Alexis was leaning against the guard rail of the catwalk, just watching the interactions below. To Marquis, bonding had a huge place in her heart; having started her combat career with the disdain of her entire squad. She smiled to see they were taking to the rookie well. Alexis remained quiet, a part of her wondering how long it'd take for one of them to notice her just floating above them lazily. The thought put a small smirk on her face.

Surely enough, the element of surprise didn't last forever as McKnight pointed her out. She chuckled quietly and then looked to Sokolov as he complained about his pay grade, "Duly noted, Sokolov. I'll put in the request for a raise to the High Commander." she teased. Alexis received a 'dammit...' look from Sokolov, eliciting a grin from the good captain. She started to take to the stairs to get to the flight deck of the hangar, overhearing McKnight call for a combat inspection. It made Alexis wonder if she could condition the crew to run the ship themselves, and command just by presence alone; it sure as hell worked with the 7th if not all of the 101st.

As the squad parted, Alexis heard Astelion explode, seemingly uncaring of the fact the captain of the ship was in the same area. She watched McKnight handle it, offering him a smile and nod in thanks that she didn't need to come over there. Captain Marquis decided to start with Trapp as he gave away the secret of her fear smelling abilities. She walked up to him with a grin, "Now why would you go and tell the rookie that?" she whispered to him, "That was to play a part in my mystique. I'm tempted to serve out potato skinning duty." she paused, "Just joking."

With a laugh, Alexis strode past Trapp and to his MAS, looking it over. "Hm, seem one of your kill tallies is smudged. Be sure to sharpen that one up, commander."

She walked back to face Trapp and opened up the systems diagnostics for his MAS. She looked it over, "Looks good, carry on, Lieutenant Commander." she would salute him in response and move on to the next.

Alexis went through the squad, whispering some sort of comradely small talk to each of them all the way down the line until she reached their new recruit. She locked her eyes on the newbie, intent of carrying out the joke that Trapp had set up. Her face was as stern as a hardened admiral. Her stance was rigid and her movements were purposeful. "Second Lieutenant." she started stern but then grinned and couldn't help but chuckle a bit, "Welcome aboard the Abraham Lincoln. If you didn't catch McKnight blowing my element of surprise out the window, I'm Captain Marquis. I like your record, I think you'll come to be an invaluable member of the 101st and the 7th." she looked down the line of MAS units and whispered to her, "Don't let their unorthodox attitude discourage you. Try fighting fire with fire. Off the record, I don't come down as hard on the 7th since I want the UEE's best comfortable. That being said, I have a job to do. Make banter with your unit but show respect to everybody like any other officer would expect. This is a military outfit after all. Obey my simple wish and we'll get along just fine."

Marquis looked up at the Astelion and sighed, Tori had become a good friend of her's and Alexis had gone to her from time to time to learn how to get along with the rough and tough 7th. "You've been given a good machine, lieutenant. I hope to see you flourish with it in the future."

Like all of the others before her, she brought up the Astelion's diagnostics and looked it over. She nodded here and there, even raised an eyebrow at a point. "Your report wasn't lying. Most recruits usually get something wrong for their first combat inspection. Seems I wasn't wrong by throwing my name in for your assignment to this unit." She lowered her holopad to her side and came to attention, "Carry on, Williams."

A salute and a step back concluded the inspection. She smiled at William's once more before turning to leave. As she walked back down the line to leave the hangar, she looked at Astelion, "My office in thirty minutes." she says loud enough for the rest of the unit to hear. The captain's golden rule, give respect to get respect.

"Please, no need to be formal with me, Ariana. I am definitely not Nishizumi-sama." Maki replied in fluent Japanese, laughing although her respect for the newbie was increasing after the woman tried to communicate with her in her mother tongue, albeit being obviously out of practice. "Just call me Maki. We'll be fighting alongside each other after all. Knock on my door if you ever need someone to sharpen your skills against, in the ring or simulator." The offer was both an extension of friendship and a helping hand, though Maki would be lying if she denied being curious about the newcomer's skill.

Switching back to English for the non-Japanese speakers, she continued. "I'm a little infamous for not slacking off when it comes to doing my homework. If you need someone to teach you about weaknesses of the Coalition machines or tactics, I'll be glad to share what I know. Or if you just have a craving for something sweet." She chuckled at the last one. "And Gerard here will be more than willing to teach you about every brewery in the sector and their finest drink."

When Trapp called for them to get ready for inspection, Maki flashed a last smile at Ariana before taking her position. "You're part of the 7th now, rookie, don't act like a recruit fresh out of boot camp."

---

The inspection was unremarkable. Maki rarely fudged on the Hellcat's maintenance and upkeep, but Captain Alexis noted the few crumbs of her last Pocky snack in the seams of her cockpit seat and said something about sweets being a childish snack. It was the usual jab at her sweet tooth, but Maki didn't mind. The Captain had a way of forming rapport with her men and allowing for stupid banter was one of them. "Well, ma'am, if you ever want to try the Pocky game with me, I'm more than happy to do so and you can tell me if the game's still childish then." She replied with a grin as the Captain just walked off shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

"Oh, and Nishizumi? You're the second most fearsome woman on this ship next to me, so make sure no one picks on Williams when I'm not watching."

Maki flashed a sweet, innocent smile. "I have no idea what you're talking about, ma'am."

She didn't hear Alexis' reply, but the pilot could have sworn she heard "Sure you don't."

Ah well, it's not like she ever did anything that would be called unprofessional. Pranks were done from time to time, it's not like anyone got hurt. Mostly. Nothing Captain Alexis could prove.

---

When the inspection ended and Maki found herself back at Willams' machine, she winced as the captain called Eric to her office. "Well, we better get him one of those doughnut cushion things for his ass when he gets back." She commented, leaning back with her elbows on the guard rail and a lollipop in her mouth. "That went awright didn't it, Wiwwiams? The Cap can be intimidating but she's friendwy with us as wong as we don't do anwething stupid." She asked, the lollipop preventing her from pronouncing her words clearly.

"C'est magnifique," Gerard said to Ariana with a bright smile, placing a hand on his hip before looking around to Maki. "Come madamoiselle, you make me sound like a common drunkard," he said with a good-natured sigh, "I am a connoisseur of the finer wines...but you are correct about me knowing about almost every brewery where we are stationed." Turning around to Ariana, he gave a small conspiratorial wink and whispered "and a hidden panel in the Marauder has their best vintages too. Come see me if you require a toast, oui?" Clearing his throat, he took a step back. "And like madamoiselle Nishizumi, and like I have said many times before, I will extend my hand in any way shape or form that you require. If you need to acquaint yourself with a melee fighter, feel free to ask me."

