-Turian Armada Academy, 14:00 Turo Standard Time-

With an hour to go until he was to report to the flight simulator, 626 thought about what he knew of the other cadets:

Dixon would likely ignore him during most of the test, not actively hindering him but not going out of his way to help him. That being said, 626 had noticed that the raptrian had a very high sense of duty towards his fellow cadets – at least the ones from 'normal' species – and as such could likely be counted on to at least watch the backs of the others. In addition, as a Raptrian Dixon had a slightly wider viewing range than was the norm for most sentient species (including 626 himself). Thus 626 imagined that he would naturally play more of a support role, and he would play that role well.

As for Spon, the Amuan would likely prove rather problematic. His four arms would provide him ample dexterity, as 626 could attest from his own experiences, but the fact that he was rather hot blooded would be…problematic to put it delicately. In short: good flier, terrible fighter.

The others were more unknown. Based off her reaction to the flight test 626 assumed that Melia was a good flier, but he had no idea about her species other than that they were small and pink, so he had no idea what to expect on that front. The fifth and sixth members of their flight he knew nothing about and would have to hope for the best. It wasn't much to go on, sure, but at least it was something. He flipped through his textbook for the fifth time. Was there anything there he could use? Just in case, he went to the started re-reading anyways.

Before he knew it, his clock dinged an alarm 15 minutes before he had to get to the simulation room. 626 put the book away, took a deep breath, and then left. By the time he showed up to the training room everyone was there save Dixon. The cadets waited in silence for the sixth member of the flight to show up, too nervous to speak to one another. Finally he came in a few minutes before the test started, and Dyn began speaking.

"As I said before, the next part of the test will simulate what would happen if you were caught in a firefight. Normally you would have some sort of commanding officer giving you instructions, but as all of you are of equal rank and have similar amounts of knowledge that obviously (Nine. One more!) cannot be the case here. So, for our purposes, assume that your commander got shot down after giving you the following instructions: 'Target the gun turrets on the capital ship up ahead, and clear the way for the strike force to take a shot at the bridge.' Are there any questions?"

None of the cadets were quite sure how to respond. It certainly was a…unique premise. Dyn then called it good, and into the simulators they went. 626 sat in, buckled up, and waited for the screen to begin. Please let this go well, he thought.

With a whoosh the screen activated and the six cadets found themselves in hell. Apparently 'see how you do in a combat scenario' meant 'drop you directly into the middle of a free-for-all', and as 626 looked outside the "cockpit" it was pandemonium.

His comm flared to life as he heard Spon shout "what in space is all this?" 626 looked to his left and saw that his friend had somehow managed to gain the attention of an enemy fighter and was currently giving his all just to avoid getting shot at.

Another set of lasers seared over from above 626 and destroyed the enemy fighter. "Easy there, Kuhio." Dixon's voice was surprisingly level. "Everyone, form up around the experiment."

"I'm named 626, damn it!"

Dixon ignored him. "It seems things are a bit more hectic than we anticipated –"

"No shit!" One of the unknowns yelled, arcing in front of 626 and blasting an enemy fighter. "What's the plan?"

"As things stand there's no way for us to actually get to the turrets without getting blasted out of the sky," Melia began, "so I think we should split up and have some of us focus on clearing the way for the others?"

"Split up? Are you crazy?" Spon sounded like she'd just suggested that he sell himself into slavery.

626 swerved to avoid a laser blast. "She's got a point. As things are there are too many things shooting at us to make a clean go at it. And we can't pass this if most of us get shot down before we even get halfway to the ship?"

"But even then –" It was the other unknown.

"Hate to admit it," Dixon chimed in, "but the experiment's on to something. Like he said there's too much fire out there for us to get through safely. Jol, can you see the turrets from where you are?"

"Yes." It was the first unknown, who apparently was named Jol. "It honestly looks fairly small. I think that we really only need one person to do the job."

626 nodded. "Good to know. Of course we should probably have it be two people, just to keep each other safe and for one person to take the shot if the other misses or falls." There was a chorus of agreement.

"It's settled then. Melia, Spon, take the starboard side. Partick and I will take port. 626, you and Jol are in charge of the turrets."

626 blinked. "Wait – did you actually just put me in charge of something?"

"Save it." Dixon growled. "It's what needs to be done."

"Can you say that again? That last bit?"

"Grow up, you two." Partick blasted a fighter that had been heading right for 626, who had been too busy savoring the moment to notice.

