With the aura of internal conflict lifted from the pilots in Skull Squadron, their minds can now turn their focus towards performing their duties. Despite running into staunch opposition from the Vajra nests and several VF-27s, the Quarter has not suffered many casualties. Their organization and piloting skills have proved fruitful in setting the standard of performance for the fleet. However, the shadow of a threat looms somewhere in the Kihnes Asteroid Belt. It may be only a matter of time before the Quarter and its accompanying fleet will be put to the test. If and when it happens, it will be time for heroes, old and new, to make the difference in the conflict. For now, the crews of each and every capital ship perform their duties and live their lives normally. They stand vigilant; ready to spring to action at a moment's notice.
Captain Wilder patiently waited for the airlock to open at the docking area of the Quarter. The words of the admiral at NUNS HQ on Aimo echoed in his mind, "Captain, we're concerned about the readiness of your ship. I would like for you to take on at least two command-level officers to help support you on your ship. I don't feel that you're able to fully conduct your duties as Fleet Captain and be in charge of your ship at all times." Monica accompanied him in front of the airlock and noticed that he was in deep thought. "You're not liking this idea of leaving your ship in charge of a couple of other officers, are you?"
Wilder snapped out of his thoughts to answer Monica's question. "It's not that I don't want them here, it's just that I thought I could shoulder this responsibility on my own. I guess the older I get, the better I was," he said with a shrug. Monica still didn't like it when he put too much on himself. "Jeffrey, if you really thought that you could handle all this on your own, then you're only fooling yourself. Remember that the better you can do your job as the Fleet Captain, the safer we will all be." Even though he didn't want to admit it, her words were what he had been thinking about anyway. "Yes, you're right about that. It's taken me a bit to figure out, but I have to respect that the NUNS just wants to keep their soldiers as safe as possible and my decision to try to take on all of that responsibility on my own was very risky."
They smiled at each other in an aura of agreement until a mechanical clacking and whirring began to sound from the other side of the bulkhead. The airlock hissed as the interior door opened to allow the passengers to disembark from the shuttlecraft docked to the outside of the ship. Amongst a handful of personnel, two officers immediately approached Captain Wilder and Monica. "Commanders Ortiz and Choi requesting permission to come aboard, Captain," they said with a salute. Wilder and Monica saluted in return as he answered, "Welcome to the Quarter. This is Lieutenant Lang, the ship's lead radar officer." Captain Wilder introduced his dear Monica to the new bridge commanders, who shook hands with them both after the salute.
The quartet of bridge personnel made their way into the interior of the ship, with Captain Wilder leading the way. They engaged in friendly conversation as Wilder and Monica began to give the two commanders a bit of a tour, before leading them to their new quarters. Suddenly, the crew of the Quarter got a little bigger, but it was an even bigger gain for their effectiveness, now that Captain Wilder will have more free time to focus his command duties towards leading the fleet. Even though his skilled crew is capable of operating autonomously without him, it can't hurt to have a competent bridge officer on duty at all times.
…
Aside from the TV, the infirmary was relatively quiet. The EKG monitor sat unused in the corner, and the IV had been removed from Cal's arm. He sat up in bed watching TV and drinking fortified water from a bottle. He used his free time to catch up on the happenings back on Aimo. The newscast he was watching was covering some of the citizen unrest taking place back home. Unable to stomach any more of the usual political rhetoric for the day, Cal changed the channel to another one of his soothing historical documentaries.
Before he could really make himself comfortable, the doors to the infirmary opened and Jen walked in; carrying his tray of food. "Dinner time!" She laughed as she placed the tray down on the table next to Cal and took a seat. Cal couldn't help but smile. He'd been left alone for awhile and could use the company. Jen picked up one of the plates and started to stir the food up and cool it off. "How are you feeling?" Cal watched what she was doing for a moment before he answered. "I'm doing fine... What are you doing?" His question was answered as she scooped up a bite with the spoon and put it in front of his mouth. She opened her mouth, as if to tell Cal what he should be doing. After he opened his mouth, she put the food in and mimicked Cal by closing her mouth at the same time as him.
