The New Flyboy

Posted on Sat Jan 4th, 2014 @ 11:37pm by Captain Liarra Von & Lieutenant Lynsi Mason & Lieutenant Colonel Edward Maxwell

Mission: Picking Up the Pieces
Location: Near Flight Operations Center

As the shuttle dropped out of warp, Ed was greeted by a most unexpected sight. He found a stardock class starbase alright, or rather most of one. Quite a few of the lower decks were simply gone and there was a hole in the side of the station. Something had happened here, whether a battle or some sort of terrorist bombing he had no idea. This was not in his assignment briefing and it was a bit unsettling. Ed shook his head, no doubt all would be explained upon his arrival.

"Take us in Ensign." He said the shuttle pilot. He'd leave the Ensign to go through landing procedures.

Ed went back to get his bag. Given the current state of the base, Ed was wondering if he had made the right choice in requesting the transfer and having his son sent out here. He would have to reserve judgement for that until he talked to the station's CO. He removed his personal PADD from his bag and looked it over. As CAG he was responsible for all the fighters and support craft, minus garrisoned vessels. 15 Captain yachts of various models, 590 shuttles, also of varying types, 120 runabouts, and most importantly to Ed, 192 fighters. 60 Razor interceptors, 60 Scorpion Multi-role fighters, and 72 Viper Fighters.

10 minutes later:

Ed felt the slight bump as the shuttle landed in the shuttlebay. He put his PADD back into a pouch he wore on his belt, ready for easy access when stopped at checkpoints and when reporting in to the station's Commanding Officer. He closed his bag and slid his arm through the shoulder strap.

"We've landed Major." The Ensign reported from the cockpit as he made his way back to the hatch.

"Son, I've landed more fighters and shuttles than you can imagine. I know when we've landed." He said briskly. "No need to tell me, unless of course I'm asleep. Now let's get out of here, I need to stretch my legs and see what the hell happened to this place."

"Uh yes sir." The slightly shaken Ensign agreed and opened the hatch.

Ed stepped down out of the shuttle and took a moment to look around. At least this shuttlebay was in good shape. He'd have to find out an overall status report as soon as possible.

Liarra Von stood near the doors to the corridor, waiting patiently for the incoming shuttle to complete its post-flight checks. To her right was the current acting CAG, Lt. Lynsi Mason, who was looking forward to relinquishing that post. When the green collared officer stepped off the shuttle, she knew she had her man. It was rare for her to meet an officer at the shuttle, but she was anxious to get someone to further fortify her station. She started forward towards the shuttle, Lt. Mason in tow. "Major Maxwell, I presume?"

Ed tore himself away from looking over the bay when he heard someone addressing him. He turned and saw two Fleet officers approaching. One was a Captain, presumably the station's CO, and a Lieutenant he had no clue where to place.

"That's correct." He agreed giving the woman a quick look over. She was an attractive woman and he didn't see any ring on her finger. However this wasn't the time to start with the making eye's routine. It was time to get down to business. "And you?" He asked as he offered his hand.

"I'm Captain Liarra Von, commanding officer of this station," she introduced herself as she shook the Major's hand. "This is Lt. Mason, squadron leader of the "Pythons" and our acting CAG."

Mason extended her hand as well. "Please, sir, you can call me Blaze."

"Reaper." Ed said with a smile as he shook the pilot's hand.

Liarra gestured towards the door leading to the flight control center. "I'm sure you have lots of questions. You probably noticed our redecorating efforts."

"It does grab one's attention." Ed agreed. "Not exactly what I expected to see from a safe stable posting like I requested since I'm going to be receiving my son in a few days. What the hell happened?"

"Sneak attack, about a month ago. I'm surprised you didn't hear about it. A Sojourner agent somehow got past our security and set a bomb. We've been rebuilding and increasing security, but we're hoping that they'll think twice about trying something again. If I get my way, this station will be the most fortified installation in the entire Galactic South." Liarra didn't mention that so far she hadn't been getting her way.

"That's a pretty large 'If' Skipper." Ed allowed. "Looks like I can settle in later. We've got a lot of work to do if we want to fortify this place. How much damage was there to the shuttlebays? How many shuttles and fighters did we lose and how many are damaged? Of those that are damaged how many are scrap and how many can we get operational again?"

