Operation Hellfire by Michael G. Thomas

one particular thing, and being an elite gamer was not something that garnered friendship and respect in most quarters. Girls in particular had never given him a second thought, and the athletes at school spent more than enough time making fun of him and his lack of physical prowess. Now they were looking at him as one of the crew. Even one of the younger pilots in Corsair Squadron gave him a smile and a friendly greeting. A week ago she would have walked right past him without a word.
    I can get used to this. I can definitely get used to this.
    Knighthawk Squadron was an old name to many of the older personnel in the fleet, yet Nate and his friends had slipped into the cockpits and taken on the heritage and reputation with little difficulty. The spacecraft were machines they had trained on for hours in simulations over the last few years. Taking command of the powerful weapons was literally the last phase in a long journey from playing games, to becoming a warrior. As far as Nate was concerned, it had been little different to any other day, but not, apparently for them. Something had changed, and Nate could feel it. Pilots and crew from Corsair and Thunder Squadrons kept telling him how impressed they were with the Knighthawks, and by the time he reached the door, he was riding high from their compliments.
    All this because I lost my guns and crashed my ship?
    He made it three steps inside and then stopped in surprise. Normally, the training space would be busy with marines working with weights, some sparring, and others at the far end using the firing range. Today was different and much busier than usual. Many present were chatting excitedly, even though Nate had no idea what was about to happen. A group of marines, including Sergeant Nál and Lieutenant Heiskell waited at the far end and watched as the pilots shuffled inside.
    "Nate!"
    There were some members from Thunder and Corsair Squadron, perhaps half of each squadron. He looked into the small crowd of people and found Cassandra and Rex in the middle of the group. Rex was whispering in her ear, and Nate watched a smile forming on her face as she listened. He took another step but could not fail to notice how close Rex's lips were to her cheek.
    Together again, are they ever apart?
    Before he could dwell on it much further, he saw the figure of Private Martina Valentine. Nate felt his chest feel a little hollow for a second. The veteran marine looked as prominent and commanding as always, and of all the marines in the training hall, she was the only one that caught his eye. Nate focussed on her without thinking, looking at her face, long hair, and upright posture. He'd been fascinated by her ever since they'd first met. She was only a couple of years older than him, yet while he was only a glorified cadet, she was a battle-hardened warrior, and Nate liked that. One of them flew machines and used computers, but the marines were all trained killers, physically tough, and ready to do what needed to be done.
    Valentine.
    Even her name had a special ring to it that Nate found hard to get out of his mind. He'd wanted to talk to her since they'd first met, but on every time his friends were nearby. And on the very few occasions where he'd found her alone, she'd quickly excused herself. It was becoming awkward to try and find ways to get close to her without coming over as weird or creepy.
    "Yeah, she'd not bad. A bit off the bottom shelf, though, isn't she?" Rex asked.
    Nate appeared confused.
    "What?"
    Rex lifted his eyebrows in amusement.
    "She's a ranker, a ground pounder. You're an officer now...of sorts. You can set your eyes a little higher."
    Nate was sure he then blinked at him, but movement from Valentine brought his attention back to her. She was busy talking to two of her marine comrades when their eyes met. She looked down, as though slightly embarrassed, and then gave him a subtle nod before moving back to her marines. She was everything he could imagine in a