An Outsider

Camouflage

　　This is Lucio's first time to see the official military uniform of the federal army permanent uniform, can't help but secretly praise, so handsome military uniform! The lapel type double-breasted military uniform, dark green as the main color. Wearing a large brimmed hat on his head, the cap badge is the military emblem of the federal army, black brim and two golden olive branches. Left chest hanging seniority plate, right chest hanging unit insignia and name tag, shoulder rank is the rank of captain. Lined with a snow-white uniform shirt and a plain black tie. Tie the outer belt, right with a gun, left with a military knife. The lower body is the same color military pants, trouser seams rolled two gold lines, wearing long boots.

　　What surprised him most was that on the far side of the passage formed by the military tent, a large, parking lot-like clearing could be seen, where neat rows of mechs were parked, instantly catching his eye.

　　Lucio's heart was astonished, and after fixing his mind, he returned, "What did the lieutenant say?" "I'm sorry."

　　After taking a look in the direction, Lucio saw a large bunker on the southern slope, which was connected to the base wall. That would be his destination, and Lieutenant Crawford was waiting for his up there.

　　Only this was a male officer's uniform, Lucio didn't know what the female officer's regular uniform looked like. And this elderly officer seemed to be not in the same unit as them, so perhaps there were differences in the uniforms.

　　Although he did not introduce himself, Lucio could easily guess the identity of the elderly officer in front of him. Captain Rodcliffe, the military commander-in-chief of the Griffin outfield base station, was a bad influence on the federal military, having been moved here three years ago. Lucio guessed that he might meet him, so he did his homework beforehand.

　　As he watched the old captain leave the office, Lieutenant Crawford withdrew his gaze and smiled as he sized up Lucio, who stood straight in front of his, deciding not to speak up himself first, lest he reveal himself. Although the official level is high, it also depends on the real power. Lucio could tell by the way Lieutenant Crawford acted in front of Captain Rodcliffe. Crawford, in the ace division as a mid-level commander, the future is promising; while Rodcliffe is old, was relegated to the outer field base station such a small place, had to give the rank lower than his Crawford bow. His own office was forced to be vacated for Crawford's use. And from his contact with Crawford so far, this female lieutenant, is a strong personality, smart and bold, they are still cautious, do not let his find out that something is wrong.

　　Lucio locked his brow.

　　"Thank you, Lieutenant Crawford." Lucio was obedient and sat down on the single couch, his back straight and sitting in a disciplined manner.

Lucio did not understand what Crawford meant by making friends. The troops are all deep fellow soldiers, having fought together as soldiers, the feelings are naturally deep. But his current situation is special, is just transferred to the third squadron, and he is the squadron deputy of the left wing sub-squadron, Crawford is the squadron leader of the right wing sub-squadron, to say the least, the relationship is more delicate. He is neither his top boss, nor his fellow comrade, nor his subordinate, so it's a bit abrupt to suddenly say something about being friends.

　　Lucio's heart itched to experience what it was like to drive a mech. But now he is wounded, his own mech is gone, and he doesn't seem to know how to drive it, so he can only look at the mech soldiers who are on a mission and sigh.

　　The company's main business is to provide a wide range of products and services to its customers. Lucio had no choice but to return the salute, and he stood up from behind the desk and took a few steps forward to salute. The female soldier then spoke up and said.

　　"Thanks to you, Captain Rodcliffe, I'm not in any serious trouble."

　　Thus, in Lucio's eyes, Captain Rodcliffe, who was in front of him, became worthy of sympathy. The old captain, not knowing what Lucio was thinking, just smiled and said to the female officer sitting on the couch.

　　"What a disaster, Lucio, your injuries are not serious, are they?"

　　The lead mech was going through the outer wall of the base gate when Lucio heard a strange sound, similar to the feeling when the air pressure chamber opened the door. lucio understood in his mind that the sound was made when the pass was opened to maintain normal air pressure. That's why the mech brigades are leaving the base gates one by one, because the air pressure buffer has limited capacity.

　　Crawford looked at Lucio, half a long time before saying, "You have only been transferred to our three squadrons to meet such a big mission accident, to be honest, I face shame, but also feel sorry for you."

　　"Come in!" A low female voice came from inside the door. The female soldier opened the door for Lucio and sidled up to invite his in. Lucio stepped in and saw four people inside the house.

　　He stepped on the gravel ground towards the square where the mechs were parked, and on the way many soldiers saw his and hurriedly stood at attention and saluted his with their hands up, he had no choice but to return the salute one by one. It was hard to walk through the passageway to the square, but the four-meter-tall mech in front of his completely fascinated his.

　　In order to obtain a better living environment, human beings are working hard to expand their territories, and thus every year the army will have a large number of outfield exploration operations. Up to now, more than three hundred outfield bases, large and small, have been established around the seven major city-states. The larger ones are called base areas and the smaller ones are called base stations. For example, Lucio and their troops this mission to the "confidential one area", is a very large field base area. And Griffin base station, can only be regarded as the outpost of the classified area. In the Federation far from the main city of the field base as a chief, said to feel quite miserable, Griffin as a base station level of small base, the monthly supplies are even less pathetic.

　　The two soldiers standing guard with submachine guns saw his and immediately stood at attention and saluted, Lucio returned the salute and entered the bunker. Lucio actually felt some cold, pulling on his jacket, but his hand was still hanging, and he couldn't put on his jacket.

