Two Worlds collide, Part 3

Posted on Sun Jun 14th, 2020 @ 2:22am by Ensign River Lokaa & Lieutenant JG Miraj Derani

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Starfleet Academy, San Francisco
Timeline: 2392
1944 words - 3.9 OF Standard Post Measure

[ON]

When River arrived at the hangar bay, Miraj was waiting next to a small shuttlecraft, looking far more relaxed than she had the day before. "Hey!" she waved at River when she saw her, "over here. I've got us a space brick. Nice and easy."

Reluctantly and dragging her pace River eventually came within talking distance of Miraj. "I hope its a sturdy brick else were going to need to take this so reclamation once I'm done with it," She said with a groan it was easy to tell she didn't want to be here.

"No worse than the others."Miraj said breezily. "If the engines go out in atmosphere, they all go splat when they hit the ground."

River let out a low huff as she stopped just short of Miraj. "Well lets get it over and done with I want to splat sooner rather than later and I highly suggest not turning off the instructor controls." She wasn't joking either not even she knew what could happen in the next hour.

"No going splat for you." Miraj promised. "Lets go. I'll drive for a bit."

There were no objections from camp River as she took a seat in the cockpit of the shuttle, she was more than happy to let Miraj do the flying maybe that's just what they'd suggest when it came to their final cadet flight she flys she shoes.

Miraj started the launch checks and a few moments later they were flying gently out over the Pacific and climbing to the stars. "So whats it like for you, flying?" Miraj asked

"Like I'm trying to run uphill and underwater with weights attached to my limbs," She said before adding "And my eyes are shut, I just don't get it there are so many stupid things you have to worry about like... pitch and control" River replied almost angrily.

"Oh. Okay." Miraj hummed a sea shanty to herself as she thought, heading for space. "Okay. We're just going to get out into interplanetary space round the other side of the orbit of Venus. Its nice and clear over there. And then we're going to try something."

River had been listening to the tune her company was humming when she was knocked out of loose thoughts by the comment, nodding and grumbling the response "Sure thing" She closed her eyes again and thought of other places than the cockpit of the shuttle they were in.

It took them about fifteen minutes to get to the right spot, Miraj humming about a drunken sailor, and River was sitting nervously to her right. Once in place Miraj put the shuttle into auto pilot and went to the replicator. "Alright, come over here," she moved into the empty space where the seats would have been. "And put this on." She held out a black blindfold.

"You've got to be kidding me!" She said quickly in disbelief as the pretty pink-haired cadet held out the blindfold "I cant fly with my eyes open, were sure to crash into Venus with me blindfolded! you're even crazier than I am!" River said her breathing shallow as she began to panic.

"Relax, no ones flying blind today, not even me. But some things are better...experienced...than explained. Now put it on." Miraj insisted.

Looking to the blindfold again River groaned as she snapped it up into her right hand and slowly put it to her eyes the light around it disappearing as the material perfectly designed for its function. "Now what?" She asked.

"Just a second," Miraj said from a step or two away. Then the gravity faded away and River found herself floating. 'Okay, tuck yourself up into a ball."

Feeling her weight disappear as she felt the sensation of floating River did as the other cadet had asked and tucked herself into a ball wondering what on earth Miraj was doing with her next.

A second later, Miraj gave River a spin, sending her heels over head in the weightless environment. "point to up."

Trying to focus her brain River attempted to gain her bearings before pointing away from her chest, she had no idea what way was up or even where she was in the shuttle anymore she had lost all sense of direction the moment the gravity had been turned off.

"Perfect!" Miraj exclaimed. Then she grabbed River's shoulders and span her again, adding a tilt so she was turning over in two directions at once. "Do it again."

Doing everything in her power to stop herself from throwing up she pointed up over her head this time, using the fact her brain hurt and the blood seemed to pour easier in the opposite direction.

"Spot on." Miraj told. "Once more and its all over, I promise." She gave River another gentle spin, but this time twisting her form her current spin so she was now moving through all three axes.

This time Miraj had overestimated Rivers abilities and after a few spins River crashed into Miraj cursing heavily under her breath, "This is ridiculous! What am I even learning here Miraj!"

Miraj caught the spinning cadet, and untied the blindfold. "Up," she emphasised, "is relative," Miraj kicked off into a lazy somersault. "Up," she pointed to the floor, "up," the port bulkhead. "up," the front window. "up," the door to the head.
"Get it? You need to stop worrying about where things are. Pitch," she pulled herself back, correcting her somersault, "yaw," she twisted to the side, pirouetting slowly," and roll," she braced on the back of the pilots seat and started cartwheeling, "are all irrelevant in basic flying in zero G. I mean, when you throw someone across the mats, are you thinking, legsweep, hip twist, o soto gari, katsuo maki, onara ringo, and all that jazz?"

