Maki smiled as she listened to Ariana's story, and nodded when she ended it with an acknowledgement of her rookie status. "We all have to start somewhere. The odds are more stacked against you than they are for me." She stated flatly, blunt and honest. It was true - most of them had started their careers in fairly simple roles, compared to being a pilot in the 7th. Even Wes, who started out in the infantry, had to have an easier time jumping into a MAS cockpit for the first time than Ariana did.
As the sirens blared and Alice barked out her warning, Maki snapped into her combat mode almost immediately. "Fuck! Here?" She cursed as Captain Alexis' gave the orders to brace and she heard Trapp call them to their machines. "Well, Ariana, it seems like you're about to undergo your baptism of fire. Congratulations." As she pulled Ariana along and pushed her ahead towards the hangar, urging the rookie to run. "Don't worry about breaking in the Astelion, there's no better warm up than an actual combat flight. Keizoku wa chikara nari. Now get your ass in gear!"
She rushed back to the hangar, and wasted no time clambering up the catwalk and into the cockpit of her Hellcat and listened to the chatter of her team. "If you blow yourself Wes, try not to take anyone with you!" She retorted back with a chuckle as the Hellcat booted up and she ran her eyes along the console to make sure nothing had been damaged in the time it took her to get there. "At least they're lucky the Coalition attacked while the 101st were docked here, huh? Not so lucky for us." Maki commented, her lips cracking into a feral grin as she fell the anticipation building in her veins, readying her for a fight.
"This is Hunter. All systems online, Hellcat ready for launch!" Maki reported back once the machine was ready. "Two more kills till I earn my ace. Let's do this."
Plank Sinatra
