She paused as she read that she had been promoted to 2nd Company Scout. She read through the messages again and finally found the two messages that notified her that she had been promoted.

Congratulations, you have met all the requirements to advance to 1st Platoon Scout

Congratulations, you have met all the requirements to advance to 2nd Company Scout

Doing a little research she found that she had advanced to 1st platoon scout as soon as she reached 50 perception, 15 agility, 15 dexterity, and 25 procession speed. She reached 2nd Company scout when she reached 100 perception, 50 agility, 50 dexterity, 50 memory, and 75 processing speed as well as got her advanced infantry combat skill. She almost qualified for 1st company scout except that she needed better armor and 25 mod points total in strength, health, and health regen. She needed nineteen more mod points to complete the mod requirements for 1st Company Scout template. The suicide mod that she had to have for the piloting skill also worked for the requirement for 2nd Company scout.

Smiling happily she checked how much she would need to advance to 2nd Scout and lost her smile. The only thing she had already that was required was the Golden E medal. Some of the mods requirements were in the two hundred. The last hurdle in the template was that it required two full years in the service before she would be eligible for the advancement.

She checked on her Personal AI mod but it was still at level Zero. She wondered how long until it grew enough to level up. Shaking her head she closed the status screen and started walking again. The chow hall was on the other side of the barracks from where the shops were. She thought about stopping by her bunk but changed her mind once she saw that it was only nine in the morning shipboard time. Remembering her drill instructors warning about the hours she was allowed to be in the barracks she kept walking.

At the far end of the on the third floor, she found the chow hall. It was a two story room with the first floor taken up with all sorts of food vendors. There was an android who was stopping everyone. He explained that to get into the chow hall she had to pay the one credit but once she was in everything was free. The credit allowed her an hour of time in the chow hall. If she stayed over that was fine but she would not be allowed to eat anything else until she paid another credit.

Freya paid the android and walked into the chow hall awed. There were so many food vendors that she had no idea where to start. The food ranged from the familiar like grilled seafood to something she had no idea what they were. She spotted a vendor that was cooking things like pizza and hotdogs. The stuff she had only heard about in movies and read in books. Knowing she would kill herself if she didn’t try it she got in line.

“How may I help you?” The android asked her.

“What do you recommend for a first timer?” Freya asked it.

“Well, I say go for the basic and try a slice of cheese and a slice of pepperoni. See if you like it then maybe try other toppings later.” He suggested.

“Ok, can I have a slice of each then?” She asked.

“Of course, Private.” The android said handing over two plates that were overflowing with pizza goodness. Freya smelled the pizza slices and smiled. It smelled amazing.

She left the pizza vendor and found a huge drink island that had what looked like thousands of fountain drinks. Grinning Freya found the Ice tea and got a huge glass of the sweet tea. Taking her food she went up the stairs to find somewhere to sit. Walking out of the staircase she stopped in amazement.

The second floor was not just a place to sit and eat. It was also a place for low ranking enlisted members to hang out and relax during the day. There were a bunch of really comfortable looking chairs and couches lined up against the walls with sim helmets on them for people to go online and be entertained. She spotted a few people asleep on the couches and chairs. In the middle of the room, there were a few tables for people to eat and talk to one another. The place was also packed.

Freya found an empty table and sat down to eat and people watch. She took a bite of the pizza and stopped people watching. “This is amazing!” She thought to herself as she took a second bite. The pepperoni went really well with the cheese and tomato sauce. She liked the rolled up bread on the outside too. She devoured the pizza slice. She like the cheese sliced pizza but she really liked the greasy pepperoni one better.

She got up after she finished and found an empty chair with a sim helmet. She smiled at the irony, as she put the helmet on, of going online while in a digital world. After she logged into the ship's web she discovered that she would not be able to visit any sites that were not on the ship's web. She could send a message or an email though.

She took a deep breath and opened a message to her mom. “Hi, Mom. It’s your daughter.” Freya told the camera smiling. “Well, I got a few things to tell you. I’m not sure how long it’s been for you, but it’s been about a month here ship time. Basic took less than a second ship time but for me, it was a very long month. Uncle David was right. There was a lot of running involved.” Freya said laughing.

“I passed Basic Training with a lot of points,” Freya said then explained about all the points that were involved and how she was able to go right in on real sim mission once she was done.

“I got promoted on my last mission, Mom. I used grandpa’s trick with the auto sentry guns and the Marines loved it. They gave me a battlefield promotion and then bought the rights from me. I used what they gave me and became a drone pilot. Mom when I get out of the Marines, I can now fly near orbit ships.” Freya told her mother smiling. “I am even a college graduate with a bachelor's degree in math and military with a minor in electrical engineering.”

She told her mother about the chow hall and how awesome pizza is. She ended the message early afraid that she would start crying. She missed her family but strangely enough, she didn’t miss home. “Love you, Mom.” She said then signed off.

