Chapter 8David swung the Veritech slowly to port, using the mecha's vernier thrusters to smooth out the turn. He allowed himself a thin smile as the closed the distance to the Prometheus. <Picture perfect.> He throttled back slightly and keyed the comm circuit. "This is Vee Tee Zero Niner Zero. Request landing instructions. Over." "Roger, Vee Tee Zero Niner Zero. You are cleared for landing. Assume approach vector two seven three." "Acknowledged." David said, and switched off the comm. He lined the Veritech up on the designated vector. His smile grew as he ran through the pre-landing checklist, which came to him easily and without thought. So far the flight had gone exactly as he had expected. He was half-tempted to perform a barrel roll, like hot-shot pilots always did in the movies, but decided against it. <No need to screw up on my last day of training.> The Prometheus loomed large in front of him, and he eased back on the throttle. Landing gear extended - there was no real need to go to guardian at this point, as some other trainees had done, since it was simply a routine landing, not some mocked-up combat simulation. He glanced at the on-board avionics display, and adjusted his course and speed slightly so that he was perfectly aligned with the mighty supercarrier that was now part of the SDF-1. The distance dwindled rapidly, until he was above the landing deck. <Touchdown!> he thought with a satisfied sigh, kicking the throttle to fifty percent reverse thrust, bringing the Veritech to a graceful stop. He throttled down to idle and looked for the deck crew. He spotted the EVA-suited crewman who's job it was to guide him to the elevators and turned the Veritech to follow. David spared a glance at the star-field all around him. Somewhere out there, he knew, was the planet Saturn - probably eclipsed by the massive bulk of the SDF-1 itself. He was hoping to get a good look at the ringed world, a chance to fly near it - maybe even through the rings, if he were lucky! <Ah, it just doesn't get any better than this.> He taxied past a blackened and twisted section of decking where a Veritech damaged in the last battle with the aliens had crashed while attempting to land. The pilot hadn't survived. <Nor does it get any worse.> he noted silently.
His training instructor, Lieutenant Kimble, was waiting for him as he exitted the airlock. The Lieutenant had that impassively bland look on his face the no one else could imitate, the look that he adopted whenever he had some sort of critique to give. David silently cursed as he tried to think of what he'd done wrong this time. "Nice job out there, Marshall. I am...impressed." David almost smiled. Coming from Kimble, that was one hell of a complement. "Thank you, sir." He motioned to the Veritech. "It's a marvelous piece of machinery. A real joy to fly." "Glad you like it." The Lieutenant said, pulling an envelope out of his jacket pocket and handing it to David. "This is for you." David glanced at the envelope, his name printed on the front in large letters. "Sergeant David Marshall" it read. Then he did a double take. <Sergeant? When did I become a sergeant?> Almost as if he could read David's mind, Lieutenant Kimble slapped him on the shoulder and said. "Effective today, you've been activated and promoted to the rank of Sergeant." He pointed at the envelope. "That contains your assignment papers and all the forms you'll need for the transfer. Congratulations." David blinked in confusion, then regained his composure and snapped to attention. "Thank you, sir!"
