The slippery flight deck was coming in fast. Really fast. Tabeth-Lily quickly lowered her tailhook and landing gear, frantically trying with all her might to slow down just a bit.

"Easy does it." The fighter jet beside her assured. Though it didn't do much as the huge carrier rocked harshly to the side with the force of the waves.

Almost completely overshooting the runway. Lily just caught one of the three wires and slammed rather ungracefully into the metallic deck of the ship with a forceful thud. The impact sending her wobbling on her wheels for a bit before coming to a fast halt.

Breathing in heavily to calm her racing nerves, Lily gingerly lifted her tailhook to allow the wire to slacken. She rolled over to a vacant spot on the flight deck and waited for her slightly unsteady breath to return...

The other Naval F/A-18 landed like it was completely second nature. Smiling once he found his way over to her.

"So... you're the new recruit huh?" He inquired after taxiing off the rain soaked runway.

"Yep. That's me." Lily laughed a little awkwardly, "Thanks for helping me out by the way. Landing on a carrier in this sort of weather isn't exactly my forte."

"No problem. Tabeth-Lily." He said while still grinning slightly, "Name's Echo if you haven't already noticed."

Lily then realised just how unobservant she really was. His name was literally WRITTEN OUT on his shining, cherry-red helmet in bolded white letters.

Taking a long glance at what was going on around her, Tabeth-Lily noticed the rain was still falling in bucket-loads onto the deck where other fighter jets and helicopters parked. Some chatting while others sat there almost completely expressionless as the heavy rain continued to drench them.

After taking in all that was happening around her in awe, Echo lightly tapped her on the wing with his own, "Training's most likely going to be held off until tomorrow by the looks of it, so in the mean time I'll show you where to get your squadron paintjob."

Lily nodded. Beginning to follow the other aircraft past a few helicopters and down a large elevator on the side of the ships large hull. Rocking sharply, Lily was forced to lock up her brakes to stop from sliding off the side of the elevator and into the wild waves below.

The elevator came to a grinding halt as it reached below the rain covered deck. Sounding a relatively loud thunk as it did of metal scaping against metal.

Shaking off the remaining water droplets still covering her fuselage and wings. Lily was in utter shock with what her bright blue eyes were met with...

Aircraft. Literally EVERYWHERE. F-18s were talking it up (loudly) to the left of the duo in a large clump. All of whom were chatting away like there was no tomorrow. To her right was a bunch of grey helicopters, also talking, though a fair bit quieter than their roudy Super Hornet counterparts.

Taxiing beside Echo, she unintentionally listened in on bits of their convosations. Something about air races and spaghetti??

Coming to a stop, Lily took notice of a small yellow tug off near the corner of the busy hangar. He seemed to be surrounded by a bunch of jumbled utensils and paint along with pieces of something that resembled big sheets of plastic.

"That's Dave. He'll get you in your new squadron colours."

Lily looked away, starting to roll in the direction of the tug. Once he looked over and saw her, Dave lifted a fork and called her over to a spot vacant with any utensils.

"Suppose your here for you're paintjob?" He inquired whilst lifting up a sheet of plastic and placing it to her left vertical stabilizer. Smoothing it out so it stuck neatly to the metal.

"Why else would I be here?" The female jet replied with a small roll of her eyes which went unoticed by Dave.

By the end of it, she was covered in bits and pieces of the plastic covering from her nose to tail. Retrieving a device from the ground beside him, Lily flinched when black paint was sprayed all over the area of her tail.

Dave added whites and yellows after completing the layer of black along her twin tails, canopy, and hood. Lily was forced to shut her mouth when he painted across her nose in a colour of royal blue as to stop from breathing in a large amount of it.

Once done with all the paint and little decals along her 'neck', Dave pulled up a large mirror.

She looked exactly like a true Jolly Wrench with an exception to her blue nose-cone and obviously smaller feminine build.

"We're not done just yet." The tug zipped over to a bunch of cardboard boxes and pulled out something from one of them. A helmet. A light blue helmet with two black, silver outlined lightning bolts and her name printed out in black letters.

"When the Captain told me of a speedy new recruit, I thought lightning bolts would best suit you." He said, getting Lily to lower her front so he could slip it onto her black canopy...

"OUCH! IT'S SQUEEZING MY HEAD!! I THINK MY BRAIN'S GONNA COME OUT..." She whined unhappily in annoyance, jerking away once the helmet was on.

Dave just shugged his forks, "Would you rather it fall off while you're flying?"

Snorting hot air out of her nostrils, the female Super Hornet began to move when the helmets visor lowered suddenly with a 'clack'. Completely shocking the jet.

"Oh yeah that. Need any help?" Pulling the tinted visor back into its rightful place, Lily responded with a 'thank you' towards the yellow tug as he moved off to fix up some of his painting utensils.

Finally being able to leave, Lily noticed Echo still sat in the same spot. Face void of any expression.

"I didn't know you'd still be here?"

"Don't really have much better to do so I thought I'd help our new recruit settle in on her first day on the Flysenhower." The red helmed Super Hornet replied to her.

