The Shadow Pilot

Chapter 16: Admirers

~ Next Morning ~

I woke up feeling well rested. Once up from the couch, I went to the kitchen area to make a bowl of cereal and beer. Probably not a good mix especially in the morning. Regardless, my body felt better having some food and appeared to be ready for whatever the day throws at me. I hopped into the shower for about 15 whole minutes. Once exiting the shower, I brushed my teeth and just left the bathroom to get dressed. About 12 minutes later came a knock on the door. "Geez, who could this be" my brain asked. Once I finished getting my uniform on, I walked over to the door. When I opened it, there stood Ripley with a smile on her face. "Hi" she spoke. Her voice was a little energetic but I could detect tiredness in it. However, what kinda got my attention was her wearing those same workout clothes and to be honest it was kinda cute. Her stomach was all exposed revealing strong ab muscles. Her thighs were kinda thick which was what got me staring the most. "Uhh, are you alright"? she asked snapping me out of my trance. "Uh, yeah sorry" I replied. "It's alright, so umm, did you have free time this morning"? she then asked me. "Uhh, sure". "I don't really need to be anywhere so I'm just free to do whatever" I spoke. "Cool, let's go then" she cooed slightly. The tip of her tail brushed up against my chin as she turned to walk down the hall. I closed the door before following her. As we walked, I began to look at her closely. She had a small but visible scar on her back that wasn't noticable before. "I wonder how she got that" I asked myself. My thoughts then got distracted by the sudden sway movement in her hips. However, I did my best to avoid looking as much as possible to be polite. Not to mention not have my face slapped or punched in. Then came the sudden realization of what went down yesterday afternoon. Quickly, I decided to speak up. "Hey, I'm really sorry for what happened yesterday outside the general's office". "I didn't check to see if I was backing up into anyone passing by" I said. Ripley then stopped to look at me. Her eyes seemed to lure me into her gaze. She then chuckled. "Don't worry about it". "I know it was an accident". "But you are lucky I'm not the crazy type who would've tried to kill you for that" she smiled while saying. I just gave a nervous laugh as we then started to walk again.

~ Time Skip ~

~ Gym Room ~

We arrived at the place Ripley wanted to spend our free time together. Of course, it just has to be the gym room. She must really love to exercise. Anyway, we went over to a small area where many did stretches and the other typical workout stuff that wasn't boxing or weightlifting. There was a section that they must've reserved for yoga or stretching because Ripley guided me over to it. There she grabbed a couple mats before asking me to sit. I told her I didn't need a mat and that I was fine. She didn't think much of it other than to just place the second mat to the side. Eventually, she just stretched out getting comfortable before asking some stuff. "So...." "I was wondering if you could tell me about some of the aerial maneuvers you've done in the past". "I've just always been curious about the formations fighter pilots across the world have always performed" Ripley curiously asked. "Well, I often learned some of my maneuvers from the famous Blue Angels". "They were a flight demonstration or stunt acrobatics group founded in April of 1946, one year after the end of World War 2". "I often use to watch stunt performances and study their patterns". "I began to think about how I could combine those maneuvers with my own training". "Which is why I adopted the group's famous Double Farvel, Loop Break Cross, Vertical Break, Fleur De-Lis, Delta Breakpoint and Diamond Echelon Parade maneuvers techniques". "Overtime, I learned how to combine them with aerial combat training, which allowed me to adapt to an almost new set of skills I didn't even know I pocessed". "I then taught my squadron the same maneuvers which they seemed to learn at a steady pace" I explained it all. "Wow, that's incredible" Ripley said. "Hey, can I ask why you and your squadron were called Knight Ravens"? she then asked. "Well, to be honest at the beginning it was only just me". "I was cocky and somewhat reckless when I first became a pilot". "But over time, I knew I had to be considerate, to be more knowledgeable". "But most importantly, to not be so overconfident". "Overtime, I became more cunning, ruthless and struck without mercy". "My tactics began to gain notice among many pilots and soldiers alike in the UHN". "Very soon, people started calling me Knight Raven". "The Raven to some is considered a spirit animal of both bad and good". "A symbol of ill omens to some". "And a symbol of prophecy or insight to others". "But to many, I was a Raven who was a menace". "A warrior of the sky, one that always led the charge against our enemies". "Some would say my methods in the UHN were brutal almost sadistic". "But to others, they were a show of strength and victory". "The word Raven to me was a show of victory, a show of strength, a symbol of superiority". "But mostly, it was a calling card". "That death was coming for you". I explained this all to Ripley and she was somewhat very intrigued. "I'm guessing you must've enjoyed being a pilot in the UHN"? she asked. "Of course". "I've always felt that way being a fighter pilot". "It was the life I knew best and I would do anything to protect it" I said. Ripley began to stretch again after taking a small break. However, she was stretching in a way that was more suggestive than normal. And it didn't help that her legs were split considering just how flexible she was.