"This… isn't fun… at all." Jackal stumble-stepped back from the treadmill. "Spook… you're… you're full of shit."

"You know you don't have to sprint it, right, Jack?" Nicole tried to stop herself from laughing. "Just jog. It's one and a half miles."

Dagger was making no such efforts, a wide grin plastered across her face. "You should have seen him when we got transferred to the 108th. He just made it into the low-risk category by about three seconds."

David had apparently regained enough of his breath to say a complete sentence. "Go fuck yourself, Jess. You almost fell off the pullup bar."

"Hey! Pullups are optional!" Jessica scowled, and Nicole rolled her eyes with a wide smile.

"So, what was your time? You sure put a lot of effort into it." Nicole couldn't stop a slight chuckle as she watched Jackal wipe a streak of sweat off his forehead. She walked over to the treadmill, glancing at the timer, before her discipline slipped and she almost fell to the ground herself, laughter on her lips. 13:51.

"What the hell did you call that?" She stared down at the other pilot. "High-intensity intervals?"

"Sprint interval training! It's a legitimate… y'know, fitness thing! You go until you drop and then… regain your energy." Jackal scowled.

"Well, with how much energy you were regaining every five seconds, you'd think you'd have made a passing time."

"Fuck you."

"I don't know how you're having such an easy time with this, Spook." Jackal took a swig from his water bottle, wiping his face with a towel.

"Well, uh," she tried her best to speak between push-ups. "There— ah,— really— wasn't— much— 39— to, y'know— do— 43— in the cell—" She dropped to the ground at the signaled minute, looking up at BASH, holding the stopwatch. "Forty... forty-eight, right?" A curt nod was her only reply.

"Lemme… lemme answer your question, Jackal. No internet, no friends, no snacks. Wasn't much to do in that cell except push-ups." And crying. But you probably shouldn't mention the crying. She smiled, a cocky, forced smile, but a smile nonetheless.

Burn raised an eyebrow. "Plus, Jack, I'm pretty sure you're the only one having issues with the physical. Spook ain't that special, even if she is leading the score for now."

"Yeah, David, hate to break it to you, but I think you're just out of shape." Dagger shrugged, grinning.

"As your commanding officer, I don't think I should comment on these kinds of things, but…" she grimaced, nodding. "Mhmm."

Burn smirked, shaking his head. "You should be glad we haven't run the actual test yet, Jack. Gotta pass tomorrow's test before the General visits." He paused. "Man, I can't believe we're getting a visit from General Elizabeth. The man's a national hero."

"What's the matter, Burn? Starstruck?" Dagger poked at him with an elbow. "What?" He shouted. "No, of course not." He quickly changed the subject. "Anyways, knock off that interval bullshit, Jackal, and I'm sure we'll all pass."

"Yeah," Dagger scoffed. "Unless Major Hawthorne takes a goose to the face jogging laps tomorrow."

"Hey! Lieutenant—" BASH let the stopwatch drop, hanging from its wrist strap.

"That's how you got your callsign, right? Made ace. Against geese, not Feddies." Dagger smiled.

The Major paused. "Yeah… Bird Air Strike Hazard. How'd you know that?"

"Oh, Zip told me." Her eyes widened and her mouth shut, a slight grimace, as soon as she realized what she'd said.

The pilots were silent for a while.

"This one's for the gold, huh?" Dagger turned to Zip. "They've been fighting over the higher score all day."

"Yep. And he did fifty-three just now." They watched as their POW-turned-acquaintance did sit-ups on the gym floor, BASH dutifully keeping the time, stopwatch in hand. "So that's a 9.2, right? This scoring stuff confuses me."

"Fuck if I know, they score us differently. I don't bother memorizing the spreadsheet, anyways. Don't need it very often."

"How many's she on? Think she'll beat him?" Jackal raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know, but look at Burn. He's sweating." Jessica smirked.

"Shoulda called you Mako at this rate." David chuckled.

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Well, you sure can sniff out blood in the water."