Dragomira already began to zone out when the commander on the PA began his little speech. Nothing she hadn't heard before back home, she mused as she idly flipped through the tunes on her music player. Perhaps more about Poland then the entire human race, but still, all the same notes were hit. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little inspired. Like Grandpa always said, idealism like that was worth fighting for.

The klaxon, however, definitely grabbed her attention and kept it.

"[i]Kurwa[/i], they certainly don't waste any time here do they?" Dragomira exclaimed, jumping to her feet and swinging the duffel bag around to her back again.

"Fox, in your cockpits and ready to launch in 5!" McKnight ordered as the others scrambled to reach their planes. "Casablancas you're in bay 19, Dragomira 22. Try to be on time this time!"

"Up we go!" Dragomira didn't even waste time to think of a snarky response as she darted off towards the bay, expertly weaving her way through the crowd. Maybe if and when this became common she could spare some snark, but now it was time to take the training wheels off. To jump in that brand new hi-tech jet and fly off into outer space to knock the snot out of the enemies of the RDF.

Boy were they in for a fun time, Dragomira mused to herself with a confident smirk.

Clearing a mob of engineers making a mad dash for the exits, she spotted her baby. The sleek and elegant VF-1, complete with snarling hyena adorning the nose, distinctive checkerboard design, and the bulky FAST pack strapped to the top. Easily spotting the Polish motto adorning the Veritech, she was reminded of the old naval story she once read where a Polish destroyer, the ORP [i]Piorun[/i], fought against the largest warship in the world, flashing the message 'I am a Pole' throughout the battle. With any luck, she'd do the [i]Piorun[/i] proud today.

"Everything's, uh, all set, ma'am," Dragomira's crew chief piped up, a timid looking Korean woman with her hair tied back, glossing over her clipboard. "Fuels topped off, ammo's filled, bit of trouble on the FAST Pack connectors but we managed to get them work[b]-OOF-[/b]."

"Absolutely perfect!" Dragomira exclaimed, tossing the duffel bag roughly into the crew chief's arms before scurrying up the ladder to the cockpit. "Don't lose that please it's super important!"

"Uh...okay," the Crew Chief said meekly, trying to shift her balance to look at her clipboard again. "So, uh, are you ready?"

"Born ready!"

Feeling at home again in the pilot's seat as the engine roared to life, Dragomira flew threw the motions of the preflight check, her crew chief stumbling once or twice but keeping good time regardless. Getting the final thumbs-up from the nervous Korean woman, Dragomira double checked her fastenings and oxygen mask as diagnostics sprang to life in the neon colors of the display.

"Right...one last thing." Reaching beneath her new jacket, Dragomira pulled out a small envelope, delicately opening it with one hand.  Removing what looked like a photograph, she paused to read the writing on the back, then turned it around to see the front. Smiling, fighting back tears in her eyes, she wedged the picture into a spot of prominence on her console and gripped the controls once again, feeling more determined then ever.

"Hyena here, ready and waiting for an ass that needs kicking."