Re: Episode Seven: Securing Mars
Vance, like just about every other Veritech pilot on the Ranger, had to be ordered to stand down for his breaks...and got himself in a heated discussion with his crew chief when he tried to shave his break short by ten minutes. Sarge wasn't having any of it, and while his arguments were made in terms of 'academy brats' trying to second guess Command on such issues, there was no mistaking the sincere concern in his tone. His job was to keep the plane intact, yes...but he also took it upon himself to try and keep the pilot operational, as well.
A second break came around, and Vance didn't even bother arguing at that point. Once his plane was clear of the flight line, he got out of the cockpit and went to his quarters, flopping down on his bunk without removing his flight suit. Sleep overtook him mere moments after he turned his head to look at the picture of his mom and family, in front of their ranch house back home...
As he slept, he found himself dreaming that he was back home, that he'd never gone to the Academy, never learned to fly...he was just sitting down to dinner with his family when the first attack hit, and he rushed outside to find alien battle pods marching on the farm. The barn was in flames, the animals trapped inside, and as he rushed forward to do something about that, another burst of enemy fire hit the house, where his family was standing, watching him run for the barn...
He sat upright in his bed in a cold sweat, the wild-eyed grip of panic on him, and it took him a few moments to reconcile what he'd just dreamed as being just a dream, that he was out in space, that his family was safe at home...They may never understand it, but I'm their first line of defense, he told himself, as he began to settle down.
He'd just wound down enough to start thinking about dozing off again when his alarm went off, and with a groan, he forced himself back to his feet, grabbing his helmet and making his way back to his plane. As he walked, the image of his family, standing at the door of the house, watching him try to get to the barn, just before a ball of fire engulfed them all, haunted his thoughts. The cold dread of the thought was more bracing than any dose of caffeine, and by the time he launched again, his mind was sharp and prepared for another shift.
The edge from that nightmare was only just beginning to fade when the tender arrived, hours later, and the planes were ordered back aboard the Ranger.