There was finally silence in the base, and it was difficult to wake up when he had been running on adrenalin and caf fumes for the last several weeks, but even Wes Janson had some rules to obey. He grumbled all the way to the mess hall, knowing that it would take more than just hot caf and a bowl of grains to get him going this morning.

He met Hobbie in the hall outside of the mess, and his friend grumbled something that might have been actual words before they entered the room together. Klivian didn't look any more awake than Wes felt, and so he shrugged off the greeting and focused on getting something warm to eat. It was early enough that the line was small and the cooks were still cheerful, so he grabbed a tray and pulled Hobbie into the line behind him.

There was supposed to be a briefing this morning, which explained why Wedge was already seated across the room and looking as though he hadn't yet gone to bed. Wes snorted, that was another reason to add to his "Why I should avoid command promotions as long as possible list." He suspected that Hobbie had a similar list when his friend turned to look at their commanding officer and grumbled again. Or maybe Hobbie was just unhappy with having to get up so early after they had just finished a very lengthy hyper-space jump in their X-Wings.

He still wasn't in the mood for talking when he reached the breakfast counter, but the servers were all being friendly so Wes pasted a bright smile on and flirted with the young non-coms as they offered him food. He had learned early on that you always stayed on the good side of the people who controlled the food supplies. The young women behind the counter seemed to appreciate his attention, blushing and offering him the good stuff. Hobbie was almost as lucky as they took pity on his half-asleep disposition and filled his plate for him.

Wes had to grab Hobbie's sleeve again to steer him towards the table where Wedge, Gavin and Inyri already sat. He shook his head at the group, "Who did we annoy at Command to deserve these early mornings?"

Wedge squinted at him for a moment before deciding not to answer, sipping his caf instead.

Gavin and Inyri just looked at his plate with astonishment, "You can't possibly eat all of those, can you?"

Wes looked down at his breakfast, a towering stack of pancakes smothered in sweet syrup, cream and berries. "Are you kidding? This is the only reason I'll be able to get through the day."