Feeling a little alone and left behind, I kept gncing at the camera feed as I ran through my checklist again, making sure everything was in working order and ready for takeoff. Once I was done with the checklist and my passengers still had not shown up, I couldn't help but gre at the camera feed for a few seconds before letting out a sigh, knowing that gring at a holo screen wouldn't do anything.

  “Status” I mumbled.

  Name: Kenna Rowan Mackenzie

  Cn: Mackenzie

  Cn rank: P. Baron-Tak

  Military Rank: Private First Css

  Military Position: Boot Camp Alpha Squad, Team Leader, Star Hawks

  Gactic Credits: 10,743

  Css: Void Pilot

  Titles:

  Survivors guiding light.

  Scion of cn Mackenzie

  I felt a small sense of pride as I looked at the star hawk in my military position. It felt like I belonged to something unique. Feeling the urge to go see the emblem, I got out of my seat and walked through the cockpit door past the seats and down the ramp before turning right and walking around the side of the ship to look at the huge emblem on the side. It looked like it was part of the metal, huge and beautiful.

  A bang snapped me out of my admiration for it and caused me to turn my head to see a stream of green camo-wearing marines running out of a door towards the drop-ships. I noticed as they reached the optimal spot they would diverge like a river hitting a rock, until five streams were running across the hanger deck, one for each drop-ship. A few seconds ter, the squad of marines heading for my drop-ship was storming up the ramp and inside, only for the st man to stop at the bottom of the ramp, staring at me.

  “You the pilot?”

  Like an eejit, I just nodded. I felt like my mouth was open slightly, so I quickly closed it before letting out a cough to cover my embarrassment.

  “Yes, uh. Yes, I’m the pilot”.

  “You know, you're supposed to be in the cockpit not ogling your team's emblem, right?”

  I felt a blush rush up my neck and over my face before a gre settled in pce. I was about to open my mouth and yell, but he spoke first, preventing my tirade.

  “Although I must admit it is very beautiful, and yet terrifying but also, one of the most unique creatures I have ever seen.” he grinned at me then walked up the ramp and into the drop-ship leaving me there alone. I let out a sigh as I took one st look at it and ran to follow him into the drop-ship. He was strapping himself into a seat. I gred at him as I walked past, heading for my pilot’s seat.

  *******

  Sergeant Oliver Sanchez had just strapped himself into the drop seat and looked up to see the cute pilot walk past him. He couldn't help but grin as he saw her gring at him. Somehow she looked cuter when she was gring. He shook his head trying to dislodge the idea that this pilot kind of reminded him of his little sister back home and turned his attention to work and used his mind to open his hud and start a chat channel with the other members of his squad.

  [SGT. Sanchez: Listen up, we are headed to the pnet Junto’clera. Popution… uh, I can't count that high, but let's say it is a very big number. That means there is no rest for us wicked souls! Haha, alright We will be up against those ugly blue octopus head-looking people, no other species will be in this engagement… no promises for tomorrow. Expect bows, darts and lots of poison. Oh, and don't forget they can spray that ink crap from their faces, if it gets in your eyes it will eat your eyeballs right out of your skull.]

  He paused there as he accessed one of those apps he was not meant to use in a boot camp training server, but he felt that a pilot really should experience it happening before they got blindsided by it during real combat. The app brute forced a connection for him to the ships’ cameras, allowing him to see what the pilot saw outside the drop-ship.

  “Shit, those spitfires are already missing two of their pilots? That's not going to bode well for this group of recruits,” he muttered to himself as he observed the drop-ships flying in a V formation, with the drop-ship he was on in the lead. Personally, he would have had them flying in a diamond formation. The spitfires were also formed up in a V formation of their own, covering the front and sides. He was about to turn his attention back to prepping his men when the spitfire on the left side of the formation exploded. Before he could blink, all the drop-ships suddenly broke formation flying in a chaotic pattern as they spun and twirled, the speed increasing as they left the spitfires behind. They reformed back up in a diamond formation and began to corkscrew their way towards the pnet at a speed that had him getting nervous about how fast they were going to hit the atmosphere at. He could see the spitfires trying to keep up, but it was clear they didn't have the same level of training as these pilots. He shifted nervously in his seat when he saw them shift suddenly, alternating their flight path to skim against the atmosphere instead of into it. A second ter, another spitfire was destroyed as it did not shift with the drop-ships.

  [CPL. Lipsto: Sarge, are you seeing this feed? Who the hell are these pilots? Seriously, this flying is good enough to attract the interest of them.]

  [SGT. Sanchez: I know, but it is rough and unpolished. Still, it is surprising that they are only in the first week of boot camp. I wonder how much time they have spent in the training simutor?]

  [CPL. Lipsto: You are kidding, right? Can the simutor even train this kind of skill?]

  [SGT. Sanchez: uh? I admit it's been a while… Wait, wait, are you noticing it? Our ship is leading, and the others are following a few seconds behind, it is like a spiralling dance of follow the leader.]

  [CPL. Lipsto: oh, shoot, you are right. Dang, if she stays team leader till the end of their training, then these pilots are going to become very attractive recruits for them.]

  [SGT. Sanchez: I have no doubt she will, only a serious bone head would take TL from her at this point.

  [CPL. Lipsto: she is passing through the atmosphere, I think it's time we start prepping the squad. Sir]

  [SGT. Sanchez: oh, right, we are still talking in the squad channel, aren't we? Okay, you all know the drill, we go in, grab the mission objective and drag his ass back to the drop-ship and haul him back up to the carrier. It's an easy in and out! Let's get it done!]

  [YES SIR!]

  [YES SIR!]

  [YES SIR!]

  [YES SIR!]

  [YES SIR!]

  [YES SIR!]

  Yes, sir, started flooding my squad channel. I didn't much care about looking at who said it. My attention had already shifted back to the cameras, watching the st spitfire crash into the atmosphere at the wrong angle and go up in a ball of fme. I gritted my teeth and shook my head slightly, ‘Those pilots were definitely green’ I thought as the ship I was on started rushing towards the ground. I stood up and turned towards the drop door, ready to run out with my squad.

  [SGT. Sanchez: on three! One… Two…