It was a good point, and still would take some time to sink in for him. But for the moment it was what he needed to hear, and he appreciated it. Going into their particular line of work was not going to be easy and he knew that. It was time to put up or shut up. The woman next to him had certainly done her fair share, and he wasn’t going to leave her hanging dry. “That’s true, I would be happy to know I still lived on in their memories. I will have to keep faith in that itself, and find comfort that part of me will still exist somewhere.”

In that moment he thought about having something set aside to be sent to his loved ones should his demise come. Nothing that broke any rules or exposed anything, but something to give them his last thoughts of them and comfort. That’s what was really the core of his feelings in it all.

He decided to shift the focus a little bit “Have you had a chance to look at the transports yet? Not too bad of a flying coffin to go around in. Inconspicuous enough and not much in the way of a signature to be picked up. Still, it’ll come down to the pilot at the end of the day.”

“Not in person, no.” Oksana turned her head to look back down at the transports but kept her body angled toward him, engaged. “The pilots tend to be the heroes in the end when things go awry. It takes nerves of steel, I think.”

Hopefully, they had those pilots. “Have you gone down to see them?”

“I did, yes. I was curious about the weapons lockers, more so for the explosives, go figure. I’m very particular about the munitions handling, issuing, and safety. It doesn’t take much to compromise a craft that small and the last thing we need is to be turned into a box of firecrackers. It seems solid enough so we should get there in one piece at least. And the medical station is pretty squared away too, for what it is. I think we’ll have everything we need.” He leaned forward more to try and peer down almost directly under them. “But I guess we’ll find out soon enough. I’m sure Vigil will be ready.”

“You will be,” Oksana replied in a tone full of quiet, steadfast confidence. “I will not allow my team to go into a situation that you are not prepared for; we have been asked to lay down our lives when necessary, but that does not mean our lives are expendable.”

Though spoken softly, it was a promise from his leader.

“I would have to agree on that,” Reed said. “But it won’t serve us much to be up too late and not have time in the morning to cover our training, every minute counts. I should probably spend less of it wallowing and more back in the training modules. Firefly has been great to work with in my free time so I’ll continue doing so. She helps keep me on my toes, both as a teacher and as a member of Blackwatch.”

There was a noticeable beat of silence that settled between them, and her sharp eyes moved to his face with a more direct analytical energy than she had been giving him up to that point. It lasted not even two seconds and she spoke again. “I’m glad to hear that, but take care that you shift the majority of your focus to training with the other members of Vigil now that our teams have been coming together. It is good to be able to work with other members of Blackwatch, but your foremost concern needs to be working with your team.”

He gave a nod “Of course. Most of my hours during the day are with the team. Firefly asked about some extra course time and drills so we usually meet up later on. I’ve worked quite a bit with Damona and other folks on our team, she’s certainly improved my first aid skills, just the other day I carried a casually five kilometers with her on a stretcher. Man did that suck, but we made it. Those holo simulators are really turning out to be quite useful if nothing else.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear that.” She nodded, but there was still a sense of something more in her voice that couldn’t quite be placed. “Expect to be running drills as a unit very soon once we tie up some loose ends on remaining positions.”

“Will do ma’am. I should let you get on with your evening, probably best I turn in as well to be ready tomorrow. I do appreciate the talk.” He meant it truthfully. It had helped him feel better for the moment and allowed him to continue forward.

“No ma’am,” she reminded him with a small grin on her beautiful face. “Goodnight, Nitro. Sleep well.”

With that, Reed turned and made his way back towards his quarters to take a shower and call it a night.