"Looks like it got
little hot out there, sir!" The mechanic looked over the nearly dead
Hornet, while Honeybee hopped out of it.
"At least you made it
back alive." He cursed under his breath and turned to the mechanic, his
nametag reading Johnson.
"Damn right! Four of
them jumped me while I was on recon! They said this system was clean..."
Johnson stepped back, taken by surprise.
"It's okay, he won't
bite." Meg walked over while her fighter was being taken care of. Soon
their ships were moved out of the way for Rick's Scimm. Soon he was making his
landing on the flight line.
"Rick, you're
back!" Johnson popped the canopy open, as Rick took off his helmet. He
looked down at the three below him.
"Yea, I'm back. Nothing
to hard to handle." He smiled, considering his luck.
"Those Kilrathi light
fighters fall apart too easy! Amazing they're still around..." He got
down, Johnson looking down the flightline to the left.
"He'll be wanting you
soon." Rick nodded, as several more mechanics started moving his Scimitar
out of the way.
"Thanks Johnson, take
care of it. Took a hit or two." He took a last look at it; he depended on
it with his life nearly every day. It didn't disappoint.
"Eyven, Covan, how are
you two? Thanks for getting me out of there." The two looked over at
Honeybee.
"Rokain...Pretty good.
So they're in the Enyo system." Honey took a look at Meg.
"Yeah, pretty tough
little shits too, they wasted my Hornet...Lucky they left me for dead!" He
sighed.
"I almost ran away
after I took one though, don't know how you two could stand the Mud Pigs!
They're too slow!" He looked at Rick.
"But I heard you made a
ace from Meg. Good job."
"Yea, thanks..."
The three walked over, looking for the commander.
Rick was twenty-four, a
first lieutenant since no one else was fit to. He had dark brown hair and eyes,
six feet tall. He was pretty fresh from academy; he had been working the
smaller, less hostile systems.
Maegen was more
distinguished in character then her friend. As she took off her helmet, she
reveled her brown hair that went past her shoulders. Her eyes the same as
Rick's, she was a foot shorter. He was somewhat pale compared to her; her skin
had a healthy tan. To anyone else she was drop-dead gorgeous; to Rick she was
just his best friend. They had known each other for years, they joined up
together. At first they wanted to fly Raptors, but found themselves in the Mud
Pigs. She was two years younger, had a name to keep known. The Covans had a
record of fighter pilots, her proud French heritage shone thru her uniform.
Rokain was simple in
comparison. A Hornet pilot, blonde hair and brown eyes. A feisty one,
especially for picking fights with four other fighters. Amazing he was still
alive.
The three found their commander,
the man that was waiting for them.
"Delta, Swordblade,
good work out there today. Excellent search and rescue mission, even with the
hostiles." The two nodded, while Mollo looked over at Rokain.
"But it was almost a
search and recovery. Honeybee, you should have contacted us first! We could of
avoided this..."
"Sorry sir. I will next
time." He looked down under Mollo's icy glare.
"Well,
anyways...Honeybee and Swordblade got one kill each, Delta, you got two.
Congrats on your first ace." Rick nodded and smiled.
"Thanks sir."
"You're welcome.
Dismissed."
One hour later Rick was in
the lounge, or the small room that passed off for one at least. He grabbed his
lighter, trying to light up a cigar, finding it out of gas. He put it away,
seeing the chalkboard:
|
Pilot: Sorties: Kills: |
|
Hell's Unicorns
(Scimitars) |
|
Delta 11 5 |
|
Swordblade 11 4 |
|
Pilgrim 7 3 |
|
Valentine 7 2 |
|
|
|
Honshu Hornets (Hornets) |
|
Artimis 13 5 |
|
Honeybee 8 3 |
He looked at his position, the
top Scimitar pilot in the group...Except they were all rookies...
He grabbed an iced beer,
seeing Artimis by herself, staring out the window. He hadn't even noticed her
when he walked in...She was a loner by nature, didn't really get along with
people, didn't know how to, at least...It seemed she hated him, even though he
didn't know her she always gave him an odd or a uneasy look when he went by
her, made him feel uneasy...Except this time, she was frowning at him, like she
wanted someone to talk to. Nervously he pulled up a seat next to
her...Startling her.
"...Hi Allison."
She trembled with fear, trying to talk. She was horribly shy.
"Oh, hi..." He
nodded, as she tried to force a smile.
"Feeling okay? Or is
there something wrong?" He couldn't tell, she let out a sigh.
"I'm sorry, I'm
shy..." She looked down, Rick moved closer to her.
"You don't have to be
Alli..." She looked over at him, confused.
"Why wouldn't I have
to? People don't like me..." He frowned, shaking his head.
"I don't, you're nice
from what I can tell..." She looked at him, shocked.
"..." She couldn't
speak; she was just amazed.
"Do you need
something?" She looked at him, considering his offer...Nodding and then
hugging him. He looked at her as she buried her head in his shoulder, returning
it, the two holding onto each other for a long time.
"Thanks...It's just
hard for me..."
"No problem, I'm
here." She looked and smiled at him, this time a real smile...She finally
found a friend.
Allison was 23, a bit taller
then Meg. She had dark hair with blonde highlights, light brown eyes. She was
rather quiet, almost afraid of people. It was said that she had lost some
family members during a Kilrathi raid, nobody knew for sure since she didn't
talk. It took some effort to get her to...But she was great behind the control
stick.
"So...Think we'll run
into anything out there?" She stared out the window, the stars lazily
passing by. Rick nodded and drank some of his beer.
"Me and Swordblade
already did. That's why Honeybee got held up." She looked at him and
smiled.
"Great...Time to get
some more kitty paws to paint on my Hornet." She considered it, getting
excited, Rick confused at the sudden change of character.
"I bet this means more
recon missions before the rest of the ships get here...Did you hear about that
new Bengal-class ship, the Tiger's Claw? It's supposed to be here with the four
other Exeters supposed to jump in!" She had stars in her eyes, Rick
noticing her enthusiasm.
"I heard something
about it. Seems like it'd be fun to be on, instead of this little Exeter.
Suppose they have Raptors on there? They're lots of fun to fly." Rick
thought about the Raptors he joined to fly, they were loaded when it came to
weapons and were pretty fast...Still he preferred the Scimm.
"Nothing but the best,
Rick! Even the pilots are good...The best has around forty kills or so."
They looked at each other and nodded.
"...I can't wait to fly
again..." Rick closed his eyes, sitting back.
"Me either Allison...I
guess..." He drank down the rest of his beer as she watched on.
"Yeah, I love to
fly...But I guess I'm going to bed now, I'm tired...See you around Rick."
She looked at him.
"Goodnight
Allison." As she started to get up, she turned to him, a little tear in
her eye.
"And Rick...Thanks for
talking to me." He looked at her, smiling.
"You're welcome
Alli...Anytime you want to talk, come ask me." She stopped, staring at
him, then coming back for an embrace.
"Oh, thank you..."
He nodded at her as they hugged, watching her as she left.
Rick stared out at the stars
after she was gone. He was alone now, in a way he was like Allison. Several
minutes passed by, just staring out the window.
I'll come back to you,
someday...I love you...
He stood up, looking out at
the stars one last time before he left. The rec room was empty.
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