Fire Ant by Jonathan P. Brazee

Author:Jonathan P. Brazee [Brazee, Jonathan P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Semper Fi Press
Published: 2018-03-21T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

“You ready to get to work, Petty Officer Dalisay?” Commander Tuominen asked, stepping from around his desk. “And at ease, for God’s sake.”

“Yes, sir, I’m ready,” she said, relaxing her position of attention.

“Good to hear it. We’ve got an exercise in three days, and I want you to be part of it.”

“Uh, sir, I don’t have a ship yet. I just came over from Type School.”

“Then what are you doing here gabbing with me?”

“Uh . . . they told us at boot—”

“Hell, Dalisay, calm down. I’m not serious.”

Beth wondered if the commander knew just how imposing he looked. She’d actually been worried she’d done something wrong.

“You do have to get going, and I’m snowed under with paperwork, but if I can’t take a moment to welcome my newest pilot, well, something’s wrong. Take a seat.”

He slid into an oversized chair that fit his frame while Beth hopped up onto one next to him. It wasn’t quite as bad as the one in the conference room where they’d first met, but she wished there was something a little smaller, at least so she could rest her feet on the deck.

“I’ve been watching your progress, and you did well in Type School, scoring in the 95th percentile.”

Beth didn’t even know they were being ranked, but she should have. If she thought HB was detail-oriented before, she now knew the Navy was far, far worse (or better, depending on the frame of reference).

“Chief Garcia’s got your ship primed and ready, and I want to you to get at least ten hours in before the exercise. The X models are a lot different than the T’s at Type School.”

“I did a check-flight in a Bravo, sir,” Beth offered.

The commander gave a short chuckle, then said, “Not even close.

“Anyway, are you locked into berthing?”

“No, sir. I just got here from Charlie.”

Charlie Station was the largest of the stations around Refuge, housing over 2,000 smaller craft and with gates for 20 capital ships at a time. The administrative headquarters, as well as boot camp, family housing, the naval hospital, and scores of other facilities were on the planet’s surface, but most of the force was in orbit or scattered throughout the system. VFX-99 was located on Sierra Station, which was carved out of a rogue moon that had long ago broken free from the system’s main gas giant. Sierra was a secure station with limited access. As far as Beth knew, VFX-99 and a SEAL team were the only units stationed there.

“Well, we’re a little tight on space here, so you’ll be doubling up with Petty Officer Hamlin. Sorry about that.”

“No problem, sir,” she said.

She’d just spent eight weeks in a squadbay with 200 of her not-so-closest friends, then shared a six-person space with other petty officers at Type School.

“OK, well, I want you to get your final fitting and synch with your Wasp today, so when you leave here, go to the hangar and get that done. Then worry about your berthing. Did Master

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