No sooner had the words left his mouth that Trapp called them into a parade line. With a relaxed saunter, Delacroix trundled into line besides Nishizumi and McKnight. As Yuuyami look around in confusion, like an adorable little child, behind them, Gerard took a half step back, lightly pressing his palm into her back and driving her forwards ever so gently. Slotting her into place between Wes and Nishizumi, he lightly patted her on the back before petting her on the head once and returning to a impeccable parade salute, a smile still on his face. He didn't really mind the various oddities within their unit, and in fact revelled in them, although some he could possible have turned down. His mind wandered to Wes for a second before it snapped back as Captain Alexis walked down the line. One by one they dismissed themselves back to their units, doing final fine tunes before she arrived. Delacroix was no exception.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Bonjour, Capitaine Marquis," Gerard said as he snapped a crisp salute, his polished boot heels clicking together into an impeccable stance, "or is it bonsoir now?". Waving him to ease and finally relax, Alexis smiled at him. "I trust all is going well, Lieutenant Delacroix?" she said as she approached, her hands clasped behind her back. "Better than I could hope," he replied as he fell in alongside her, approaching the front of the Marauder, "I mean I have comrades, my Marauder and my honour. What more could a man want?". "Thats good," Alexis said with a mischevious smile, "then I trust you'll pay for the damage you did to my dropship then?" Delacroix laughed softly. "Though I may not have the credits, I can think of another way," he said as he split off, clambering up the scaffold into the cockpit. Disappearing inside for a few seconds, there was a soft clanking sound followed by clinking glass. Reappearing with a dark bottle in his hand, he descended once more. "A 2890 Charon Cabernet Sauvignon," he explained as he brushed dust off of its label, "a beautiful smooth, ripe wine with plum and vanilla undertones." Holding the bottle by the neck, he presented it to Alexis. "Made of good old terran style fruits and perfect for those beef and lamb dishes I imagine you take with the top brass, non?" Whenever Alexis needed to curry the favour of a particular general or higher ranking officer, she could usually count on Gerard's help selecting a vintage of wine from his own collection. In return, the other authorities did not know about the hidden panel behind the hatchet equipped with wooden panelling and more than a few wine racks of fine wine.

In response, Alexis lightly flicked his forehead, taking the bottle with the other hand. "While it may be cooked better than what you eat, its still the same low grade beevaile meat that we partake of."
"I refuse to believe that,' Gerard said jokingly as he folded his hands behind his back once more, watching Alexis and her tantalising rear retreat from his view.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You reap what you sow," Gerard said sadly as he flipped the page of his book. Sitting on a crate near Williams' machine, he leaned back against the wall as he reached for the tin mug of coffee he had managed to pry out of his engineer's thermos. The steaming hot, bitter liquid slid awkwardly down his throat as he eyes continued to flick across the page, "and if you sow the wrong thing, the lord grows angry." Pouring himself another cup, he looked up and lifted it only to have it snatched out of his hands by Sokolov. "Thank you tovarishch," he said before slamming it down, leaving a slightly bemused Gerard. "You could have just asked," he said as he took the tin cup back, pouring another cup of hot joe from the thermos. "Haha! But if I asked you would have said yes anyway!" the Russian replied as he bounced down onto the crate beside him. Chuckling as he lifted the cup once more, he looked around. "Last cup of coffee in the hangar, who needs it?"

As the group talked with Ariana, and Nishizumi and Delacroix offered friendly sparring, Alice gave her own playful quip “While I am at your service for whatever you may want, Miss Williams, sparring would be best left to your organic comrades.” To emphasize her point, Alice lightly slammed a fist into her other hand’s palm, the impact creating a soft, resounding thud. After, she let out a distorted but cheerful little giggle. Out of all her vocalizations, her voice flanged and echoed the most for the most emotional; her laughs, sobs, and growls. For some this added to her charm, for others it became uncanny valley.

“But still, don’t be afraid to ask if you’d like to, for example, play a game. Ah, don’t tell my engineers, but I keep a small collection of games under their noses. And by that I mean I have a private hiding spot for them. If they were actually held under their noses, they would undoubtedly be discovered.”

Alice still had troubles with idioms and metaphors, at least until they were explained to her. She had overheard this one not long ago and asked Delacroix about it, who explained the connection. This was the first time she used this one, and she hoped she had used it correctly.

As soon as Trapp gave the order, Alice instantly found her way to her spot of the parade line and stood at attention, and saluted Captain Marquis when she was on deck, as protocol demanded.. Once dismissed, she went back to her machine like the others.

-------------------------------------------------------

At Captain Marquis’s arrival, Alice smiled and saluted. She opened her mouth to speak, but was set aside by her technicians, who began explaining the state of Alice and her Eagle instead. Her smile becoming a frown, she looked down in resignation. Alexis noticed this and without a word, pushed the lead technician to the side and approached Alice. Resting a reassuring hand on her shoulder and giving a smile, she asked her

“Why don’t you tell me about your MAS, Alice? And more importantly, how are you?”

When her surprise subsided, Alice returned with her own smile.

“O-Of course, Captain Marquis! My body and the Eagle are performing at optimal levels.”

“That’s good to know, but I was asking about you specifically, Alice. I’m aware that you knew about Williams inheriting the Astelion.”

“Oh...yes, I apologize, Captain. Ms. Astelion’s death has affected me as well, but I promise not to let it affect me on the battlefield. And I must admit, I am excited to welcome Ms. Williams to the team.”

“I understand, Alice. Do make sure Williams adjusts well to the 7th. And also, if you’re going to snoop around, make sure you don’t get caught.”, With a last salute and a wink, Alexis left to continue inspections.

“Yes, Captain Marquis!”

-------------------------------------------------------

After her inspection, Alice plopped down on the floor near the Astelion along with Delacroix and Nishizumi, playing around with something on her datapad. She watched with a small frown as Eric left to Marquis’s office. She couldn’t blame him for his grief, but at the same time, how he treated the new recruit was entirely unacceptable. She couldn’t help letting out a small giggle at Nishizumi’s joke and her speaking with a lollipop in her mouth.

“Ms. Nishizumi, it’s hard to understand you when you talk with candy in your mouth.”

A scoffing sound was heard as Wes stepped behind Alice as she applied a critical hit to the air. He waited until she finished speaking before clearing his own throat. "Don't listen to those two amateurs, rookie," he said with a grin. "Frenchies are all cowards at heart, and robots don't have any passion to the talent. Those Japs are decent and all, but they can't do much without katanas," he said as he continued, being blatantly racist and insensitive, but speaking with a joking undertone.

"Closest most of you have been to infantry is flying over their heads and hearing their cheers. Nunna you know what combat is other than sitting comfortable in your pilot seat. All I'm saying is listen to the man who's actually killed another man with his two hands, not through metallic ones." Wes shut his eyes and nodded, rigid in his belief. "I could whip your ass in hand to hand, Delacroix. Hell, I might succeed if both you and Alice came at me at once." He was bragging, but not wholly. Wes was damn confident in his skills

Wes might not have been the fastest or quickest, but he had the endurance and strength of an ox. That was the key in boxing, the ability to last longer and keep on punching more than your opponent. The only thing he was unsure about was Alice. She was a robot, she didn't need to pause or rest or respond to pain. That combined with her speed and faster than normal reflexes made for an unfair fight.

He hid a sigh as they saluted, returning to his machine all the while calculating a plan of how he could kill them both if he were in a situation like that.

---

"I'm gonna be docked a ton, aren't I, Cap'n?" Wes asked, holding a porno mag behind his back as Captain Marquis examined his machine. Contrary to earlier descriptions, the inside of it was actually messy as hell in the eyes of another person. There was an inch or two of litter on the bottom floor, a few crushed beer cans sat with liquid still in them. A poster with a buxom woman was tacked onto the upper dash. "I swear, it didn't look like this earlier, Ma'am. Some aliens came in and trashed the place."

She looked at him with incredulity and then a bit of disgust as she picked up the remains of what appeared to be a turkey dinner. "Wes, why the hell do I even come up here anymore? It gets worse every single time," she said with a sigh.

"Not sure, Ma'am. To be honest you're fighting a losing battle." He scooped over to pick up the drumstick she had dropped, looking at its day old appearance for a moment before deciding to take a large bite.

She stared for a few moments before sighing again. "You know what, Wes? Fine. Your machine appears to be running fine, do whatever the hell you'd like to with the interior." She paused before glancing at the poster. "And we both know the August edition is the best, Junior Lieutenant," she said with a joking tone as she left.

He saluted and grinned, the drumstick still in his mouth.