"Since normally, you can barely keep your feet on the ground, I figured I'd come and spend some time with you while you're stuck in here," she said as she prepared another bite. "But do you have to feed me my food? I can eat on my own, you know... I'm not some kind of quadriplegic," Cal said. Jen responded by forcing the next bite into his mouth before he could say anything else. At this point, nothing he could say would change her mind; the only thing left to do was just enjoy the pampering.
"Have you found out when they're gonna let you out of here?" she asked while continuing to feed him. After swallowing his bite, he answered, "Well, it looks like I'll be out of here tomorrow morning, but the plan was to wait another day before letting me fly." Jen brightened up a bit at the good news. "That's great! I have to admit, there's a noticeable decline in radio chatter when you're not out there. It'll be good to hear your voice on the comm again." "Well, it will be at least another day until I get back out there. Needless to say, I'll be very bored until then. Who's covering for me, by the way?" "Oh, Lieutenant Angelloni picked up your shift today. They should be returning from their patrol right about now, as a matter of fact."
The two stopped talking for a moment. Cal turned his attention to the TV for a moment, while Jen grabbed another food item off of the tray. She peeled the plastic covering off of the container and dug a spoon in to stir it. "I hope you're staying out of trouble out there." Cal turned his gaze back to Jen, as if he was trying to figure out what she meant by her statement. "Of course I am. I'm a complete saint. What could possibly make you think otherwise?" he said with a feint in his voice and a smile on his face. Jen stopped stirring the food in the container and stared at Cal. "You're such a liar. I heard about you getting in trouble with your commanding officer. As a matter of fact, I heard that's part of the reason you're in here now. From what I know of her, she's a dangerous one. You watch yourself around her, or she's liable to put you in this condition again. I can't allow that to happen again," Jen said with a mischievous smile.
After receiving a bite of food and swallowing, Cal responded, "I can handle her just fine. You don't have to worry about me." Jen had a look of disbelief on her face when he said that. "That's not very reassuring. Who's the one wearing a hospital gown here again?" Cal laughed at his bluff being called. "Don't worry, I think things will be okay from now on. So, how's things going up there on the bridge?" Jen looked down to scoop up some more food while she answered his question, "It's been relatively quiet since we settled into this area. We had our hands full securing this sector when we first deployed here, but it's like... I don't know if I should say it... a calm before the storm."
Jen's words accurately described Cal's intuition on the matter, as well. He may be in a hospital bed, but those "pilot senses" are still working at 100% capacity. "I get the same feeling, to be honest. We'll all have to stay on our toes, in case the shit hits the fan." Jen nodded and presented another bite. "If that's the case, we should enjoy the silence while it lasts... even if it's just for a day or two." She put the spoon and container down. Having gone through all of the food on the plate, she unwrapped the dessert pastry and broke it in half. She took a bite from one half and gave the other half to Cal, who watched her eat some of his food with a jealous look. She looked back at him before speaking, "My fee..." She seemed to overindulge in the sweet pastry, as if to taunt Cal with it.
He chose not to fall into the trap, so to speak. He already had some of the pastry in his hand anyways and began to eat it without reacting to Jen's behavior. "Oh, you're no fun..." she said as she reached over and put her hand on Cal's with a firm grip. She placed the last bite of the pastry in her mouth and scooted her chair closer so she could use both of her hands to cradle Cal's hand. She traced the contours of the lines on his palm and fingers with her fingernail.
"Mmm... that feels good. My mother used to do that to me when I was very small. It would always make me fall asleep when I was being fussy," Cal said as he laid back into his pillow and closed his eyes. It made Jen feel good that she was helping him feel better. It would only be another day or so that he'd remain grounded. After that, he'd probably be taking off to wherever again, leaving her behind on the ship. Ever since she had gone to Bobby for advice on how to handle Cal, she'd accepted that she'd have to take a backseat to his love of flying for now. Like any burning hot relationship, though, the honeymoon phase would be over at some point. Once that occurred, she knew she could have more of his company to work her magic on him.
Several moments passed and Cal began to nod off while Jen continued to run her fingers across his hands. Their shared moment of silence was torn in half by the sudden opening of the infirmary doors. Making a commotion while entering, the members of Pixie Team entered to check on their medically-incarcerated teammate. Their abrupt entry startled Cal and he lurched forward to see who was coming in. Jen had let go of his hand and quickly scooted the chair back as she turned to look.
