With one last look in the mirror, Asher strode out of his quarters. To be fair, he’d only run a comb through his damp hair to tame the unruly locks after a quick change into his uniform. He’d refused to look at the two gleaming pips on his collar, but felt ridiculously aware of the missing one. Though he’d never been concerned with chasing after advancement in rank, he had been proud of his achievements throughout his career. Promotions were an added bonus, but they had nothing to do with flying.
Heading down the corridor, he didn’t have far to go to find Juno’s quarters. Though she hadn’t come out and said it, he’d figured out she was the fighter squadron CO. Maybe it would have bothered him more before he’d met her, but he couldn’t begrudge her for being his CO, no matter how much he believed he should be in that position. Maybe if she’d been some hard ass with a chip on her shoulder or acted like she had to prove herself to everyone, then it would’ve been different.
Not like fighter pilots didn’t have chips on their collective shoulders about anything anyway. There usually was something.
Knocking on the door, he stepped back out of habit so he could see both directions down the hallway in his peripheral vision.
The door swished open to reveal Juno. She’d showered, changed into her uniform and put her hair up neatly. A feat that she had down to the second by now.
“Hey handsome,” she smiled up at him. “Ready for this?”
“Yeah, sure,” he answered, shaking his head no. “Anything I should know beforehand? Other than you went to the academy with our CO and the XO hates you?”
For some reason, that didn’t sit well with Asher. Juno was a beautiful woman. Not just that, but she was genuinely likable.
She motioned for them to start walking.
“Nicky will be quiet or growl. Seems to be no inbetween with him. He is genuinely an excellent XO though,” she added. “I never figured out why command haven’t given him his own ship yet. James is the consummate diplomat, and sharp. Watch your words and watch your body language, especially when we’re talking about the wing. There are some things the ship crew don’t need to know about how we run things. They just wouldn’t understand.”
It was perhaps a little more information that most people would have gotten before facing their CO for the first time, but if she and Asher were going to have a working relationship to run the wing, she needed to give him the tools to work with James and Nicky.
Hawkins listened intently, nodding at the important points she made, but the one part made him wonder.
“I’ll watch what I say, but what did you mean about body language? Watch it with the CO or watch it with the crew?” He gave it some thought. It wasn’t unusual for fighter pilots to walk around… no… strut around arrogantly. They were not like the rest of the standard crew.
”With James,” she clarified. “I swear that guy can look at how you’re standing and bloody well know what you’re thinking.”
Asher blinked. “Is he psionic? Does he actually have telepathic abilities?” He just realized he hadn’t looked beyond the basics of his new commanding officer. He looked Human in his personnel photo, but so did a lot of species who weren’t human.
She shook her head. “Nope, nothing like that. He’s just freaky good at reading people. Especially me for some reason, so I don’t give him anything.”
“Good to know,” he assured her. “I’ll behave. Not that I wouldn’t have, but I do like to make a good first impression with someone who has the power to affect my future in the fleet. At least as long as they’re not a first class prick. My problem with authority rears its ugly head in those instances.”
She slid him a sideways glance. “Problem with authority, huh? You going to have a problem following my orders, handsome?”
“I don’t think so.” He shot her a smirk. “I’ve never had a woman for a superior officer or a commanding officer. I mean, as long as you ask nicely.” He managed to keep a straight face for all of two seconds. The same two seconds that she stared at him.
“No, ma’am,” he clarified with a wink. “I might have to make an exception for you, since you think I’m handsome.”
She thought about that for a moment, then chuckled. “I can’t work out if you’re saying you will follow my orders or won’t.”
He smothered a grin. “I’m in a good mood today, so I won’t leave you hanging about that. I will follow your orders… though, full disclosure, I have a history of going against orders that don’t make sense or would get others harmed. So yes, I’ll follow your orders. Does that work for you?”
Okay, they were having this conversation. Looking up, she said. “Computer, stop lift.”
Then she looked at him directly. “I know your history, I read your file before extending the assignment offer. I have no issue with it, but I would ask that you trust me if you don’t understand why I’ve given you an order. I may have information you don’t have. But if you see something that I haven’t that means people will get hurt, then hell yeah, I expect you to go against my orders. Just be prepared to explain why afterward. I am very much of the school of thought that the man on the ground is the man on the ground, and is the only person with all the information to make the decision.”
She folded her arms, not in a defensive posture but more contained. “If you disagree with me or something I’ve done, you don’t do it in front of the wing, you bring it to me. Directly. Shout, scream if you like, but don’t bottle it up or it festers. That work for you?”