---

Walking back towards the group, he spied the last cup of coffee, snatching it out of Delacroix' hands and beginning to take a deep gulp. When he finished he let out a sigh. "Nothing'll ever beat Coffee. Though, I will have to say. They don't make it quite as interesting as the stuff that came in field rations, don't they?"

Looking deep into the mug, he spoke again. "Worst coffee I ever had, ration coffee."

Even if Tom had an interest in chatting up the rookie, it took him until the inspection was called just to get his stupid machine in fighting order. It didn't matter how many times he saved the profile in the optimization suite or explained to them what he was doing, they still would insist on cocking it all up and he'd still have to redo it. As he settled into line and hopped out of his kneeling MAS to the floor for his inspection, he snapped into a perfect salute when the Captain neared his unit.

They were old hands at this now, he and Alexis. She'd walk up and go through his machine, he'd stand there and wait for her to come back and call him boring, he'd smile and admit that he was and she'd walk on. A bit of banter now and then, but compared to the rest of the squad he was easy. He ate like a bird at the best of times and not in his MAS except during prolonged operations, he didn't keep contraband in the unit--not like there was room--he didn't worry about pictures of naked women...

"Sometimes I think you're more of a machine than Alice, Lieutenant."

Heading down from the cabin with surprising agility, the Captain eyed him up the same way she always did and he smiled the same way he always did, easing from attention at a dismissive wave--they were almost passed formalities at this point. He was surprised she bothered to check.

"You know me, Captain. Bigger fish to fry."

"Someday I'm going to find something deeply disturbing in there." She chuckled, eyeing him in faux-appraisal. "A secret stash of kinky holo-vids, a dead hooker... I should start a betting pool. 'What does Mr. Wizard stash in his MAS when no one's looking'."

"You sure you want to know?" He couldn't help the slight edge of sly that crept into his smile. She had a way with people, he had to give her that--it was a rare person that could illicit any real reaction from the pilot that wasn't intended. A good leader, then--Tori Astelion had been the same way. In all the time she'd been Captain of the kind of ship children dreamed of commanding, he'd never doubted her at the helm.

"Absolutely not." A genuine laugh out of her, even.

"Thank you, ma'am." Snapping to attention, heels clicked together, he chuckled slightly as she shook her head again and stalked off to her next victim.

"And tally those kills, Lieutenant! Show some pride!"

It was her usual admonishment, barked over her shoulder without looking--one of the few orders he didn't follow and never would, but it made him smile to hear it.

-----

As soon as she was gone and they were dismissed he was snapping out a cigarette, the casual motion almost automatic. Everyone knew he smoked like a chimney, the running joke being that he breathed more tar than air. Nobody lives forever, he'd say with a quirked smile as someone shook their head, but just in case. Astelion was getting chewed out, but what was surprising about that? The Captain was a bear when it came to her charges, even among themselves. Making his way to his comrades, a grey sheet sliding past his lips up his face, he settled in almost as silently as Alice while Wes reminisced about the joys of infantry coffee.

"Never did get used to the stuff." He piped up idly, breathing over his shoulder as he ashed. "Figured by the time I'm drinking more cream and sugar than coffee I might as well stop pretending I like it. But knock it back, cowboy, money's on a long day."

Yuuyami gave a thankful smile, as she was gently pushed into her position in the parade line. It wasn't that she was unprofessional, or nothing like a soldier thrown into war directly from boot camp. She was just busy with the technical aspects. At least that was the joke of an excuse she had come up with. Although a little late, she managed to stand in the same stance as the others, but from the way the Captain had glanced at her, it seemed that her carelessness was easily spotted.

-----------------

The inspection of her MAS probably stood with a bit of headache for the Captain, although Yuuyami suspected that she was starting to understand what should and shouldn't be there. Gratned, the inside might actually look like a deathtrap, with what appears to be a matte black sphere with numerous wires sticking from every which way outwards, the metallic filament visible at the tips.

"I find it hard to believe that it would be comfortable sitting around a web of exposed wires and adapters, despite your finesse in engineering."

Yuuyami smiled while cheerfully interjecting with, "But it makes for a much more home-like feel to it!", with absolute honesty. In comparison to any place that she has been in, give the woman an hour, and the place would resemble the exposed hatch of the EW center.

"Just be careful. Oh, and one more thing. Don't let me catch you trying to fine-tune the Lincoln's reactors without authorization."

With that parting remark, Yuuyami could only glance off to the side, while muttering quietly to herself, although still loud enough to be heard, "Fine~ I'll play with the comms next time~"

---------------

Joining up with the rest of the team, Yuuyami only tilted her head slightly in confusion, a little lost when the nostalgic memories about the infantry were brought up. At least, it seemed nostalgic, since she never had that experience. "Coffee....we substituted water for that when trying to finish a design by a deadline...Is there any difference in taste between coffees?", she innocently ask, as she sat herself beside Delacroix, before leaning back against the crate the French was using as a seat.

In the inspection line, Ari watched the Captain go down the line. To each member of the squad, she said something, some form of inside joke or other such line that told of their lengthy association. To a great many of them, based on what she could hear, it was all in good fun. Then, however, the Captain got to her. Though, at first, the Captain seemed like she'd be delivering a formal introduction, that quickly devolved. It seemed even the ship captain didn't fool with protocol here. Though, the explanation she gave to providing the UEE's best some comfort did make sense. The way she went over the Astelion made Ari feel incredibly self-conscious, nervous about the mistakes she may have made. However, around the time she was pretty sure she was going to throw up, the Captain complimented her check.

Ari sighed in relief, against her own will, at the release of stress. Then, however, the Captain noted that she'd specifically dropped her name to get Ari, and that sent the stress rocketing right back up. The moment the Captain left, Ari walked over to the Astelion and leaned against its leg. She was nervously toying with her fingers, now worried about disappointing the Captain. If she failed, how would the 7th treat the Captain from now on? What would happen to her career, or Ari's own for that matter?

Just as she began to freak out, the other members of her squad began to amble over, or at least some of them. First came Maki, who was leaning on the nearby guard rail. She mentioned that it wasn't all that bad, and Ari shrugged in reply. She did, however, feel the need to reply to Maki. She was being so nice to her, after all, and after spending a minute again recalling her Japanese, stated

"Yes, I could tell she gives you all good treatment. I'm glad it went so well!" She smiled slightly to herself then, glad she was able to call the language back up so quickly. She had always been an almost religious student, so she was glad it was paying off.

Looking over, she observed Gerard's interactions with Sokolov with mild interest. She was at least a little glad to see her squad mates taking her side, even though Eric had been there longer. It made her feel good to see there were, at the very least, giving her a chance. Then again, the conversation they were having wasn't involving her, so should she join it? Social things were always pretty easy for her, though she was less sure of how to navigate this than the dynamic of a high school. However, her social instincts told her to stay away from it. After all, soon after Wes and then Yuuyami began to join in. They were having their own conversation and that was fine.

Bringing her attention back to Alice, she smiled at Alice's reply. Ari couldn't help the giggle that burst from her lips at the AI's statement. She walked over and said to Alice

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you earlier, Alice, I'm still a little...overwhelmed by all this. I may just take you up on your offer, and maybe I can teach you some things as well." Ari offered this and then tapped her finger to her chin for a moment. What could she teach an advanced military AI, she wondered? It seemed the other members of the squad were doing rather well with her. Then, however, an idea slammed its way into Ari's head. It seemed Alice hadn't done much interacting with those outside the ship, which made sense. So, it stood to reason her civilian interactions had been limited, so she said "It wasn't too long ago that I was a civilian Alice. Maybe we can talk a bit about lives? I want to get to know my teammates, and I'm sure you want to get to know me!"