"Alright, he's awake!" Will exclaimed, "How's it going in here?" Cal laid back down as he watched them walk around to the other side of the bed from where Jen was sitting. "They'll be releasing me tomorrow morning, but I'm not allowed to fly until I'm medically cleared," he replied. "Then I guess I'll have to find someway to keep you busy and productive while we're on our shift tomorrow, huh?" Klan said as she sat down at the foot of the bed. Jen glared at Klan for making such a statement to Cal, especially when he's laid up in bed in the infirmary. "She just doesn't quit, does she?" Jen thought to herself.
Cal took it a different way and seemed eager to get back into the thick of things. "I guess it would be nice to do something other than flying; but just this once." Upon seeing Cal's inviting nature, Jen began to suspect that he had an X-factor to his flying disease. She would have to do more investigating into it if she was to find a way to help Cal get through that honeymoon phase. Something inside of him made him want to keep coming back for more.
The four pilots of Pixie Team engaged in a discussion about pilot-related things. Jen felt somewhat left out, now that Cal was being distracted from her. She tried to listen to the conversation, hoping she could add something relevant, but they seemed to be going a mile-a-minute. All she could do was watch at how much Cal seemed to enjoy talking about flying with his wingmates.
After several minutes of observing, Jen got up to gather her things. All the while, she harbored some jealousy in her mind. She wished that she could hold Cal's attention as well as they could. Cal noticed her getting up out of the corner of his eye. "Where are you going?" "I have a few other things to take care of before I get to sleep. I'll leave you guys alone." She didn't have anything of a smile on her face as she said that. Cal felt a little bad that he ignored her so easily once his wingmates came in to visit. He tugged at a loose cuff of her uniform to get her to turn back around. "Thanks for coming to visit. I appreciate you spending some of your time with me, even though you have a bunch of stuff to do tonight." Jen tried not to look him straight in the eyes, but connected her gaze with his before answering, "You're very welcome, Cal. Don't be a stranger."
She left the infirmary while Klan, Nene, and Will continued with their chatter at Cal's bedside. Jen ran into a familiar crew member while walking away from the infirmary. "Hey, Lieutenant. Out and about tonight?" Jen tried to fake a smile while she shook her head. "No, just gonna spend the rest of the evening in my quarters." She had told a little white lie to Cal, in order to make it seem as though she had a harmless reason for leaving. The truth was that she wanted to spend alone time with Cal and that she was frustrated that he is so easily distracted from her... especially when it has to do with flying.
Back in the infirmary, Will and Nene were quiet as they took a couple of minutes to watch Cal's TV. Klan stretched out and laid sideways on the bed. "Just make yourself at home, Klan," Cal sarcastically said as he took some wadded-up napkins and threw them at her head. She picked them up and tossed them back. "This bed is damn comfy. I think I will take you up on your offer." To Cal, there was something soothing about seeing her at rest. It's a lot different than when she's moving at about at a million miles an hour.
Kanaria burst in to get rid of the pests. "Alright, it's time for you guys to let him get some sleep. Shoo! All of you." "See you tomorrow," they all said as they made their way out of the room. Kanaria was now the only person left in the room. "You get some sleep. I want to be able to release you in the morning," she said with a smile. "Yes, Ma'am," Cal saluted as he laid back down to finish watching his program.
While Cal prepared to go to sleep with not much to be concerned about on his mind, Jen sulked in her quarters. Her mind was preoccupied with thoughts about how she's going to be able to get what she wants. She knows that Cal appreciates her and what she does for him, but it's just not enough to be verbally thanked for her efforts. Realizing that her thoughts are showing an inherent selfishness, she shakes them from her head to clear things up a bit. She laid down on her bed thinking about how he liked it when she traced his hands. At least that was enough to put a smile on her face for now.
...
Bright and early the next morning, Cal stood at the exit of the hallway leading to the infirmary and took a deep breath before moving on. "A long, hot shower is just the thing I need right now," he said to himself as he made his way towards his quarters. He had a few hours to goof around in the morning before he was due to report for duty. Since he wasn't cleared to fly yet, he wondered what kind of tortuous work Klan had dreamed up for him to do during his shift.
