The tunnel let them out onto a small coast air strip. They
drove by a small collection of civilian air craft and carter weaved around
plane after plane. Carter stopped the cart next to a single seat zero G
fighter. It looked old and was clearly second or possibly third hand. The
original corporate ID tag had been hastily scrubbed or scraped off. Carter
turned the key and shut off the cart. “it's not much but it's all yours.
Whether you -”
“shhhh you're ruining the moment.” Toll said, holding up his
hand to quiet Carter. Carter stayed quiet. “She's beautiful.” Toll stepped out
of the cart and walked over to the ship. Running his hand along the side almost
lovingly. “Why give me the plane first? What's the job?'
Carter got out of the cart. “The job is why I showed you the
plane first. We have fourteen more just like this one. There's only one
problem.”
Toll turned to face Carter. “There's not one combat pilot
among this nation of egg heads.”
Carter smiled and took a draw off of his stick. “There is
one, I'm hoping he can turn out fourteen more.”
Toll looked back at the plane. “You want me to take fourteen
completely green pilots and train them as a unit for a mission that happens
when?”
Carter smiled awkwardly “two weeks.”
“Two weeks” Toll kicked at loose concrete jutting from a
crack in the runway. “you were smart to show me the plane first.”
“I am one of the smartest people on the planet.” Carter
tipped an invisible hat.
“That was probably a more intimidating statement before
humanity colonized the stars.” Toll shot back.
“How hard is it to shut up and be intimidated?” Carter asked
as he sat back in the drivers seat of the cart.
“If I admit that you don't intimidate me, can I still keep
the plane?” Toll asked as he pushed an old yellow rusty stair case toward his
plane's cockpit.
“Yeah I guess so.” Carter sighed, slumping into the drivers
seat.
“Give em two hours to check this thing out then have my unit
gathered. We don't have much time to waist.” Toll said as he started his climb
up the stairs.
Carter pulled a phone of out of his jacket pocket and typed
furiously on the screen. “Toll hold on a second.” Toll stopped a few steps up
the ramp and turned around just in time to catch the phone that Carter had
tossed at him. “That's yours. Contact information for everyone you want to talk
to is already in it. There's another cart parked next to the security station a
few hundred yards back the way we came. You're cleared for flight as soon as
you're ready to go. Anything else?”
Toll looked around the airstrip. “This isn't our only
airstrip is it?” he asked as he finished climbing into his plane.
Carter shook his head. “This is an old hobbyist airstrip.”
There's an actual airport about sixty miles north of here.”
Toll had situated himself in the seat and was buckling
himself in. “Good because this is hard enough by myself. Overseeing fourteen
others without ground crew would’a been a nightmare.”
Carter smiled. “Your nightmares haven't even begun yet. I'll
see you in a few hours.”
“Thanks for reminding me.” Toll said reaching up to close
his cockpit.
“Enjoy your flight.” Carter yelled as the cover latched
closed. He turned the cart back on and spun it a hundred and eighty degrees to
head back toward the tunnel.
The conference room was filled with a motley crew. Thirteen
humans and one Baceten. Carter opened the door and let Toll into the room. Toll took a quick survey of the room
immediately noticing the Baceten. “Ok first question. How many of you have any
kind of flight experience at all?” Two hands went up, one of which was the
Baceten. “All righty then. Before we get to learning things like names and
playing team building games were all headed to the simulators because if you can’t
keep from crashing we can’t bond into an incredibly unlikely feed good team of
misfits that beat the odds and become a crack team of colorful hotshots. On the
off chance that any of you have any questions, my name is Toll and until each
of you have two hours of simulator time none of your questions actually matter.
So, everyone stand up and follow me.” Toll exited the room and the rest of the
group followed him out and down the hall. Leaving Carter alone in the room.
