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« on: July 29, 2015, 02:41:25 pm »
Aboard the USSF Academy
Unknown Star Sector
Friday, May 30, 2358
07:35 Hours
One of the dock workers sees Lee taking deep breaths.
"Never met someone who liked breathing synthetic oxygen," he muttered to himself.
Candace, Desmond, and McLain all arrived around 07:45, taking to heart Nevarez's statement that "in the USSF, if you aren't fifteen minutes early, you're fifteen minutes late." After introductions were made, the four pilots boarded an FTL shuttle to the USSF Delaware.
After a brief FTL jump, the shuttle docked with the Delaware, a Statesman-Class cruiser. With its small crew of around 2,500, it was dwarfed by the behemoth battleships of the Central Fleet. As the pilots disembarked, they were greeted by an older man in the uniform of a Star Force cruiser captain, and a man in a flight suit, who looked to be in his early forties. Instinctively, the four pilots saluted. " At ease. I'm Captain Patterson. Welcome aboard my ship. I'm late for a staff briefing, but Senior Airman Dalton will show you to your quarters." With that, the older man turned and left. "Like the boss said, I'm Senior Airman Dalton. I'm the XO for the 374th squadron, so you'll all be reporting directly to me. I'm guessing they didn't brief you on the situation in this sector back at training. You'll find out soon enough. Follow me."
As the pilots followed Dalton down the hallways of the ship, they began to become familiar with its layout. They emerged on a catwalk over what was presumably the main hangar. On the deck below, the engineers were hosing down and dismantling four twisted, burnt hulks of metal. Dalton grimaced. "That's all that's left of the last four replacements. Poor bastards. Hopefully you'll last longer than them. Your birds are being assembled and shipped here now, they'll arrive tomorrow. My ship's in the reserve hangar being repaired. Here, let's keep going." After a few more minutes of walking, they arrived at a door. Dalton handed each pilot a key card. "This will get you anywhere in the ship that you're authorized to be. Don't lose it." Dalton removed his own from a lanyard around his neck and slid it through the reader. The room was plain, with two sets of bunk beds and an adjoining bathroom. "Welcome to your quarters. Get settled in, I'll brief you all later tonight."