With that, she realized she was still wearing her normal uniform, and carrying a duffel bag. She rubbed the back of her head, somewhat embarrassed, and realized she'd have to ask for help. After a bit, she put her hand down and twiddled her thumbs as she looked over at Alice. She bit her lip and then managed to say

"Actually Alice...I don't know where you all are bunking, and I need to set my stuff down...so if you could show me where you all sleep, that'd be really helpful."

Alice continued analyzing the deluge of code flowing past on her datapad. It was so...vast. Her engineers always scanned her code, but they didn’t seem to read all of it. They only really looked at the most necessary parts for her continued functioning as a war machine. But this data was more than that, and she desperately wanted to understand it. For a moment she was pulled from her reading to stop to look up at Ari, who was apologizing for earlier. She gave a small, reassuring smile.

“It is quite alright, Ms. Williams. When I first joined the 7th, it was an awkward experience for me as well. The first time I witnessed my teammates break protocol, it was almost like the world was ending!”

At her request to show her to their bunks, her smile grew and she reached behind herself, revealing a small wire connected to her datapad plugged into the jack at the back of her head. She pulled it out, her eyes flashing a gentle blue before she turned off her datapad and quickly hopped to her feet

“I’d enjoy that very much, Ms. Williams!”

Now that she thought of it, Alice was sure Williams is one of the first civilians she’d ever met. Most people she knew had experience with the military prior to their meeting. She was actually very curious about what life was like outside of war. What was it like to not be constantly destroying machines into scrap? And other people as well. War was all she really knew, but she wanted to know what it was like beyond that.

She also thought about family. While the concept of an alliance of individuals based on kinship was a simple one to understand, she wished to understand what it was like to experience such an association. Many people had fathers or mothers, siblings, partners, and all sorts of kin. Sometimes it felt as if the 7th were kind of like her family...

Either way, Ari was the perfect person to ask about these thing. Alice simply loved opportunities to learn new things. As she led Ariana to their teams bunks, to spark conversation, she casually asked.

“So what is civilian life like, Ms. Williams?”

Maki's eye twitched when Yuu mentioned the coffee and electronics. "Did you substitute your fluid intake with coffee... or water used in the design?" She felt the need to clarify, and made a mental note to personally check anything the other Japanese girl created for her Hellcat if it ever happened. "On second thought, I'm not sure I want to know."

Ariana, for the moment, seemed eager to fit in with the group. It was obvious from the fact that she was choosing to speak in Japanese rather than English, although it wasn't necessary. It wasn't like there were still nationalities within the UEE, after all. Different languages were more down to a matter of heritage and culture more than identity. In response to her question about their accommodations, Maki checked her holo pad. "Well, it seems like you've already been sorted and your bunk's next to mine. Come on, I'll show you the way. We can chat on the way." As long as the rookie wanted to speak in her mother tongue, she wasn't complaining. She gestured to Alice to indicate that the android was more than welcome to tag along as well, though Alice hardly needed sleep or a bed.

"Alice, if you're curious all you have to do is make a request to Captain Alexis about tagging along with us if and when we get shore leave." Maki sighed, remembering the AI asking her roughly the same question as well when she first came, though she had told the AI that her own experience wasn't anything to go by. She let the conversation carry on between the other two while leading Ariana to her quarters.

"Here we go, home sweet home." She stopped at Ariana's bunk and opened the door for her. "You can toggle the locking mechanism on the drawers and cabinets so whatever's personal or precious won't be stolen, not that any of the crew would do that, unless you have a lot of snacks like I do."

As the others went about their business, McKnight had returned to his own unit. His MAS, a heavily customized Shrike, stood tall in its cell, its stark white paint contrasting with the rest of the hangar's surroundings. Its head unit was vaguely reminiscent of a medieval knight's helmet, swooping forward, with the top half raised a bit more- similar to a knight's visor. It was a piece of engineering- a superfluous, unnecessary piece of engineering, but given McKnight's callsign as well as his own name, the engineering crew thought it'd be an interesting addition. For added measure, McKnight had the a verse from the UEE soldier's hymm engraved onto the side of the head unit.

Stand side by side, we won't come undone,
For the hands that will carry us home are touched by fate.

Waiting for him at the base of his machine was his crew chief. A serious looking woman dressed in a pair of surprisingly clean mechanic overalls. Of average height and build, the chief's blond hair was meticulously tucked back and out of the way and she had an air of grave seriousness that stood in contrast to several of the other personnel members in the hangar. She gave McKnight a sharp salute as he approached the Shrike.

"Lieutenant." she called out calmly as he approached her. Her hand returned to her side as McKnight returned her salute and walked by, the crew chief quickly following him- datapad in hand.

"Sophia, how goes the Shrike's maintenance?" McKnight asked, turning his attention to information that began scrolling across his datapad as he walked.

"The Shrike is fine." Sophia replied in a prim and proper manner, "Dawks has just finished repairing the last of the Tesla Drive Coils." she added, gesturing towards a mechanic who was sitting on one of the Shrike's 'wings', fiddling with one of its booster units. "I'd advise against overusing the Tesla Drive in the future," Sophia stated, "Drive Coils aren't cheap, we were lucky to be able to resupply so soon after combat."

"Duly noted Chief, shall we prepare for an inspection?"

"Of course sir."

Moving with well-practiced ease Sterling climbed the catwalk that stood beside the large metal machine of state-of-the-art death that he had spent the better part of a year testing and entered the cockpit of the Shrike. A highly customized, sleek modern designed MAS, the cockpit and body of the MAS looked more like that of a fighter jet with its aerodynamic lines. The cockpit's had a well-laid out console that offered easy access to a number of displays and switches. Sliding into the seat, McKnight flipped through the switches required for a cold start up and unit check.

Shortly after his check was complete, Trapp called them all into formation, and the group saluted the Captain as she made small talk with the rest of them. After being dismissed, he, like the others returned to his machine to complete maintenance and to be inspected.



As the Captain approached him, McKnight snapped a salute, and offered her a rare, small smile.

"I trust everything is going well, McKnight?" she asked as she walked up to him and his engineering crew.

"It rarely doesn't" Sterling replied with a cool confidence about himself.

"I'll take your word for it, McKnight." she said with a small chuckle as she looked through the maintenance reports anyway. "McKnight?" she asked offhandedly, "I saw your bout with Astelion, and I can't help but be curious. What's your take on the newbie?"

Sterling's eyes narrowed at this. He was silent for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "Well I can tell you some of the crew don't like it." Sterling said calmly, referring to not only Astelion, but several other members of the crew- from marines to engineering crew- who regularly put their lives in the hand of the Lincoln's MAS pilots.

"Honestly Captain, I don't blame them. We've been pulling nothing but rough assignments since before you were here- respectfully of course. On paper Williams looks very talnted, but hell, you're well aware of the things we've been through, I'm worried we might be signing her up for a death sentence."

With a sigh, Sterling easily changed his serious demeanor to a more casual one, raising his arms above his head and stretching, "I'm saying she'd probably do a lot better on an easier assignment, you know? Let her warm up to combat rather than drop her into the deep end.

"Anyway, null sweat Captain, we'll take care of her. I won't babysit your protege for you, but we take care of our own."



As Delacroix and several of the others finished their inspections, they began to congregate around the crates again, enjoying some coffee while they still had ample amounts- and were still stocked by the nearby station. As McKnight finished his inspection, he began making his way over to the crates as well. On his way, he was joined by Sara Lin, holding two steaming cups of coffee. Offering him one, she winked at him.

"There's a reason Delacroix's thermos ran out of coffee so fast," she said with a nonchalant shrug. Grinning slightly, Sterling casually sipped at the coffee as he and the younger pilot found their way to the rest of them.

"Thanks for the coffee 'Rardy~" Sara teased as she toasted him with her warm cup of coffee.