[] David sat nervously in the lounge area adjacent to the berthing area for Blue Squadron. There were several other people in the lounge, all new recruits assigned to the squadron, all waiting for their first meeting with the squadron's CO. David sighed and shifted in his seat, trying to get as comfortable as possible as he let his gaze wander around the room. As far as he could tell, nearly all of the people around him were fresh out of training. Only one stood out as an experience pilot, and he was standing apart from the others, chewing idly on a half-smoked cigarette. There was something about him that made David a bit uneasy - perhaps it was the set of his eyes, or the way he tended to look at the only woman recruit with something between desire and disgust. Whatever it was, David felt himself disliking the man already. David's view was blocked by a shadow that appeared before him. He lifted his gaze and saw that a tall, skinny young man was standing before him, a lopsided grin on his face. David guessed that he was maybe six feet tall, and roughly one hundred forty or fifty pounds. The nervous young man opened his mouth, closed it again, and then managed to stammer out, "Ah, do you mind if I sit there?", motioning to the chair to David's right. David almost said yes, but changed his mind. <No need to be rude on my first day, I guess.> "Sure, be my guest." "Thanks!" He sat himself down heavily, and began smoothing out the wrinkles in his pants. David spared a glance down at his own uniform. He had had it pressed and ironed that morning, but now it was badly wrinkled. No doubt he had a five o'clock shadow, too. He sighed and closed his eyes, content to rest until he was called. <No need to worry about it now.> A vaguely familiar female voice called out "Malone, Sergeant Malone. Come into my office, please." The man David had taken a disliking to straightened and headed for the CO's office. "I remember you from training class. You're name's Marshall, right?" David replied without opening his eyes. "Yep, David Marshall. And you?" "Martuchi. Tony Martuchi. Pleased to meet you." David opened his eyes and saw that Tony had his hand extended. David sighed and reached out himself, shaking his hand firmly. "I still can't believe that I'm an honest-to-God fighter pilot now!" "What's not to believe?" David replied. "We're in a war, in deep space, and they need pilots." "Yeah, I guess." Tony said. "I didn't sign up to be a pilot, though. I wanted to be a technician. I mean, working on those Veritechs! Boy, I would love to get inside on of those things and see what makes it tick." "I'm sure you'll have your chance." David stretched and sat up. <Not going to get any rest right now, I guess.> "You'll be assigned your own Veritech, and you can tinker with it all you want." Tony seemed to be surprised at that, and sat back in his chair, obviously lost in thought. David smiled slightly and closed his eyes again. <Okay, let's try this again, shall we?> Tony cleared his throat, and David opened his eyes once more. "I wonder what model I'll get? Maybe an 'A' model, or maybe a 'J'. I hope it's a 'J'. I'd like a 'J'." Tony turned in his chair, his eyes alight with wonder. "Which do you like best?" David thought about this for a minute. "Well, I'm not too picky, really. If it were up to me, though, I think I'd prefer a functioning Valkyrie over anything else. They're all the same, really, except maybe the 'S' model, but those are reserved for squadron leaders. I'm just a poor little sergeant, so I'll probably get an 'A'." Tony blinked in surprise. "You're a sergeant already? How'd you manage that?" "Beats the hell outta me." David answered. "It came with my assignment to Blue Squadron." "Maybe you'll be a squad leader or something, huh?" David laughed. "I really doubt it. I don't have any practical experience, so they'd have to be really desperate to put me in charge of anybody." He sighed. "Besides, I don't want to be in charge of anybody. A bit too much responsibility for my tastes." Tony was about to say something when the CO's door swung open and the familiar female voice called out again, this time with a slight edge to it. "Marshall, David, and Martuchi, Tony. Get in here!" <Christ, she sounds pissed. This aught to be interesting.> David pulled himself out of his chair and straightened his uniform as best he could. He spared a glance at Tony, who seemed more nervous than before, and headed for the CO's office. David was surprised to see that Lieutenant Landers was Blue Squadron's Commanding Officer. He and Tony walked up to her desk, snapped to attention, and saluted. Lieutenant Landers, seated behind the desk, returned their salute. David couldn't help but notice that she seemed to be counting silently to herself, such as some people did to control their tempers. He shot a quick glance to the right, where Sergeant Malone was standing stiffly, his face impassive, and guessed that some heated words had been said. Lietenant Landers stood up and looked them over, and David cursed his wrinkled uniform one more time. "Welcome to the NighHawks, gentlemen." "Thank you, sir!" David and Tony both said simultaneously. "I wish I had more time to spend talking with each of you, but things have been crazy around here lately, and I'm running short on time." She motioned towards Sergeant Malone. "This is Sergeant Jack Malone, and he's in charge of Gamma Squad. I'm placing you both under his command. Understand?" "Yes, sir!" "Good. Now, he's going to show both of you around the berthing area, and then take you both down to the Prometheus for your Veritech assignments." She turned to Sergeant Malone. "I want them back here by eighteen hundred hours." "Yes, sir." Malone replied, his voice tight. David wondered what had been said between them, then decided that he didn't want to know, after all "Good. You'd better get going, there's a lot to be accomplished today." She saluted, and all three of them returned it. "Oh, and Sergeant Malone? Don't forget what I said to you." "I won't, sir." Malone answered icily, then headed for the door. David and Tony turned to follow. Just as David reached the door, Lieutenant Landers called his name. "Yes, sir?" he asked, pausing by the door. "I'll want to speak with you later tonight about your actions on Macross Island." She smiled wearily at him. "Around nineteen hundred hours in this office." "Yes sir." David replied, then turned ran after his squad-mates, who were already halfway down the hall.
Forward to Chapter 9.
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