Cohost writing prompt: @Making-up-Mech-Pilots — Mech Pilot who demands everything they operate needs to be refitted with a standard transmission. Even the ejection seat
"Hey, kid," Rose says to the apprentice mechanic. "Command gave us a heads-up that HFO Jameson's frame is coming into the shop; I need you to come down to the stores so I can read you in on J-clearance."
"J-clearance," the newbie says suspiciously. "That doesn't sound real. Is this like a Long Weight, or the time you told me double-ended stud bolts are called bofas?"[^1]
[^1]: Because one threaded section on each end of the rod means it can hold b—
Rose grins at her. "Jameson's a war hero," she says. "Also quote-unquote eccentric as bugfuck, so Command have an off-the-books local understanding about work on her machine. J-clearance is — well, come down to stores."
"Alright," the kid says, as the elevator spools down to the stores deck. "What does eccentric as bugfuck mean?"
"You know how some people swear they can hear the difference if they use audio-grade gold-plated oxygen-free network cables for downloading digital audio files?" Rose says. "Yeah, well, Jameson the war hero swears by manual transmission."
There is a long, long pause.
"The Heavy Frame Operator swears by manual transmission," the kid says. "The Heavy Frame Operator swears by manual transmission for the fly-by-wire sixty-ton mech? With three independent power plants and about three hundred autonomous on-motor gearboxes—"
"War hero," Rose says. "Here. Door code's 7741." She beeps them into the storage locker. "Command bought a job lot out of the morale budget about six years ago."
"Are these—"
"Replica manual transmission sticks. For gamers. Apparently," Rose turns a dusty box around on its storage shelf, "they're compatible with Euro Agrimech Simulator? And if you go above and beyond and write some little scripts to hook them up to the mech's UI beeps, Jameson will call you personally vital to the armed services and swear that they boost the frame's intrinsic performance by 20%."
"Wow," the kid says flatly.
"Yup. Also, you know, careful on your way in here, because an off-the-books storage space that only the mechanics' section have the code for is a recipe for illicit tech-on-tech fraternisation."
"Nearly all the mech repair is automated," the kid says. "Isn't mech-sec just you and...oh." She cocks her head. "Oh."
"Just sayin'," Rose says, with her best optimistic smile.