At Commander Wulf’s dismissal, everyone rose from their seats. A background noise of murmurs filled the room almost instantly as the majority of the small group of people filed out of the room. Eva, her friends and a couple of others stood still while the rest left the room and then fell into line, having no idea where they were supposed to be going and thinking it best to follow the people who seemed to know.

 

It wasn’t far before they were led into a room a few corridors away from the hangar. As Eva stepped inside she glanced at the door that sat open on its hinges and read “86th Wolfpack” stamped into a label on the door.

The room was relatively small, with six rows of twin bunks to accommodate the twelve pilots of the squadron. In the back wall was another doorway which was opened, and through it Eva saw a showers block.

 

Three of the men and one of the women stood together near the back of the room reading a Glas tablet that was held between them. They would point at the screen and glance up at the group during their brief conversation, but kept their voices low. The rest of the group stood in awkward silence for a few minutes until one of the four spoke.

 

He looked to be in his late thirties of medium height and built. He had short dark hair and a goatee and there was a jagged scar that ran from his left temple, down his cheek to the side of his neck. He looked each person in the eye as he spoke and when he looked at Eva she saw in his eyes a fierce intelligence and focus. When he looked at her she felt as though he could see right through her, easily stripping away the layers of defences she’d built up around herself. A shiver went up her spine.

 

“Welcome to the 86th Wolfpack, pilots. A few of you already know the procedure here but for the rest of you, the Wolfpack is split into four wings of three pilots. I am Lieutenant Ash Carter and I am known as WarTorn. I lead the Wolfpack’s Recon and Intelligence division, Alpha wing. Blinkie and Sybil, it’s good to have you back on my wing again on this tour. Find your bunks.”

 

A man and woman stepped forward and saluted formally, then then smiled broadly at WarTorn and walked to the back of room with him. Eva’s eyes locked onto the man apparently known as Blinkie. She wondered how she hadn’t noticed him before. He had medium length dark hair that sat in natural soft waves on his head. Clear blue eyes were framed by a face with a strong jawline and he had an impressive physique that was not overly bulky, but was obviously stronger than the average man. She caught herself gazing at him for long moments as they tossed their bags onto their bunks and started talking among themselves with familiarity. She shook her head minutely and bringing herself back to the present and refocused her attention back to the task at hand.

 

Next, a short stocky man stepped forwards. What he lacked in height he made up for in sheer brute strength. His biceps strained the sleeves of his shirt and he stood with his feet planted firmly on the floor, shoulders straight and back pushing out his impressive chest.

 

“Lieutenant Simon Johnson. DemolitionMan but you can call me DemoMan if you find it easier. I head up the bombers of Beta wing. Where Alpha is the eyes and the brain of the squadron, we are the sledgehammer that will save all of your arses when you come up against something that’s too big for you to take down yourselves. DirtDive, you’re with me again. Ensign Joshua Higgins, you’re with me too.”

 

Eva smiled over at Higgins and he nodded back to her, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. It was obvious before they got to the fleet that he would end up in a bomber wing, having being assigned a Gladiator to fly up here.

 

Higgins joined DemoMan and a similarly strong-looking woman and shook the hands of his new teammates, before the three of them moved to their bunks. Next, the woman stepped forward. She was tiny, no taller than DemoMan, but instead of his strong physique she was thin. She looked like she was in her early thirties and wondered how often this woman had been mistaken for a child in her early twenties.

 

“I am Lieutenant Jasmine Matthews, nicknamed Grommet for obvious reasons.” She craned her neck up and stood up on her toes for a moment trying to make herself look taller with a grin on her face which brought a soft laugh from the remaining recruits. “The Gamma fighter wing is my baby. Lieutenant Junior Grade Alex Perkins, Ensign Roselyn Grissom, you’re on my wing.”

 

That left Eva standing next to Dizzie and one wing lead left. He walked up to the two women and offered them a smile. The man had pale skin and hair so blonde it was practically white. He reached out and shook Dizzie’s hand “Good to have you back, Diz.”

 

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, Sir” Dizzie replied offering him the same grin she had shown back at the briefing room when the Wulf had issued his ‘Dizzie Express’ ultimatums.