Showered and dressed for duty, Cal met up with the rest of Pixie Team to eat breakfast. Klan and Nene actually graced Cal and Will with their presence for a meal. Yet another step was taken to reinforce the togetherness of the pilots. One of the other RVF pilots came up to remark at the bandage still on the side of Cal's head. "Hey Wagner, you've got a hole in your head..." he said as he leaned forward to speak into his head. "Hello... hello... hello..." the pilot faked an echo, "Just as I thought. Empty..." He poked the bandage and Cal reeled back in pain as several pilots who were watching began to laugh. "Get outta here..." Cal exclaimed as he swung his elbow back and hit him in the ribs. The group of pilots left the mess with a laugh. Klan, Nene, and Will snickered while they stuffed food into their mouths.
The four pilots of Pixie Team cheerfully ate their breakfasts while chatting with each other. From another part of the mess hall, Ozma ate his meal alone. He remained silent while he continued to observe the behavior from his most troublesome pilots as of late. Fortunately, everyone seemed to be in good spirits. It looked like there wouldn't be any more trouble from Pixie Team for a little while, at least.
Some time later, Cal leaned against the wall outside of Ozma's office as he waited for Klan to come and give him his assignment. Will found him first and approached him, already in his flightsuit. "So, what's the verdict?" he asked. Cal shrugged as he answered, "I don't know yet. I'm just waiting for her to get here so she can lay it on me." "You ready for anything, then?" Cal smiled at Will's question. "I'll be fine. I really wish I was going to be flying with you guys, but I guess I should start listening to to orders, huh?" Will could only manage a nervous chuckle.
Klan emerged from the stairwell several feet away. She always has a knack of showing up when she's being talked about. "There you are," she said as she walked by the two saluting pilots. She carried a notebook and tablet with her into Ozma's office. Will headed to his bird while Cal went into the office behind Klan and shut the door.
She took a seat behind Ozma's desk and began to punch some keys on the terminal there. Cal took a seat and patiently waited for her to tell him what his job was going to be. She finished working on the computer and turned her attention back to Cal. "Okay, I'm delegating some of my duties to you. You'll be doing some desk jockey work, so I don't want to hear about how you're being physically pushed too hard," she said with smirk. She pushed the notebook forward on the desk towards Cal. "This has several reports that need to be entered into the computer. You should be able to figure out how to do it. I entered my user information to log in, so don't do anything that will get me into trouble, alright?" "Yes'm."
She picked up the tablet and swiveled her chair to the side as she looked at it. "Your other assignment is to read this manual from beginning to end." She turned back towards Cal and placed it in front of him on the desk. "It's the manual we give to pilots who are going to be taking over their own team. It's required learning material for all first lieutenants, but I want you to read it now." She leaned forward and placed her hands down flat on the desk. "This doesn't mean anything right now, but I am sure you will somehow manage to get promoted at some point in your career." She got up from the chair and started to head out of the office. "I have to get going. I'll talk to you in more detail about this later. I just want to say that all you have to do is keep your nose clean and I'll help you get where you want to go in the NUNS."
Cal was having difficulty thinking of how to respond. "Thanks," was all he could say. Klan continued out the door after nodding back in response. What an interesting development this is... Even though she couldn't quite admit it, she seemed to be willing to push him to improve himself. It was a welcome change of pace. Rather than restricting him, Klan was giving him room to grow.
Cal wasn't the only person on the ship who was being groomed for advancement, though. Monica Lang sat patiently at Captain Wilder's desk, working her way through an examination being administered through his computer terminal. Looks of frustration and consternation occasionally made their way onto her face, as she progressed through the test. The bridge remained relatively quiet as the rest of the crew anticipated the results of Monica's testing. Captain Wilder was among those eager to find out the results, although he maintained his steeled demeanor that all ship captains seem to be required to be capable of showing. The terminal next to him audibly notified him of some new information. His reaction to reading it exhibited relief.
Several minutes later, an exhausted and distraught Monica emerged from Wilder's office. She stood outside of the doorway for a moment before inhaling a deep breath and putting a smile on her face. The rest of the bridge crew watched for her reaction in a state of deep anticipation. Upon seeing the look on her face, they were sure that she had passed her examination. "Well?" Mena asked. Monica just nodded in response. Lam and Mena got up from their seats to give her a congratulatory hug. Monica had to downplay it a bit, though. "Relax guys... It's just the first of many tests that I have to pass. From what I hear, it only gets harder from this point."
