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[h1][color=blueviolet][b][u]General Quarters[/u][/b][/color][/h1]
[url=https://youtu.be/1DPzihFy9y8?t=159](Mood Music)[/url]
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Leah took a lot of lessons over from the infantry. 'Invest in your comfort'. Never just settle with the issued kit, because frankly, it sucks. It sucks ass. It's the cheapest, easiest to produce garbage that was bought at the lowest price and a pilot's pay can absolutely pay for the best, most preem kit for sale. Leah was laying on her bed in her quarters, enjoying the fact that she had bought an absolutely twin-XL size mattress topper than turned her shitty crew cabin bed into something fit for UEE royalty. Just... Maybe a quarter of the size...

She had an arm draped over her face, and her mouth was hung open as she was in a deep. Deeeep sleep. It's a term the infantry used called being 'zonked out'. That's exactly what she was. Zonked out. Gone. Leading into the second crucial infantry lesson. 'Get your winks in when you can. Never turn down an opportunity to get zonked'. She was half in her flight suit and half on her fancier-than-the-rest best, and her fancier-than-the-rest mattress topper was half on the shitty normal bed because there's no way in hell that topper was designed to set on the shitty plastic surface of the shitty military mattress. But Leah didn't mind. The upper half of her body was more comfortable than everyone else asleep on the ship, she could guarantee that.

On the front line, in the midst of a fresh offensive, it's amazing that anyone could get any sleep. One would think that sleeping on the front was some sort of military misdemeanor. But that was the thing about the infantry... There was a third lesson. Arguably the most important one at that...

[b][code]"General Quarters, General Quarters. All hands to battle stations. I repeat: General Quarters. General Quarters..."[/code][/b]

Leah shot up like a spring chicken, whilst snorting to life like a surprised pig as she threw herself out of her bed!

'Be ready to rock and roll in a heartbeat.'

Before the call for general quarters was even finished, Leah had her flight suit zipped up and she was half way out of the 7th's lounge. She ran quickly, practically bowling over a few crewmen as they were rushing to their own stations. Leah checked her watch as she ran, once again nearly taking a crewman out the moment she didn't look forward for a second. Leah burst into the hangar, seeing Sabine practically parkouring her way around crates and equipment to race to her MAS. Leah was taller though, with a longer stride and a soldier's pace. She was closing the gap to Blackout. She whistled ahead of her to get the attention of the MAS tech nearest to her helmet sitting on a table. [color=blueviolet][b]"Helmet! Toss it!"[/b][/color]

The tech grabbed the helmet and pitched it at her, which she quickly swiped from the air and shoved over her head. The helmet sealed to her suit just a second before she was ascending to get into her own MAS cockpit. Leah even pressed the button to close the cockpit before she was even fully seated! That's a big safety no-no for those by-the-book types. With both hands, Leah was flipping switches and engaging systems. It might have been the fastest pre-flight someone had ever done... Ahh probably not, but it sure felt like it!

[b][code]> Confirming Pilot Assignment: LT LEAH VESS_
> ...Pilot Confirmed
> Initializing systems...[/code][/b]

[color=blueviolet][b]"Come on come on..."[/b][/color]

[b][code]> Reactor: Online_
> Life Support: Online_ 
> D.C.A: Online_
> Weapon Systems: Online_[/code][/b]

[color=blueviolet][b]"Comeoncomeoncomeon!"[/b][/color]

[b][code]> All Calibrations Complete
> Fleet Control Uplink: Synchronized_
> All Systems Nominal
> Standby for Launch[/code][/b]

[color=blueviolet][b]"YES! SCREW YOU SABI-"[/b][/color] She looked up from her instruments to see the Sparrowhawk taking its first step. Leah blinked and looked back to her watch.

91 seconds.

[color=blueviolet][b]"DAMMIT!"[/b][/color]

The wind had been thoroughly taken from her sails as she took her first lazy steps forward out of her MAS bay. Listening to Sabine rub her victory in. [color=blueviolet][b]"You were waiting for the general quarters! I was busy being absolutely zonked okay!"[/b][/color] Leah wasn't sure if her infantry lingo translated well into the oh-so-civilized, pinkies-out, posh high society that was the Navy. So that probably sounded way worse to the several crewmen on the flight deck than it actually was. [color=blueviolet][b]"Ah nevermind..."[/b][/color] She said over her MAS' megaphone before switching to internal comms.

In the laziest, most deflated voice ever, Leah reported to flight control. [color=blueviolet][b]"Tower, this is Hex... All systems green. Proceeding to launch... Over..."[/b][/color]
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