In the days leading up to the hearing, I had the foresight to send my spare uniform off to the dry cleaner’s, but forgot about the white shirt until the day of.

About thirty minutes before Fynn was supposed to pick me up, I realised I had to iron the damned thing and set about getting the ironing board and steam iron out, all while muttering panicked gibberish under my breath.

In my hurry to finish in time, I managed to catch a button on the iron tip and tore the thing clean off.

“Oh, come on! Really?”

Stooping down on all fours, I crawled around in search of it and eventually found it beneath a cabinet.

And by the time I returned to the ironing board, there was a brown burnmark on the back of the shirt where I’d left the iron in my hurry to chase the button.

Sighing deeply, I covered my face in my hands.

There was no time to fetch a different shirt. I’d have to make do with this one, however much I despised the idea.

I pulled it on and then covered the burnt area with my jacket.

At least if I kept that on the entire time, no one would spot the ruined part of my shirt.

I turned around and fetched a sewing kit from the junk drawer in the kitchen, to quickly sew the button back on.

At this point it was around ten past nine.

Then, buttoning up my shirt, tying the tie below the collar and tossing the jacket over top, I rushed out the door, doing the final buttoning as I hurried down the stairs.

Down on the street I found Fynn, dutifully waiting, and I hoofed it over, and got inside with a disgruntled huff.

“I’m so sorry, I’m late, Fynn! Thanks for waiting! I–”

Glancing over, I realized Fynn was staring at me, and I blinked.

“Is something wrong?” I asked, and Fynn took a moment to respond, before swiftly shaking his head.

“Oh! No.” he said. “Sorry, I, er… Y-you look good!”

“Oh.” I felt my cheeks flush. “Thank you!”

I gave a nervous laugh.

“You know, it felt safest to look my best for an occasion such as this.”

Fynn gave a quick nod, looking be over one final time, before turning his gaze ahead as we drove off.

I fidgeted nervously with my lapels while glancing out the window.

What exactly was I hoping to hear on this meeting?

I had not been able to make up my mind.

On one side there was nothing I wanted more for myself than to continue working.

On the other I had to take into consideration whether or not I should be allowed.

It was a dilemma which sent my insides into hard knots every time I thought about it.

In the end Fynn broke the silence and brought me back to the present.

“I don’t…” He coughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in, in full getup before.”

“Oh.” I gave a shaky laugh, trying not to think about the brown spot in the shape of a steam iron at the back of my shirt.

“No. I don’t suppose you have. I like to travel in civilian clothing as a passenger. It tends to be more relaxing.”

“Like taking your jeans off when you get home.” Fynn commented and I laughed.

“Yes!” I said. “You’re getting it.”

“I’d do the same, I think.” Fynn said. “Can’t imagine it’s much fun to be recognized as crew when you’re off the clock.”

“Both has their ups and downs, I suppose.” I replied, turning my gaze out the window again.

“Depends on what you’re comfortable with. Me, I like to blend in and be unrecognised.”

Fynn nodded along.

“Yeah.” He said. “Me too.”

Traffic was relatively light and we arrived at the hearing, not too awfully late.

“Thanks again for the ride, Fynn.” I said as I got out. “Can’t imagine how this would have gone if I had to catch the bus.”

Fynn stopped the car and got out as well.

“No problem.” He said. “I’ll just wait around inside until you’re finished.”

“Oh! Er…” I felt my heart leap in my chest. “But you don’t have to… I’m sure you must have better things to do?”

Fynn shrugged.

“I don’t mind.” He said. “I’d be a bit of a jerk if I just left you here.”

“Then, thanks again.” I smiled. “For everything.”

Fynn paused and looked at me.

Then he gave a crooked smile.

“No problem.” He said, leaning over and straightening my lapels.

I had been going to town on then the entire ride here.

“Now, go on.” Fynn saw me off inside the building. “Knock’em dead.”

Giving an awkward wave, I went off in search of the right room.

