Star Missions - Book One - Part I

Chapter 2 - Nova Station

Lieutenant Lita Joshi stood in the pilot's lounge, a couple of feet from the locker room access, casually glancing around. Her thumbs were tucked in her belt as she waited for Ray to emerge. She was used to waiting for him, no matter where they were, and it wasn't because she changed clothes more quickly than he did. Ray Soliski was the kind of guy that had to make sure everything was just right before he made his grand entrance. She agreed that Ray always looked good, so she didn't complain.

"Looking this good takes time," he would always joke, smirk on his lips and twinkle in his eyes.

Just thinking of Ray made her smile. His deep blue eyes stood out more than anything else. That's how he got his call sign, Blue-Ray. He'd told her once that there was another cadet in his first year at the academy named Ray O'Toole, and one of the instructors wasn't too creative when it came to differentiating his cadets. Ray Soliski had blue eyes, and the other Ray didn't, so Ray Soliski became "Blue-Ray." It didn't take long until everyone called him that, and so the name stuck.

Lita liked that she knew more about Ray than anyone else. There were many women on the base, but she was the one with whom Blue-Ray spent the most time. They were together a few hours every day. That made her happy. She knew that she was only his 'Wingman,' but one day, maybe that would change, and she would be more than that. She didn't push anything—they were soldiers, after all. She didn't dare expect or demand anything more.

As Lita continued to wait, she turned her gaze back to the lounge. Across the room, a pilot sat on a couch wearing a blue-grey Hydra uniform just like hers. He had his eyes closed, and his hands clasped casually over his crossed legs. She had seen him before but didn't remember his name. She figured he was on some sort of errand like she and Ray were.

The other seven pilots were civilians, wearing their Nova pilot purple and grey jumpsuits. One was standing at the bar, chatting animatedly with the bartender. There were also two card players at a table near the center of the room. The bald one was tense, glaring at his card hand; he was losing and not liking it at all. A dark-haired female pilot on the couch to her left was writing something on her datapad.

She couldn't help but notice the maturity in the room. The Nova pilots were all older than the Hydra pilots with whom she flew. Most of these men and women were ex-military; she knew the look. Lita thought about her career. Everyone serving in the Hydra-corps volunteered to work in the Strolla System. She didn't think she would ever leave it, like Marcus had, no matter how old she got. She had every intention of making her service in the Hydra-corps a career, like Blue-Ray. She smiled to herself again—at least as long as Ray was around, anyway.

The locker room door slid open, pulling her attention back to Ray, who stepped into the lounge. He looked great, as usual. His uniform perfectly fit his masculine body, his face was clean-shaven, and his short blonde hair was just the stylish side of unkempt. There was more to him, though than his magnetism. Some people on Hydra considered Ray arrogant, but those who worked with him called it confidence. Plus, his sense of humor made him a lot of fun to be around, wing leader, or not. Despite what his persona seemed to exude, Lita knew him better than anyone else did. To her, Ray was a natural-born leader, and she would follow him anywhere.

He flashed Lita his trademark lopsided grin.

"Miss me?" he asked.

Lita smiled back.

"No, just thought you might have gotten lost in there," she said with a tease.

Blue-Ray just kept smiling at her. It was starting to make her blush, but then he turned his gaze away from her out into the lounge. Suddenly, a door leading to the tunnel bay flew open and hit a misplaced chair. It made a loud enough noise to get everyone's attention.