Of course, as a socially anxious tech geek, Eisen French didn't get lonely when there were few people around, nor did a crowd necessarily make him happy. But some of the people who'd come were old friends he hadn't seen in ages, so he was glad to see them.
Naturally, he meant Deng Zhengqing and William Banner, who served in the Ninth Fleet. During Navy Day, they'd been opponents on the opposing Blue Team, but they'd also been comrades in arms during the rebellion. Besides, they were all members of the Young Friends of the Party Club now. Even if they weren't exactly bosom buddies, they could at least call one another friends.
Then there was Major Annie Romanova, now the captain of the Shenzhou 2 lightwing ship. During Navy Day, they hadn't just fought together against the rebellion; they'd also been teammates on the Red Team, enduring several months of grueling training together. They'd built at least a bit of camaraderie. More importantly, this beautiful, cool, and badass young woman was the Red Tiger's chief helmsman, while Eisen was its chief engineer. The two departments had to work in perfect harmony, so naturally, they were closer than he was with Deng Zhengqing and the other Blue Team opponents.
The girls had even been introducing them to potential girlfriends, solemnly assuring them that sincere, robust, and modest young men like them might not be good men yet, but they certainly had the potential to become them.
All in all, to the girls aboard the Red Tiger, Eisen French and the other harmless, socially anxious tech geeks were practically guy best friends.
As for Eisen himself, the people he was closest to were Eagle Si Liuli and Annie Romanova. The former was his direct superior and sister-in-law, while the latter's cool,