Cuz Shanni wanted me to post it.

The newest crew schedule had arrived, and it was predictably, long and boring, but he still had to read it. After two and a half hours of a half assed attempt, Ti threw the pad down on his desk, rubbed his eyes and sighed.

No matter what the generals thought, he did have better things to do then to try and figure out what they were chasing their tails about this month.

It made him long for his brief but very memorable months on Zisoro, under the command of the famous (or perhaps infamous) General Rurniel. At least that man… boy… general… whatever, had some sense about him. Not like the mud-brains who were trying to run this base.

Ti glanced at his watch and winced when he saw the time. He was supposed to be at a training session with the Paul. He knew that Richard would have taken over if Ti hadn’t shown up but still, they all needed to get to know Paul.

After all, he was technically ‘the new guy’. Even if he wasn’t new to R-16, he was new to Annihilation. And they needed to start learning how to incorporate Paul into their tactics and formations.

At least the others had taken to the younger man. That was the main reason why Ti had allowed the generals to press this recruit on him. He wouldn’t have accepted someone his team didn’t like, or couldn’t get along with. It helped that Oliver had taken a special interest in the boy, but Ti would have to deal with that later.

It also hadn’t hurt that Richard was claiming that Paul showed a… pre-genius in battle tactics. He’d said, give the boy a few years studying under Richard, and Paul would be able to challenge the man on tactical knowledge.

As if summoned, the door swooshed open, and who should walk in, but none other then Richard.

Richard walked down the hallway, his thick boots echoing off the metal plaiting. His head was filled with half formed reports for Ti on Paul’s performance in the training simulator. But before a thought was even half completed, Richard would discard it. He knew that the right words would just… come when he saw Ti. That was how it always happened.

All in all, the younger man hadn’t done too badly. Sure, he’d made a few mistakes, but that was par for the course. Hell, no one dared put Spark in one of those training sessions, because he’d be dead within minutes. The man wasn’t a fighter, and didn’t want to be. But Paul wasn’t as hopeless as Spark, no, Paul knew how to fight, he just didn’t know the specialized stuff. And that was to be expected.

Richard didn’t even pause as he headed to the door that blocked the entrance to Ti’s ‘office’.

The doors swooshed open and Richard paused in the doorway. He had barely a moment to see Ti looking stressed, before the man’s head snapped to face him.

“Richard.” Ti nodded in a voice so low that it could have been a growl.

Richard surprised a smile. He knew that Ti didn’t approve of an extensive amount of familiarity while in public, even though the two men had known each other far longer, and better then either would like to admit. He returned the nod, and looked around for a place to sit.

Despite the fact that Ti called it an ‘office’ it was more of a machine shop or garage with a desk. But that was the way they all liked it. It gave them room to work on different projects with a copious amount of space and spare parts.

After a moment, Richard chose an overturned crate that wasn’t too far, or too close to Ti’s desk. He sat, and when he looked up, he found Ti’s eyes on him.

“Well?” The other man asked, sounding slightly curious.

Richard paused a moment to think. “He did pretty well. Better then the reports the Commanders sent down had me believing. He’s… about where Oliver was when he joined us.”

He watched Ti think that over, remembering Oliver back all those years ago. Eventually he nodded. “No specialization, but a fighter?”

Richard nodded. “He learns fast though. He was never beat twice by the same attack, and he never used the same counter. So I’d guess he knows far more then he’s letting on. But you can’t lie about skill. He’ll need some work to make it sharp.”

Again Ti nodded. Ti had once said that it was never his place to criticized a teacher on his assessment, especially not Richard. So he just accepted the facts at face value. “You think he’ll be able to work into the team?”

At that Richard did smile slightly, more of a smirk actually. “Like butter on bread. Oliver and Chris are already working with Spark on a few new training programs, just so they can get use to Paul being there. That’s the only real difference.”

Ti leaned back in his chair and put his feet on his desk. He sighed thoughtfully. “Well this is good. Everything seems to be working, which is nice. But… I have one slight concern.”

Richard’s mind paused a moment before supplying him with the answer. “You mean Oliver’s intentions towards Paul?”

Ti didn’t even blink, he and Richard knew each other well enough, that they could practically read each other’s minds. “I, and you, know that Oliver tends to be a flirt and a tease, if one can say that about a man. So?”

Richard shook his head. “Yeah he can be those, but he’d never do that with the team. I think he’s genuinely interested in Paul. I mean come on, they’re both from Wi’Rus, so they’ve at least got that in common. Besides, I think Paul might be the first person not willing to just hop into bed with Oliver, just because he asks.”

Again Ti pondered that a moment, and nodded. “So at least things will be interesting.”

Richard chuckled, “when are things not interesting around here?”