626 blushed. "Point taken." He and Jol detached from the other four. "Jol, I want you to keep eyes out for anything coming towards us while I focus on the turrets. Is that good with you."

"Yep."

"Good. Now let's go!" The two advanced, and as they did every so often 626 could see one of the other four on the periphery. They did their jobs well and the way was surprisingly clear, although more than once 626 had to resist the urge to veer off and save Spon's skin from an errant laser or missed enemy.

It was good that he did, because even with the four on cleanup 626 and Jol had more than their fair share of problems. "Missiles incoming at three o'clock!" Jol shouted. 626 looked over and swore. They weren't homing missiles, thankfully, but there still were a hell of a lot of them. 626 spun the wheel and threw his ship into a tight corkscrew, just barely evading the first wave. When he got out of it he flipped on the comm. "Still in one piece?"

"Affirmative." Jol sounded rather unsettled, but still alive. "Second wave incoming in half a minute!"

626 looked around. "This is going to sound stupid, but I'm going to go get some attention." Before he could explain he zipped off towards a pair of fighters and then turned back towards the missiles. As they launched 626 deployed his cannon and sent four precise shots at the fighters, disabling them.

"Now we have a bit of cover."

"Huh." Jol was impressed. "That might actually work."

"Is there a third wave?"

"Yes, but from the looks of it that one might take a bit longer to get active."

"Understood. Make a break for it now?"

"Affirmative."

The two shot forwards. Now they were right in front of the turrets now. Jol broke off and began to circle around the outside, drawing their fire while also keeping watch for anything that might try and waylay them. Brave, 626 thought, very brave. Then, focusing on the task at hand, he re-deployed his cannon and lined up on the first target.

Bam

One turret down.

Bam

That made two.

Bam

Three. They were golden!

626 heard a little chime announcing that the simulation was over and hopped out of his cockpit the second it opened. As he did he noticed that Spon looked rather green in the face. Before he could go to his friend, however, Dyn addressed the group.

"Excellent work. Although it is likely that had that been a real battle cadets Kuhio and Melia would have required aid within the next few minutes to avoid being shot down, overall I would say that everyone performed in an extremely competent manner." He then began to address all the cadets one-by-one. "Cadet Dixon. You kept a cool head in the middle of a firefight that men years more experienced than you would be hard-pressed to match. Cadet Partrick, had this been a real battle you would have earned yourself the distinction of 'flying ace'. You shot down more enemies than the rest of the flight combined." Partrick beamed. "Cadet Spon, although you were far too reckless you have a natural feel for your cruiser that should serve you well. Cadet Melia, like Dixon you are immensely calm under pressure. In addition, you seem to have a gift for predicting which targets you should prioritize. Cadet Jol, you have keen eyes that are frankly astonishing. In addition, you are clearly very brave, although I must stress that your distraction at the end to clear the way for cadet 626 ran the high risk of getting you killed. And speaking of," 626 tensed slightly, "Cadet 626, like Spon you have a natural feel for your cruiser and like Partrick you are an excellent shot. You also have quite the spark of creativity, as well as the improvisational skills to put that spark to good use." 626 opened his mouth to thank him, but before he could Dyn held up a finger. "However, you still need to work on your focus. Your interactions with cadet Dixon were childish and nearly got you shot down."

Dyn then addressed the cadets as a group once more. "Still, it should be clear that this counts as a pass for all of you. Should you so desire, proper flight training is open to all six of you. Now if you excuse me, I must enter your results into the computer."

Well, blast it. There goes my money. 626 pulled his share of the pool out of his pocket and gave it to a rather pleased Melia, who suddenly found herself a bit richer and was very happy about it. Kuhio, after stumbling up and depositing his share in Melia's hand, promptly turned tail and ran to the bathroom. There, 626 found him retching into the toilet.

Kuhio had been patient enough when 626 sobbed into his chest, so 626 decided to return the favor by waiting for Spon to finish throwing up. When the Amuan finally lurched his way over to the sink, 626 obligingly flushed behind him and handed over a paper towel.

When Spon finished washing the sick off his face, 626 asked him if he needed help with anything.

"Just get me back to my room. I need to lie down." 626 did so, and Spon immediately flopped onto the bed. "Well," he groaned, "I think I'm just gonna stick with ground fighting from now on. 'Natural feel for your cruiser' my ass. I'm never setting foot in one of those again."

"Going to miss seeing you around, though."

"We're still going to be in the same building, you dolt. I'll just be safe on the ground while you zip around in one of those flying coffins."