2nd Lieutenant Gold, Alyona Ivanova Novikov, stood on the flight deck of the Titan Airship Tributs. A large floating behemoth of a carrier. She took a long draw back on her contraband quick light cigarette. After a few minutes she flicked it out of the Titan's Flight Deck Shield and watched it spiral to the snow covered ground below. It was October 2139, and her unit, the Central Command Group was about to make history in Operation: Canute. Her tank squadron, a force of five of the hovering Type-32 Nekomata, was assigned to take a vital control point, aptly named Crucifix Hill, for the large crucifix that was constructed on it, but first they would have to punch through the front lines; which by what intelligence had briefed her wasn't going to be easy. After a few more minutes of watching the ground race by below her she turned around.
The flight deck was bare except for one Type 4 Doragon Gun-ship, and one BTR-20 Yasterb Air Transport. Both of which were sitting on the elevators that had brought them up from below. That thought reminded her to go check on her tanks in the cargo hold. Alyona had never fought from a Titan before so she didn't know how they were going to get her tanks out of the air. The walked around the small weapons center which controlled the four under-side turrets, and the two top-side Anti-Air Turrets, all of them were manned by the Titan crew members in their grey uniforms, as she reached the back of the Titan Flight Deck, she turned left and walked underneath the Weapons Center to a medium sized automated door, which opened up at her presence.
The scene in front of her was chaotic, Doragons and Yasterbs were sitting on the floor the insides strewn about around them in neat rows as their technicians worked on them for the coming day's battle. She walked across the carnage all the while looking precariously down from the narrow cat walk she was on. When she made it to the other side, the blonde haired Russian girl exhaled. "Not afraid of heights are you?" The voice belonged to 1st Lieutenant Gold Afonik Nikolaevich Toskoy, her Executive Officer. He must have decided to check on the tanks himself. Alyona spun to face him. "No, just aircraft." she replied. Gunner Gold Raidon Nakamura, her tanks gunner smiled his sheepish Japanese grin, "If it goes over thirty-three centimeters, your afraid of it, huh, Lieutenant?" He asked. Afonik and Alyona both laughed, "Where are the babies?" Alyona asked. Afonik motioned behind him, "This way, follow me, the technicians are doing some preventative maintenance and are finally taking the speed governors, allowing us to go up to 180 Kilometers per hour."
"Really?"
"Yes, ma'am, Captain Kobayashi was giving them hell all day for not wanting to take the damn things off."
"Sounds like Kobayashi, is our glorious leader charging into combat with us?"
"Yeah, but he is with the second wave, not his fault, it's Battalion that put him there."
"Battalion needs to fix it, I'm not qualified to lead Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta all into combat."
"Relax Lieutenant, you'll do fine, just don't do what Major Wu Rui Kuan, during training."
The two officers entered a room where Alyona's five Nekomatas were put, they looked just like the aircraft on the chaotic assembly bay down below. "Everything looks to be in order." She said. "Yep, the Titan's bowels give me the creeps, can we go topside?" Afonik asked. Alyona nodded and together the two officers walked out of the support areas. When they reached the living area, Alyona stopped Afonik. "You're not going to die on me tomorrow are you?" She asked the young Russian Lieutenant. "Are you kidding, my name means invincible, I can't die." He said as they stopped out side his room. "Yeah, I guess so." Alyona said quietly as the man she had come to love stepped into his room. "Hey, goodnight." Afonik called from the doorway. "Yeah, goodnight." Alyona made it to her room in one minute. She stripped out of her black uniform and got her Thermal Action Body Armor or TABA ready for the next afternoon. When she was finished with that she crawled into her heated bed and was soon fast asleep.
