He waited for the higher ups to leave the bay before he undid the first few buttons of his jacket and made the climb to the areas where his bombers and fighters were stored. The moment he heard the announcement over the com he assembled his squad of pilots for a pre-briefing. Before he had arrived they were waiting or lining up, impressed with their speed he noted that.<br/><br/><strong>"All right you all heard the brass, times to get your dicks, wet. Falcons I want your ships ready and loaded within three hours, I along with the Ravens will personally cover you all. I want all ships ready and inspected in a few hours, whoever gets the most kills or damage makes squad captain of their respective squad, dismissed!"</strong><br/>Not giving them the chance to realize the irony of him calling the other officers the brass, he stepped away to the cargo deck and reached into a pocket for his stainless steal cigarette holder and lighter with the Command Eagle etched in the center, a gift sent to him by an old friend who was en route to becoming air command on his own ship. He glanced around and saw a few others on deck smoking as well, those who caught his sight saluting before he waved them at ease. Ansem considered the area "rank-less" it was the only place non-officers could speak to him on equal terms. Bringing one of his last cigarettes to his lips, he the flipped the lighter's cap up before rolling his thick calloused thumb on the flint and neared the flame to his face. He sucked in a deep drag and let it burn at his lungs for a few moments, before thin white streams of smoke left his nostrils. With a sigh of relief, he leaned on a railing and looked outside past the thick impact window, the world unearth becoming slow as the ship left the dock.<br/><br/><br/><em><strong>"Fuck I am running low...I am gonna have to visit the quartermaster before dinner tonight." <br/></strong></em>He grumbled to himself, truth be told he did not even know where that nor the flag bridge was, Ansem had spent the last four months on only a few selected parts of the ship.