Her words didn't sway the spirits of the other bridge crew. They continued to dote on her as if she had just won the Miss Macross contest. Captain Wilder got up from his chair to break up the little party and get Monica moving on her next training module. "Can't you see that you're embarrassing her?" he said with a smile. He put his arm around her shoulder and inched her away from the group. "That's exactly the point, Captain," Bobby said with a laugh. Monica continued to blush at the attention she was getting from everyone on the bridge, including her dear Jeffrey.
Monica and Captain Wilder went back into his office to set her up with the next training module. Everyone on the bridge wore a huge grin as they watched the two enter the adjacent room. Jen turned back to her station and began to do some thinking of her own. Having seen a bit of the process involved in achieving the next rank above her own, she wondered if she was ready to take the next step as well.
Bobby turned to Jen and noticed she was focused on something in her mind. "A penny for your thoughts," he said. Jen snapped out of her introspective moment to answer. "Bobby, have you ever considered what it would be like to be in command of your own ship?" He wore a look of concern over the question she asked. "To be honest, I'm actually quite happy where I'm at now. I was never too much of one to take an unquestionable leadership role. Serving on this ship with the people whom I consider to be my second family is all I need to make me happy. However, this is only my opinion. It varies from person to person. What matters is what you want to do with your career and your life. Make sure that you don't fool yourself into thinking that one thing is what you want, when in reality, it's completely different. That's the best way to get yourself trapped into a dead end."
Once again, Jen got more than she bargained for when she asked Bobby that simple question. Fortunately, the entire answer was a little bit of everything that she needed to know at the time. Bobby followed up his answer with a question of his own, "So, have you decided what do you want to do with your career?" Jen looked forward into the view of the fleet suspended in formation outside of the ship. She tried to imagine herself on the bridge of one of those ships, in command of her own crew. Her conversation with Cal a few days earlier also popped up into her mind. "Do what makes you happy," she thought to herself before answering. "You know, I need to think about that before I can give you an honest answer." Bobby smiled, "I completely understand."
...
Cal patiently sat as he was working hard to wrap up the first part of his assignment. He continued to pound away at the keyboard so he could transfer Klan's notes into the computer under each entry. Ozma entered the office and surprised Cal, since he was working at a desk that was not his own. Cal quickly stood up and stood at attention upon Ozma's appearance. "Sit down. I'm just here to get something real quick." Cal hesitated before slowly sitting back down in the chair. "You don't mind that I'm using your desk?" "No, Klan told me you'd be in here for the better part of the day. Don't worry about it."
Ozma noticed the bandage still on the side of Cal's head. He had to pry a little bit, just in case. "So, did you think of anything that you wanted to bring to my attention?" Cal smiled while he kept working at the computer console. "No, Sir. Things are going just fine." Ozma thought about his observations of Pixie Team's behavior during their meal that morning. "That's good to hear. You guys are finally starting to look like a team." Cal looked up and smiled back. "Yes, Sir." Ozma left as quickly as he came in. Cal turned his focus back to his work, but was again interrupted by Alto entering the office a few moments later. Cal had to stand at attention once again.
"What are you doing in here? Aren't you supposed to be on patrol with your team?" Alto asked. "No, Sir. I am not medically cleared to fly until probably tomorrow." Alto smiled and nodded his head, "Oh yeah... I heard about that. It's mostly been rumors, though. What happened?" Alto came and sat down in front of the desk to chat for a bit. Cal sat down after him. "I just overworked myself." "That's not what I heard. The rumor is that you and Klan got into a huge disagreement and she PT'ed your ass into the ground, quite literally." Cal faked a laugh to hide the fact that Alto was pretty close to the truth. "No, that's not quite what happened. I did have to do some PT over a disagreement with her, but it was a small part of the whole. It was mostly because I overworked myself."
More damage control to have to do. This lying business is tough to keep up with, even if the end result is for the best. Alto simply sat in his chair nodding to Cal's response. "So, what are you doing in here, then?" "Instead of flying, Klan has me doing some of her desk work. I got no problem with it, as long as it keeps me productive." As Cal continued with his work, Alto noticed the tablet with the first lieutenant's manual displayed on the screen. "Oh, I see... are you training for a promotion?" Cal looked back up and saw what Alto was looking at. "That? No, Klan just told me to read it after I got done with this. She explicitly told me that 'It doesn't mean anything right now'."
