Elizabeth Franshaw was not a fan of flying. Being from a Sea fairing family and living on beach meant she was far more comfortable in a boat than in the air. At least she could swim if the boat sank. The first leg of the flight was not bad, from her home in Juventud to Mokastana City Internacional. After that things only got longer and larger. Two hours from MCI to Rico Internacional, followed by an five hour flight to Marina Antonioni International. The planes were ones she had only seen on TV, supersonic birds capable of making even the farthest distances in such a short time, but five hours was still way too long...From what the Captain told them, they would fly into Paradisa, and board another, smaller plane to Aurora Naval Station and finally be in AHSCA. Nearly 14 hours of flying and now she sat on the slightly smaller aircraft going for a landing in Aurora. If flying was bad, landings were far worse, it offered the hope of everything being over, but it also offered the most chances for things to go wrong.
Sitting up Elizabeth turned white as the aircaft's wheels finally touched the tarmac and the plane coasted forward, slowing down. She remembered the Mokan Navy had expanded the Aurora Naval Station after a War game (hypothetical invasion of Aurora by Foreign power) showed the base to be inadequate even in the best of times. As such defenses were increased, additional RADAR was added and a functioning airport. The airport housed four Fegosian desiegned Airships for patrol, and also doubled as a civilian airport to meet the needs of an increasing demand for vacation in AHSCA.
AHSCA had always been a popular tourist destination, but previously the best option was fly to Paradisa and take a boat the rest of the way. And now an airfield under Mokan control had managed to shave off the only part of the adventure she might have enjoyed.
"What's the matter Liz? Still afraid of flying after all this time?"
"No!" She lied "Just anxious..."
The other girl laughed, though she had just met Arianna Lomengo on this flight they were becoming friends. While neither of them spoke directly about the kind of work they did(one a Senator's Aide to Henry Milano, the other a Hacienda owner's daughter.) They still found a few things to share, mostly the need to get away from the troubles back home. Being in their mid to late 20's without families, both girls found travel to be the best way to do that. Next to the girls slept a boy they had manged to pick up in Paradisa, clearly just finishing his two years of service after university he still wore his Navy uniform with just the name RIVERA on his breast pocket. From what he told them, he had been offered full time service but instead chose to go back to civilian life, hopefully to get a job in the Foreign Ministry. Needless to say, it didn't take much convincing from these two women for him to use part of his military savings to switch tickets and join them on an adventure. The fact he recognized their last names only added more reason to join them.
"Perhaps you should wake up sleeping beauty. Tell him we are going to land soon." Arianna looked at him with playful eyes, perhaps she was already planning things to do with him besides sleeping.
"Why don't you, its clear you have ideas of your own."
"And what kind of ideas might those be?" He asked lifting his head up. Arianna just smiled and turned back into her seat. Elizabeth just shook hers and waited for the unbuckle sign to light up...
*****
Once out of the airport, the three decided to get one final taste of home cooked food then venture out into the mainland of Aurora. It was getting late, but purchased a map and decided to hop on the bus to a nearby village. Jeep rental was expensive, so they decided to get away from the Naval Yard and hike on foot. Curious about who they would meet and what kind of adventures this land might offer. In reality, it was a chance to get away, and neither of them really knew just how important the others would be to the future of their nation.
