Eva trailed her fingertips along the front edge of the left wing as she climbed the stairs of her assigned Hornet light fighter, a smile playing on the corners of her lips. It wasn’t a new ship by any means. Fresh welds graced the hull in many places suggesting it had come off second best in some action, and recently. But Eva didn’t care if it was new or not - it was hers and she had a feeling that this ship and her were going to have a lot of time to get acquainted over the coming years.

 

Sitting in the cockpit she began the start-up sequence, sealed the helmet of her flight suit into place and then gazed upwards into the night sky as the cockpit slid smoothly closed above her. The fleet she had been deployed to was up there somewhere being refitted and re-staffed in preparation for a new tour. All she had been told that was she was to leave the planet and land on the Bengal Carrier Retribution and that Higgins and Grissom had been deployed to the same carrier. Higgins had been assigned torpedo bomber assignment while Grissom and Eva had both been assigned to fighter wings.

 

Being first generation pilots, neither Higgins nor Grissom had handles to inherit like Eva had. They had to wait until they were given one by their peers in training. Higgins was named KingHit thanks to the way he had dealt with Bridges in the shooting incident.

 

Grissom’s handle had been decided on the first day of training. Her scream when she thought she was going to be struck by one of the simulators while climbing up the ladder to her own earned her the handle of Piggy, since everyone joked that she squealed like one. Eva was more glad every day that she already had one waiting for her that wasn’t some humiliating joke to everyone who knew the story behind her.

 

Eva flicked on her comms and opened a private channel between the three Hornets sitting on the landing pad, “KingHit, Piggy – this is Valkyrie. Stay tight on my wing and keep things smooth. This is our only chance to make a first impression up there. Let’s make it a good one.”

 

Eva eased her Hornet off the platform and the Gladiator and other Hornet, lifted off to move behind her as they climbed smoothly into the night sky. Breaking atmosphere their new home came into sight in no time. The hulking hull of the carrier Retribution, loomed above them, flanked by battlecruisers and corvettes. Supply ships were steaming in and out of the massive vessels like small trails of ants.

 

“Carrier Retribution, this is Valkyrie, KingHit and Piggy on approach from the planet surface. We are reporting for duty and requesting landing permission.”

 

Almost immediately Eva’s sensor console lit up as the Retribution sent an active scan through all three ships. A moment later a voice spoke through her comms console.

 

“Roger Valkyrie, you are cleared to land. Proceed to the Retribution’s front hangar for landing and briefing.”

Eva led the others in a fly past the length of the carrier from stern to bow, the sheer size of the capital ship dwarfing the Hornets and making the three seem utterly insignificant. As they passed the front of the massive ship Eva led them into a turn to line them up with the main hangar doors, which slid open as they approached. The other two ships pulled out of formation and slid neatly behind Eva’s Hornet, backing up far enough to allow each ship space to enter the hangar and land one after another.

 

The three slipped smoothly through the enormous door and settled down onto the deck. Immediately ground crew were milling around the ships, locking them down and connecting umbilical cords to them. As soon as the three pilots were clear of their vessels, the ships were slid away on large mechanisms and stored. A woman in an engineering suit ushered the three through the mill of activity on the hangar deck and through a door in the far side. Once on the other side of the pressure seal all four took off their helmets. Eva looked at the engineer curiously. There was something familiar about the woman.

 

“Aisling?” Eva asked curiously.

 

“Yes Ma’am, have we met…..” then a look of recognition flashed across her face and she smiled, “I remember you. You told off Jenkins when he… well… back then. Hawkins, right? I mean…. Hawkins, Ma’am?” she corrected herself with a blush.

 

Eva just laughed softly and slapped Aisling on the back, “Just call me Valkyrie, and I don’t ever want to hear you call me Ma’am again, understood?”

 

“Yes M….. I mean, as you wish Valkyrie” Aisling stammered a little, glancing around as if unsure of where she should look. She finally decided on her hands, which she fidgeted with.

 

“So you’re an engineer now? On a Bengal of all things, too. Nice work Aisling!”

 

“Well, trainee engineer. As it turns out I totally suck at piloting ships but as luck with have it I seem to have a knack of fixing them up. The Deck Chief says I have some sixth sense for just knowing what is wrong in a fighter. Hell if I know, it all just seems like common sense to me.”

