Magda could smell the cigarette smoke before she opened the door. She'd only just gotten out of the shower and was wearing only her tank top and a pair of shorts. She shook her head trying to clear her head of the thoughts the scent of smoke stirred in her.
The captain opened the door to the small suite that acted as her office and apartment. It was little more than a pair of closets at the end of the squad bay, but it was private.
"Damn it, Kehrer - could you not smoke here?" She asked. It reminded her of Kitta. Magda pushed the thought away, hoping the flash of romantic nostalgia hadn't shown.
"Seriously, that's got to play hell with your body."
Magda liked the younger woman. The Hive had taken nearly everything from her and what was left, Patches had given to the Union. A lot of what she has given has been collected by the shaven-headed captain.
"Nicstik outside," the Captain ordered as gently as she could before pointing inside, "you inside."
Magda turned and took the few steps to field table she called a desk and gestured at the folding stool. "Sit."
The smaller, darker woman spun her data tablet to face Emily. It showed the Hive outpost they'd defended earlier that day.
"So, here's the plan. I want that outpost and we are going to liberate it. With everybody inside intact. I want their food plant, and I want it all broadcast, non-stop, on the Hive's own drone."
She looked up, "I know how much you hate them, some of them anyway, but if we can free that whole outpost and keep it - safe from the Kaiju and the Hive, we may have food." She tapped Emily's data jack, "And meds."
Magda raised her eyes to Emily's, "Most importantly, hopefully you won't have to be the only one fighting back."
The captain flicked off the slate but left it facing her subordinate, "Now the hard part. You're going to have to pilot that new frame, at least for long enough to drive off the Hive military."
She paused, knowing the sacrifice she was again asking of Kehrer. "Granite and Patune are formidable but we're going to need more firepower than Scyllia has. I know what I'm asking, and if I thought I had a choice, I wouldn't."
Magda rubbed her temple, "We'll bring Scyllia in the carrier and you can switch back as soon as it's safe - I just don't want you, or her, bitten in half," the scent of smoke hung in the air, "like Kitta."
Magda couldn't explain why she'd said it and immediately regretted it.
"Once we have the outpost we'll be able to get a couple of turrets up, and Scyllia will have access to the river to keep warm and wet."
Magda wasn't entirely sure who she was trying to sell.
Or what.