LPI Leavenworth

[Zapp]

One month later

Lieutenant Langst lay on his bed, in the fetal position. He cradled his head in his arms, alcohol vapor coming off him in waves the thing he had turned to to get away from the LPI. A month of teaching the LPI how to fly their ships was pure and unadulterated torture of the worst kind. His head pounded hard, and it took him awhile to realize it was coming from the door to. Fumbling himself up, he took two steps to the door, threw up all over the floor, and finally wrestled the door open.

Johns hulking form towered over the hunched Langst. The large man took Langst by both shoulders and lifted him to an upright position, slapping him upside the head a couple of times.

Get a hold o yerself, man! Look at whatcha becomin! Yas gotta teach dese foos how ta fly!

Sir, with all due respect, itd be easier to teach a bunch of five-year-olds how to fly than these incompetent. Incompetent his slurred speech stalled out as he was racking his mind for an insult strong enough, but he couldnt hold the thought long enough to find one.

Listen, ya daft foo! Ya gotta try! With that, John pulled Langst out of his room and pushed him towards the training deck. Suffice to say, half the days Langst taught he was drunk as a fish.

* * * *

A month later, John and Matt stood watching the same set of pilots fight the same simulated battle they had watched oh so long ago. They had come a long way, and they actually blew up a few Wolfhounds before their old habits started kicking in. John resolved to beat em a bit more so that the training would stick it always seemed to fall right off.

Matt wiped a tear from his eye. It does me right proud to have a bunch o foos dat cn fly like dat. He pulled out a handkerchief and blew on it.

As the first simulated battle came to a close, the SWAT team in their new Guardians came into view. How would they perform? It would all rest on this. If they did well, theyd be able to keep them, if not, theyd go right back to Navy stores. That was one of the conditions they had had to agree to. Both Matt and John watched with bated breath...