I felt like I was going to have a heart attack or something. This was way too much information.
“I… uh… uh… I… team?”
I took a deep breath while looking at the lieutenants’ confused face and tried again.
“Can I uh, get the opinion of my team first before I decide it does involve their future too”
She smiled and nodded her head before she spoke. “A wise choice, yes of course, then have your hud send me the answer so you don't have to come back here again, and I can get to work on sorting the mess my predecessor left behind. Corporal, you have a big week ahead of you, but I know you can do it. Oh, right before I forget, you are probably worried about the difficulty Twiddles was setting for you in the realistic mode, well you don't need to worry about that anymore Ms Twiddles was charged with a fair few crimes and was court-martialed for things including but not limited to the harsh treatment of recruits that according to the evidence has been going on for a long time, so you were not the first she attempted to force wash out, but you will be the last. She was also charged with bribing a marine to purposefully murder a recruit pilot during a joint training exam. Yes, your team was being tested. However, there is evidence that the marine refused until the marines' children were threatened to get him to open fire on your cockpit. I think the charge of treason was even thrown at her, anyway she is no longer in the Galactic Federation Alliance and has already been sent back to her home world to spend the rest of her life in a four by four padded wall jail cells for the criminally insane. Now if that is all then you are dismissed”
I saluted, turned and then left the room as I stepped out. The man was now pushing bubbles out of the sticker on the door that read Lieutenant Oostarn. I smiled at it and then quickly headed to the cafeteria, where my team should be eating at this time. I felt lighter and like a hundred years of stress had been removed from my shoulders, and almost skipped into the cafeteria and over to the table my team was eating at.
“Damn, corporal, did you win the lottery or something? You look downright ecstatic.”
“Lieutenant Oostarn just made me team leader again and informed me that the molten hounds are gone, so they will be replaced with their instructors for the remaining half of boot camp, so our training won't suffer, but we have to complete a simulation on protocols and formations that we were supposed to have learnt last week before we can tackle this week's training. The better news is I have found out why the missions were so difficult, and the person responsible for throwing extra challenges into the simulation has been… removed permanently, so we won't have to worry about them anymore. But we do have a decision we need to make… together”
“What is it?”
“Yea, don't keep us in suspense, what is it?”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
“Ma’am, we will follow you no matter the decision you have already proven to be an effective leader and I personally would follow you to your next posting given the option and if you give me the name of your solar system's orbital station I will move to it and join your guild. Because I really want to remain in your team”
“Yea, what Johnson said”
“Oh there is no way you are getting rid of me either, we are all star hawks for life now. I am even considering getting the emblem tattooed on my arm!”
We all turned to look at PFC Ripter after he made that declaration and stared for a few seconds. The thought of what the hell an orbital station even was evaporated from my mind. The emblem drifted into it, and for a few seconds I even pictured it on my own right shoulder.
“Let's do it”
“Yea, come on. Let's go get it done right now, all of us”
“My idea, so you know I'm in”
All three of them turned to look at me with expectant eyes and big grins. ‘Fuck, peer pressure strikes again. I wonder how pissed dad’s going to be when a tattoo appears on my shoulder while I'm sleeping’ I couldn't help thinking before a huge grin spread across my face.
“Damn, alright, let's do it!” I cheered before stopping and smacking my forehead. “Oh, crap, I forgot the big decision, we have to decide if we want to continue in realistic mode or wimp out and do basic mode for the rest of boot camp.”
The three of them laughed at me before standing up and herding me across to a little kiosk near the barracks, and Johnson started fiddling with it as the other two grinned at me. It was PFC Ripter that answered for all of them.
“Isn't it obvious we are hardened realistic boot camp trained drop pilots, why would we wimp out now when we are already halfway through. Let's finish this shit in style, Corporal!”
I grinned and nodded as I typed out the message on my hud and sent it stating our intent to continue on realistic. I then walked over to the kiosk and looked at the design program closing and a window opening asking if Johnson was sure he wanted to use that design and I could see a perfect picture of The star hawk emblem positioned to cover the right shoulder. He clicked yes, and then a hand print appeared on the screen asking for payment. He clicked split payment, then placed his hand on the screen. PFC Ripter quickly ran forwards and slapped his hand down on the kiosk screen. PFC Walker quickly moved forward, pushing Ripter out of the way so she could place her hand down on the screen, and then I slowly moved toward the machine as they made room for me. I looked down at the hand print and smiled softly.
“We are Star Hawks for life. We now fly together in this life and the other." I proudly declared.
They screamed yea! As the four of us raised our right fists into the air together with big grins on our faces only for them to vanish a second later as we began to scream and rip at your tops to expose our right shoulders that was being burnt and coloured revealing a tattoo in the most specific detail and colour I had ever seen like the tattoo was alive and would devour me if I wasn't careful.
“Holy mother of all living fuckity fucks that hurt!” I screamed as I turned a few times, waving my clutching my arm as I tried to mitigate the pain. After whom knows how long, I finally stopped and turned to stare at the other three before the mention of an orbital station popped into my head and I frowned.
“What's an orbital station?” I asked curiously.
The three of them froze and turned to stare at me like I had lost my mind, before Johnson finally coughed and asked.
“Your system doesn't have an orbital station? How the hell is your solar system progressing?”
I blinked confusedly as I stared at them. My eyes shifted from one to the next, each looking back at me like I had lost my mind and should know exactly what something as basic as an orbital station for my solar systems’ name would be.
“I… uh, well you know scientist invents stuff and then ya know patents and stuff before it ends up on the market, but orbital stuff is a little out of our reach we are working on it though. Rockets and satellites, we are getting there”