Leah had chased Sabine all the way back to the hangar just as the commander was forming an O-group with the rest of the team. She caught up with Sabine, practically tackling her. "Got you, you little shit!" she said as she twisted a knuckle into the top of Sabine's skull.
It didn't take long for Leah to realize she had made a strange return to the team. Looking up to the other pilots, Leah just quietly let go of Sabine and took a step away, clearing her throat awkwardly. She huffed and stuffed her hands in her pockets as Sagan went over the details of the mission. When he got past the summary of their task, Leah pulled a notepad and pen from her pocket and began to write down the important information in short-hand form. It sounded like it was going to be a pretty hot drop... Going in with the main body, using their signature umbrella to mask their own insertion through skyfire and every orbital defense in the hemisphere. Urban combat, fortified to the max by an enemy that knew they were coming. And an ultra-sensitive package that needed liberating.
Thankfully, Hex was far more comfortable fighting on the ground, a preference that came from her service in the infantry. Movement was so much more predictable when there was solid ground below you. It was easy when cover and concealment didn't drift around and move, and one could easily see the predictable pathways in low ground that forces would take to advance. Ranges for shooting were far closer too with atmospheric pressure and friction to contend with. Weather could be a problem, but there wasn't much one could do about that if Mother Nature decided to rain on their parade. But none of this was all too different from what she and the 7th had done in the past. Plus, in the event of rain, Hex was thankfully not made of sugar... even if the sugar pills offset that a bit.
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The 7th was beginning to mount up for their next sortie. Hex stood before the Blackout in her flightsuit, her helmet resting under her left arm. She looked up at the machine, spotting the replacement chest plate in standard gray paint underneath the new DCA plates. Leah took a deep breath and let it out in a slow sigh. She wasn't going to let that happen again. She was too reckless last time. Her eyes drifted to the repaired sniper cannon mounted on the Blackout's shoulder hardpoint. Her engineering team lead stepped up next to her and planted a firm hand on her shoulder. "I trust my message reached you in the medbay."
Leah nodded. The tech smirked, "Then you know what to do. But for what it's worth, I looked through your flight logs, and you pulled some real cowboy shit in that last scrap. Nobody's doubting your talent anymore, grunt. Just don't come back to the Roanoke on a stretcher, yeah?"
Leah nodded again, "I certainly don't plan on it. Thanks, Tex."
The tech chuckled and patted her shoulder some more. "Your MAS used a ton of the spare parts the Roanoke had on hand for it. I'm sure we could source more parts from elsewhere in the fleet, but the paperwork's gonna be a bitch. You're on the mend, and in spirit, so is your machine. Don't push it, otherwise you'll be grounded by default without a functioning machine." he pointed at the sniper cannon, "Sniper things."
Leah sighed, nodding for a third time. There wasn't much she felt the need to say. She reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a pill bottle, taking two pills as prescribed by the nurse before a sortie to fight the light sensitivity. After downing the medication, Leah brought her helmet up and pushed it down onto her head. The suit sealed around the neck with a small hiss. She stepped onto the gantry elevator and mounted the Blackout, slipping in through the hatch and sitting herself down in her seat. After plugging her helmet in to the MAS unit's life support, she gasped a bit. "What the-... Woah..."
Tex's voice chimed in over her radio, "Oh I forgot to mention. I got clearance to put a little additive in your O2 supply. You should be experiencing some hyper awareness right now. Take a second to get use to it, it'll keep you awake, conscious, and more attentive for the op."
"A warning would have been nice..." Leah said as she looked at her hands while curling them into fists.
"Like I said. I forgot to mention." Tex said with a chuckle.
"Right..." Leah responded, unconvinced.
She powered the Blackout on and went through all of its preflight procedures before walking it out to join the rest of the 7th. She stepped onto an empty drop plate and locked the MAS in position for a launch. As she did, she listened over the squadron net as Sabine recounted the harrowing drop of Targovo. That was a wild ride, one that resulted in Leah being forced to land on a passing Coalition frigate in atmo at high speed. The landing had fractured the hull of the coalition warship and collapsed several decks, but the sudden emergency deceleration the Blackout had to do meant that she didn't have enough fuel to retroburn her way down to the surface. It was one fiery surf through the atmosphere before she managed to reach an altitude she could use her primary thrusters to land safely. The cowabunga jokes that flew around after that mission took a while to simmer down.
Hex didn't speak, not wanting to dredge up the surfer-bro lingo again. Hex was not feeling 'radical', and she knew mentioning any of her part in the Targovo assault would wind up with someone reminding her that 'life's a beach'. So she focused on her job, prepping the Blackout for atmospheric drop. Once all of the measures were taken, she signaled to the commander, "Hex, the Blackout is ready for launch."
Then she heard Vulture's return. It was a comforting display of caring leadership which Leah appreciate. "Understood, commander." she said professionally as she settled into her seat and waited for the drop.