　　The tasked mech unit set off in formation, all of them marching through the towering walled pass in a neat and tidy pace, heading for the primeval jungle on the outskirts. The movement of the mechs was not very loud, except for the rustling sound of stepping on the gravel ground, there was only a slight hydraulic creaking sound. It seems that the material of the mech is very light, and there is no feeling of heavy vibration when walking.

　　Not far away, a team seemed to be on a mission, and a large number of mech soldiers were boarding. The mechs equipped with power exoskeletons skillfully logged into the cockpit, jammed the power exoskeleton with several cards in the mech cockpit, closed the hatch, and started the energy storage.

　　"Well then, Lieutenant Crawford, I have some business to attend to, so take your time."

　　Slowly walk, military boots on the stone ground, rustling. This combat boots quality is quite good, Lucio just changed into when you feel, the material is not like cowhide, Lucio also can not see what material is made. There is also the camouflage combat suit he draped over his body, which is a punching bag type, with a hood at the back, and the material is also very strong. Inside the short-sleeved camouflage T-shirt is cotton, sweat-absorbing and breathable, what a luxury, the armament of this world is too exaggerated.

　　"Lucio, sit down, you're still wounded, don't be restrained."

　　Crawford smiled and said, "You have a good record in the Central Army, a warrior who fought his way up from the bottom. Although you are not under my command, but I appreciate you. I never beat around the bush, how about it, would you like to make friends with me?"

　　As soon as Lucio entered, the elderly officer sitting behind the desk stood up and walked around the desk toward Lucio.

　　A desk, behind which sat an older man, who appeared to be past his prime, wearing a military uniform, rather than the combat uniforms Lucio and the others were wearing. On the leather couch in front of the desk sat a female officer in camouflage combat uniform, and behind his stood a man and a woman who looked like they should be his lieutenants. The female officer on the couch had short brown hair, blue eyes, wheat skin tone, and was quite pretty. The two adjutants, the female is a white woman, cute and delicate, with a little freckle on the face. The male was a black man, but not very dark, and looked to have Latin American ancestry.

　　Looking around, the south bunker came in face to face with a wall, flanked by stairs going up, and nothing else. He could only go up the stairs and reach the second floor. The second floor is an empty hall, the outer fence is open gun holes, there are a few soldiers carrying rifles on patrol. There was also a table in the corner of the hall with an odd instrument on it that Lucio couldn't quite read. At first he thought it was a radio, but on second thought, he thought it couldn't be, the communication in this world still uses radio, but the instrument shouldn't look so backward.

　　"Lucio, the lieutenant is waiting, please follow me."

　　The mech does not look bulky, with streamlined lines around its body and a camouflage green appearance, which feels very sharp. The company's main business is to provide a wide range of products and services to its customers. The most common type is the Ares I. Any mech soldier who passes the mech combat driving test can own one. This is the first time I've ever seen a new one, and it's not uncommon for them to have a large number of standardized mechs.

　　He looked up at the sky, Griffin base is located in a sparsely vegetated hillock, so there is no tall trees to obscure the view, the sky overhead visible overcast, leaden clouds shrouded. The clouds are not yet greenish gray, with a layer of sulfur yellow, very dirty. Daylight is rare, although the volcanic ash covering the sky has almost dissipated, but because of the climate change, dark clouds and rainy days are always more than sunny days, and the average temperature of the whole world was pulled down by nearly ten degrees. Therefore, although it is now the summer season, the temperature is not very high.

　　The lead mech at the front of the group is not quite the same as the Ares I, mainly because the lines look smoother, and the weapons it carries are also more high-end. Lucio looked it up, and it was the Ares II, a mech only available to lieutenants. The first time I saw it, I was able to get it.

　　He had previously read in the information, because the atmosphere in nature is heavily polluted and full of radiation, humans can only create their own clean air environment. Whether he has not seen the main city of the Federation so far, or now they are located in the Griffin base, there is a hemispherical air filter shield, maintained by a special instrument, not only to filter and purify the air, but also to shield the radiation, to maintain a better living environment. This air cover is not a solid type of filter cover, the specific principle Lucio also do not understand, only know that the rain, snow, wind and sand will still naturally wear down, birds can also be free to travel.

　　Lieutenant Crawford had by now stood up and politely said, "Yes Captain, you take your time."

　　"Report! Lucio has arrived."

　　The female soldier led his through the corridor, brushing past many patrolling soldiers, up the steps at the other end, to the third floor, around a curved corridor, and finally stopped at the office at the end. The female soldier knocked three times on the door and shouted.

　　The older officer was of Russian descent, with a rather conspicuous hawk nose. Although older, but the body is still good, walking tiger, military uniforms are also worn straight, meticulous. Out of his years in the military, Lucio naturally saluted him, and the older officer returned the salute, saying.

　　Lucio has also done his homework about the outer field bases. Lucio has seen the entire map of the Federation, from Siberia in old Russia in the north, to Basho in old Russia in the south, to Mohe in Heilongjiang in old Russia in the east, and to Karaganda in old Kazakhstan in the west. The seven city-states are close to each other, separated by city walls, overlooking as if a huge inverted triangle. This is the motherland of human existence that has taken hundreds of years to establish a foothold.