Alto smirked at the apparent naivete coming from Cal. "No, I think that means it's time to get you ready for a promotion. She may not say it, but she means it. I know you used to be engaged to be married with your late girlfriend. You should know better than to take a woman's word at face value and just read between the lines." Suddenly, he remembered that that was the very thing about Sheryl that he was tired of having to deal with. Ranka has always been pretty straightforward with him and it's done well to help them act like themselves whenever they are together.
Cal sat back as he had a burning question to ask. "Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?" Alto shook his head, "No, go ahead." "How do you deal with having two women who both want the same thing from you?" Alto was a bit surprised at the question, but he understood that his predicament was pretty well-spoken of in all of the gossip and tabloid lines of communication. "Honestly, I try not to deal with it at all." "Don't you ever think about choosing one of them to be with?" Alto shook his head at the ridiculousness of the question. "My instinct tells me that it would be destructive to do that right now." "I don't know, it just seems kinda wrong to keep leading them on like that if you aren't going to choose to be with one of them. Not trying to be accusing or anything. Just putting that out there as strictly my opinion."
Alto laughed, "I've heard it from a hundred different people. All I can say is 'you have to be in my position to understand'." Cal turned his attention back to his work. "So, what's it like to have two of the biggest celebrities in this part of the galaxy constantly doting on you?" A slight laugh could be detected in his voice as he asked his question. Alto leaned forward to answer. "All I can say is that it's both a blessing and a curse at the same time. They're both very important to me. I just don't know if I could have come this far in my endeavors without them being there for me. I'll continue to enjoy their company for as long as they remain happy."
Alto sat back into his chair to continue the conversation. "About this promotion thing, though... I'd strongly suggest that you stick close to Klan if you plan on going far. She's going to make herself into something important some day. "Quite frankly, I'm surprised that she's paying this kind of attention to you. Normally, she'd be going at blinding speeds, plowing through everyone and everything in her way. If you ask me, she must see something in you that's worth slowing down for."
Cal sat back in his chair to respond. "Geez, when you put it that way, it makes it sound like she's in love with me, or something. I highly doubt that, though. Why else would she go so far out of her way to try to prove that she's always right and put me through a lot of trouble, just because I happen to rub her fur the wrong way sometimes? We constantly butt heads and argue, but..." Cal stopped talking for a moment to wonder why someone would put up with as much as she had. He had somehow managed to make it into her team in the squadron and was still there today despite the rocky relationship they had. She didn't just take it lying down, though.
"I guess you might have a point. I just would like to get things accomplished on my own," Cal said. Alto knew that Cal's attitude was not going to get him very far. "Let me offer you some advice. You can't do it all on your own. You need the people around you to keep you moving forward. As I said earlier, I wouldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for Ranka and Sheryl. It doesn't necessarily have to be someone who's a love interest, but it certainly can't hurt. If I were you, I'd grab my surfboard and ride the wave that Klan makes for herself." "Yeah, but I don't want to just go along for the ride." "Well, you do have to swim fast on your board so you can catch the wave. After that, it takes skill to stay upright and ahead of the break... otherwise, you'll wipe out."
Alto's analogy did make a lot of sense to Cal. Certainly, he'll have a lot to think about for awhile. Perhaps it would be a good idea to get her to be frank with him on the matter of his career. Alto got back up out of his chair to leave. "I'd better leave you to your work. I don't want to see you getting into trouble for not finishing up, eh?" he said with a wink. Cal tried not to roll his eyes. "Have a nice day, Sir." Once again, Cal was left in silence to complete his work. Although he wanted to think about Alto's advice, he decided that it was a little more important at the time to make sure he was done before Klan returned from her patrol.
...
Cal's presence was sorely being missed out on the front lines. Luca was not able to cover Cal this time on his shift, so Pixie Team had to rely on a fill-in RVF pilot from one of the neighboring ships. Neither the 171EX nor the skills of the pilot flying it had the ability to keep up with the Skull pilots. The group had found another hostile Vajra nest and were engaged in the task of eradicating it. The comm lines were constantly being filled by the RVF pilot screaming for help as he was being overwhelmed by attacking Vajra at every moment. Klan had her hands full just trying to keep him alive.
