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Fatigue gripped Summer, the fire squirrel fighting the urge to let her head droop. Judging from the looks of the other officers around the table, she wasn't the only one feeling that. As a soldier, she was no stranger to exhaustion. But this week had been so unlike anything she had experienced. The events that had happened here taking their toll on everyone from the Commander down to the hanger techs. Although they had suffered most.

'What's the current status on the hanger?' Commander Vlias asked, his eyes heavy with exhaustion. And his voice showing the same strain. He didn't have to say which one. They all knew. Right now, there was only one that was on everyone's mind.

'Damage assessment is still progressing sir. Right now we are still using most techs to prioritise getting the vehicles back to operational status.' Those that had survived anyway. Summer didn't have to say that. She knew they were all thinking the exact same thing; that it was a miracle anyone survived that blast at all. Attacks on the base were nothing new. But suicide attacks? That was a new one. The blast that had hit right at the hanger's main entrance, collapsing it to a pile of rubble. That didn't stop the shockwave from ripping into the assembled vehicles like a tornado through a field of wheat. To say nothing of the ground crew on duty. 'We may only have lost ten wrenches sir, but that still puts us down on manpower.'

She hated thinking that way, but she had slipped into military speak. To think of them as people right now, it would be too painful. She had been there after all. If she hadn't been at the rear of the hanger..

'Ball park. How long until we have the primary hanger repaired?' Vlias asked. Summer was glad of the distraction, to be able to focus on something right in front of her. Like she wasn't seeing the explosion when she closed her eyes every night. She didn't want to see it when she was awake.

'A month, sir.' She saw no reason to sugar coat it. It was what it was. She wasn't a tech after all. That was the cause of her frustration. She wanted to be out doing something. But her bike hadn't faired as well as she had. And really wasn't a priority. 'Assuming the repair queue doesn't get longer.'

'It might.' The commander rubbed his eyes with a sigh. 'Even with the air defences from The Terrican Base we are still under defended. If they attack again, we will have to use all we have to defend ourselves.'

'Well, it's lucky we are here to cover your collective butts then.' Summer turned to the figure at the end of the table; the falcon with an impressive black crest sitting with his arms crossed in his lap.

The Commander didn't like that. Summer could see that in his eyes. Truth be told, she didn't either. This flyboy was a bit too cocky, sure of himself. He just walked in here, playing the hero while they had been hurt. 'Indeed.' Vylias' tone was frosty. Summer picked up on that, even if the falcon didn't. If he would have even cared. 'I haven't yet received a picket plan from you yet.'

' I have it here sir.' He passed over a thin folder, casually sliding it across the varnished table. 'We will maintain a picket of two Deltas at all times, with the other four able to scramble in two minutes Commander if need be.'

'I'll decide what need be.' Vlias replied. 'You are under my command here, Captain. I suggest you remember that. Now, where do we stand with land assets?'

That question was directed at the third officer in the room, the heavy set bear who served as chief of security for the base. Summer didn't have to hear him speak to know that answer to that. He looked as out of his depth as she felt. What with the current head of security still recovering in the Med-bay, he had stepped into his shoes. With the number of wounded and fatalities, a lot of people were filling in with roles they didn't know. Like her. They were all scrabbling to keep up. And she was playing at being Land Assault Deployment Officer. The deck crews and pilots had taken to her being the L.A.D.O/LAD, even calling her laddo. It was reassuring. But she was still out of her depth. She would much rather be out there, on her bike than stuck here. But recon and scouting was a low priority right now. She here she was, stuck directing traffic.

'Not much sir. At a pinch, we could field two heavy fire tanks. But they would be very vulnerable if the enemy has mobile armour. Most of our ground defence is going to come from infantry for the moment. Nothing I can do about that sir.'

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Summer stepped into the hanger, the lights dimmed and everything silent around her. Not surprising, all techs should be on down time. So should she. Ten hours on, four off. Once she dropped off these reports, she was looking forward to really hitting her rack. Not that she remembered much of that. It kept feeling like minutes since she placed her head down. Days had started blurring into one, she was counting time in shifts now. She really couldn't think on it any other way. This had become her routine, the routine of everyone at the base she supposed. She almost wasn't paying attention as she dropped the reports on the desk, quickly turning to leave. When a sound behind her brought her up short.

