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The sun battered Jeannie like a sledgehammer after the cool interior of the ship. She started to preflight her helo and literally ran into Connie. The woman was on the same quest.
“Sorry, force of habit,” Connie apologized. “I was Emily’s chief mechanic for her last year in the Night Stalkers. I still take care of her helicopter, though Chief Warrant Lola Maloney now flies the Vengeance.”
Jeannie did her best not to feel daunted by Connie’s obvious competence, especially since she was learning to see her own skills as far less meager than she’d thought only a week or so before. Cal did a fairly good job of convincing her she was capable. That a man that competent kept seeing her as so much better than he was; it certainly elevated her self-esteem a bit. They had quite the mutual admi