"You're a sneaky one, zaika" Sokolov said fondly, "Are you sure you're a pilot? Maybe a spy would've been a more suitable job, eh?"

To Shanks, McKnight gestured to him with a cup of coffee. "You really like to complain about ration food, don't you Wes?" McKnight said with a small grin. "Remember the tour in Hafk? We ran out of rations and were stuck out there for 2 weeks."

Alexis stood and watched as the team mingled, and got acquainted with the newcomer. She felt a sort of nostalgia, relating to Ari as she was once in that position. Alexis wasn't within earshot of the group, but she could tell that they were introducing themselves and exploiting the quirks of one another to try and break the ice.

While she quietly watched, Alexis felt a brief vibration at her hip. She pursed her lips, having a feeling she was needed somewhere. The captain took the holopad from her belt. It was a bridge summons. With a long sigh, Alexis ran her hand through her bunned hair and turned to head toward the hot box. She was not in much of a mood to be doing anything in that room, having sat for five hours listening to admirals argue from beginning to end. She exited through the same access she came from.



"Report." Captain Marquis demanded as she entered the bridge in the heart of the Lincoln.

"Fighter Wings ready to go," replied XO Aston calmly, in his ever professional and matter-of-fact manner, "Final refitting is taking place now and should be finishing shortly. Otherwise the Lincoln should be ready to launch."

Alexis maneuvered through the hotbox and onto the CIC platform. It was raised above the rest of the bridge by five feet, giving her an overlook of the whole bridge. She listened to what Aston had to say and nodded slowly. "Good news, then. But there's gotta be more, Aston." she looked over to him, "Otherwise a report that small would've been sent straight to me."

"Admiral Ardin sent the coordinates for the mission location a few minutes ago, I thought you should take a look over our course before we set off." Aston replied cooly, still standing upright, his back rigid and straight, as he followed her to the CIC. "The Engineering Chief down in the reactor room also-"

"Hey! Uh, Captain Marquis..! I think you should take a look at this," interrupted Ensign Cleary, one of the technicians working the long range radar suite.

Alexis glanced at the radar tech and moved to his side, "Where should I be looking, ensign?" she asked, her eyes scanning all parts of the screen, looking for whatever had caught his attention.

The Ensign gulped, but pointed a slightly sweaty finger at a growing dot on the screen, "I'm getting a wierd reading over here, its something big, and its moving pretty fast."

A more experienced technician quickly pushed the ensign out of the way, as he made more space for the Captain to see.

"You idiot," the older technician berated him, "Thats not a 'big thing', its a jump signature..." the technician's voice trailed off and his face grew pale. "A lot of jump signatures..."

The captain raised an eyebrow, "There weren't any advanced warnings of a fleet arriving to berth while I was gone, were there?"

"No Ma'am," Aston replied confidently, "The only fleet being serviced right now is the 5th."

She sighed and looked over to another ensign, "Do we have any probes available for launch?"

"I believe so," Aston replied, "I'll tell the flight deck to-" Aston was suddenly cut off as multiple warnings on the long range radar suite began sounding, the bluish lights of the command bridge changing to red in seconds.



In the emptiness of space, just outside of the Space Dock's range of fire, a huge battleship warped into view, detaching its destroyer escort as soon as it exited light speed. Moments later, several other warships warped into view, releasing their clutch of destroyers as well. Following the larger capital ships were a flight of smaller capital ships and cruisers, which released their clutches of frigates and destroyers as well. The final force was larger than the combined might of the 5th fleet, 2nd fleet, and Cerol's Planetary Defense Fleets. Coalition ships then released their MAS', dozens of tiny specs in the darkness of space, the glint and light from their thrusters made them seem like a swarm of angry fireflies in the distance.

Moments later, the large flagship opened fire.



The Ulysses Station seemed to rock violently as a plasma blast struck it, melting into half a dozen floors and corridors in the tightly packed station hull. While not a spectacularly major hit, it was the preamble to another volley of plasma from the Coalition fleet, several more blasts hitting the station, others sailing off into the distance and hitting other vessels in the UEE fleet. A flight of missiles followed the plasma bolts, a large number being shot down by point defense guns, but a good number still striking the dock and the the fleets.

Red lights and sirens blared across the entirety of the UEE vessels, as they quickly tried to react to the sudden attack. The 2nd and Planetary Defense Fleets sluggishly moved forward to meet the Coalition invasion fleet, deploying their fighters as they attempted to combat the MAS threat that was quickly closing in. The majority of the 5th fleet was still damaged and docked within the shaking arms of the Ulysses, but the ships that were battleworthy made moves to insert themselves into the battle, MAS' deploying from the 5th fleet Carriers to aid the fighters.



Alexis had almost sprinted back to the CIC platform and gripped the guard rails tight as the first plasma blast shook the entire station, also causing the Lincoln to shake. "Emergency launch! Anybody who's not on the ship will need to sit this one out!" she thrummed through her command interface and a large holographic display appeared in front of her. It showed the entire battlespace, with the Ulysses, the 5th and the enemy fleet. A large red spot showed on the gigantic station where the plasma had struck. It was blinking with alerts. "Ready all strike craft and MAS units."

"Fighter wings launching" Aston said calmly, and on the forward viewscreen, a dozen of blue thruster trails could be seen as the Lincoln's fighters deployed around their mothership.

There was a very brief rumble across the ship as it detached from the Ulysses and drifted sideways into a clear launch path. "I need those shields up. Prepare the wave motion gun for firing." her eyes scanned the battlespace, the enemy fleet was huge, she didn't like their chances but dealt with the pieces given to her. "Get the seventh off our ship and into that fight."

On the display, Alexis caught sight of a small group breaking off from the coalition fleet, heading for the Lincoln and the Ulysses. "Helmsman, get us clear of the station." she then got herself on the line with the maintenance crews servicing the MAS units, "Get those units loaded, double time. Arm Delacroix's Marauder and Shanks' Disposal with anti-capital charges. Pilots' choice loadout otherwise."

Then her comm switched to Trapp, "Commander Trapp, I hope you're settled with the position. We've got a battle group headed our way. The seventh is to meet them head on and clear out the MAS escorts. Disposal and Marauder are being loaded with anti-capital charges. The Lincoln will reduce the Coalition cruier's defenses, opening up room for one charge to sink it. The other charge is for the destroyer. You'll be receiving supporting fire from the Lincoln so mind your's and your squad's position, so not to drift into our fire." Alexis paused, "If the charges can't be delivered, have Alice designate the targets for an Armstad strike. Launch when ready, godspeed."

As his squad congregated around one another sharing war stories and the like, Trapp was a couple of feet away leaning against a wall engrossed in a data pad. He was watching a recording of the last real engagement the squad had taken part in, taking off of a MAS cockpit camera. The videos had composed of most of Trapp's free time in the past month or so. Watching each encounter and each battle mentally making note of how each pilot performed in the heat of battle. Just knowing their personalities and their feelings was not enough he needed to know capabilities. Commanding a MAS squadron was a game of trust. Your team needed to trust you and your commands at a moments notice, but at the same time the commander needled to be able to trust in every member of his squad to do their job. He had watched at least twenty battles worth of carnage at this point as the 7th moved through. Trapp had to hand it to Tori, her team moved like a well oiled machine and the late commander's work made his job a lot easier. What bothered him was the Rookie. He had seen her scores and watched her training videos, but he wondered how she would adapt to outside combat. She seemed so naive, so clean and by the books. Could she pull the trigger when it was needed?

