After the exercise, she stepped out of the sim. Sweat dampened the back of her shirt, but her hands were steady.
Across the hangar, Rhodes leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, watching. Their eyes met for just a second. Rhodes gave her a slow nod, not approval, maybe a challenge.
Shannon didn’t return it. She walked past her and out.
Her room wasn’t empty anymore.There was a second duffel on the floor, half unzipped, and a woman sitting cross-legged on the top bunk in a green PT tee, folding her socks with military precision.
Shannon paused in the doorway.
“Hey,” the woman said without looking up. “You must be Johnson.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m Carter. Hope you’re not a sleep-talker. I’m a light sleeper and mildly homicidal.”
Shannon gave the barest hint of a smile. “Nope. Silent as the grave.”
Carter finally looked down. She was older than Shannon by a few years, with a tired softness under her eyes that had nothing to do with fatigue. A wedding band glinted on her finger as she tucked her gear into a bin.
“Where you from?” Carter asked.
“D.C.”
“You left a guy?”
Shannon lifted a brow. “That obvious?”
Carter shrugged. “We all leave someone. I left two. One adult, one toddler.” There was no bitterness in her voice. Just fact. “Can’t decide if I feel worse for the husband or the kid.”
“Depends which one makes more noise,” Shannon said.
That earned a low chuckle. “Fair.”
They didn’t talk again that night, but Carter’s presence settled the room. It didn’t feel less lonely, just less empty.
At 2100, Shannon sat on the edge of her bed in a gray Air Force tee, sorting her flight checklists into subcategories. Her phone buzzed once.CALLING: Dad
She hesitated, letting it buzz once more. Then she answered, “Yeah.”
Mike’s voice came, crisp and quiet. “You squared away?”
“Settling in.”
“Any issues? I heard Novosel’s class is lean,” he said. “High attrition.”
“I know.”
“You’ll be fine. You good?” he asked.
It took her a second. “I'm focused.”
“Focused isn't the same thing.”
“It’s what matters.”
He didn’t press. “I’ve got a briefing early,” he said. “Let me know when you’re night-flying.”
“I will.”
