McKnight rolled his eyes exaggeratedly as Montgomery and some of the other started talking about coffee. It was commonly joked that aboard various ships- both space and seafaring varities, the coffee was always terrible. To be fair, whether or not they were in space mattered little, the coffee was still military grade coffee, which meant cheap, easily obtainable, and as a rule, rather bland and poor tasting. That was unless they were smart like Casablancas, the new girl. Fresh or high quality coffee beans were always in demand onboard ships, and depending on how much she managed to bring on board, she was sitting on an inevitable gold mine. Though they were all technically officers, high-grade officer's rations weren't readily available to stick jockeys.

Kat asked him where they were heading. McKnight offered her a shrug. [color=coral]"Huh, and here I thought you stole a peek at my orders. You're slipping Kat."[/color] McKnight chuckled as he finally sat down on one of the crates himself. [color=coral]"Launching up to the Moon base to meet up with the rest of the RDF Fleet, from there its to Mars to shoot up some pirates and back- a little victory lap as the world figures out what it wants to do now that its garage-project car is done. The ship is carrying some infrastructure supplies, so chances are we're looking at setting up an orbital colony at Lagrangian 4 or 5."[/color]

Barely heard over the din of their conversation, a voice echoed through the SDF-1's hangar.

[sub]Commander on deck![/sub]

The hangar instantly quieted, feet shuffled and voices hushed. There was the loud clang from a technician dropping a missile on the floor, but other than that, absolute silence. McKnight coughed and roughly jerked his head at any pilot that was still sitting, but made no effort to put them into anything resembling a formation. It was doubtful that anyone cared- from this distance, the ship's captain was barely the size of a coin, and used a shipwide PA to communicate with the men and women in the hangar.

[color=khaki]Ladies, gentlemen, officers and soldiers of the Robotech Defense Force, the SDF-1 shall soon begin its maiden voyage, to liberate Mars. I expect each and every one of you to serve your stations with the greatest capacity you can muster. We stand at the forefront of united mankind, both it's spear and shield. We are the vanguard of nearly a decade's worth of rapid technological evolution. Adhere to your commanders and serve with distinction. We are here to protect and serve humanity with pride and honor above all."[/color]

Though it was quiet, McKnight could hear more than one scoff- disguised as a grunt or cough. There was no way the pirates up at Mars could warrant this much firepower. There had long been rumors that pirates and insurrectionists were responsible for the loss of communication with mars base 5 years back, when the RDF's space tech was still rudimentary, but there was no way they could be of any serious danger. Mars' hydroponics were medoicre at best. It was doubtful that any of the insurrectionists/pirates were still alive, as necessary resources from Earth had stopped going to Mars as soon as contact with the colony was lost. Even if they were still alive, the best that they had were obsolete destroids- not a match for the RDF's Valkyries.

[color=khaki]"As we reach the Moon, we shall meet up with the rest of the RDF Fleet, from there we shall perform our first field use of the Space Fold Engine. Commanders will disseminate safety information as required. Remember-"[/color]

A large warning klaxon cut through the Captain's speech. Moments later a rumble was heard in the distance. A female voice came across the PA system. 

[i]Captain to the bridge, Captain to the bridge. All hands to battlestations, all hands to battlestations.[/i] 

Within moments, the hangar was a hub of activity again. Pilots scrambled for their flightsuits and helmet, technicians hurriedly loaded munitions onto Valkyries that hadn't been serviced, and loaders cleared the hangar floor as best they could. McKnight cursed to himself as he stood up, hands grasping at the nearest crate and shoving it out of the way of the red painted veritechs that sat parked a nearby service bay. He shoot a look at the rest of the squadron.

[color=coral]"Fox, in your cockpits and ready to launch in 5!"[/color] As pilots stood to begin scrambling, McKnight grabbed at Casablancas and Dragomira. [color=coral]"Casablancas you're in bay 19, Dragomira 22. Try to be on time this time."[/color]

[hr]

[color=lightblue]"Commander!"[/color] McKnight's crew chief bellowed as McKnight half jogged half ran to his fighter, the red and white fighter bulkier than the usual Valkyrie, as it was currently equipped with an armored booster/weapons back. Jamming a red and tan helmet into the pilots arms as he ran by, thre crew chief jogged to keep pace with the pilot. [color=lightblue]"FAST Pack is fueled and loaded, and you're fitted out with Micro-missiles and AMMs."[/color]

Two more crew members pushed a moving ladder to the cockpit of his fighter as he approached. McKnight flew up the ladder, skipping every other step, and vaulted into the seat in the open cockpit. Right arm flicked switches and powered on the veritech as the left shoved the helmet over his head, sealed it to his suit, and attached the air-tube to the front muzzle of his helmet. McKnight breathed in as the tube began pumping air, and his helmet visor began displaying diagnostic information.

[color=coral]"Fox, this is Vapor. All signs call in."[/color]