She was about to log off when she got an alert. Her mother had sent a reply to her message. Smiling Freya clicked the message and her mother appeared. “Oh Freya, my daughter. It’s been two years since you left. I miss you so much but I’m glad you left. I’m glad that you were able to use your grandfather's wisdom to help you become a pilot. I know he would be very proud of you. I know I am. I keep talking about you to Karen and the Bobs. I know they are getting tired of hearing about it but I don’t care.” Her mother said at first frowning but she smiled.

Freya noticed that her mother had a lot of grey hair and wrinkles on her face. She looked tired and sad even when she smiled. Freya started to cry as she realized that her mother may not be alive when she finished her first tour. She knew about it when she left but seeing her mother aging right in front of her made it very real to her. She fired off another short message where she told her mother that she got the message and would send her another when she was able to. Once she sent the message she logged out too afraid to look and see if there was a response.

Not feeling like socializing with her fellow Marines anymore she left the chow hall and headed to the console trees and a new mission. She needed to get out of her head and a mission sounded like a great way to do that. She also admitted that she needed more credits. She needed to upgrade her armor desperately. She did not like the fact that she only had two days of power before she needed to change out the batteries while using active camouflage.

She found the console trees a bit busier since her last mission. She looked at the line for the middle console trees and decided that it would be faster just to go one of the free consoles and she walk across the concourse to the lobby than to stand in line and wait her turn. She chose an empty screen and logged in.

Tier 2 missions are locked. Mission points are locked. Warning all short term and long term missions are also locked at this time. Time to unlock 16 days, 02 hours, 04 minutes, and 31 seconds.

Shrugging her shoulders after she read the blue box, she clicked the acknowledge button and started browsing new missions. She had far more missions now that she had a dropship and 2nd company scout qualifications. She found a really nice mission where they wanted a company scout and a boarding ship pilot but she was not qualified because she still didn’t have the Zero-G infantry fighting skill or a boarding ship license. Grumbling she skipped the mission and kept going.

She stopped at a mission that had a train. She had never seen a train up close before so she clicked to get more information. The mission was to protect a train that was crossing a mountainous desert/plains environment. The current weather conditions were high winds and low visibility. The mission was listed as lasting two weeks.

She was confused because she thought trains were only used in really old cities. At first, she thought the train was traveling through a mega city but according to the information that was not true at all. The train was mostly passing through untamed wilderness. It would make one stop in roughly the middle of its journey according to the information she was reading. The stop was a small city in the base of a mountain range. There was little information about the train or the mission except it stated no respawns.

Freya clicked the accept button just because she wanted to ride a train. She still had sixteen days until everything was unlocked. She wanted to use her new ship but she was a little afraid to. What happened if she crashed the ship. Would the entire platoon fail the mission? She was not sure and was a little afraid.

“I need a mission to unwind.” She told herself as she crossed the concourse to the lobby door.

The moment she walked into the locker room a man said, “Magic, it's you. Oh, thank god.”

Blinking at the corporal that was standing by the holographic table she smiled. She looked around for the Sergeant that would be leading the platoon but didn’t find him or her. She stopped and looked at the corporal in confusion. She was going to ask him if he was leading the platoon or were they waiting on a Sergeant when he spoke.

“Wait, don’t leave. I know it’s not what you expected but let me explain.” He said walking towards her.

“I’m in the running for squad leader of a named platoon in Second Division but it's between me and another guy. I’m trying to show I’m the better leader than the other guy by leading a bunch of recruits in a mission. I really need you and your ship. I will promise you anything up to and including my first born if you come with us.”

“I’m not a recruit thought.” She told him. “Won’t that look bad if I go?”

“Nope. I didn’t try to recruit you for this mission. You picked it all by yourself. I can say it was luck.” The corporal said smiling.

“Still, won’t it take away from what you’re trying to do?” Freya asked not sure why he was wanting her so bad.

“Hell no.” He told her. He gently grabbed her elbow and moved her away from the others. “You’re a hot commodity right now, Magic. No one has been able to get you alone to talk to you. You keep re-upping for missions before anyone has time to recruit you. It has even got worse since you got promoted and got a dropship. If I get you to go on this mission I win. Please Magic, I will do anything if you stay.”

“Why are you calling me Magic?” Freya asked him stalling because she was not sure what to say about his offer.

“It’s what everyone is calling you. I’m sorry if I offended you. Do you want me to call you by your last name?” He asked.

“No, it’s ok. I just didn’t know they were calling me that. I thought it was just a couple of people I know who were calling me that.” Freya said looking around again. Everyone in the room was a recruit besides the corporal and her. The recruits equipment looked only slightly better than the ones she remembered from Basic. She could spot a few mods here and there but for the most part, everyone was still in their basic equipment. She doubted any of them had a template armor or weapon yet.

