The Shadow Pilot

Chapter 18: Mission Preparations (Short)

~ Next Morning ~

I woke up on the couch feeling relaxed and rested. Most of that was due to the comfort of the girls. I slowly laid up from Ripley since I was sleeping in her lap the entire night. Her thighs were pretty soft like a pillow. Anyway, I noticed that Aayla and Amanda were both laying with their heads rested against the couch arms. And Herma was cuddled up next to me on my left. She had her head on my chest while her hand rested on my stomach. Very carefully, I wiggled out her grip and tiptoed my way over to the door. Unlucky for me, just when I was about 10 feet from it, my foot stepped on the tv remote. Next thing I knew, the TV was blasting the last movie we were watching at max volume. All the girls immediately shot up wide awake. They began to look at each other before glaring at me. A cold sweat ran down my face as they did. "Heh heh, ah.... hey girls" I nervously said. "Wow John". "You really aren't slick" Herma said. "Okay, what the hell is going on"? someone else spoke. I turned to my left seeing Rocco exiting his room. And boy, did he not look happy since I just woke him up. The rest of Fanged Legion Squadron all woke up as well because they were all now standing outside their rooms with the same expressions. "Okay ah, that was a mistake" I said trying to make peace. "It's fine Johnathan, can you just get out already"? Chroma asked. I didn't speak, I just made a quick mad dash for the door and was gone with the wind.

~ Aayla POV ~

"Well, thanks for waking us all up, 2 hours early" Cassandra half yelled. "Sorry about that, we didn't think he would wake up first and try to dip" I said. "Its whatever, just wake us up when it's time to get ready for the mission" Kansas said in a low voice. He and the others stumbled back into their rooms. Me and the girls smirked at each other before getting up to stretch. "You put it there on purpose didn't you"? Ripley said. "Not on purpose, I just tossed it aside when I turned off the TV". "Didn't think someone would step on it, let alone him while he was trying to get away from us" I added. "Hmmm...." "Alright, I'll take your word for it". "Let's go get some food" Ripley said.

~ Johnathan POV ~

After my failed attempt to peace out, I took the walk of shame towards the cafeteria. But today finally came the mission that required me and Fanged Legion Squadron. Our mission, to destroy a UHN military satellite base. Cortana will brief us in two hours. Until then, I'm just gonna settle in and enjoy my morning breakfast. After a few minutes of walking as always, I entered the cafeteria. There were already a few soldiers there as it was just about starting to become crowded. I rushed over to the line before it got too long. The line moved pretty damn slow at first which made some Furs in line grow a little annoyed. Our jammed traffic eventually got a little better. Now it was my turn in line. I already saw how agitated many Furs were behind me. So I decided you know what, fuck it, just grab what you first lay your eyes on and get outta there. I grabbed the first tray of food and dashed out of line. Once quickly spotting a table, I rushed over to it claiming it as mine. As I sat down I began to pray I grabbed something I liked or would at least taste good. I opened the plastic container to see an entire box of ramen noodles and lobster tails. "Damm, luck is on my side today" I thought. I honestly didn't care if it was breakfast food or not. It's morning, I'm hungry and this will definitely fill me up. I began to crack open the shells eating the lobster meat. But right as I was enjoying my meal, I noticed someone walked up to me. "Hey, can we talk"? the figure asked. I turned my head towards them to see the lion Fur from yesterday. Who along with her friend confronted me. "Oh boy" I thought. "Listen, if you wanna judge me, hate me or say whatever you need, I don't blame you for it" i said. As I braced myself for whatever she was planning, she then sat down next to me. This confused me as I wasn't sure what her motive was. I scooted away from her a little to avoid our skin and fur from touching. I'm sorry about yesterday" she then spoke. "Sorry for what"? I asked confused. "For saying those things to you". "Others told me you took off because what me and Racheal said". That last line raised an eyebrow for me. "Wait, you knew about that"? I asked. "Yeah, I overheard the general arguing with your friends". "They were scared that you were going to get hurt". "Before I heard many rumors about how you were very hateful, negative, despised our kind". "But seeing how you overcame that and even starting making amends for what you did, showed me that you weren't really a bad person" the lion said. "How's Racheal"? I asked. "She's okay". "She found out about what happened yesterday and felt bad about the whole incident". "She doesn't hate you, she's..." "She's j-just going through a lot right now". "Losing her brother has been the hardest for her". "Ever since the attack on San Diego, she's always been hateful as much as terrified of the UHN" Jessica said. "Was I t-the one who killed her brother"? I asked hesitant. She looked over at me. "N-no, not directly". "You and your squadron were the ones who led most of the attack". "Then, a week later, you were all hailed publicly by the international news as war heros" she added. The guilt rose up in me as the memory of that day came back. Nearly a week and half later when the San Diego bombing had occurred, my squad were hailed as heroes by the city for leading the A-20s, Bombers, Gunships safely to their targets. The media depicted us as soldiers of Humanity. But I could only imagine how the Furs saw us as. "I know she can't forgive me". "A lot of times, I can't forgive myself". "But if I could take it all back, I would" I spoke up. The lion looked at me and smiled only a slight bit. We talked a little bit more unaware of the situation that was going to unfold.