Though Trapp never did get to mull over his thoughts for too long. Somewhere a large explosion rocked Ulysses Station causing the Lincoln to shudder. Trapp was jerked to one side and the datapad that he had in his hands fell to the ground and shattered. Trapp's own curse was muffled under the sound of the sirens as the hanger bay became bathed in red light. Another volley hit the station as Trapp ran back over to his squad, leaving the shattered datapad where it was the red light reflecting across the glass casting beams into the air. At first he thought it was something mudane like an ammunition stockpile going up, but as a calm voice came over the speaker announcing battle stations, Trapp's worse fears were confirmed.

"BRACE FOR DISMOUNT!" A voice called through the hanger bay somewhat muffled by the sirens. Trapp grabbed onto a support pillar as the Lincoln rumbled and dislodged itself from the Ulysses, boxes fell over and tools clanked to the ground with metallic clangs adding to the cacophony. While the ship would on most days gracefully disembark today was not one of those days. The boys upstairs most of wanted them out as quickly as possible, probably to engage whatever was trying to kill all of them. Trapp pressed a hand to his ear engaging the communications headset snugly fit into place. He set up a channel to the CIC and spoke with a calm ferocity as his squad looked around expectantly.

"Yes! This is Commander Trapp of the 7th Mobile Armor Suit Team! I need a status report!" Trapp explained and moments later a response came hurriedly down the line. "A Coalition fleet? How in hell did somebody not pick them up warping in?! What? No, I understand that isn't your job! I just need launch permission! I don't care about protocol right now, I need LAUNCH PERMISSION!" Trapp explained getting more annoyed every moment as it seemed that he was having about much success with the person on the other line as one did with striking up a conversation with a brick wall.

Though soon enough another voice cam into his ear this one belonging to the Captain. He almost let out a little dance over how happy he was to her somebody who can actually give him a status report. He listened intently and nodded to himself adding in an occasional yes and understand to make it clear that he was still there. As she finished her broadcast with a final Godspeed Trapp looked at his squad and took a deep breath. Things were about to get very int resting very quickly and it would prove to be their baptism by fire if they succeeded. "Alright, as most of you have already figured out a Coalition fleet has just arrived. They seem to want to blow us up as is expected from them. Which means I want all of you combat ready in under 3! NOW DOUBLE TIME IT PEOPLE!"

Trapp yelled over the sirens and the machinery as the engine crew moved to finish loading up any of their MAS. Trapp shimmed up the ladder to the catwalk like he was born doing it. The sounds all washed away from him and was replaced with a dull hum as he sprinted across the catwalk to where his MAS sat. He jumped over the side and into the seat of the Sentry. His hands moved with a flurried frenzy as the buckles were pulled down that would keep him pinned in his seat, he flipped several switches and soon the Sentry's start up screen flickered to life illuminating the cockpit. After finishing its boot, display screens flickered by and Trapp moved his eyes across them as they whizzed by making sure everything was in order. He let out a breath as everything seemed to be in order. He turned his attention in the southern direction as his hand began to tremble again. It always got worse when he entered the cockpit. The doctors side it was something about nerves and the trauma from the accident. They said it would go away in a week or so. It never did and only seemed to get worse. Not that he would tell anyone, it was his damn head and he could keep it in control. Or that was what he told himself. He clenched his fist hard forcing the arm to go rigid and the trembling to slow.

He looked at the status indicators for the rest of his squad. Several little green arrows lit up as their MAS came online and when the last one did he nodded. All in all it took about two minutes, if the 101st trained anything into its people it was efficiency. Trapp pressed another button turning on the interpersonal broadcast system set up for the squad. He let out a breath and focused himself before announcing clear over the radio.
"7th Sound off!" He waited for the chorus of responses to come back over the radio before speaking again.

"Alright everybody, Guillotine and Brick you guys are going to have some very big bombs. You are going to try and get them to their ships so we can send them back to hell. Alice if for some reason we cannot find a solution, you are to designate the big guns to give em a new one, so stay close to them. Let's try not to have that happen as we will probably not be able to get out of the blast radius in time. Omega, Hatchet and Rabbit you guys stick close to the Lincoln and take out any MAS that come in to try and hit her. Everybody else we are providing close fire support for the Bomb team. Remember people fly or die. " Trapp explained, his switch over to call signs designating that it was now time for business.

"Of course I'm gonna bitch about rations. A happy soldier is a bitching soldier. When they're huddled in small groups with glassy eyes, that's when you know somethings wrong," Wes said as he took another sip of the coffee. "And hell yeah, I remember Haffuk. Hafffkuh. That planet."

Wes chuckled before continuing. "That was some crazy shit, then. Didn't we set up a temporary base inside a restaurant? Best hamburgers I ever had, that place. And then we had those daily food runs, looting houses for fuckin' cereal and ramen." Of course, as soon as Wes began to go for another sip, the whole ship buckled from the impact of a large explosion, the coffee mug splashing all over Wes. "Fackin' god damn it. What the hell?" Wes cried as his face turned into a grimace, the front portion of his wife beater now brown and steaming. He grabbed the bottom of his shirt and wiped his own face. "I liked this damn shirt."

As the 'BRACE FOR DISMOUNT' roared over the speakers, Wes cursed and grabbed onto the heavy crate he was next to. Shit went flying, but fortunately anything weighing more than fifty kilos was good. As their good leader spoke into his earphone, Wes spoke up again. "You think its aliens?" he asked with a heaping platter of sarcasm to his voice, wiggling his fingers to get the point across.

Of course, it was just the plain old Coalition come to play in their sandbox. It was a good thing the seventh liked to share its toys. Wes simply nodded as Tagg explained the whole situation. They were to mount up, ASAP. Wes was just finally glad to get back into the action. While leave was fun and all, there was shit to do on board. He preferred to spend his time fighting instead of simply sleeping like he normally did.

Climbing the ladder, he gave a quick nod to Tark who nodded back, giving a thumbs up to signal that Disposal was ready to go. As he climbed, mechanical arms descended and began attaching the GAW onto Disposal's right arm. The only thing he was pissed about was that it would be a space mission. He hated space missions. No matter how many trials he did, no matter how many missions, he always got sicker than an old dog. There was just something about space that almost made him barf. It didn't stop him from doing his job, but that didn't mean he had to enjoy it. Disposal wasn't too great in space either, it had design more suited for ground, but it did its job.

He scraped the trash out of the way as he sat down in the cockpit, "Hello. My name is RALF and welcome to the B15-7 MK.II Heavy Class MAS," called off through the speakers for the millionth time as screens and lights came on. He gripped the controls, flexing them for a moment before hearing a call off signal. "Brick is good to kick ass," he said as others said their own.

As Tagg finished his little speech, he grunted as an elevator brought him a little present. A Capital-Wrecker. The bomb was about as tall as a man, and fatter than a cow. Disposal's left hand descended to grab the bomb by its handle, bringing it up to the magnetic holder that was on its back. "Aye, aye," Wes said. "But why am I the one with the bomb? I swear its gonna blow up on me. Explosives and me don't fit well, boss."

Alice bit her lip slightly as Ms. Nishizumi joined her and Williams, subtly twiddling her fingers behind her. As she eagerly listened to Williams tell her about her life as a civilian, her discomfort grew at the suggestion of shore leave. She was...ordnance. The military wouldn’t let an asset, a weapon like her out on shore leave sooner than they would let a MAS. While she answered to Trapp or Captain Marquis on the battlefield, in the end she was materiel that belonged to a project authorized by the higher ups of the UEE military. What worried her more what was going to happen when the war ended. It eventually will, and then what?

Weapons aren’t allowed to go on vacation.

When they arrived at Ariana’s bunk, Alice began to open her mouth to say something when she noticed a warning on her entoptic interface. She opened a connection to the Lincoln’s CIC computers, specifically the radar, and began seeing the same thing command was seeing. The Coalition was attacking! Instinctively, she turned to Maki and Ariana and moved to protect them when a blast suddenly shook the Lincoln, and helped her teammates steady themselves when the Lincoln made an emergency launch.

