The Ensigns - The officers 2

Chapter 10 - What a frigging snow storm

A/N:  Made it to #23 on the list.  Keep going and so many thanks to all who have read, reviewed, voted, and comments.  Thanks you all for the help.

The shuttle flight to the Ural Mountains wasn't a great deal of fun. As they were coming down they ended up flying into a massive snow storm. It was buffeted around which was surprising since normally weather didn't impact on the shuttles that much. Holcum glanced at Mila, *Must be a hell of a storm. I can tell you my cat isn't happy right now. He keeps resisting the urge to dig his claws into the deck.* Both of them were working hard to keep calm and not tense up.

Mila's cat wasn't very happy either and was making her displeasure known to her, *Tell me about it. Yanar is not a happy camper right now. I am resisting the urge to claw the deck as well.* Thankfully the landing was going to be fairly soon. It was one consolation; flights came down far quicker than in the old days from what she understood. Instead of the long slow descent it was a fairly steep descent with a quick landing. Inertial dampening had many uses.

The landing was somewhat on the bumpy side. As they taxied to the docking area they could see the howling storm raging outside, "Fuck me, my cat ain't happy right now. I don't see any sun warmed rocks in the near future." From what he understood the cold weather would last until after the end of their training.

Mila let out a quite discontented hiss to express her own thoughts. It was a good thing they had carried the heavy weather gear onto the shuttle. Feeling the shuttle vibrating from the wind alone was enough to make them shiver and shudder. Once docked they were let off first before others started offloading. When they walked off they were surprised to be met by a Lieutenant. Since they were inside the building they didn't salute, "Afternoon Sir, Ensign's Whitewater at your service." Mila introduced them.

His accent was thick but understandable, "Lieutenant Valchek. Good, you have your heavy weather gear. I have sent a message to the shuttle port to expedite your luggage. There has been a major disaster at one of the towns near base. An avalanche came town and covered part of it. The troops have been mustered to help deal with it. Hope you are up for some long days for the next week or two."

Both tensed up and became far more alert than they had been, "Awaiting orders sir. We will do what we can to help." When he turned, and hurried away they quickly followed behind. When they reached the baggage area there were two enlisted already taking possession of their items. It didn't take long before they were in a heavy utility vehicle. Before they had left the terminal, they had pulled on their heavy weather gear including the face masks to keep the skin on their faces from freezing. Even with the gear they could feel the cold from the wind chill. The wind was strong enough to challenge even their strength.

Once inside the vehicle Holcum and Mila released their masks, "Sir I am sure you know but I just wish to make it clear we are Were's and have the strength and stamina of Were's. With enough food, we can go for longer than any human before needing sleep. Once we get there take us to who can tell us what to do and we will do what is needed." Their Pride had helped in the past with similar things. This would simply be a continuation of doing that.

Lt. Valcheck turned his chair slightly and looked at them, "I know but thank you for mentioning it Ensign. Once we are there I will escort you to the officer in charge. He will know best how utilize you. If he doesn't there are experts who will have an idea how to best use your abilities. It is going to take some time. There is a fair distance to go and with the blizzard it is going to be hard going. There is a box of food behind your seats. I brought it in case you were hungry." He swiveled his chair back to the front.

Holcum glanced behind the seat they were on and pulled the heavy box out, "Thank you Lieutenant." He opened it and handed some of the food to Mila before looking around. "There should be plenty of food if anyone else wants it." He pulled out some sort of sandwich and started munching on it. He was hungry and knew that Mila was as well.