 

The man then turned to face Eva, the smile staying, “And you must be Evangeline Hawkins. I am told that you are known as Valkyrie. We’ll find out how well you live up to that in time, I suppose. Welcome to Delta wing. I’m Rob Daniels but everyone calls me Snowy. Original, huh?” He shook Eva’s hand firmly and led the two to the remaining bunks.

 

Eva swung her bag onto the lower bunk, letting Dizzie have the often preferred top bunk without argument. As she rolled onto the thin firm mattress Dizzie looked at her uniform insignia properly for the first time, her eyes widening a little, “Didn’t you just come out of training?” she asked.

 

Eva nodded back, stretching a little and wriggling into the bunk, trying to get comfortable.

 

“Wow, and Lieutenant Junior Grade already? You must have impressed someone down there. I can’t wait to see how you did that when we go out.”

 

“I’ll try not to disappoint.” Eva offered a smile, “And I hope to see for myself if the rumours about your piloting agility are warranted.

 

At that moment Perkins walked past and gave Dizzie a playful slap on the backside. “Good to see you again, Tia.” he said to her and kept walking, heading towards the door. Dizzie’s eyes flashed and her jaw tightened noticeably, and Eva was out of her bunk immediately, her eyes glaring at Perkins, who turned to face her with a look of amusement on his face.

 

“Fuck off, Alex.” Dizzie glowered over her shoulder, not bothering to turn and face the man properly. She eyed Eva and shook her head and after Perkins had left and with a shrug she said to Eva, “He’s not worth it. I made the mistake of getting drunk while on leave and waking up in that one’s bed. He was sniffing after some other girl before breakfast. Stay away from that one, Valkyrie. They don’t call him Rabbit without good reason it seems.”

 

Eva regarded at Dizzie for some time but then finally nodded and settled back into her bunk, making a mental note to ensure that Rabbit’s eyes stayed above her shoulders in the showers, and promising herself she’d teach him a lesson he wouldn’t soon forget if she caught them looking elsewhere.

 

Snowy rounded the bunks at that moment and looked at the two. Eva stood out of her bunk quickly and moved to stand next to Dizzie as he spoke, “I don’t know what that was about, Diz. I know better than to get involved in your personal business but if things get out of hand I expect you to come and see me, understood?”

 

Dizzie nodded and replied, “Thank you Sir, but everything is under control. As a worst case scenario I’ll trick him into an Avenger and take him for the ride of his life so disorienting he won’t be able to walk straight for a week.” To accentuate her meaning she held up one hand as if it was a ship and twisted and turned it in violent turns and loops.

 

That seemed to satisfy Snowy, who nodded and referred to his MobiGlas, “We’re up for the patrol once we reach the Ellis system, so you have some time to get settled before you have to do anything. I suggest you spend the time getting to know your way around and getting some sleep. Diz, show our new partner the ropes.”

 

Both Dizzie and Eva saluted, Dizzie a little more casually than Eva, and Snowy nodded and walked away heading back towards the rear of the room where he started talking with WarTorn.

 

“Come on,” Dizzie stepped towards the entry to the stateroom, “Let’s go for a walk. I show give you the grand tour.”

 

The two walked through the maze of hallways, Eva glancing back every now and then and sideways down hallways as the passed junctions, “How do you not get lost in here?” she asked incredulously.

 

“It’s not so bad once you get used to it,” Dizzie replied, “Most of the ship is laid out in a big grid. Each corridor is a line of the grid. Each intersection is signposted with the number of the grid junction you’re at, see?” She pointed up as they walked through another junction and Eva spotted the signs riveted to the walls beside each doorway of the junction, nodding.

 

“As long as you know where on the grid you need to get, you can use these numbers to get anywhere. Ahh here we are, the mess hall.” Dizzie turned right and through a doorway and Eva followed, stepping into a large room that held the aroma of Navy food. It always gave Eva mixed feelings. The food was nourishing and always filled the stomach but flavour and smell wasn’t particularly inviting, so it always brought on a strange mixture of hunger and revulsion at the same time.

 

Across the room waiting in line was Rabbit. He saw the two enter and flashed a lecherous smile. Dizzie seemed to ignore him but Eva fixed him with a glare which seemed to serve no purpose but to earn a wink from him before he turned his head back in front of him as the line moved and the person behind him gave him a nudge forwards.

 

“Let’s get something to eat,” Dizzie was saying, “And then I can show you the other places you need to know.”

 

NEXT ENTRY: Milk Run