Ensign Chak Ravartin maneuvered his Aurek fighter into formation with the rest of the 23rd Marine Squadron, taking up station alongside the leader of Two Flight. “Shabu Six is on station,” he reported as, similarly, the rest of the twelve pilots in the newly-replenished squadron acknowledged their readiness. So far, his first combat mission had proved uneventful, but he suspected that such delusions of normalcy were just that. As the last pilot checked in, he rubbed at the charm he wore around his right wrist, which he contended had always brought him luck whenever he had worn it during a swoop race.