[img]http://i.imgur.com/czVGDgx.jpg[/img]

The majority of the squadron managed to fill in with a minute or so to spare. The conversation wasn't loud, but managed to keep itself at around a dull roar, as some of the more veteran pilots jocked with each other. On the other hand, no one really seemed to pay attention to any of the rookies or newcomers. Not exactly a cold shoulder, but one or two of the rookies might have thought they saw eyes being rolled as they entered the room. The room quieted for a moment as Williamson entered- a sign of respect for the older officer, before someone called him a stuffy old fogey- jokingly of course, and the general conversation continued.   

In front of Elizabeth, a young man turned around and gave her a wry grin, his big hair looking like it was probably a bit longer than most regulations allowed. His face was a light mocha and his dark eyes looked intense, yet friendly.

"Hey, you're new too right? Name's Logan, Logan White." Logan said, introducing himself. His eyes gave a quick scan of the room. "Talk about a warm welcome huh? Some of these guys look like they'd rather we didn't exist."

At exactly -0030, the doors of the briefing room opened, revealing a rather stocky, yet tall man. With his hair flared high and his beard kept to a fine stubble, he didn't look too different from some of the other pilots in the room, though from his confident demeanor, it was obvious that he was in charge. Conversation in the room quieted down as he floated to the front, but no one stood- at least none of the veterans stood. Some of the rookies, like Logan, tensed in his chair, ready to propel himself into a standing position but it appeared not to be necessary.

Marcus grabbed at a handrail and pushed his feet to the ground, where his boots connected with the podium with a magnetic clack. Almost immediately, the lights in the briefing room began to dim, the blue glow of the display in the front replacing the role of the overhead lights. At the same time, the datapads on the chairs- likely having scanned its occupant's bio-metrics, began reading out data that was both mission and individual exclusive.  

"Alright Direwolves listen up." Marcus said as he placed his hands behind his back. His voice was loud and authoritative, booming almost, but didn't have the bite of a drill sergeant's bark. 

"First things first, I'm sure you're all aware, but we have some newcomers joining us. I'm sure some of you are less than enthused, but I will remind you that hazing is [i]not[/i] permitted. You're all adults and I expect you to act like one. Rookies, for your first few sorties, you'll be accompanied by more senior members of the squadron. Follow their lead, and you'll probably come back in one piece." 

A couple of the quiet whispers and sniggers behind Logan gave him the dreading feeling that despite it not being permitted, some hazing would likely occur within the next few weeks.

"Anyway, getting back on track." Marcus segued, as a holo display appeared in front of him featuring a digital representation of the Galatia and the rest of its fleet. "The 7th Battlegroup, consisting of the Galatia, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Zeuss will be rendezvousing with elements of the 11th Battlegroup, who arrived in the Vega System 72 hours ago to establish a beachhead." 

The display changed in realtime to match what Marcus said, showing the 7th fleet traveling and reaching a considerably smaller group of ships- presumably the 11th. Consisting of 2 capital ships and some 7 escort ships. After a moment, the display showed one of the capital ships and two of the escort ships in flames, with another escort ship just disappearing.

"Now, from all reports and accounts, the 11th have not had a very good time waiting for us. Reports suggest that the size of the enemy is considerably larger than we had expected. As a result, the advance force have lost roughly 40% of their of their fighting power. The TNS Verdun has retreated to the Sol jump node to undergo emergency repairs, and is for all intents and purposes out of the fight. Likewise, both of its escort ships have been disabled and one has gone missing. This leaves the TNS Athena and its escort ships as the remainder of the forward element still in play."

"Command is currently rallying another elements from fringe lines to form a second battlegroup to join us in Vega, but with our fleet stretched quite thin and the other fronts of the war heating up, it isn't likely we'll be seeing notable backup for a while. The 7th Battlegroup will be arriving via the Sol Jump node. We will leave one escort ship behind to guard the Verdun, while the rest of the battlegroup moves on to assist the Athena."

The fleet display disappeared, and was replaced by an image of just the Galatia and several smaller triangles- signifying fighters.

"Onto our specific orders. The Direwolves pulled the short straw so we'll be engaging in recon missions immediately after exiting hyperspace. You should be seeing individual assignments on your datapads now."

Logan looked down, and sure enough, data began scrolling across his datapad.

>Alpha Wing[list]
[*]LCDR Adrien Travers[list][*]ENS Clint Grayson[/list][/list]
>Bravo Wing[list]
[*]ENS Molly Stork[list][*]ENS Logan White[/list][/list]
>Charlie Wing[list]
[*]LTJG Rezzik Valana[list][*]ENS Kira Lawrence[/list][/list]
>Delta Wing[list]
[*]LTJG Michael Kapp[list][*]ENS Elizabeth Reed[/list][/list]
>Echo Wing[list]
[*]CDR Moe Williamson[list][*]LCDR Anu Varakjit
[*]ENS Thomas Sanders
[*]ENS Severin Renault[/list][/list]

At this point, the display zoomed out considerably, to show the ship as a considerably smaller model, and several glowing points highlighted in space, marked Nav 1-12.

"Simple recon plan," Knight stated.

"Alpha Wing will hit Nav 1 on their way to Nav 2, hitting Nav 3 on their way home."
"Bravo Wing will do the go to Nav 4 as they make their way to Nav 5, and hit Nav 6 as they return."
"Charlie Wing hits Nav 7 on their way to Nav 8, and Nav 9 on their way back."
"Delta Wing loops through Nav 10 and Nav 11, hitting Nav 12 as they return."

"Pilots of these wings will be flying T-88 Seers, be sure to put in a request to your flight crew about which guns and secondaries you want on your craft, or you might be going out with none."   

"Echo Wing will be held in reserve as an emergency response force. Echo Wing will be flying Aegis II's and will remain with the Galatia unless there is trouble. If any recon flight finds themselves faced with considerable opposition, begin evasive maneuvers and request backup. Extra wings will be scrambled as necessary."

"Ask questions if you have them, if not, suit up and report to the flight deck."