“We’re under attack, we have to get to the hanger! Ms. Williams, you’ll have to continue your stories when we return.”

Quickly she ran with her friends back to the hangar where the rest of the 7th were entering their machines. From there she sprinted to her own, leaping off an empty crate to her MAS, crushing the poor but luckily empty crate, and effortlessly climbing up to her cockpit. While such careless treatment of equipment was not usually in her, now was an emergency! As fast and efficiently as she could, she started the Eagle and connected its interface with her own, making sure all systems were ready for battle. The crate holding the Scorpion opened for her and the Eagle took it into it’s hands. Once she was online, at Trapp’s orders, she eagerly sounded off:

“Alice: online and combat ready!”

She patiently listened to Trapp’s plan as she stocked up on ammo for all her weapons, giving a succinct “Understood, sir.” at her role as a last resort along with Delacroix and Shanks should they fail to deliver the anti-capital charges to their planned destination. While the two were equipped with the charges, Alice gripped her control sticks, and when Brick complained about the burden of having an explosive strapped to his back, she opened up a comm with his MAS and quipped

“Take solace in the fact that explosives fit even worse with the Coalition, that is provided you are capable of getting the charge where it belongs.”

Ari walked along with Maki and Alice towards the bunks, a smile on her face as she witnessed them interact. To see them talk, you'd never suspect Alice was anything but human unless you were paying attention. This resonated with Ari on a level she didn't quite anticipate, however. The almost girlish excitement Alice showed over learning about civilian life was in no way unlike Ari's own excitement to learn about an MAS. In so many ways, the AI was a parallel to the new pilot. Both were learning about new worlds, with very little insight onto what actually lay on the other side. The difference was that Ari would learn more about flying and combat and grow accustomed, but would Alice ever get to truly experience a civilian life? That was an interesting question, and one whose most likely answer was, very sadly, no. So, Ari resolved, Alice would get to experience a civilian life by proxy, though hearing about it through Ari's stories and maybe, just maybe, the AI could feel better about what lay on the other side of the line they held.

"Let's see....where to begin...how about high school? Here's an interesting story, I think. When I was a senior, I was the captain of the girls cross country team, so we ran a bunch of mileage for fun. Crazy right? Anyway, my team mates and I were getting ready for our last meet of the year, a meet is where we'd go race other teams. I'd been crushing on the team captain of the boys team since we were both freshmen, but I'd never got the courage to tell him. Well, all the other girls on my team knew, and since I was the only girls senior they decided to set me up with him now. So, after both our races, I was exhausted from the running. He comes and sits next to me, and puts his hand on my leg. I freak out, because I like him and he's got his hand on my leg really close to my...well"

At this point in the story, Ari blushed and rubbed her hands together, one of her nervous habits. Come to think of it, since Alice is an AI in an android body, how much did she understand about sexuality? Not a great deal, Ari would bet, so how would she explain this story to the AI? That big gave her pause as they kept walking, and she tapped her chin in thought. What was the closest parallel she could draw with Alice? What would an AI have that could possibly compare to having someone so close to your...delicates? After a moment of continued thought, it occurred to her that maybe she could compare it to someone using the computer Alice inhabited.

"Well, imagine if someone like Maki, someone you've been with awhile and really like, is on the keyboard of a computer you are hooked in to, with access to your code. Like, complete access, and all she'd have to do is put in a little effort and she could touch the very core of you. It was sorta like that, except instead of having his hands on a keyboard, it was on my inner thigh..." At this point, they got to the room where they were to sleep, and Ari stopped her story for the moment. As she listened to Maki's story, she smiled a little bigger as the continued exposure to Japanese continually helped her recall it even faster. When her explanation finished, Ari nodded and replied in Japanese, after a bit of thought

"Thank you very much...Maki-san. I appreciate the tips and you showing me to my bed. You've helped me feel very welcome, and I appreciate it. I'm sure such incredibly pilots like you and Alice and Yuuyami aren't eager to work with a rookie. So, I greatly appreciate you treating me well."

With that, Ari set her duffel down next to her bed, resolving to hang up her uniforms and the like soon. It would take a lot of work to get all the way set up here, though thankfully none of her possessions could get her into any trouble with the ship authorities. That was one of the good parts about being fresh from training, she supposed, all her knowledge of the proper protocols was fresh in her mind. Though, in her Advanced Survival courses, protocol had been of little importance. It'd all been about surviving alone in any environment, from deserts to mountain sides, and had been the hardest training for Ari. She shuddered slightly at the memory of having to hunt and kill an animal with a knife and a makeshift bow. It'd been rough training, but she'd come out on top for it. Though, for now, she returned to her story to Alice

"Anyway, Alice, so I was really really nervous about this. I mean, the boy who I was pretty sure I was in love with was so close to me, and we were both sweaty, and I looked really bad. What girl wouldn't be nervous, right? Anyway, I gulped really hard and I gathered all my courage. I decided that, you know, if you only live once, you may as well be brave right? So, I cleared my throat and tugged on the sleeve of his jacket. When he looked me in the eye, I thought I was going to feint, it was so magical! But I didn't, I kept my cool, and I asked him out, and he sa-."

Suddenly, Alice had her body rather close to Ari's own, and the ship shook for some reason. Thankfully, Alice was able to keep her steady, so Ari didn't go toppling to the ground. Then, when Alice spoke...she said they were under attack. "Wait what?!?! So soon?! Oh gosh, oh gosh, I'm not even used to the squad yet! I've not even flow the Astelion! I can't fight, I can't!"

Regardless of this, however, her body didn't wait, and was sprinting alone with Alice. Why, well, sadly that was part of basic training, the body being brave even when the mind didn't feel it. Thankfully for Ari, it didn't take long for her confidence to catch up with her either. After all, she had aced all her courses in training, she was a fantastic pilot. She'd never doubted herself before, not when she fought instructors in the sims, not when she entered into her first survival training, and not when she'd suddenly gone from piloting medium MAS suits to a heavy one for her heavy weapons training. So, if she'd never doubted herself through all of that, why should she doubt herself now?

When they arrived at the hangar, Ari sprinted to the Astelion, waiting where she'd left it. Standing next to it was Schwiss, already forcing the Astelion into a start-up through the diagnostic station. Ari threw over a hasty thumbs up, returned by a sloppy salute, as Ari hopped into the cockpit. The system was already powering up, so all Ari had to do was initiate the OS. As she did so, she heard Trapp's message coming over the COM line. She grinned slightly and sounded off "Lieutenant Williams, ready for combat duty."

As she listened to the briefing that followed, she nodded along. Herself and the Astelion would be part of the covering team it seemed, which made sense. With all the speed its specs indicated it was capable of, she could easily range ahead of the formation. With that speed, she could set up covering positions long before the squad got up. With the added firepower of the cannons, she could serve as a reliable fast attack unit. With a deep calming breath to reassure her residual nervousness, she wrapped her hands about the sticks, and got ready for the first, and no doubt far from the last, combat engagement in her career as an MAS pilot.

Maki smiled as she listened to Ariana's story, and nodded when she ended it with an acknowledgement of her rookie status. "We all have to start somewhere. The odds are more stacked against you than they are for me." She stated flatly, blunt and honest. It was true - most of them had started their careers in fairly simple roles, compared to being a pilot in the 7th. Even Wes, who started out in the infantry, had to have an easier time jumping into a MAS cockpit for the first time than Ariana did.

