May 15th, 2295 UNPC universal calendar.
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William Kiesel, the UNPC's director stood behind Anton, who had politely bent his knees slightly, and with the director stretching, successfully put the medal around his neck as he held his helmet in his hand.
"Son, you have more medals than I thought they even made." The director muttered into his ear.
"Thank you, sir" Anton replied, keeping his tone hushed.
The UNPC cross, a largely unadorned gunmetal grey fixture, bearing the vague shape of the American Navy cross with a light blue left facing eagle perched atop it, and "UNPC" below it in light blue text with a black border hung heavily around his neck as he turned to face the group in the auditorium.
They clapped for a moment, and he caught the eye of Sarah and Kate, who stood in their own armor with their medals adorning their chestplate, Kate's white cloak making her stand out in the crowd. Just as Anton cracked a smile, the director turned to address everyone.
"Please join me in receiving this blessing as we depart." He said, everyone bowing their heads in response.
"Most holy god, thank you for this man who inspires and challenges us to extraordinary acts of service, may each of us dare to follow the examples of this warrior in the face of seemingly insurmountable moments of danger and crisis, and be like them in kind. Bless Colonel Schultz, as the name of this warrior is forever etched into our coalitions proud history. May his legacy be the true north for us to seek, and may we all strive to be strong and courageous in the face of the myriad of challenges that life may bring our way. Keep the lamp of liberty burning bright, and our coalition strong. It is in your holy and mighty name I pray, amen." He said, his head bowed.
All of the augments in the room stood still, not bowing their heads, but staring forward at something only they could see.
"Amen" the room echoed, the augments staying silent.
"This concludes the ceremony." Director Kiesel said before nodding downwards.
The room clapped for a moment, before dying down and everyone besides director Kiesel, Anton, Kate, and Sarah leaving.
The two walked up to him and smiled, their helmets held in their hands as Tim "B1" Wright moved to meet Kiesel, his utilitarian largely unadorned armor bearing multiple cracks and craters from heavy use. He was on bodyguard duty, and carrying all of his gear.
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Terror let it be seen that he admired the medal around Anton's neck with his soulless green eyes, and regarded him with a almost imperceptible downwards nod before turning to follow Kiesel who was leaving the stage.
"Looks good on you" Kate said with a smile as she lifted the medal with the tips of her pointer and middle finger, running the thumb grip pad of her gauntlet's glove across the front of it.
"Thanks honey" Anton replied, taking her wrist in his right hand and rubbing his thumb against her gauntlet in a loving gesture.
"It does look very good on you" A familiar voice said behind them all, each of them turning to look.
"Thank you Doctor Raine" Anton said, "and thank you for putting me back together."
"That was a pain in the ass" Dr.Raine replied, glaring at him. "But, seeing the relief on their faces made up for it" Dr.Raine said, smiling.
"I'm still getting acclimated to my new birthday suit" Anton said, "little weird having different skin."
"You will get used to it, we spent a lot of time getting it right" Dr.Raine told him. "We had particular difficulty with your face"
Anton grinned. "This thing just keeps the front of my skull warm" he said, pointing towards his face.
"Well, I would've elected to keep it the way it was, but your two companions would've had, should we say 'issues' with your appearance going forward." Dr.Raine said, still smirking.
"Armor sure is pretty" Anton said, looking down at his ECA plates, which were now largely purple and violet with dark blue streaks, caused by his armor's external temperature being heated to 520 degrees fahrenheit, with the single hotspot of his rear main plate being a grey green color, as it was heated to 620 degrees as he overheated the cold cells powering his armor.
"You certainly look good in the color, but I have one thing to give you" Dr.Raine said, motioning over a UNPC Marine who was standing near the rear exit, holding a large black plastic case.
They walked over, and presented the case to Dr.Raine, who took it and handed it to Anton.
"Open it" Dr.Raine instructed him.
He did, and found a brand new cloak, with the appearance of thick woven wool, but completely opaque with a slick polyester type material underneath the outer weave.
"It's identical to hers in function, but more robust with a Aramid weave, allowing it to stop most projectiles and shrapnel, it's also insulating, decreasing its thermal profile." She said as he picked the mass up, taking it out of the case, handing it back to the UNPC Marine.
She smiled as he affixed it to the clips just under the rear shoulder portion of his rear main plate.
"You can set it to any color or camouflage you desire, but I presume you will keep it black." She said as he set it right, mimicking the one he'd lost.
"You look damn good wearing all that." Kate said, looking him up and down.
"Besides the jingle jangle, pretty good." Sarah added.
"If you threw a bucket of change down a stairwell you'd get the same effect." Kate nodded.
"I'm glad you guys equate every one of my medals to pocket change." Anton smiled, making Dr.Raine snicker.
"C'mon piggybank, we've got things to do." Kate said turning and walking towards the exit.
"Go on" Dr.Raine smiled, nodding her head towards Kate. "You've earned your break"
Anton nodded, and walked after Kate, Sarah joining him.
piggybank? really?