy me sum beers in exchange!”

“aw yes of course I will, you don’t even have to work as a Yuan-Yuan for it!” said Simon, happy to finally have found a merc willing to be friends.

Valerya raised a knowing eyebrow, then shifted her attention to the back of the ATT, looking at the three operatives sitting there. They were not participating in the usual pre-deployment jokes. Rather, they were just sitting there, emitting all the edgelord aura they were capable of. They looked like two brawlers and a Druze, but they all had special-issue commbeads, Haqquislam-Issue rifles, and a Husam rank on some piece of paperwork somewhere. Their job here was to take charge in case they found one of the “big bounties” they had on the contract: CHADwick, Lady Numiria, or a shasvastii agent ‘nine’.

“As if we’re ever going to meet High Commissioner Numiria out here” said Valerya under her breath to another brawler sitting next to her, a tall ash-blonde woman, curly hair tied in a undisciplined ponytail, the nametag on her uniform saying “Lt.Cuddles”

The woman smiled in her own special way, which always pulled Valerya into a good mood as well “I’m not Julie, Val” she said “She’s over there”