A clang, metal upon metal. It wasn't much but even to her exhausted brain, it screamed wrong. Out of place. No one should be here. Summer had drawn her weapon before she even thought about it, the grip settling into her paw. Like the icy chill that settled in her stomach, cool panic clawing at her control.

There it was again. Coming from...her eyes settled on the tool locker, the sliver of light cutting across the deck drawing her attention. Which it should have done a lot sooner. Why hadn't she noticed the door was open? Regs say it should be locked down between shifts. Cautiously she approached, the squirrel moving as light-footed as her species was famed for. Each rustle of her uniform sounded too loud, all of her senses heightened. But not as loud as what she heard next.

'Dammit, dammit. Dammit!'

Relief flooded Summer, relief as icy as the fear it replaced. She knew that voice. Carefully holstering her weapon after she re-flicked on the safety, she stepped into the tool locker. And she wasn't surprised by what she saw. 'Shouldn't you be in your rack Technician?'

The green haired vixen turned with a slight jump, frustration clear on Ari's face, her muzzle curled into a snarl. 'I can't get this ruddy brake system aligned. Everything I do just..' The spanner in her paw caught and slipped, drawing a growl from her. 'Dammit!!' Ari snapped, chucking the tool hard across the room, rebounding from the wall to skid to land back at her feet.

'Dammit, dammit. This fuc...sorry sir.'

Summer gave her a moment to compose herself, using that to survey the workshop, taking in the engine spread around the cramped room on various workbenches, all neatly arranged by components for ease of reassembly later on. 'Don't be.' Summer stepped closer. 'You need some sleep.'

'I'm fine.' Ari stood to fetch her tool back. 'I want to finish this.'

Summer stopped her with a gentle paw on her shoulder. They might be getting on better and she was working out the line between friend and superior. If they were even friends. She knew how she felt about Ari..sort of. But had no idea how she felt in return. At least they had been able to keep it civil. Which had to be a good thing. 'No, you need some rest.' Summer pressed,

her voice soft but with a slight firmness to it. 'I'll make it an order, shall I? Can't have one of my techs breaking down on me.'

'I don't think I can sleep.' Ari sighed.

'I'm not surprised.' Summer nodded understandingly. 'Maybe I can do the next best thing. Come on.'

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'Here. Coffee. Nice and strong.' Summer placed on cup down on the table, keeping one closed in her paw for a herself. 'If you can't sleep, you'll need this I think.'

Ari sighed. 'I'll need a lot I think.' Ari took a sip. 'How do you sleep? Right now I mean? With all this going on? This was never something I imagined. I just joined up to help pay for

college. Plus the experience. Would look good on my resume. But this... I didn't join up to fight in a war.'

'Who said there is going to be..' Summer started before Ari cut her off.

'I'm not totally without experience. I've seen attacks before. This isn't my first front line assignment. But this..this feels different. We aren't the only ones getting hit. Okay we were

the first but..' He paws had started to tremble, Summer could see that. As she heard how shaky her voice had become. The vixen grasped her cup tighter as if seeking comfort in it. 'I guess

this is easy for you. You've trained for this.'

'You think?' Summer sat. 'There's no training for this. You get told what you will feel, what to feel. But nothing prepares you for it. It never gets easy. Just..less hard. You find a way

to cope. Somehow.'

'I don't know if I can.' Ari sighed. 'I'm not brave like you.'

'You think being brave means you don't get scared?' Summer laughed. 'Of course I get scared. Every soldier gets scared.'

'You do?' Ari frowned as if seeking a lie in her face, maybe wondering if she was just saying that.

Summer nodded earnestly. 'I do. Fear keeps you alive, stops you taking risks.' She reached out for her paw tentatively, giving it a comforting squeeze. 'It's okay to be scared.'

Ari seemed to stop and think about that, her eyes seeming to look inward for a few seconds, silence hanging between them. 'I..never said sorry.' She muttered.

'Huh?' Summer frowned, genuinely confused by the change in track.

'For how I treated you. I was being such a jerk. I think I was actually missing a good friend.' Ari said, her head dipped shyly.

Summer fought to keep her face neutral. Was that how she saw her? As a friend? Could that be all? She liked her but they were hardly close. She could be feeling something Ari could never return. Still, if she wanted to find out, friends would be a good place to start. If she said more, it might scare her off. So she clamped down on what she wanted to say and extended a paw across the table. 'You weren't the only one. So, what do you say? Friends?'

Ari's response was one word, punctuated by her paw taking hers. 'Friends.'

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