Commander Grayson let out a heavy sigh as he sunk into his chair. "Well, the intercept was a success, but we're left with more questions than answers." He stared idly at his screen, finger drumming along his desk. "For a flight of smugglers to be protected by so many mercenaries… it just doesn't add up. I'll have to make some calls. It looks like I've got a busy few days ahead of me, but as for you, Locksmith Squadron, good work out there. Go get some rest. Dismissed."
Without another word, the five pilots made their way out of the briefing room, leaving Commander Grayson alone with his thoughts. Avery looked out the window, watching a golden hue blanket Presidia as the sun began its descent behind the ocean horizon. It was a sight that never got old to her, but she was even more glad to see it today. Her first day had been more eventful than she initially thought it might be, but now that it was gradually drawing to a close, she couldn't help but think that she would come to enjoy her time here.
"Well, Grayson was certainly right about one thing," Cutter said, finally breaking the silence. "I think we all deserve some rest after all this action we've had." He turned to face the newest member of the squadron. "Especially you. Those moves you pulled out there were really something. You're bunking with ASH, so she can show you the way to your room. All your stuff should be there as well, so take some time to unwind. That goes for all of you," he added, turning to face the others. "Rest assured, though, tonight we celebrate, so don't rest for too long," he said with a smirk spread across his face.
Avery turned to ASH, who nodded and began making her way down the hallway. Neither of them spoke a word, but Avery felt as if she had a million things she needed to tell her new wingman. Except none of the words came out, so all she could do was follow along and watch her. ASH had a sort of quiet swagger to the way she carried herself- as if she wanted nobody but those immediately around her to think that she was as confident as she looked. Her eyes were locked forward- only looking in another direction when she rounded a corner- and her arms moved back and forth in a perfect rhythm, angled close enough to her body that they just barely avoided brushing against her swaying hips. Finally, she stopped in front of a door and opened it up. Avery followed her in to see a small room with a single bed on each side, a locker built into the wall across from both beds, and a tiny desk with a rickety metal folding chair at the foot of the beds.
ASH stopped in the center of the room and turned around to face Avery again, arms outstretched. "Well, here it is. It ain't much, but it's home," she said, sitting down on the bed to the right. "Your stuff is right over there. Although it looks like it shouldn't take you too long to unpack." She pointed to the two bags sitting in front of the locker.
"Yeah, I travel light," Avery replied as she kneeled down in front of her few belongings. She unzipped the first bag that had all of her clothes in it. "I don't need a whole lot, so I don't wanna bother lugging around huge suitcases when I don't need to." She pulled out one of her folded shirts and hung it up.
"Heh. At least I won't have to worry about you taking up all the space in here," ASH joked, watching her new roommate as she unpacked. "I just hope you're not a big snorer."
Avery laughed. "Well, I haven't had any complaints yet." She hung up the last of the clothes from her first bag before sliding it under the small gap between her bed and the floor. She unzipped her second bag and looked inside. It was heavier than the first even though it was only half as full. All it had was a laptop, a few framed photos, and a sealed letter. It took just a few moments to set it all up on her desk. "There we go," Avery said, stepping back to admire her handywork. "Looks like home already. It's got that kind of… charm to it, I guess."
ASH nodded. "Few years down the line, it'll start to feel more like home than your actual home."
The smile on Avery's face slowly dissipated as she sat down on her bed across from ASH. "Provided I live that long. Hell, I'd be dead right now if it weren't for you," she pointed out, doing her hardest to avoid looking the other woman in the eye. "Seeing that bandit getting closer- being totally powerless to do anything- it was uh… it was scary, to say the least, so… thank you, truly."
Avery finally looked up at ASH, and to her surprise she was smiling. It wasn't a smile that came off as smug or teasing. It was just a genuine, reassuring smile- a beautiful smile, even. "That's what wingmen are for, isn't it?" she asked as she stood up and walked over to Avery. "As long as we're in the same squad, you can count on me keeping you safe," she promised.
The two of them shared a brief hug, and Avery felt her anxieties vanish. It was completely unexpected, but nice. "Thanks, ASH," she finally said as they broke off.
ASH waved her hand dismissively. "Ah, you can just call me Amber. After all, we're roomies. Speaking of which, I think that means it falls to me to give you the grand tour around here, so I won't I show you around and then we can find the others?"
The two pilots then got up and began making their way around the base. ASH explained everything as they walked, and things gradually began to make more and more sense for Avery. The dots started connecting, and she started feeling like she could actually get around the base on her own. After all, the general layout of the place was easy enough to memorize. All it took for her was to remember one important thing in a general area, and then to think about what all was around it. It was a strategy that had served her well in the past and seemed to be keeping up that track record. Finally, though, she and ASH found their way back to the rec room they had met in just a few hours prior. Cutter, Pad, and Babble were already there, gathered at one of the bigger tables near the center of the room.
