[color=gray][color=white][b]"So you gonna let me fly this thing or what?"[/b][/color] Rachel asked the pilot as she sat in the co-pilot seat. She wasn't actually co-piloting for him. Instead, Rachel was just lounging in the seat to get out of that cramped transport compartment. She was wearing her some blue jeans and a leather bomber coat over a black tank top. Her hair was tied back in a pony tail and her eyes were obscured by a pair of aviators sunglasses.

The pilot groaned, [color=white][i]"For the last time, no! This is my dropship, my baby. The only know who knows how to handle its temperaments are me and me alone!"[/i][/color]

Rachel leaned over the consoles in front of her and was practically breathing over the pilot's neck. He was a captain as well, so it was really a conversation between peers. [color=white][b]"Is that so? How come the ride has been so bumpy then?"[/b][/color]

The pilot took a deep breath and kept his eyes on the horizon to stay focused. [color=white][i]"That's just turbulence..."[/i][/color] he said quietly.

[color=white][b]"Uh huh..."[/b][/color] Rachel let out as she reached forward and flipped a series of switches in front of the pilot.

[color=white][i]"Hey! What do you think you're doing!"[/i][/color] As he tried batting her hands away, the flight immediately got noticeably smoother. The pilot stopped resisting, and just looked back at the smiling woman. [color=white][i]"What was that?"[/i][/color]

Rachel shrugged and sat back in her seat, kicking her feet up on the inactive co-pilot console. She rested her head back on her hands and grinned at the pilot, [color=white][b]"You're dropship's 'temperament' came from your engine nacelles not being aligned. That, and one engine was putting out less thrust than the other so you've been having to compensate. Over-compensate rather."[/b][/color]

The pilot narrowed his eyes at her, [color=white][i]"Aren't you a fighter pilot? How in the hell do you know anything about transports?[/i][/color]

Rachel pointed ahead, [color=white][b]"Careful."[/b][/color] she said calmly.

The pilot looked forward and saw that he had nosed down in his distraction and was approaching a hillside. He quickly jerked the ship out of the way and leveled it back out. Rachel chuckled and stood up from her seat now that the flight was smoother. She tapped the pilot on the shoulder, [color=white][b]"I've been flying since before I joined the military. Guess what I was trained on."[/b][/color] Rachel winked and turned to leave the cockpit.

She stepped through the door, back into the troop compartment, just in time to hear one of the passengers call out for help in finding his glasses. Rachel really wasn't all that surprised that somebody had lost something with the way the dropship had been rocking around. From her perspective, finding the glasses was simple enough. She walked over to them, picked them up, and handed them back to the man. The lenses of her aviators were reflective, allowing the man to see himself in them, but it was clear she was making eye contact with him. [color=white][b]"Shouldn't happen again from here on out. We're in the pipe, five by five."[/b][/color]
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