Star Missions - Book One - Part II

Chapter 11 - Volunteers

Specialist Amanda Tucker was the last to arrive in the briefing room. There were only a few seats left, and they were all in the front. She was a little embarrassed coming at the last minute, but it wasn't her fault. Her gear got sent ahead to Hydra, and she didn't have her uniform. Just like all the other new Space Dogs, she had to be issued a Novacorps uniform. She'll catch up with her gear once she gets to her final destination on Hydra. That's why she was late.

She noticed more than half the heads of those in the room turned to look at her. Amanda was used to the stares. People described her as a blonde-haired, green-eyed, beauty, and getting looks sort of came with the territory. This time, though, she chose to think that it was because she was arriving at the very last minute. She tried to ignore it most of the time. She was uncomfortable when she felt people watching her.

She quickly took a seat.

Amanda didn't want to shine. She only wanted to be a cog in a big machine, like a soldier was supposed to be. Nor did Amanda want fame, glory, or attention. Well, maybe she wanted recognition. Fitting in was hard for Amanda. She hoped that here, in the Strolla system, she would find that sense of belonging and purpose that had always been missing.

She sat near a new Novacorps worker that she had seen on the transport through the Gate. Amanda had a hard time opening up and making friends. She did her job well, but on her off time, she mostly kept to herself. She thought that it might have been because she grew up in a foster family.

It was not easy to trust people.

Her older foster brothers would pick on her all the time until she turned fourteen when one of them tried to kiss her. She knocked him unconscious. Since then, the boys she met always seemed to want to kiss her. She didn't want that kind of attention all the time and did everything she could to avoid it.

After she had spent three months on the Luna base for deep space training, mandatory for all volunteer recruits, she had earned the respect of her fellow soldiers. She left Luna with the honor of being named 'top dog' of the training group. But no one knew of her reputation here in the Strolla System. She glanced around the room behind her and saw only one other person from her training group. She felt that she would have to prove herself all over again.

Three individuals stood in the front of the room. One she recognized as acting station commander Marcus Hawkins. The other two wore the uniforms of Hydra pilots.

As she was trying to identify the rank of each, she noticed the blond, blue-eyed male pilot wink at her. At first, she thought he could just have had something in his eye. But he winked again, this time followed by a lopsided grin, she thought it could have been an attempt at a smile.

A wink, she thought. Really? Is that the first impression he wants to give me?

Though he was pretty casual about it, he waited for some sort of response from her. Blue-Ray, ever the incorrigible lady's man, no doubt expected one.

Amanda composed herself and took a deep breath. Here was her chance to make it clear that she was more than eye candy. She refused to give him the satisfaction and didn't acknowledge the wink. Instead, she turned to her neighbor friend and said, "Get a load of this guy."

Amanda was surprised that her neighbor had a different opinion. The young brunette examined the wing-leader long and hard. "Me-ow! We are going to have so much fun out here!" she responded like a cat in heat.

Amanda raised an eyebrow then took another quick look at the man, then turned away. Maybe she was too rash in her assessment of him. He was tall, with broad shoulders and a strong jawline. His blond hair was thick and well-groomed. It was hard not to appreciate a man that was physically fit and took care of his appearance. She did like his bright blue eyes, at least when they weren't winking at her.