“Yea, I heard that Jesus started calling you that after a mission you guys went on before he got picked up by the ‘Cats’. How the hell did you get on a max reward mission anyway? You know what it doesn’t matter. Please stay. I will do anything.” The corporal begged.

“Fine,” Freya said looking at the man. “I’ll stay.”

“Great, I’ll give you, second squad. They are mostly academy graduates so it will be easy. Come, let's look at the plan.” He told her.

He called out for the other three squad leaders to join them at the table. “Okay, guys, change of plans. We got a respawn dropship and a pilot now. That means we got unlimited respawns as long as the ship stays intact. Magic what kind of cloaking do you have on the ship? What about weapons?” He asked her.

“Active camouflage no weapons.” She told him.

“That’s perfect.” He said smiling looking down at the map. He tapped a button and the map disappeared and a holographic train appeared. “We land your ship here on this section of the train. It’s what the bandits are after so they won’t fire on it by accident. We will cut a hole in the train and have people drop down into the train them come out on either side of the car. No one is to just walk out onto the roof from the ship. That will give away the location of the ship. I do not want any trolls on this mission.” The corporal said looking at the other three squad leaders.

“Corporal, is this section of the train reinforced? My ship weighs one-thousand, four-hundred, and sixty pounds. That’s a lot of weight to be putting on something like that.” Freya warned.

“That section is heavily armored but let me check.” The Corporal said and tapped a few buttons. Freya recognized the math equations that popped up. She silently did the math along with the computer and came out with the answer a few seconds after it did. It would be close but her ship would fit without collapsing the roof. The crazy thing was that the additional weight wouldn’t slow the train down at all.

“That’s one hell of a strong train.” Freya thought after rechecking the math.

“Ok, we have one full day before the train leaves the first station. I want two sandbag bunkers built at the front and back of the train, on the roof. Stix, you got the front. Oswald, you have the back. Magic, I want your squad here in the middle of the train by the ship like the others. I’ll take my squad here inside the next train car one car length from the middle in front. Frankius, you take your squad inside to the rear but stay one car length away from the middle. At no time should any of your squad member leave the squads AOO (Area of operations) without permission from me. Questions? Also if boarded by the enemy you are to hunker down where you are and protect the middle car. If we lose the middle car we lose the mission. If I go down then we go by rank then level. That means that Magic is in charge after me. Any questions?” He asked everyone.

No one had any questions. Freya felt butterflies in her stomach as she left to get into her battle armor as the corporal briefed the rest of the squad. She selected her normal armor but no weapons. There no was room in the virtual cockpit for weapons. She quickly checked her armor making sure there were no glitches with the equipping program then looked up. The platoon leader was looking at her. “Ready?” He asked. When she nodded he turned to the door and unlocked it. “Let’s do this.” He said and led the way. Freya followed his squad into the light once.

She found herself stepping into the hanger where her new ship was parked. She smiled when she looked at her new ship. It was sixty-five feet long and twenty-one feet wide. The height was nine feet five inches tall. It had short stubby winds that were five feet and seven inches long. The passive camo was currently standard black. She could change color depending on the mission.

The active camouflage was not active yet. Once she turned it on, the holographic panels on the armor would show what was on the other side of the ship making it look invisible to the naked eye. It would also put out a cloud, like her sensor cloud, that would act like the holographic panels on her ship. It would also activate a lot of active and passive electronic devices that would make the ship all but invisible on sensors. That was a huge help when entering an atmosphere. Depending on what was in the air there could be many different reactions with things like gases in the atmosphere that would give away her position. Some of the most common were light reflections off the heat buffer panels and smoke or precipitation trails following her down to the ground. The active camouflage would hide most of those effects.

“How the hell did a private get enough skill points to get a 127 let alone enough credits to buy a license?” Someone asked to her right.

Turning her head Freya spotted a Navy woman walking towards her. According to her download, the woman was a second class petty officer or a sergeant equivalent in the marines. Freya nodded to the woman as she walked up.

“I’m petty officer Diaz and I’m your ship crew chief. My job is to keep your ship from falling apart.” The petty officer said walking up to her. The petty officer held her hand out and Freya shook it.

“Freya. People call me Magic.” Freya said smiling.

“Well, Magic…” The woman said over pronouncing the word magic. “... let's do your preflight.”

Feeling awkward Freya asked, “So, what’s it like in the navy? We constantly go on sim missions but what do you guys do normally?”

“Eh, we have a three-day schedule. One day of real-world monitoring of the ship in a virtual office sort of like your cockpit on the 127. One day of ship or rate training and one day of free time before it starts all over again.” The crew chief said. “What’s going to bake your noodle is that, if we have a three-day schedule how am I always going to be here for you on all your missions.”

