Erien thankfully didn't have to wait long for her crew to arrive. The stream of people - of all races - coming off of the sleek
Starhawk shuttle wore uniforms colour-coded to all the different professions present aboard the ship. Some were fighter squadron personnel, but didn't head her way, likely assigned to other squadrons. Engineering crew, marines, medical personnel; not them.
Her sapphire-blue eyes were tugged sideways as her predators instincts were lured to someone headed in her direction. A human, fair skinned and with light brown, shoulder-length hair. A male, carrying what was unmistakably personal kit-bags and equipment.
Erwan, she thought as she mentally matched his features to the picture she'd seen on his profile. A moment later he introduced himself with a tired salute, which she returned as he spoke.
"Kilian Erwan reporting in. Do I have the honor of adressing Colonel Erien Bellioch? If not, then it is still and honor to make your acquaintance. "
She let her arm drop, and as he smiled, she returned the Isorlai equivalent, her ears perking up and her posture relaxing as she leaned a little closer. He smelled of travel and of the curious masculine, sharp scent human males carried. It was a reminder of the multi-cultural mixing pot of her homeworld. As he winked, her sharp muzzle split into an open-mounted Isorlai smile and she gave a soft chuckle.
"Pleased to meet you, Lieutenant Erwan," she replied and bobbed her head in greeting. "And it's an honour to make your acquaintance as well."
She would've added more, but two more pilots were approaching, a fellow Isorlai - and a male one at that - and a second male human, this one with a more refined and mature aspect to his appearance. He had shorter hair, a beard and a more lined face that marked the passage of age for his species. The Isorlai was shorter than she was by a good foot or so, and he carried himself unusually. She could see scars and marks across him; and as she looked him over, she remembered his file. He had not had a... pleasant time over his life. Neither of them said a word, but were close enough to hear her reply to Erwan. She simply nodded to them both in greeting, ensuring they'd seen her acknowledgement of their presence, before it seemed like the rest of the group approached thick and fast. A female human, with elegant facial features and sandy-brown hair that framed a round face and a slender figure.
Nyx, she remembered, but was jarred out of her memory as the woman announced herself with a bombastic delivery.
"Nyx Miles reporting in! Engineering Specialist and new pilot! I'm excited to be here!" Nyx all but yelled.
"Where's the food court, ma'am?""At ease, Lieutenant," she replied with a half smile, and a casual return of her salute. "And I can tell you're excited. Good to have you here. I'll show all of you to the
mess hall, once we're all set up in our quarters."
A guard hauled an Aranok toward the slowly growing group, and Erien looked confused, before the MP spoke up.
"Colonel sir, is this your Aranok?"
"I-" she began before the Aranok waved, in a quite familiar manner.
"Hey fluffles" he brought his arm up into a weak salute "Elik Hel'kayik, reporting."
Erien's expression turned to one of confusion, one ear drooping and one swivelling to straight-out to one side.
"Fluffles?" she repeated in confusion, looking between the Aranok - Elik - and the guard, before running one paw-hand down her face and then nodding to the MP. "Yes, yes. He's one of mine. I'll make sure he doesn't... do whatever it was he did".
She returned the salute with a slight tick of irritation before turning to the next new arrival.
"Ma'am, Colonel Bellioch, reporting as instructed."
"Welcome," she replied, returning the salute to the male Terran. He didn't introduce himself, but again, she recognized him from his profile, and with the other two humans she knew were assigned having already reported, it narrowed it down. His pale, almost albino complexion and appearance made him further memorable to boot. "Lieutenant Masaryk," she added. "Glad to have you here with us".
Another Aranok - and another male one, she realised as she took in his appearance - he was gruff, but made an effort to apologize for the late arrival, despite it not being his fault. She returned his greeting with a nod and a slight smile.
"Good to have you with us, Olarin. And it wasn't your fault, no need to apologize".
She looked over the assembled pilots and gave an affirmative nod. "All right," she said, raising her voice a little to be heard over the sounds of the bay at work. "Follow me. We're going to head down to our quarters, and I'll give you a brief introduction once we're there".
She turned and lead the way, padding along on all fours at considerably less of a breakneck pace than her earlier dash to the hangar bay before their arrival.
Several twists, turns and trips down ladders and stairwells lead to the suite of small double-rooms that made up the squadron's quarters, all of which attached onto the lounge and kitchenette area that formed 'their' space. A brass nameplate beside the entrance in the corridor called out in stern, upper case letters; '122ND EXPEDITIONARY AEROSPACE SQUADRON; WYLDE FYRE'.
"This is our area," Erien announced as she stepped into the modest, but well-appointed space. Doors lead off to the two-man cabins from the main space, others indicated the male and female washrooms and toilets, and an open-plan kitchenette stood at one end.
"The kitchen isn't stocked for full meals, but is good enough for snacks and beverages. Each room has two beds, so you'll have to double up between you. My cabin is at the end; privileges of rank means I get my own room, but I also share it with my office-space. Stow your bags, and we'll take the whirlwind tour."
She paused, looking from face to face and then continued as she looked across the arrayed faces. "We're really close to the ships' launch, so we're on a short timetable; there won't be much time for looking around. Thankfully, we don't have a huge amount to do to stand up the squadron, and we have twelve hours before we're on station for our mission, and that gives us time to get to work. Nyx," she said, directing her attention to the female human, "I understand from your profile that you have a lot of engineering experience. I want you to work with Masaryk and the engineering crews to get our fighters ready for arrival. They were delivered to use straight back from depot-level maintenance, and are still in the last stages of reassembly and calibration. I will be scheduling time for everyone to work on them with the crews as well to get them calibrated and fitted properly for all of us too. As well as that, there's plenty more on the slate too. Admin work, medical checks and more, and we've got somehow, fit all of it in. Sorry it's such a rush, but we'll find time. First off though, time for the grand tour... once you get your rooms sorted. I'll... stand back and let you argue that one amongst yourselves," she added with a slight smirk, her tail twitching in amusement.
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