The woman who introduced herself as Zola piqued Miyoshi's interest. "So I'm not the only one who names her plane, huh?" she said, referring to Zola's "Ghost of the Straits" namedrop. "Glad to hear it. I'm Miyoshi, by the way," she said, bowing to Zola.

A handful more pilots joined the conversation, each of which Miyoshi greeted with a warm smile and a bow. She only knew her squadronmates by their squadron numbers and aircraft, and even then her knowledge was not great. She would have to learn all of their names and numbers so she could begin to associate "Excalibur whatever" with a face.

With all of the hubbub and excitement surrounding the mission, the harrowing landing on the new carrier, the guided tour and finally the chance to finally sit down and talk with the rest of her squadron, Miyoshi had forgotten all about her hunger, and when her flight lead said the words "mess hall", her stomach gave a harmonious growl. Her eyes went wide in surprise, and instantly returned to normal size as she relaxed. "That sounds...excellent," she responded to her flight lead.

Just then another pilot came in, one who identified himself as new. She wondered why he hadn't made the mission, but in this world and this occupation there were a million possible reasons. Nonetheless, Miyoshi gave her traditional greeting. [i]The others are probably getting tired of that already,[/i] she thought, immediately returning her thoughts to her ravenous stomach.