"Deck 9." The robotic female voice announced after a chime. The four of them stepped through the opening and into the hall.
The uniforms changed drastically from floor to floor. The top decks precisely fresh look had relaxed on the 28th deck, and by the time they reached the 10th deck many of the personnel wore civvy clothes, some even wore sick wear. Some of them were being held in medical detention, and some were there to visit.
Here, on the 9th deck, crisp uniforms were exchanged for stained overalls. More notable than clothes was how people held themselves. The work was hard, but formalities gave way to informal discussions while carrying out their duties. Techs, engineers, and mechanics. They did more work than the upper decks combined, and whether they knew it or not, they were an essential finger of The Confederation's fist.
"Bird will be with her baby, no doubt about that," Doc said.
They walked through an opening that spanned multiple drop ships. As they made their way, multiple vehicles came and went, hauling spare parts and heavy equipment. The sounds of tools echoed throughout the docking bay. Steel banged into place, steel on steel methodical booms. One-man fighters and multi-crew dropships were awaiting a time to leave. Even a frigate lay in the distance.
Thorann glanced back at the recruit, whose eyes were wide in amazement. "Ever been to a docking bay?" He asked with a grin.
The recruit didn't seem to hear him, his eyes darting around the noisy place. His eyes fell back to Thorann and he replied by shaking his head.
"The last of our crew pretty much lives down here," Doc said.
"We have a wrench swinger on the squad?" The recruit asked with a light laugh.
His laugh was cut abruptly with the sounds of the air leaving him. Thorann turned back, to see that Triple was holding him off his feet by the scruff of his jacket. Triple's eyes, which were usually on the verge of laughter, were now dark with pure anger.
"Triple, put him down. The kid didn't mean anything by it." Doc said as he lay a hand on Triple's wrist.
He wouldn't let him go. Unspeaking. Unblinking. Triple continued to dangle the recruit in mid-air.
"Now, Triple." Thorann said with the precision of a D-31-A Rifle.
The moment the words left his mouth Triple dropped the recruit, maintaining a glare. "What did you mean by that?" Triple asked, as he hunched over, now looking directly down at the recruit.
The recruit stared up at him with a confused look. "I, I," he stammered. He glanced at Thorann looking for help.
"I'm sure the kid was just..." Doc started, but Triple raised a hand which stopped him.
"He's a grown man, he can speak for himself," Triple stated, maintaining his stare. "Ready to talk?"
"I," the recruit said. "It's just one of the things people say about engineers and stuff, you know?"
"This is the only warning you'll get," Triple said as he took a deep breath. "Don't talk bad about Bird." He finished, stood tall and walked briskly past Thorann.
The recruit hid his hands in his pockets, and his head fell to the floor.
"Come on, better catch up," Thorann said, as he turned around to follow Triple, who shrank in the distance.
"Don't worry about it," Doc spoke as he followed behind. "Triple can have a short fuse with certain things."
"He can have a short fuse concerning only one thing," Thorann said, without looking back at them.
They passed by rows of ships. Shining steel. Brand new components. Guns gleamed reflecting the overhead lights. None of them had seen combat by the look of it. Fresh from the factories, loaded up, and ready for their first blood. Some they passed were even in the process of being assembled. After passing by one of the larger dropships, Tera came into view.
She was old, worn, and had seen countless flights. She had undergone many upgrades, and while there were two generations of ships ahead of her, she maintained her edge. The one person to thank for that was Bird.
"There she is," Thorann said with a smile he couldn't hide. "Tera's looking eager to get off this cruiser too."
"That she is," Doc replied. "Who could blame her though, this ship got old real quick."
"It'll be good to feel real sun and breathe real air." The recruit said.
"True," Doc replied, nudging him. "But, don't get your hopes up, a murky swamp world like Trisk won't have much of either."
As they reached the ship, Bird looked up and stared through protective head gear. Her visor was fogged, almost completely obscuring her face. "Dert, what's the plan? Can we fly?"
"We can fly," Thorann said.
Bird jumped to her feet and took her head gear off. Her black greasy hair was tied back in a tight bun, and her face was streaked with dirt. "I should clean up," she said, wiping sweat from her forehead.
"I think you're perfect the way you are," Triple said, his expression flat, and eyes diverted.
She glanced at him and creased her brow, pulling a face of sickened amusement. Bird then shook her head lightly, and looked back at the ship. "Give me a few minutes to freshen up and get out of these overalls."
Triple seemed to blush at the thought of that. His mouth opened lightly, and he closed it, no doubt having fought the urge to comment.
Bird hit the side of the ship, and the door opened up showing the inside of it. Their armoury, cargo hold, and seating area combined. Triple put out his arm, which Bird grabbed for leverage as she dived up to it. Once in, she hit the side of the door and it closed behind her.
"Just waiting on one more," Thorann said.
"No, you're not, Dert bird. Been tailing you since you left the meeting." The low gruff voice of Lags The Eye appeared behind him. Like a reptile he moved methodically, and with purpose, to join the others, his black armour so bright it was almost hard to look at.
"Lags," Thorann said, almost surprised. "We're being sent to Trisk."
"I know," he said as he walked past him and stopped at the recruit. "Hold out your hand, I need to read your chip." The recruit did as asked and Lags ran a small device over it. "There, now if you die down there I'll be able to find your corpse." He said as he turned around and walked to Triple, standing beside him he leaned back against the ship.
"Well, he'll be able to find your hand at least," Triple chuckled.
"The same goes for all of us," Thorann interjected. "Lags, do you have the brief?" He asked.
Lags didn't respond with words, and just nodded his head slowly. One eye glanced down to a small device, his replacement eye maintained contact with Thorann, darting around occasionally to each of them. It was red, and pulsated, a small white bead bouncing around its circular prison.
They were all present, and Thorann glanced at each of them while they waited for Bird. They were all eager to head out, but there was an unspoken tension lingering in the air. This wasn't the same as their usual missions, and they all knew it. This wasn't a raid on a pirate base, and it wasn't an uprising on a colony world. This was war; true war. War with an enemy none of them knew fully.
If anyone was afraid, or nervous, they hid it well behind a mask of excitement.
