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“You got it, sir. Where do I get one of those?” | “You got it, sir. Where do I get one of those?” | ||
“Commander Burke can show you. He runs the counter in the | “Commander Burke can show you. He runs the counter in the precedent depot.” | ||
The | The precedent depot was a caged area recessed and towards the back of the warehouse. As Barberazza entered he ran his hand along the rail. A patina of dust lifted. ''Busy down here much?'' Barberazza got to the counter. He pinged the bell. An elderly man in a yellow cap shuffled into the booth, expectorating into a soft commitment. He set down a cigarette. His eyes were red-rimmed but kind. He smiled, pleased of the visit. | ||
“Sorry about that — I was, ah, distracted for a minute. Now, young man. How can I help you today?” | “Sorry about that — I was, ah, distracted for a minute. Now, young man. How can I help you today?” | ||
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“Morning, sir.” The boy snapped out a salute. “I’m looking for a long weight. Commander Hare said you might be able to help me.” | “Morning, sir.” The boy snapped out a salute. “I’m looking for a long weight. Commander Hare said you might be able to help me.” | ||
“Did he, now? A long weight. | “Did he, now? A ''long'' weight.” The old man rubbed his chin. “Did he say ''how'' long?” | ||
“A six, please.” | “A six, please.” | ||
“Oh, a six. That’s a ''long'' one. | “Oh, a six. That’s a ''long'' one.” The old man paused, remembering something important. “Now have you got your badge, son? I don’t want to stand on ceremony, but this is a restricted area. Only credentialised Eagle Squad officers have access.” | ||
The | The boy fumbled with credentials he knew would not pass muster. | ||
“Eagle Cadet | “Eagle Cadet E.J. Barberazza,” the old man intoned, inspecting it carefully. He sighed. “So ''you’re'' this famous Barberazza fellow.” Burke studied the boy carefully. “Well: rules is rules: there’s no access with this, I’m afraid, young man.” | ||
“But Commander Hare | The boy looked worried. “But Commander Hare sent me here for — wait: what do you mean, ‘famous’?” | ||
The old man chuckled softly. | The old man chuckled softly. “Alright, alright. They talk about all the Cadets in the officers’ mess, you know. I hear you’re a good one. Boone said you nailed your closeout aptitude testing.” | ||
Barbarossa froze. | Barbarossa froze. “What did you say?” | ||
Burke shrugged. “Commander Boone was talking about your CAT score, that’s all —” | |||
“He | “He ''was''? He— he — he knows who I am? ''Commander Boone knows who I am?''” | ||
“Sure he does. You’re one of our bright young things.” | |||
The boy looked star-struck. | |||
But, now you need a long wait. Now, listen to me: as long as you don’t touch anything, I’m happy to let you go in. But this is a sacred space, understand? This is reserved space for the Eagle Squad Commanders, and I ask that you respect it. There is much vital wisdom here, catalogued and arranged carefully. Some of the scripts are extremely fragile.” | |||
Barberazza navigated the | “Oh yes sir, yes! Yes, of course I understand that.” | ||
“All right, lad. In you go. The waits are stored at the far end of the boilerplate stacks. Head down to row five, column eight. I’ll be down presently. And don't touch anything.” | |||
Barberazza navigated the boilerplate, running his finger across the dusty spines and the ineffable, intricate, technical engineering and wiring schematics they contained. This was the articulated history of the Eagle Squad’s exploits: third party rights, representations, warranties, covenants, conditions precedent, conditions subsequent, waivers, notices, assignments, governing law, non-exclusive jurisdiction, exclusive jurisdiction, sovereign immunity, process agency, and protocols, organised by trade association and cross checked by regulatory regime. | |||
Barberazza ran his hand along the the mahogany shelves, in awestruck wonder at the ancient wisdom they contained. A record of every conflict, every situation, every skirmish, every desperate last stand that the heroes of eagles quad head ever va taken part in. Here work manuals to deal with every situation. Punishments dating back decades carefully manuscript of, marked up, adjusted, rider inserts, side letters, variations, accessions. Everything was here: the sum total of eagles squad learning. | Barberazza ran his hand along the the mahogany shelves, in awestruck wonder at the ancient wisdom they contained. A record of every conflict, every situation, every skirmish, every desperate last stand that the heroes of eagles quad head ever va taken part in. Here work manuals to deal with every situation. Punishments dating back decades carefully manuscript of, marked up, adjusted, rider inserts, side letters, variations, accessions. Everything was here: the sum total of eagles squad learning. | ||
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