It was probably late afternoon. The rain still pelting down relentlessly as the chatter of about 30 or so aircraft filled their ears. The boat rocking back and forth with the sea.

After a few seconds of silence between the two, Echo started to talk, "Dinner's going to be ready relatively soon in the mess hall over there so I suggest we just wait around here for a bit."

Lily slowly nodded, "What do you guys actually do around here when you're not, you know, training or out practicing for a mission?"

"Normally just talk for most of the off time we have. Though regular patrols with one other are a good way to stretch your wings and give an excuse to fly. Well, there's that or pranking... which I'd say is the most fun out of all the options." Echo said while sporting a grin.

"Wow... and I initially thought you guys were going to be totally serious. Aren't you the Navy?" The female F-18 questioned like it was obvious.

The other fighter jet almost choked on his own laughter.

"You don't even know half of it then. Just because we're in the Navy doesn't mean we can't goof off once in a while. Just, don't try and mess with some of the deckhands. They really don't seem to enjoy being covered in pink paint from a paint war gone wrong..." The oddly sheepish look Lily recieved most likely meant the jet wasn't lying about what he'd just said.

"What happened?"

"Bunch of us slightly older jets in the squadron decided to mess with a few newbies for laughs and it ended with a massive all out paint war. Turns out one of my pals accidently doused one of the tugs working on moving some weaponry in pink paint. He got grounded for a few months." Echo replied.

"Seriously?"

"No kidding. And that's only one of our squadron's crazy shenanigans."

Tabeth-Lily angled her front up slightly to look at Echo, "You mean to say that's not the only thing that's happened? Remind me to not be around you guys when April Fools comes around..."

After about an hour of straight up talking about anything that came to mind. The smell of food brought Lily away from the conversation she was having with the other F-18.

"Food-wise, is there anything worth hurrying in for?" Lily inquired, watching closely as some of the Naval aircraft began piling into the mess hall area of the USS Dwight D. Flysenhower. This situation brought her back to her years as a young adolescent, still in what most humans would classify as a 'school' of sorts. Where served food and oil became the reason most prop aircraft became the targets of the 'military breed' wanting more than their fair share.

Most of the food served to the Wrenches onboard the huge vessel was a mixture of vegetation and a type of seasoned meat.

Tabeth-Lily found herself parked by a low, white table that spread itself across half of the mess hall. Near where the large tv set hung on the wall. Echo was there already, and beside him a bunch of other jets all looking relatively similar except for eye and helmet colour.

"Recruits are over that way, newbie." The first jet to notice her said as he pointed his folded wing in the direction of another set of tables over to the left. Dark green helmet almost matching his eyes.

"Storm-" Another of the F-18s urgently responded. Obviously trying to apologise for Storm's mannerisms towards the new female recruit parked in front of them.

"Who gave YOU the right to tell me where I can and can't eat?" Lily snapped back. Though on the inside she just really wanted to not be the one to get picked on, on her first day.

You know when you meet someone. Know absolutely nothing about them. But still REALLY take a disliking to them? Well that's exactly what was going on between Storm and Lily. The atmosphere filling with the tension of the two jets.

Echo, taking notice of this tension, moved in and tried to defuse the situation, "Come on Storm, she's new. Give her a break will you?"

With a low huff, Storm lowered his stare with the female and went back to whatever had his interest beforehand...

Letting out a sigh she didn't know she was holding in. Tabeth-Lily went to move between Echo and another Super Hornet whom she hadn't gotten the name of yet. Both in a conversation where one would say something and the other would almost crack up in fits of laughter.

"Where'd you get that from?" Lily looked up from her food once she heard the Hornet with the red helmet speak to her.

"What? This cookie?"

"Yeah... they don't have any left at the moment. Can I have it? Please?"

Lily nearly burst out giggling at the look the he was giving her. Looking more or less like a begging puppy who wanted your leftover scraps of food.

"Seriously Echo? You should've just been faster at getting one for yourself in the first place." The other jet who Echo was talking to before cut in with a slight brow raise.

"I did help her with getting here in that horrid storm, remember?"

"So your gonna ask for HER food now?"

"Yeah."

Lily found herself torn between the two F/A-18E Super Hornets.

Glancing over at the still unamed aircraft, she slowly nudged the remaining food over to a very happy Echo next to her. Who gladly accepted the sugary treat with a wide smile.

"Couldn't have just had it yourself or given it to me?" The other Jolly Wrench joked.

"Firstly, he DID help me before... and secondly, I don't even know your name."

"Bravo." The jet replied casually, "...And I heard you're the new speedy female recruit who got caught in the thunderstorm? Cared to check the weather before you left?"

Tabeth-Lily leant onto her right landing gear, letting out a slightly nervous laugh,"Sorry but I really can't tell if you're trying to compliment me or not..."

"Both, I guess. And sorry about Storm over there. He seems to have thing with recruits. Not sure why though." The grey helmed F/A-18 said as Lily followed his gaze over to Storm parked a few metres away from him, Echo and herself.

"Maybe he-" Lily's next question was cut short when an aircraft over on the far side of the completely filled room yelled something loudly along the lines of 'TAKE COVER!'...