Fly High and Go Far

BOB-Chapter Eleven: Worrisome Preparation

  Sunday rolled around and Sam had left that night to unpack all of her belongings, making sure that she had everything since there were to be no port calls.  She looked in her desk drawer as well as her bed storage, listing off the toiletries in her head and then counting each shirt and pair of coveralls.  She had her flight boots and all of the gear for her flight suit.  Spending her Sunday evening shopping at the Exchange for all the little snacks and energy drinks she needed was not how she imagined spending her last night on shore for the next several weeks.  But she did want those snacks so she didn't have to listen to Phoenix complain about missing lunch.
  Sam spent her night, after every normal person was in bed, in the gym, lifting weights just to pass the time and to, you know, work out.  She worked on her shoulders, remembering what Bob said the day prior.
  Setting down the weights, she sat there staring at the steel wall, before standing up to rack the weights, feeling the soreness come through ever so slightly.
  "I didn't expect you to be in here," a voice called out.  Sam turned around quickly and found Bob standing there in exercise clothes.
  "Hey there," Sam smiled, taking her one earbud out.  Bob walked over to her, trying to keep his hands to himself.
  "You drop your stuff off too?" He asked, kissing Sam on the cheek quickly.
  "Yeah.  I didn't feel like getting here at 3am and then realize I forgot something before ship's movement," Sam said with a soft chuckle.
  "Do you need a spotter?" Bob asked, nodding his head towards the weight rack.  Sam turned her head and then turned it back around, shaking her head.
  "No, I'm going to try and run a mile and a half.  Then I'll probably go back to my room to shower before hitting the hay," Sam replied.  Bob nodded and then looked around.
  "Well, can you spot me?  With my back being all, you know," Bob asked awkwardly.
  "Yeah, of course."
  Sam walked over to the bench with Bob as he sat down, grabbing a pair of thirties to warm up.  Sam positioned herself behind him, watching him start with his shoulders.  He started off strong, taking rests after every set of ten.  On his third set, he put his arms up and started off strong, only for him to start failing at seven.  Sam gently put her hands on his triceps to help lift them up for the final reps.  Bob set down the weights with a thud afterwards, and stood up briskly.  Sam stumbled back as Bob turned around and grabbed her shirt, pulling her in for a kiss.  Sam melted into it and grabbed onto him, kissing back.  He pulled away and looked at Sam with hunger in his eyes.
  "We could lock the door and fuck in here," he whispered to her.
  "Or we could not risk getting caught and go to my room?  I need to shower anyway," Sam offered.  Bob thought about it and nodded.

  The next morning, Sam sat in the classroom with a couple others, including Bob.  Phoenix came in moments later and sat next to her WSO, who was staring at Sam, who was staring ahead at the back of the seat in front of her.  Phoenix didn't dare ruin the moment, seeing the sheer admiration in Bob's eyes.  But Sam darted her gaze over to Phoenix, feeling her presence, and smiled big.
  "Hey Trace.  Good to see that you're here on time," Sam joked around.
"Yeah? What did you do? Get here last night?" Phoenix asked, plopping herself down in her seat.
"Yeah, actually. I didn't want to wake up at two in the morning just to get here. Figured I'd make it easier on myself."
"See? That's the smart thing to do," Phoenix chuckled. "I did not do that."
"Natasha Trace? The Natasha Trace? Not doing the smart thing?" Sam joked around.
"I'm allowed to fuck up here and there," Phoenix defended herself with a small chuckle.

The door was ripped open right at 6:00am to expose glaring eyes, making sure everyone was on time. Everyone in the seats stood up, greeting the admirals and Captain Mitchell as they walked in.
"All of you here? Good," Cyclone said, walking to the front. "I figured you guys wouldn't be stupid enough to miss ship's movement." He stood at the front, flipping through a manilla folder. Everyone watched intently as Cyclone sighed and looked at Maverick, who was standing up front. Cyclone set the group of officers to sit back down before beginning his morning brief.
"Captain Mitchell will be in charge of picking the team. So, Captain, take it away," Cyclone gave the podium to Mav, and he stood at the front staring at everyone. Sam was last and Maverick stared at her for a split second before looking down.
"These decisions are made solely based off of performance. Nothing else," he bit his bottom lip and nodded before looking up. "Team Leader will be Lieutenant Kazansky. Dagger Two will be Lieutenant Bradshaw. Dagger Three, who will pair up with Echo, will be Lieutenants Trace and Floyd," Sam looked over at Phoenix and Bob who smiled back at her. "And Dagger Four will be Lieutenants Fitch and Garcia."
"The rest of you will be on standby. You will only launch when we say you launch. Understood?" Cyclone interrupted, and everyone responded positively.