"We lost a few shuttle bays, but mostly the lower auxiliary bays that are used by visiting ships. The damage mostly affected the civilian areas and some of the maintenance areas. We only lost a few fighters, but we've been able to get those replaced or repaired. One of the bays that is gone did hold eight active shuttles, so we are down those right now. The extra scrap material has been an issue, but our new operations chief has been working to get us some more resources. The challenge is figuring out who gets those supplies."

"Shuttles are a low priority item as far as I'm concerned. We've got plenty of those to spare." Ed said, shrugging the eight lost shuttles off for the time being. "I'm assuming that as much scrap as possible went through the industrial recycler's to salvage as much as possible to help with fabrication of new parts. Priority I would guess at is structural and infrastructure at about the same time with defensive abilities following that. We're at a severe disadvantage with a gaping hole in the side of the station. Boarding would be almost undetectable there if hostiles had the guts to do it."

Liarra nodded along with the marine's assessments. "You've got it. We've stepped up security as much as we can on the station, and Lt. Mason has had constant patrols going. There has been at least one squadron out at any given time, mostly diverting traffic and chasing down any potential threats. Your counterparts with the 14th Battalion have been boarding and inspecting suspect ships before they get close to the station. Ideally we want to catch any threat before they can get close."

"We'll compare notes then Lieutenant." Ed nodded to the Squadron Leader. "I may be a pilot Skipper, but I spent a few years with the Infantry as a Forward Air Controller. I know my way around defenses almost as well as I do a control stick."

"That's good to know. We're mostly operational, but you're going to be our eyes and ears out there. I've had Lt. Mason sit in on security briefings, but obviously I'd like you to join us once you get settled in. Starfleet Security, Strategic Operations, the 14th Battalion, and our air wing are our four branches of sector security, as it were. I want us all to be able to function as a well oiled machine."

"Understood Skipper. I know we're the outer cordon of base security. Strat Ops provides intel and the Marines and Security handle interior security."

Blaze took advantage of a lull to join the conversation. "I just want to give you a heads up, sir. A lot of our pilots are green, Fleeties and Marines both. We still technically have the flight academy, but personnel numbers have been down, and I've been flying along side raw cadets. They're good pilots, but most of them haven't been tested. Most of them joined after the Battle of Thane, which started this whole mess. I have a lot of notes that I'll be happy to share with you detailing everyone's experience, but other than myself, only a few of our current pilots have seen real combat. I just thought I should let you know."

"Who the hell thought it was a good idea to staff our air wing with a bunch of nuggets? The wild west of the galaxy and they give us nuggets?" Ed growled and shook his head. "Effective immediately I want one squadron on patrol, one running training missions and one on stand down for maintenance. Eight hours per position. I want the training to be a mix of simulations in the holodeck and real stick time. Minimum four hours training per rotation. Squadron leaders have discretion on if they need to train or their pilots need the extra down time in addition to the eight hours they're down for maintenance. Make it happen Lieutenant. I'm going to get a security update from Strat Ops and Security and then we'll go over notes in my office." Ed ordered. "By the way Lieutenant, consider yourself Squadron Leader for your Squadron and Wing Executive Officer." He said with a wry smile.

Mason looked at Maxwell and then Von, who nodded. "Thank you, sir. I'll take care of that right away." Part of her was surprised by the way he reacted to her warning, but at the same time she was relieved that she had a CAG that was going to be worth something. The fact that he wanted her to stay as his executive officer certainly helped.

Von turned her attention back to Maxwell. "I know Lt. Mason will serve you well as your executive officer. She's a damn good pilot, and well respected by her squadron. To answer your question about who staffed our air wing, I'm afraid I have to blame the brass for that. Three-three-two has not exactly been a dream assignment of late. We tend to be short handed in just about every department. As much as I hate it, we pretty much have to take who we can get. We got lucky with you."

"No worries Skipper. I'll turn those nuggets into top shelf fighter jockies or die trying. The pilots will pull their weight and then some. That's my personal guarantee." Ed promised.

"Good to hear it, Major. I think we're going to get along nicely. I'll have Commander Gunning or Ratchford get with you with some reports to give you a better idea of where we stand, but I can tell already that our air wing is in good hands."

"If I'm putting my name on it, it damn well will be top shelf." Ed agreed. "The Fleet and Corps have their standards, and then there are my standards."

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Captain Liarra Von
Commanding Officer
Starbase 332

Major Edward Maxwell
Commander, Air Group
Starbase Air Wing Seventeen (SVW-17)

Lieutenant Lynsi Mason [P-NPC: Liarra Von]
Deputy Commander, Air Group
Starbase Air Wing Seventeen (SVW-17)