As the sirens blared and Alice barked out her warning, Maki snapped into her combat mode almost immediately. "Fuck! Here?" She cursed as Captain Alexis' gave the orders to brace and she heard Trapp call them to their machines. "Well, Ariana, it seems like you're about to undergo your baptism of fire. Congratulations." As she pulled Ariana along and pushed her ahead towards the hangar, urging the rookie to run. "Don't worry about breaking in the Astelion, there's no better warm up than an actual combat flight. Keizoku wa chikara nari. Now get your ass in gear!"

She rushed back to the hangar, and wasted no time clambering up the catwalk and into the cockpit of her Hellcat and listened to the chatter of her team. "If you blow yourself Wes, try not to take anyone with you!" She retorted back with a chuckle as the Hellcat booted up and she ran her eyes along the console to make sure nothing had been damaged in the time it took her to get there. "At least they're lucky the Coalition attacked while the 101st were docked here, huh? Not so lucky for us." Maki commented, her lips cracking into a feral grin as she fell the anticipation building in her veins, readying her for a fight.

"This is Hunter. All systems online, Hellcat ready for launch!" Maki reported back once the machine was ready. "Two more kills till I earn my ace. Let's do this."

Remaining quiet for the majority of the conversation, settling for listening to his comrades' gripes, he found himself oddly content. He himself remembered his days in the Noveau France infantry...supplies lines were down and they were lucky to even see a single ration pack. It was one of the reasons why he had coped better than others on Hafk. "At the very least, we had the ration bars to keep us going," he said with a small chuckle as he reminisced, "even though they taste kind of like petrol. Besides, how could I forget? We were bunked together and you kept complaining until I shoved half a bottle of cooking sherry down your gullet." As soon as he finished that sentence, the ground beneath them rocked, sending Gerard sprawling as he fell off the crate. Grabbing one of the Astelion's support struts, he pulled himself back to his feet before shooting out his other hand to grasp a flying figure by the scruff of their shirt and pulling them back to another strut. "My guess is we are under attack," he managed as he got his wind back. Looking at Wes complaining (again) he sighed. "You have 20 other shirts like that, Wes, quit your complaining, mon dieu."

BRACE FOR DISMOUNT! As soon as the voice came over the speakers, Gerard held the strut tighter, feeling the ground shift under his boots as his arms struggled to hold his weight. Dodging a plastic mug that flew by, he stepped forwards back towards his team as he grabbed any handhold he could to stabilise himself. "If we did not find alien like in the first 600 years, I doubt we would find them in this well documented area," he said plainly as he took another step forwards, grabbing the corner of a crate and hauling himself into a standing position. Looking over at Trapp as he addressed them, he gave a quick snap salute before running off towards the Marauder. Each step was a bit laboured as the ship continued to shift, but given that he had been under these conditions countless times, it was only a few more ounces of effort to stay standing. Lark gave him a thumbs up as he moved a ladder into place, signalling that all was well. Returning a small nod of appreciation, he scrambled up the ladder and vaulted into the cockpit, slotting his legs into the two pedals and feeling years of familiarity return.

Keying a few butons and flipping various switches, Delacroix brought the slumbering giant to a state of wakefulness as data started to scroll across the projected screen. Pulling down the armorcrys cockpit cover, the numbers grew more distinct as they reached the correct focal point. "Guillotine is ready for deployment, Monsieur Trapp," he said as the creature took its first step forwards. As Trapp finished his shpiel, Gerard saw another of the egg-like capital charges approch from Wes' direction, his Disposal already removing one from the cart. Moving past and grabbing the handle of one as he formed up, he twisted the handle and depressed it, causing an extra layer of metal shielding to deploy around the anti-capital charge. "I thought you were a brave man, Monsieur Shanks," Delacroix said mockingly as he mag locked it to his hip, "are you attempting to prove me wrong?" Drawing his scatter gun, he pushed the stock into his shoulder and sighed inside the cockpit. Though he may have projected confidence outwards...He really did not look forward to the engagement...he would once more have to play the task of the reaper and harvest the lives of the Coalition.

Yuuyami stayed quiet, as she listened to the war stories the ones who had experience as an infantry were tossing back and forth. It was quite amusing, to hear some of the unusual things one would not expect to hear from soldiers, especially with the cooking sherry part.

The moment the distant explosion occurred, Yuuyami glanced towards the direction of origin. "At this distance...sounds like they hit the engineering bay of the station.", she muttered, before making the mistake of standing up. Without time to brace, the Lincoln had already dislodged itself from the station, causing quite the number of loose cargo and personnel to be scattered. Which would have included herself, if the Frenchman hadn't grabbed her in time. She was seriously starting to become rather indebt to him.

Nodding to Trapp as he yelled out their orders, Yuu sprinted her towards her MAS, while simultaneously opening her other eye and immediately remote started the Sovereign. By the time she had climbed up and dropped herself into her cockpit, the machine was ready. Through her organic eye she checked the cockpit camera, making sure the view was clear, while with her mechanical one, she checked the gauges and graphs that were displayed on the eye itself.

Echo here

Quickly 'typing' out her message on the virtual keyboard with her eye, she immediately reached over her back, before bringing out the Savior Auto-Flak. With the upcoming battle just right outside this hangar, her entire demeanor has changed to become more serious.

It was always fun to listen to them tell war stories. In many ways it reminded him of his father--the better parts, at least, where he wasn't drunk or slapping him around or trying to bulk him up.

...maybe it just reminded him of his father.

Either way, it was a hell of a lot more entertaining coming from friends and comrades than a father figure. The after-the-fact bitching and humor was always easy to fall into, an old routine between the two brawlers of the group, so different but so in sync. He laughed along with the jokes and chuckled, but in some ways he wondered if he wouldn't always be at least a little bit of an outsider to it all. Coming through the labs wasn't exactly like coming in through the proper channels. When he'd first started it had been more pronounced, the pissing contest more awkward and more obvious. It would have been hard if he hadn't shown them what a real flyboy could do when he'd first jockeyed...or cared what they thought.

It was all about the ride. Everything else was just gravy.

Tom was about to open his mouth to chime in when the ship suddenly lurched, sending him down to one knee hard on the metal grating of the floor. With his teeth grit, he swore mildly as the sensation flooded his knee only to be replaced with the yell to brace and the violent lurch of the ship. Only barely did he manage to get a hand on one of the ship's railings and only barely did he manage to keep his footing, but he pulled his way through it and was off for the Mosquito before Trapp was done talking. Close defense for the bombers... the Mosquito was a long range unit, not suited to the task. It didn't occur to him to disobey, or to counter the order, because his lips were already pulling into a quiet smile, his heart already to pump with that delicious adrenaline. Outnumbered, caught unawares, launching under emergency conditions with a new leader, a new pilot...

Oh yeah. This was gonna be good.

He hooked his way up to the Mosquito's cockpit with a practiced hop to the rung at the top of the knee, another pull-push across the machine to the hip joint and an easy swing from there up into the seating configuration. As the dark sealed him in and his fingers deftly pulled his machine tight around him, the lighting came on and the sturdy metal walls disappeared in a twisting display of HUDs just as Wes complained about the bomb on his back.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head, Alice, we'll get Cinderella to the ball." He drawled, already starting to feel the rush as he flexed his fingers and settled them into molded controls--a more modern unit, the Mosquito used a pair of rail-mounted glove controls for fine engine and power manipulation rather than the usual two-joystick set-up you found in most MAS units, and if it made it a bitch to get the hang of once you were there you could run circles around anything on the market. He was awful happy he'd gone through the optimization suite before all this started, it would have been a hell to get it all up and running otherwise, but after sounding off and getting the techno-bullshit out of the way he had a gun in hand and the engine revving by the time it was his turn to chime in.

"Party time, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Wizard's up and running."