To call Ariana overwhelmed was an understatement as the team, in a steady trickle of insanity, provided their greetings. First, a strange man introduced gave brief descriptions of the other members of the squad, but left himself out. This, of course, didn't give her the grandest of first impressions, but perhaps he was the team nutjob? Surely, right, after all the 7th were full of the best, regardless of backgrounds, so this guy must've been the token one to have been saved from a dishonorable discharge for his skill, right? That was always how it happened in the books and movies at least. Before she even had time to be relieved by this, however, the next one flowed in.

This one had been introduced as Alice, and she came from practically nowhere! She just stepped out from behind a crate, and Ari hadn't even been able to tell she was there! She'd been introduced as...an AI? Really? That was so, incredibly, mindbogglingly cool! Sure enough, her voice had a slight inflection to it, not quite human but not any kind of mechanical she'd heard before. This one seemed more polite than the first one, who she called "Mr. Shanks", and addressed her at least mostly properly. This allowed a feeling of relief to sink in deeper in her, perhaps the 7th would be the proper unit of professionals she'd been told it was.

And then came the strange, flowing French accent from the man who introduced himself as Gerard Delacroix. She panicked slightly, however, upon realizing he hadn't provided his rank. Her understanding of protocol was being torn to shreds by this team! Was she perhaps in the wrong? Was there some kind of secondary code for Special Operations pilots she wasn't aware of. Ari was so wrapped up worrying about this, she missed most of his speech, dropping off just after he said his specialty, and returning in time to hear him mention the Russian. Aforementioned Russian soon showed up, complaining that they hadn't been drinking lately. 

"[i][color=0072bc]Oh gosh, what is this? Drinking, lack of proper identification, whats next? I thought these were the best we had![/color][/i]"

Soon, one of the Japanese ones introduced herself by throwing an empty soda can at Shanks, and with this she learned his first name, Wes. "[i][color=0072bc]Wait did she say her name is Maki Nishizumi? Like, the one from our textbooks!?![/color][/i]" This woman practically defined guerilla operations with an MAS! Not to mention her, just as famous, father, the Nishizumis were basically a dynasty of MAS pilots! Ari could hardly believe she'd be flying in the same squad as the renowned Nishizumi! Though, worryingly, she too didn't show real military discipline, not that she even expected it anymore. Perhaps this was meant to be a more informal event? 

"[i][color=0072bc]Yeah, that must be it. There's no [b]WAY[/b]such esteemed pilots as the 7th would breach protocol in a situation that called for it, right?[/color][/i]" Reassured by this, Ari did hold her salute for now, as the closest she'd gotten to a real "at ease" was Wes's "[color=662d91]At ease that shit, recruit.[/color]"

Next, another Japanese girl began to speak to her. This one, however, seemed distracted and kept flicking her eyes around, even trailing off during a sentence. Then, however, she introduced herself as Yuuyami Suyasuya, and again Ari had to suppress a yelp of surprise. This one was famous too! She was practically the idol of the aspiring female heavy MAS pilots back in training. Known as the Calamity Queen, it was said her missile barrages could change the outcome of entire battles! Ariana could hardly believe her luck, getting to work with so many professionals, and just as promised in training, so many heroes and aces! Even Wes lived up to a reputation, though he seemed closer to the demon part than anything else.

Then came Thomas Trent, and she practically had to stop herself from fainting. He was one of the most lethal MAS aces around, and even the instructors in training knew him by NAME! They called him "The Reaper", and boy did his kill count live up to the name, and she'd heard about him on the news! He was so incredible, though her father always grumbled about how "[color=f7976a]Anything that damn over-hyped suit jockey can do, I can do in my fighter[/color]." The Reaper was basically a war hero, and even more Ari couldn't believe her luck. He'd even told her his money was on her, The Reaper was betting on her! How could Ari be anything but confident now that such a successful pilot had expressed faith in her?

Off against one of the crates, the one Shanks had IDed as Trapp, the new squad leader, whispered something to one of the other pilots. He then approached, pushing all the others to greet her. He returned her salute, finally allowing her to lower the aching arm, and handed out a datapad, which she accepted from him. As he talked to her, she paid rapt attention, but couldn't help but realize she even recognized him. Not too long before she'd left for basic, she'd seen the ceremony celebrating him as the newest UEE Ace. Even the Squad Leader was such an accomplished pilot! She couldn't help but feel her chest swell, part with pride and part with happiness, when he told her, point blank, she was not just a rookie, and not just her father's daughter, but a true pilot in the 101st. Then came the part about how she'd either soar, or die, and that did darken the mood some. However, she had faith, and as his speech ended, she sounded off "[color=0072bc]Sir, yes sir! I will fly to the best of my ability![/color]"

That done, however, she did feel the need to do a bit of her own intro, a tad less formal. So, with that done, she addressed everyone "[color=0072bc]Thank you all for the welcome, and thank you for accepting me into the squad. I know I'm no ace, or war hero, or elite pilot, but I promise I'm no slouch, and I can pull my own weight. As I said, I'm Second Lieutenant Ariana Williams, but please call me Ari whenever we're not in a function requiring protocol. My dad flew one of the Aerospace fighters, similar to the ones being worked on over there, so I'm eager to get into the field and make my own way.[/color]" That done, she smiled and nodded to them all, while carefully attaching the datapad to her belt right now, so she'd have hands free to unpack her bag soon.