Roland knew that it was likely the two aircraft approaching his  runway were friendly, but hearing the scream of an unfamiliar aircraft always made him tense. His '6th pilot sense' would kick in, and he would automatically start to analyze the area around him as a 3D battlefield, running through multiple scenarios and maneuvers of how best to engage the aircraft. After swallowing a hard lump in his throat. He snapped back to reality as the two pilots landed and approached him.

Both were male and younger than him, with a few years between each other. He had only seen brief details on their home states and thier aircraft but nothing else. Once the introduced themselves, he returned the greeting with a firm handshake to both of them. If nothing else, they seemed like professionals. Which was far cry from the wacky bunch he found himself with a few years ago.

[i]Good morning pilots, I'm Roland Shaw. I'm afriad that gas station is the closest thing we have to a base of operations right now. I don't work with organizations or guilds anymore. Its best to keep things simple. [/i]

Roland begand to walk towards the gas station, motioning the two men to walk with him, he took this moment to look over both their planes. One jet and one heavily armored biplane, they both looked like sturdy machines, well kept but worn in and seen a lot of conflict, which was perfect for what Roland had in mind.

[i]Mr Hefferman, I heard you are a Scanner class pilot? That will be useful. The little intelligence I have is that these bandits have started employing the use of warmachines, as well as conventional aircraft.  Have you seen anything strange on the way over? Battletrains? Land Rover Mechs?[/i]

Roland stomach began to turn as he though of all the twisted and powerful machines he's had to fight through his career, being caught off guard was something you never get used to and Roland despised it?

[i]Mr Web I didn't see any military background on your dossier, what is your background in flying? I know that the Midwest has some private guilds and border guards but I haven't been there in a few years.[/i]

There was a possibility of more joining them, but at the moment it was 3 pilots, seemingly up against  secret army. But Roland was comfortable with that scenario. No sortie was ever in his favor.