"Lieutenant, you need to stay well behind us and do your job. I can handle myself just fine without your help. I need the coordinates of that nest, like right now!" she barked over the comm line. "Working on it right now, Commander," he replied. Nene and Will were working hard to fight off several attacking Vajra of their own, but it was not enough to distract them from what was going on around the team as a whole. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that they're purposely targeting the RVF. It's as if they know he's here to help us see better and that he's carrying the incendiaries," Nene said.
The RVF pilot responded to the theory, "Well, if they want a piece of me, they can have it. Okay, I think I can give us an approximation of the nest's loca-" The radio briefly blared static as the other pilots witnessed a shot from a Vajra's beam cannon plow through the front of the RVF's fuselage and melt away the front half of the bird. The rest of the ship listed away for a moment before igniting in a violent explosion. The chemicals contained in the incendiaries added to the intensity of the explosion.
Klan gritted her teeth as she realized that their priorities had to change. "Dammit! That's it, guys. We need to get out of here." Will didn't feel like going anywhere just yet. "Why? We can handle these Vajra." "Because we can't see without an RVF assisting us, and we will not be able to burn out the nest once we find it." Will was frustrated as he realized that Klan was right. The three remaining fighters worked to finish off the rest of the attacking Vajra before more bug reinforcements arrived.
Klan radioed in the coordinates of their encounter with hostile Vajra. Unfortunately, the news of the death of a pilot also had to be included in the report. Ozma had been listening the the radio chatter in his VF, while he waited to taxi out and begin his team's shift. "We'll take care of that, Klan. Just come on back home. You'll have your team back together on your next shift." Although that was something to look forward to for her, she now had to deal with the death of a pilot who was in her team. Even though he was just a temporary fill-in pilot, they're all valuable contributors to the cause. She began to dread the thought of what it would have been like had Cal taken that shot and not some anonymous pilot from another ship.
...
The three remaining fighters of Pixie Team moved their vehicles into storage positions in the Quarter's hangar. Cal stood at attention outside of Ozma's office with the tablet and notebook under his left arm. To all three pilots, seeing their regular wingmate still alive was a breath of fresh air. The feeling seemed to be a bit more profound for Klan, who was ultimately responsible for Cal's, Nene's, and Will's well-being while in combat.
Will quickly exited his VF and ran over to where Cal was standing. He almost jumped on Cal and hugged him. "Will, what the hell are you doing?" Will just let go and started to walk to the locker room as he responded. "It's just good to see you again." Cal was very confused, since he had not heard any details about his substitute having been shot down not too long before then.
Klan climbed out of her Queadluun and approached Cal. Following a customary salute, Cal reported his accomplishments. "Everything's done. I finished your logs and read the entire manual. What do you want me to do with your stuff here?" he said as he shifted the contents under his left arm. "I'll come by your quarters and get them a bit later. I'm glad to see you're still alive and well, Lieutenant." Cal was confused at this outpouring of concern for his well-being by his teammates. "Um, good to see you too, Commander..." Klan turned to walk to the micloning tanks and stopped mid-step. She turned back to Cal to ask something. "You wouldn't happen to be willing to write a notification of death for me, would you?" "Um, what?" "Nevermind... I wouldn't want to put you through that yet." She continued out of the hangar into the next room.
Even though it was a pilot whom had no connections with the Quarter's crew, the stinging pain of death still chewed away at Klan's mind. She needed to write a notification of death and forward it to the pilot's squadron commander. As she slowly typed out the report, thoughts of the past and future danced around in her mind. In the past, she'd lost both Michael and Roramia in combat. However in the future, she was reminded of how fragile the lives of her pilots really are. She was going to have to take extra caution to make sure that no harm came to any of her chicklings in their upcoming combat stints.
On a related note, the one-two punch of a pilot death and mission failure pummeled her mind. She had missed an opportunity to secure another small section of the asteroid belt, and also another opportunity to possibly face off against one of those pesky VF-27s. The ever-increasing use of strategy by the Vajra swarms was making it harder for any VF squadrons to do their jobs. It was the harbinger of things to come. All of the members of the fleet knew that an encounter with organized Galaxy forces was soon to come. The question was "How prepared are they going to be?" This question was also the first and foremost on Captain Wilder's mind.