The hearing gave off an almost court-like feel.

Several people, all dressed equally sharply, had gathered on rows of chairs before an elevated podium.

“Ah, Captain! Here you are.”

I looked over and saw director Bromwich approach me from the side.

“Sorry I’m late.” I told him, but he shook his head.

“You haven’t missed much, don’t worry.” He said, taking me over to a seat.

“I’ve said my piece. As have the AHSAE.”

Looking around, I recognized Peter Faire and Amelia Torrens amongst the handful of faces.

They each gave me a smile and nod when they saw me, and I nodded back in greeting.

“Right now, we’re just waiting for the head inspector to finish reading through the report.” Director Bromwich told me as the two of us sat down.

“How are you holding up?” he passed me a curious glance. “Are you nervous at all?”

At the question alone I felt my body knot up all over again, and I managed a meek nod.

“It’s nerve-wrecking, whatever the verdict will be.” I replied in a whisper.

“This I can understand.” Director Bromwich eyed me compassionately. “I did hear about what happened during the final simulation and can only express my profoundest apologies.”

I shook my head.

“I appreciate it.” I said. “Perhaps we can discuss it further at a later point.”

Continuing on, I looked to him.

“Have you heard anything more about the investigation?” I asked.

Things had been hectic enough for me that I hadn’t quite kept up with the news, but as far as I could tell, no major breakthrough had been revealed.

Director Bromwich shook his head.

“Nothing much.” He replied. “They’re keeping a tight lid on it. We’re only told what we need to know.”

“Have they discovered what caused the incident?” I asked. This was a question that had been nagging on my mind since I learned it was a targeted attack.

“They’re confident whatever it was originated from a check-in suitcase and spread throughout the plane via ventilation. The culprits set the whole thing on a timer to detonate it and then self-destruct it later so little evidence would survive.”

“Smart buggers…” I muttered. “I’m still curious about who would go through such lengths for this, though… what was so special about this particular flight?”

Beside me the director sighed.

“Beats me…” he said. “The whole thing is a massive headache.”

“Yeah.” I nodded absently, “I’ll bet there’ll be a whole slew of new rules and regulations after this.”

Director Bromwich turned to me, and it looked like he was ready to launch into a rant about the matter, but just then a door opened at the far end of the room and a middle-aged gentleman, also dressed very smart walked inside and towards the podium.

Around us the room fell quiet and people hurried to find their seats.

“Thank you.” The man said, his voice reverberating across the room, through a speaker system.

It wasn’t heard to guess that this was the head inspector.

“Now. Will Captain Avery Rhyse please stand. Assuming you arrived while I was out.”

There was a murmur of hushed laughter as he swept his gaze across the audience, and I felt my heart leap into my throat as I shakily got to my feet.

“Sorry to be late, sir.” I muttered, but he merely shook his head.

“Please step up.” Was all he said.

I did as I was told, feeling all eyes following me as I made my way between the rows of seats, towards the front.

For a moment I was taken back to my witness testimony against my father, and closed my eyes for a second, silently ushering the unpleasant thought away, as I stepped up beside him.

“Please state your name, date of birth, current rank and workplace.”

“A…” I gave a cough, silently cursing my dry throat. “Avery Rhyse, sir. Born twelfth of October two-thousand and one. I am a commercial captain with the airline Grand Britannica Airways.”

Again the inspector nodded, shuffling his papers.

“On the fifth of September this year, you were involved in an aviation incident resulting in an emergency landing outside of Carmarthen in Wales.”

I nodded.

“Correct, sir.” I said.

“During the evacuation, the aircraft in question exploded and you were struck by a piece of shrapnel, damaging both your left ear and eye, resulting in permanent deafness and a lingering blindness on this side.”

Again I nodded, but said nothing. I resisted the sudden urge to reach up to the silvery scars now adorning that side of my face.

“This is a regrettable injury indeed to sustain, especially in this line of work, and a proposal was issued to have your abilities re-examined in order to determine your current level of competence.”

