Unity

Chapter 6

The first week of training followed a very strict routine. The morning was spent in the classroom covering various topics to help us integrate better with the military lifestyle. Many of the topics were dull. The best part of the day was after lunch. The time between lunch and dinner was spent either in the simulators, or in a nearby classroom debriefing from simulator missions and discussing tactics. I took as many notes as I could. The evenings were ours to spend how we desired. Many people took this opportunity to sleep. Others wandered the station or spent time in the gym. I ended up doing some of all three.

Sunday was the closest thing we had to a day off. Every squadron had a different assignment to complete. Once that was accomplished, the rest of the day was ours to use as we saw fit. The lack of entertainment sources left a lot of recruits unsure of what to do with themselves. Today, our unit was tasked with morning cafeteria duty. I woke to an alarm on my tablet letting me know it was time to report to the cafeteria.

I heard Jen grumble below me, "Today was supposed to be our day to sleep in. I could hurt somebody right now."

I jumped down from the bunk and looked at her. Her hair was a ratted mess. "We all know how you need your beauty sleep Jen," I said with a smirk. Apparently, she didn't find it as amusing as I did. Instead of laughing, she looked at me and glared. I quickly shut the privacy curtain so I could change and avoid the daggers that were flying from her eyes. Unfortunately, Jen's mood didn't improve after two hours of preparing, serving, and cleaning up breakfast. After we had cleaned up, we stood around, unsure of what to do. The rest of the squadron broke up into groups and each left. All that was left was Jen, Thad, Tina, and me.

"I feel like blowing something up," Jen said.

"How about we hit the simulators," suggested Tina.

"Aren't you sick of the simulators yet?" whined Thad.

"You never know, it might be fun without somebody insulting us and breathing down our necks," I suggested.

Nobody else had any better ideas, so we set off to the simulator deck. We were shocked when we arrived. Half of the fighter simulators were gone, while the other half were in various stages of deconstruction. In place of the missing fighter simulators was a larger simulator that hadn't been there yesterday. I saw a technician connect several thick wires into the simulator. He was tall and lanky. He was the epitome of nerd, glasses, and all. I walked up to him and asked, "What are these?"

"These are simulator pods for the cruisers," he answered. "I have to have all the simulators replaced and functional by tomorrow. So, unless you are here to help, I'll have to ask you to leave."

"What would we be able to help with?" I asked.

He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "I have two simulators up and running but haven't had the manpower to calibrate them yet." He pointed to the two simulators closest to the entrance. "Why don't you climb in? I'll be up in the control room to calibrate them in a moment." He wiped his hands on his overalls and started to leave. He paused and looked our way. "I'm Dave by the way." He then turned around and disappeared behind a pile of equipment.

I looked at the others and shrugged my shoulders. We walked over to the two functioning simulators. When we arrived, I stared at the dome like structures. "Come on," said Jen, as she dragged me into the nearest one.

The cruiser was manned by a pilot and gunner who also acted as navigator when the vessel was not in combat. Jen jumped into the gunner seat. She was surrounded by screens that gave her full view of the area around the ship. I climbed into the pilot's seat.

I looked over at Jen. "You know, we don't stand a chance with me as pilot if we go up against Tina. You are by far the better pilot."

"Flattery won't score you extra points today," she said, smiling. "As much as I want to fly this contraption, I really need to blow something up."