 

“Well, if you could take a look at my new baby I would appreciate it. She flies straight and true, but she looks like she’s seen better days. I’d consider if a personal favour if you could give her some tender loving care.”

 

“Oh absolutely!” Aisling said with a grin on her face, apparently being quite pleased to be able to do something for Eva, “First though, all pilots are meant to gather in briefing room four. I think you three are the last scheduled to arrive. This way.”

 

Aisling led the trio through a maze of corridors to an elevated hallway that had a window overlooking the hangar deck on one side, and a series of doors into large rooms on the other. Each door was labelled with a number between 1 and 6. She stood next to room 4 and motioned for them to enter. As Eva walked past her she said in a low voice, “She’ll look better by morning, I promise” and then turned on her heel and moved quickly back down the hall.

 

They stepped into a room with dozens of people inside, most of who turned to look at them on arrival but turned away just as quickly. Eva gave the room a quick scan, noticing a mixture of new and experienced pilots and maybe even a few veterans. At the front of the room on an elevated platform stood a man who appeared to be in his thirties dressed in a spotless dress uniform, an impressive line of medals sticked to the left hand side of his chest. He glanced up at Eva and motioned for her to close the door.

 

She gave him a nod and slid the door shut as the man cleared his throat and everyone started taking their seats. Once everyone was seated and had quietened down, he spoke to the room with a strong but polite voice. Immediately he reminded Eva of Commander Stranger.

 

“I hope you all enjoyed your leave while we waited to be refitted for our next tour. I am Lieutenant Commander Wulf, and it is my privilege to be in charge of this squadron. We have some transfers from other fleets here with us, and we have some new pilots fresh out of training that I know you will help find their feet. For those who don’t know me, allow me to bring you up to speed with my command style.”

 

“Firstly, if you have a problem, bring it to my attention. I cannot promise that I will always be able to solve it, but I will do everything in my power to help you with it.”

 

“Secondly, take a good look around. Everyone in this room is now your family. I am sure there will be some playful bickering between you all and as long as it remains playful I will turn a blind eye. If there is trouble from outside this room I expect you ALL to band together and back each other up.”

 

“Thirdly, if any of you do anything brainless that puts yourself or your new family in danger, be it during a mission or not, I will personally strap you to Dizzie’s Hornet and allow her to take you for a joy ride through the nearest asteroid field.”

 

A woman in her mid-twenties towards the front of the room looked out across the room, a cheeky grin on her face. She had black wavy hair that fell well past her shoulders, a round face with olive skin, and intense eyes. Wulf seemed content to let the murmurs run through the room at the moment, allowing word of mouth to explain the meaning behind her handle.

 

Eva overheard someone a row ahead of her say “I’ve heard of her. Apparently she can withstand g-forces at some insane level and is immune to vertigo. There are stories of people throwing up in their helmets before she’s even cleared the hangar doors.”

 

Eva immediately had the feeling that Dizzie and her were going to get along just fine.

 

“Lastly and most importantly,” Wulf finally spoke up over the murmur to quieten everyone down, “The chain of command is this room will be respected at all times. I give orders to each wing’s leader, and they give orders to the pilots. End of story. If you have a suggestion outside of combat, feel free to voice it but make your argument good. Our decisions are always final. Disobeying orders will earn you a one way trip on the Dizzie Express.”

 

“Now, it is time to outline our mission.” The front wall of the room lit up showing a flattened starmap, the words TOP SECRET flashing in red along the bottom. The map zoomed in to a selection of systems, “Pirate elements along the bordering systems near where UEE, Banu and Vanduul territories interact have been joining forces and becoming organised over the last eighteen months. The have pooled their resources and have managed to obtain some heavy firepower.”

 

“We have recently received reports of a large pirate fleet initiating a conflict with the UEE Bengal Carrier Defiance in the Nemo system. Reports from survivors suggest that the carrier was boarded by multiple Caterpillar craft and was captured. Now I’m sure I don’t need to stress the importance of ensuring that a Bengal Carrier never remains in pirate hands.”

 

“Our objective is clear. We are to locate the Defiance. If we are unable to re-capture her we are to destroy her beyond recovery. Our fleet will head out in three hours. I suggest you all spend some time getting acquainted. Your wing assignments are posted in your stateroom. Dismissed."

 

NEXT ENTRY: Orientation