As each of the soldiers finished up their clips, Aren punched a nearby button, bringing the targets closer to their stations. "Nine," Aren called out, smiling as he examined the paper figure. He turned to look at the other shooters and his heart dropped a bit. Jal had hit 9 of 10 as well, and Keira had hit 8, with a ninth narrowly missing the head. "Damn," he said with a laugh, "We're all pretty good shots."<br/><br/>It was then that he noticed the angry light blinking on his comm alert, which was attached to a band on his wrist. Four quick blinks followed by a pause, then four more quick blinks. It was important. Jogging from the firing range, he called over his shoulder, "I'll be back!"<br/><br/>Sprinting down the hall to his room, he completely ignored the two women who were sprawled on the sofa. His door was open, and he could see that his comm screen was flashing angrily. Closing the door behind him, he punched buttons, and the general's face appeared within a matter of moments.<br/><br/>"Captain Tobak here, sir," Aren said, saluting.<br/>"At ease Captain," the general said. "I'm letting you know that your new first officer should be arriving any time now. First officer Brixin Zio has been transferred into your unit, she was with the 5th mech before this. She's a hacker, computer expert; she'll be a good soldier for your squad."<br/><br/>"I'll be the judge of that, sir," Aren said, eyes flashing, "You know how I feel about you adding soldiers to my unit without my knowledge, sir."<br/><br/>"I know, Tobak," the General said "But she's a damn good pilot; you'll need her. General Anwar out."<br/><br/>"Damnit!" Aren said, kicking a nearby trash can across the room. "I don't need a new soldier!" Punching up the comm range on the monitor, he spoke quickly and curtly into the mic. "I'm gonna be late getting back, I'm afraid," he said to the two women, "I have to go and meet our new pilot." Cutting the connection, he stormed back down to the hangar to await her arrival.