"Heh, 'bout time you two showed up. We've been waiting," Pad teased them as the two women joined the group. "Hard to have a celebration without the one we're celebrating for."
ASH rolled her eyes with a smirk and took a seat. "Yeah, yeah. For your information, I was giving her The Tour." She put airquotes around the tour as if it was some big event.
"This place honestly looked a lot more confusing from the window of the transport plane as I was coming in," Avery said as she followed ASH's lead and took a seat.
Cutter smiled. "Well, not only are you one of us, now, but you're officially an ace- congrats, kid."
"Gotta admit, that was some pretty good flying you did up there for someone just out of the Academy," Babble said, looking at Avery from across the table. "You were really something."
Avery shook her head. "Oh, no, I was never that good during any of the exercises at the Academy. It must've either been the adrenaline from being in combat for the first time or just plain good luck," she dismissed the compliment.
Cutter shrugged. "Luck or not, five kills is five kills, and that warrants a celebration," he pointed out. At the center of the table there was five shot glasses and a bottle of beer- Avery wasn't knowledgeable enough on alcohol to know what specifically it was. Screwing off the cap, he filled up each glass, passing each of them off to one of the pilots before picking up the last one and raising it high. "Here's to Glade, the newest ace of the Federation Air Force!"
Everyone raised their glasses and a there was a slight clink as they came together. "Hear, hear!" the others cheered before taking a drink.
Avery looked down at the small glass, swirling around the alcohol inside. However, it didn't take long for Pad to notice. "You not a fan of scotch?" he asked. Think we've got some bourbon or tequila if that's more up your alley."
Avery shrugged, not taking her eyes off the shot glass. "I wouldn't know. I've never really had any kind of beer."
A mischievous grin spread like a plague onto the face of every pilot sitting around her. "Well, c'mon then. No better time to find out what it tastes like," Babble insisted.
"Alright, alright- as long as it gets you all off my back," she joked, looking once more at the glass in her hands. "Here goes nothing, I guess." She put the glass to her lips and gulped the liquid down. Almost immediately, though, she found herself ready to gag. Her reflexes went to work before she even had time to process what it even tasted like and blocked the scotch from going down her throat.
Everyone laughed at her reaction. ASH reached over for a small trash bin and picked it up. "Here," she offered, holding it in front of Avery, who wasted no time in spitting the drink out.
Avery took a few deep breaths before resting her head on the table. "How the hell do you guys drink that shit?" she asked.
"With difficulty," Cutter admitted. "I'm not as good at holding my liquor as I was a few years ago."
Avery set the now empty glass down and pushed it away toward the center of the table. "I'm still just trying to wrap my head around this whole thing. I mean, I never would've thought that I'd see actual combat on my first day here- nevermind getting five kills in a single sortie."
Suddenly, a deep voice spoke up behind Avery in a surprisingly pleasant tone. "Really? Seems I've missed quite a lot."
Avery whipped around in her chair to see a tall, older man standing above her. "I, uh… hi?" she said, unable to really say anything else.
"Well, well, well, look at who's back early," Cutter said, gesturing to the man. "Glade, this here is Major Mitchell Ryan, callsign Shepard- CO of Locksmith Squadron." Cutter turned his attention from Avery to Shepard. "I thought you weren't getting back 'till tomorrow?"
Shepard shrugged. "Got lucky, I guess. There was an open seat on a flight leaving today, so they offered it to me. I just got here a few minutes ago," he explained before returning his attention to the newest member of the squadron. "So, you're Lieutenant Finch, then?"
Avery nodded. "Yes, sir- callsign is Glade." She felt like she should be saying more. After all, this was going to be her boss. Despite that, though, nothing else came to mind, and she just sad there looking up at him awkwardly.
Shepard was unphased by this, though. He simply looked down at her with a warm smile. "Pleasure to meet you, kid. Grayson told me about that little scuffle you had with the mercs at Fresnon- weird stuff. Probably the first time I've ever heard of smugglers having a fighter escort."
"They must've really wanted whatever it is they were smuggling to get where it was going," Pad speculated. "Especially if they had that many fighters."
"Well, no point in worrying about it," Shepard decided. "Grayson'll get to the bottom of things like he always does. What I'm more interested about is hearing about the details from the sortie today- especially from our new ace," he said as he pulled up a chair to sit with the others.
Babble took the lead in explaining everything- to nobody's surprise- and even used her hands as a diagram of sorts to explain the maneuvers everyone was performing. Before she even realized it, Avery had jumped in and began explaining everything she had done during the mission. Shepard listened on curiously and intently, along with the others, and Avery couldn't help but smile as she continued talking. As her first official day in the Federation Air Force drew to a close, she thought about how it went better than she could've possibly expected it to have gone, and it was mostly thanks to the men and women that were part of her squadron. She could already tell that she was going to get along with everyone just fine.