Freya stopped and blinked. She had no idea how that would work. She would go on a mission on random times, not on a set schedule. There would be conflicting times no matter how she thought about it.

Freya’s crew chief laughed at Freya’s expression. “The Monarch messes with the time. Sometimes making the time faster or slower to make sure the crew chief is always there at launch times even in sims. Sometimes it affects the marine side and sometimes it messes with the navy side. Shipboard time is subjective after all.” The crew chief said still chuckling.

Freya shook her head and led the way towards her ship. She walked around her ship doing her preflight inspection. It sounded odd to her since even when she went on real-world missions she would never do a real-world inspection unless she was headed back to the ship. It was explained to her that the Monarch would copy the ship exactly as it was in the real world into the digital world so she could do the preflight inspection. She still didn’t understand why she had to do one since the Monarch and her crew chief would do one far more accurately than she could in the digital world.

Freya ran her fingers along the armored side of her ship. It was smooth and slightly cold. She smiled as she made sure that everything that was supposed to be tight was tight and everything that was supposed to be loose was loose. She stepped into the rear of the ship and looked at the six pods. She checked the Bact levels to make sure they were full before making sure the printer was online and full as well.

“You’re going to want to buy an auto anti-personnel weapon for your ship as soon as you can. You might not use it all that much but it will save your butt if she’s discovered.” Diaz the crew chief said following behind her. “It’ll set you back at least two-thousand credits but it might mean the difference between a successful mission and a failed one. Send me a message before you buy it though. I’ll tell you if its an overpriced piece of junk or not.”

“It’s on my list,” Freya said dryly. Her crew chief laughed.

“One last thing.” Her crew chief said motioning Freya over to the side of the wall. “This is your ships Deck plate.”

Freya looked at the metal tag that was bolted on the side of her ship. It had the spec of her ship like the name and date of the ships copyright blueprints. It also had her name under the owner and the number of times it has been reprinted. It was currently at one. Freya looked up in shock as the crew chief kissed her first two fingers and lightly tapped the plate.

“For luck.” The crew chief said motioning Freya to do the same. Shrugging Freya kissed her fingers and tapped the plate.

“Now, get lost. I have a lot of work to do.” The crew chief said opening one of the pods. She waited until Freya stepped into the pod before closing it. “Break a leg.” The crew chief said and pushed a button.

One second Freya was looking out at the crew chief in the respawn pod and the next she was standing behind her chair in the cockpit of her dropship. The cockpit was a big glass ball with a chair attached in the center of it. Freya grabbed the handle and pulled herself into the chair.

She strapped herself in and looked around as the glass walls came alive with information and a view of the hanger she was in. Looking down at the monitor on her armrest she made sure everyone in her platoon was already downloaded into the ship's computer and ready to be spawned as soon as she got close enough to the ground. She ran through the preflight checklist. One of the things she had failed to do so many times in training was that she forgot to change the engines from flight to start mode. She blew the engines so many times and had to restart before she ever got off the ground that her patience flight instructor started to make fun of her in the training facility. Since it was a training AI she felt pretty bad when she drove it to lose its patience.

She ran the numbers on her fuel. Her engines ran on a battery that was recharged by fuel rods. The length of time she could spend flying depended on the atmospheric conditions, the mass of her ship and of course the gravity of the planet she was going to. The Marines required her to have at least a year's worth of power. According to her math, she was currently sitting at five years worth of battery life at the moment while flying around the mission planet.

Taking a deep breath to settle the butterflies in her stomach Freya flipped the switch and turned on the engines. Feeling the slight vibration as the fuel rods descended into the protected shielding and out of the ship's battery. She felt her excitement rise. She turned on the active camouflage and the electronic defensive network. She began to disengage her ship from the Monarch and waited until the fuel rods were in place before opening her mic to get permission to leave the Monarch. Once she got permission she looked around to make sure the hanger was clear of all personnel then edged the power a bit so she was hovering.

She slowly spun the ship around so that it faced the opposite direction and hit the one-minute warning. Outside her ship, an alarm would sound in the hangar that the airlocked doors would open in one minute. Taking one last look around to make sure her crew chief was gone. She asked the ship’s com tower to remove the atmosphere in the hanger. Red lights started to flash in the hanger. At the one minute mark the hanger doors below her opened up and she moved her ship so that the nose of her ship was pointed downward.

She could see the tan planet below her. There were swirling band across the planet that was created by neverending storms that roamed the surface. She requested permission from the com tower to drop from the ship. Once she got permission she increasing power to her engines she switched the engines from start to flight. When the indicator hit the required power needed she engaged the engines. She felt the slight delay as the gravity dampeners kicked in and she was pushed back into her chair. Freya smiled and held in a warcry as she rocketed out of the hanger at sixty percent power towards the planet below leaving her fears and anxieties behind on the ship.