Bette grimaced a bit and looked out over the NCO lounge. There were few empty tables, but the mood in the room was decidedly... down.

”I’m just grateful to have the chance to prove myself. Show what I can do.” She flexed her hands a little, and closed them around her empty glass. “Some people are calling me a trail blazer, a glass ceiling shatterer or some shit like that... I can’t think about it. If others like me can follow my footsteps I guess that’s great, but it doesn’t feel like me. I’m not a role model.”

Bette laughed. “I’m just sick of being stared at everywhere I go, and not in a good way.”

They were the only females in the lounge, and the men were either staring or not looking at them so hard they might as well have been.