For a rookie like David, the following time felt like being a kid turned loose in a giant candy store. The veterans had laid down the law: only two places were off-limits on the Prometheus—the reactor core and the flag officers" quarters. Everywhere else was fair game as long as you stayed out of the way. So, David and a few other restless newbies from Alpha Squadron wandered the maze-like hangar like country bumpkins in the big city, gawking at all the unfamiliar mechs. Most of the light mech pilots were pretty friendly. A Jaguar driver, a black guy with a flaming skull tattoo on his arm, even popped his hatch and tossed them a few packs of energy bars. "Hey, Gladiator boys! Heard you guys can take a punch! Respect!" The EW operator from a Dragonfly, an Asian guy who looked like an IT ner
