A Change in Plans
Posted on Thu Aug 28th, 2014 @ 7:45pm by Lieutenant Lynsi Mason & Cadet Senior Grade James Anderson
Edited on on Thu Aug 28th, 2014 @ 7:47pm
Mission:
Vagrants, Vagabonds, and Thieves
Location: Cadet Locker Room, Archanis Flight Training Centre
[ON]
[Cadet Locker Room, Archanis Flight Training Centre]
The cadet locker room was empty when James walked in, not that he was all that surprised. It was early. Most of the other cadets were probably either sleeping or in the process of waking up at the moment. After all, they still had at least an hour before Lieutenant Sturner (NPC) wanted them back in the simulators.
James wanted to be early. Yesterday's performance in the simulator still did not sit well with him. True, things had improved somewhat after about the fifth or sixth hour. By the time James left at the end of the day, however, he couldn't help feeling as if there was a lot more than needed to be accomplished. In fact, it had left the young cadet so riled up afterwards that it had been difficult for him to get to sleep that night. He eventually gave up trying to get to sleep and instead passed the time by reading everything he could find on the Peregrine-class starfighters. Now he had come in early with the hope he might have a chance to look over a few things from the previous day's flights before they asked him to get back in for another round.
Pausing just inside the doorway of the room, James took a moment to look around. Every member of the squad was assigned an individual locker to store their own equipment. They were expected to maintain their own equipment, requesting repair or replacement when necessary. Being the newest squad member meant James' locker was located all the way in the back corner of the room. He slowly made his way past one, two, three rows of lockers before turning down the fourth. Finally, James reached his own locker.
James tucked the PADD he had been carrying under his arm. Each locker was secured with a simple keypad interface and occupants were required to enter their own passcode in order to access the locker. It took James only a moment to recall the passcode he'd been assigned the morning before. A few keystrokes later, the interface chirped and turned green. A solid click confirmed that James had, indeed, remembered the code correctly. He swung the door open, set the PADD on the top shelf, and reached for the flightsuit hanging just inside.
Lieutenant Mason entered the cadet locker room with a purpose. She had put in her time as an instructor, but now as the deputy CAG, she often got to deal with personnel. With the flight academy running at full capacity, some of her younger and older pilots were busy working with the nuggets, which sometimes left her short handed. And if there was one thing that Lynsi Mason hated, that was being short handed. She didn't like getting caught with their pants down, and she had a shift ready to come in for some down time. But the problem is that she had an empty bird. They didn't expect any trouble, but she didn't want to fly a sortie down one. So her purpose was simple. Find someone to fill that empty seat. Luckily, at she hoped luckily, she found one of the cadets not shoved in a simulator. Already in her flightsuit, sans helmet, she approached the lone pilot. "Cadet!" she called out with intensity, but not quite at a shout. She wasn't mad, she just wanted his attention. "What are you certified for?"
At the very sound of the woman's voice, James' etiquette training kicked in, causing him to automatically take up an attentive stance. He had not expected anyone else to be around for at least another thirty or forty minutes. The fact this woman was an actual officer and not another one of the flight centre cadets only added to his surprise. Perhaps the only saving grace, or else not so saving, was that her flight suit indicated some affiliation with flight operations. James hastily tried to process the lieutenant's question and to formulate some sort of response. "Uhh...if you're talking starfighters, I've got less than eight hours in the Peregrine simulator," he answered apologetically.
Mason looked pretty dismayed. Either no one was around, or they had virtually no stick time. "Not even eight hours, huh?" She debated. "What else have you flown. Are you certified in any other small craft?"
From the very moment the words left his lips, James had a feeling they were not going to be received all that well. Seeing the look of disappointment on the lieutenant's face pretty well affirmed that fear. The question of whether or not he had any other experience was perhaps his only chance at redemption in that moment. Without so much as a second thought, James decided to go for it. "Over four hundred hours in various auxiliary craft," he replied, "and over thirty hours with various starships."
The lieutenant was taken aback. She was expecting more simulator time, at best. "Alright, not bad," she responded, nodding. "Here's the thing. I've got an empty bird that's supposed to go out with me on the next sortie, and I need a pilot to fill it. If you promise not to crash into anything, I'll let you tag along. What do you say?"
James couldn't help feeling a bit of pride at the lieutenant's reaction. The last twenty-four hours had really hammered against his lack of experience with Federation starfighters. Simulation after simulation, hour after hour, constantly being reminded of the ways in which he hadn't quite measured up yet. It was refreshing to see that wasn't the only qualifier in this particular situation. After all, his overall flight experience was nothing to sneeze at. There was certainly something to be said for having spent that much time behind the controls of any vessel. The fact it had just helped him turn around what seemed like a poor first impression counted doubly in his favor. Now all he had to do was not screw it up.
"I think I can manage that," James said after a moment.
"Good. Get changed and get down to the "Claymores" hanger. We launch in thirty." Mason started to walk away, but had another thought. She turned back to the cadet. "Do you have a name, Cadet?"
Thoughts immediately began buzzing around inside James' head. Only moments ago, he was looking at another day spent running scenarios in the simulators. Now he was being asked by the station's deputy CAG to fly in an actual starfighter with an actual sortie. This wasn't just his imagination or some sort of test; this was real. Nothing like the prospect of trial by fire to really put pressure on the matter. "Anderson...James Anderson," James answered.
Mason looked disappointed again. "No, no, Cadet. Do you have a Name, a call-sign? Or am I just going to have to call you Nugget?"
Oh, James thought to himself. This was yet another part of the culture the young cadet had never really given much thought to. There were no individual call-signs when piloting shuttlecraft or starships. He was pretty sure he didn't want to spend the next however long being referred to as "Nugget". Was he supposed to make something up? Was he just going to have to take what they gave him? "No...no call-sign," James admitted, "Like I said, ma'am, I just started learning to fly starfighters."
"Not a problem, Rookie," Lynsi added, deciding to spare him the slightly more derogatory term. "You'll earn one eventually. Be in the hanger in twenty. Ask for Blaze. That's me." She gave him a somewhat reassuring smile. "Stick with me, and you'll do fine." She turned around again, and this time she did leave the room.
James stood motionless, watching as the lieutenant disappeared around the end of the aisle. It wasn't until he heard the hiss of the doors closing behind her that he finally relaxed a little. He turned back toward his open locker and stared for a moment at the flight suit hanging inside before pulling it out and draping it over the bench. Twenty minutes didn't seem like all that much time to prepare, but he'd have to do his best.
[OFF]
Lieutenant Lynsi Mason (PNPC)
Deputy Commander, Air Group
Starbase 332
Played by: Captain Von
and
Cadet James Anderson
Flight Control Cadet: Starfighter Division
Starbase 332
