Free Scout Force by Rodney Smith Page B

unless you’d like to have your posterior handed back to you in pieces, is all right.   She’s a pretty good pilot, is fair in her dealings with the flight, and she can be really funny after she’s had a few drinks.   She’s only been a captain for a few months, so she isn’t too much of a stickler for military courtesies, but she is still a captain.   We use our first names on the radio when we fly in formation.   She calls us by our first names and we call her boss.”
           “If you have any romantic notions toward her, forget it.   I think she and a Major in the 73rd Fighter Squadron have a thing going.”
           “No, I just want to know that she can handle her fighter.”
           “Oh, yeah, she’s damn good.   She can fly circles around most of the pilots in the squadron.   She might even give you a run for your money.   Did you really smoke everyone you flew against in transition school?”
           “Well, yeah I did, almost.   I flew a few of them to a draw.   I tended not to fly how people expected.   It also helped that I was able to reprogram the flight computer.   I could make the fighter do things that weren’t quite expected.   They would come after me thinking they were going to make an easy kill.   Next thing they knew, I was behind them and their damage sim was lighting up.   I probably got lucky in my first few engagements, but by that time I had analyzed their tactics against others and me.   I was able to adjust to give them a run for their money.   The more of them I flew against, the better I got.”
           “I’ll have to get you to teach me a few of your tricks.   Now we’d better get you out of here and get you some rack time if you're going to see the old man in the morning.   Come on.”
           They left the dining room and moved down the passageway to the cabin shared by four junior officers.   The layout was Spartan, with twin bunks on either side of the room.   Two small side-by-side desks on the far bulkhead separated the bunks.   Four wardrobes divided off the center of the room.   The wardrobes had hanging storage above and drawers below.   There wasn’t much storage, but he didn’t have much to store.   Kelly felt it would be enough.   The other two officers weren’t present.   John said, “You get the top bunk.   When you outrank someone in the room, you can have the bottom bunk.   Watch your head on the piping and electrical races in the overhead.”
           Kelly smiled and returned to the present.   He looked around at his much more spacious quarters here on Antares Base and dropped off to sleep.
     
    * * * * *
     
           When the alarm went off, Kelly got up to prepare for the reception.   He checked his terminal and there was a message from his parents waiting for him.
           Andrew Blake’s face appeared in a video file when he clicked on the message.   It was a middle aged version of Kelly’s own face staring back at him.   “Son, how are you doing?   We just found out what happened to you in the Fighter Force.   Your mother is sick about it.   I’ve met old Bugger Off and I know what you must have gone through.   She’s an idiot.   We got your message that you transferred to the Scout Force.   Admiral Craddock is a good egg. You should do a lot better under him than you did with Bugger Off.”
           “Your mom and I just got back from Aldebaran.   We’ve been working on something for the Galactic Republic.   You should hear something in the news in a month or so.   We can’t say anything just yet.   Just know that it will cause some big changes.”
           Kelly wondered what his folks were working on now.   Knowing his dad’s predilection for understatement, this would be something astounding.   Considering all the areas his dad was involved in, it could be anything.
           “Son, we are going to be on Armstrong in a couple of