VODE AN - Skies on Fire 1.1
Iris sat in a chair in the corner, one leg kicked up in her flight suit, trying not to come across as too much of the FNG.
"Beroya, you want caf?"
She glanced up at the speaker, a tall and winsome human with a beard, longer brown hair, and a beard. Iris smiled. "Sure, thanks Dax."
Dax Kelborn aka Strill 1, squadron leader. Confident, brusque, and no nonsense. Plus a killer karaoke voice (not a whole lot to do on a transiting carrier for fun). The stern and silent counterpart to Strill 2, callsign "Apex." Iris glanced across the room toward the shorter man, who wore his head shaved. His helmet was scored with kills, an even more decorated pilot than Kelborn.
And if anyone thought they didn't count, well, they would be dead wrong. One corner of the ready room was devoted to the squadron kill count on a big holodisplay. They separated into aerial and ground kills. Apex was at the top spot, fitting, then Kelborn, then Strill 3, Jyn Keldau, who was tied up with Ack-Akk, the ultraviolent Strill 4. Multiple digits down at only two ground kills was Daffid Rau, Strill 5. If Iris hadn't been there he would have been the newest member of the squadron. Just a kid, really.
Unlike Daffid though, Iris had prior combat experience in the Crimson Aces mercenaries. She'd fought with the Sith against the Galactic Empire in the Core. None of those kills counted though. And that seemed right to Iris, even if she hated being at the bottom of a scoreboard.
"We still doing that holo training at 1300?" asked Jyn.
"Still on. Starting aerial, then going ground," grunted Apex.
Unlike most pilots, Starfang Wing trained small unit tactics in addition to basic fighter maneuvers. They didn't expect to be shot down, but if they did, they were still Mandalorians in full kit.
Iris' eyebrows raised as the burly Ack-Akk passed her a plate heaped with pancakes, followed by a steaming mug of caf. She cradled the mug in both hands, the warmth seeping through her fingertips.
"Thanks."
She couldn't say the Crimson Aces ever did breakfast together. Then again, they didn't consider each other family. Strill squadron did. All Mandalorians did. It was part of their creed, their ethos.
Iris glanced over at her kill count display again and its big fat zero. It was a blank slate, she decided. A fresh start with the Vode An.