"So you're saying I should just do not think? That kind of makes sense but how do you know what way to go like why do those things? I know I do a hip twist because I'm being held down, I don't think about it because I already know. I don't know flying." Explained River sitting crossed legged and in relative terms of the cockpit upside down.

"Stop thinking of it as flying. You know how to walk, don't you? you know where you want to be. Just feel it, like... expand into the ship, let yourself become one thing. Like with phasers, only all over."

"You do realise you get taught to walk," River said in a snappy remark before rolling her eyes and sighing "I'm sorry it's just it all seems so much more complicated than shooting for fighting that all comes naturally to me and it's just do, this seems far more... finicky"

Miraj nodded. "I get it." She struggled with anything that wasn't flying. "Lets try... computer, convert helm to flight stick." The computer obliged. "Don't get used to this, most ships don't run on stick. Which is a shame, because its fun. Sit down, both hands on the stick. Then just move your body where you want to go. Don't worry about a destination, or a goal.. Just move for the sake of it. Feel it, sway, twirl if you want to." Miraj did a slow pirouette, "Dance, like no ones' watching."

River sat at the controls and did as the pink-haired cadet instructed, "Ok, I can do this. It's like the controls of an old earth weapon system." She told herself but with one jerky movement, the shuttle nose-dived and alarms began to sound before the shuttles auto-pilot leveled themselves. "Oh for god sake!" Rive hit the control panel causing a few more beeps and buzzes.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Miraj leapt for the control. "Should have switched those off. Stupid autocorrect. Like you need it out here." She stabbed at the control panel "Okay. Try now. Remember, we're not going anywhere, just moving the ship moving with you. You're really getting it. Don't fight it, roll with it. Literally if you feel the urge. its the weirdest thing."

Forgot River thought angrily as she centered herself again this time gently pushing down on the sick the shuttle responding just the way she hoped it would. "Ok," She told herself, this time pitching left and then right, "Ok" This time it continued to roll and soon River found herself flicking the stick left then right trying to overcorrect her mistakes which sent the shuttle into a spin.

Space twirled around them, though the artificial gravity kept them steady. "Okay, just feel you're way out of this, move with the ship, there's no rush." Miraj was Zen calm, unconcerned with the out of control craft. "We're not going very fast, you can't crash into anything. Just enjoy it."

Listening to the words coming out of Miraj's mouth, River attempted to breathe and relax by controlling her breathing. 'one breath, in one breath out' she thought to herself as the shuttle began to slowly come out of its spin.

"That's it," Miraj murmured as the shuttle slowed and found its steady orientation. "That's how you do it. Nice and gentle, feel it, all over, in the bones."

The shuttle leveled out and River slowly released the controls "Wow" She said in delighted amazement, "I can't believe I just did that, I mean a shuttle... flying me!" She turned to Miraj with a beaming smile "Thankyou... Miraj" The gratitude was genuine and heartfelt.

Miraj grinned, "Its nothing. Anyone can fly when they stop thinking."

"You're a better teacher than me, you should come back to the academy one day" Complimented the young Elasian as she turned in her seat to face Miraj, "I was a little hard on you when we first met, I took you for some... well it doesn't matter, you turned out alright." She flashed a grin.

Miraj shrugged. "You're weren't actually wrong. I am just...If its not flying.... Its like all the skill and talent for everything was funnellled just into that skill, and the things directly follow along. Like, navigation is easy. Engineering, well, the bits that relate to flying, no problem, but ask me to decommission a phaser array or why dilithium crystals help power the warp drive. You've got a much broader skill set than I do."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," River said sitting back in the chair and watching the pink-haired woman in front of her. "I can fight and I can shoot that's not exactly the signs of a good officer Security as much more than just shooting and punching things."

"I'm sure you'll be fine." Miraj said. "You survived me, so you've obviously got patience and you adapted to flying really fast. What more does a good security officer need?"

"Patience, understanding, a good moral compass and a lot more. My shooting and fighting ability is serving me well but I fear it'll only get me so far." She explained, "And that wasn't flying that was just turning the ship around." River added glumly.

"98% of flying is turning the ship around," Miraj confided. "The other two percent is going really fast and trying to park in a space three meters narrower than your hull."

"And that 2 percent does not sound fun" She replied before sighing as her stomach grumbled, "Perhaps its time to head back? Im starving and have a free period. Want to head into the city for lunch?" She asked and genuinely meaning the invitation.

"Alright," Miraj smiled. "Yes, I'd like that." She patted River's shoulder. "You can drive."

[OFF]

Ensign River Lokaa
Tactical Officer

Ensign Miraj Derani
Asst CFCO