He gave another pause, and the silence in the room was pressing.

“For the past few weeks you have undergone a series of tests, written, oral, practical, in order to determine where your abilities lay, and whether or not anything had dramatically changed.”

He let his gaze scan the room again.

“Today I have revised the final results of this examination, and I am pleased to inform that from all I have read, I have no objection to allowing your continued employment. Captain Rhyse.”

He turned and smiled at me.

“Congratulations, you have been found, not only a worthy pilot, but indeed an excellent one. Stripping you of your certifications would be nothing short of a crime to aviation.”

At this there was a wave of laughter washing through the room, and I found myself nervously tagging along.

The inspector stepped away from the microphone and addressed me directly

“From the incident report alone, I could tell we were dealing with an extraordinary individual. Please take this along with my most heartfelt congratulations.”

He handed me a folder and a little box, and I jumped slightly when the room erupted in applause.

“Thank you very much, sir.” I tucked the two items to my chest, not at all ready to look through them yet.

“On the contrary.” Replied the inspector quietly. “You’ve got only yourself to thank. I only read the final report and drew my conclusions from there.”

Still rather shakily, I made my way back down and was immediately swarmed by Madam Torrens, Mr. Faire and the director, all passing on their congratulations.

“Of course it would end like this. There was no other way.” Mr. Faire gave me a hearty clap on the shoulder.

I laughed.

“Thank you. All of you.”

“How does it feel now?” asked Director Bromwich, and I paused for a moment, giving the question some serious thought.

I had been fretting for weeks and weeks by this point.

Now that it was finally over and done with, was I content with the conclusion?

“Yes.” I realized, answering myself before the director. “Yes. It feels good, I…”

I gave a genuine smile.

“I’m happy.”

Director Bromwich laughed.

“That’s the spirit!” he exclaimed. “Listen, we’ll arrange for a little get-together tonight at GBA headquarters, to celebrate.”

“Sure.” I said. “Do you mind if I bring my roommate along? She’s been anticipating this verdict just as eagerly as the rest of us.”

“Not a problem at all.” Director Bromwich smiled. “Let’s say around five?”

I nodded, and then, weaving through the group of people, passing on my thanks to their congratulations as gracefully as I could, I made my way out of the room, and went to find Fynn.

He had seated himself in a lobby-area and was busy with his phone when I approached.

“Avery.” He put the phone away and got up. “Is it over already? Er, how’d it go?”

I couldn’t help a soft smile as I simply went over and glomped him into a tight hug.

“It went well…” I muttered. “Thanks for waiting around.”

Fynn remained still for a moment, not responding, before he gently pried loose from my grip and looked at me.

“You mean–” he seemed to have some trouble finding the words to say.

I smiled up at him.

“It’s all fine, Fynn!” I gave an uncontrolled giggle. “It all turned out fine in the end. I get to keep flying, and…”

My voice petered off, and Fynn, to my surprise re-initiated the hug with unexpected force, almost lifting me off the ground.

“That’s great.” He muttered into my hair, with such relief that I felt almost concerned for him.

We remained interlocked like this for so long that I lost track of time.

In the end he let go of me with a heavy sigh.

“Sorry…” he muttered. “I just… this is such great news.”

He smiled, and I gave a nod in agreement.

“It is, right?” I said, as though seeking confirmation from him. “I’ve been a little apprehensive about this whole thing… Scared of the result, whatever it would be, I just…”

I gave a deep sigh.

“Just relieved it’s over, I think. Turns out the anticipation was far worse than the conclusion.”

I turned and nodded towards the exit.

“If you’re still free, Fynn. Why don’t we head to my place for some games or something, and a bit to eat? Director Bromwich said there’ll be a celebratory get-together at the headquarters later tonight. We could head over together!”

Fynn remained silent for a moment, looking at me.

Eventually he replied.

“Sure.” He said. “Sure, yeah. Sounds fun.”