They grow up so fast

Posted on Thu Jan 24th, 2019 @ 6:45am by Captain Gary Taylor

Mission: Season 2: Episode 3: Determination is not always a good thing
Location: Squadron Briefing Room
1050 words - 2.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Jessica waited at the podeum for the Elysium's pilots to file in. She didn't like this situation one bit. "Alright, take your seats and stow the chatter. I just left the Bridge, and I can say this, things have gone straight to sh*t."

"Damn..." One of Jess' Cadet Pilots stated.

"I said stow the chatter." Jess noted. "Now here's what's going to happen. "Cadet's you've been put onto active duty. You're getting fighters." Jess noted to which Matthews smiled.

"Ma'am, dose that mean you're going to marry us."

Jessica was about to chew Matthews, but she decided to take it another direction. "Sure, I'll marry you, Matthews. That means I'll spend twice as much time kicking your ass. I'll even send you up to the bridge so the Captain can use you as a foot-rest. After that, report to Taylor so you can haul around Holmes' luggage when they go on vacation. Still wanna marry me, you'll be enslaving yourself to my whims for the rest of your life, Mister Vaii."

"Deny my charms all you want, ma'am."

"Shuddup Matthews."

"Yes, Ma'am." Matthews noted with a smile.

"Now, before Matthews earned himself more sanitation duty, I was going to explain our current situation." Jess mentioned. "The unknown bogeys that came out of warp are from a race called the Erisians. They've decided to send ships on a relief mission to assist in a possible planetwide evacuation. And like good sports, someone said yes to this." Vaii noted. "But I don't like the idea of foreign troops on a federation world, so I protested the whole idea up the chain of command and did my utmost to remind everyone how much of a pain in the ass I am. And I finally got orders down from on-high." Jessica noted. "We're to cooperate with these Erisians for the time being."

"Lieutenant, this is messed up in a million different ways." Cadet Daniels noted.

"That thought is not lost on me Cadet. So this is what's going to happen. Right now the kiddie gloves are on. We can't fire without orders. But don't think I'm going to let them off, for a moment, if they light one of us up." Jess noted. "For now, I'm adding the turds to the CAP assignments. The honest to the goddesses truth is we need morre pilots out there in fighters if this situation goes to hell."

Gary entered silently and stood in the back of the room as not to draw attention to himself. He leaned against a wall as Jess laid out the current situation to her cadets. Listened to their banter especially Matthews. However he had to admit that Jess pulled no punches when laying out the current state of affairs and they, the cadets sat up and paid attention. Maybe just maybe if continued to pay attention they would make it through without losing anyone.

"Now remember, Turds. You are not pilots yet, but the Federation is asking you to become pilots. You now have a chance to prove me wrong about you, and you will have to keep on proving me wrong because I hate it when I'm right. Vets, I want you to show the turds the ropes. Turds, If this becomes your first combat sortee. Remember what you learned from the Flying Tigers, because we're not going without a plan." Jess noted. "One more thing. There's going to be a lot of ships and a lot of shuttles flying around out there, Flight Con will do its best to keep everyone from crashing out there, but keep an eye on your sensors and flight plan. Any questions?"

She looked around. "Dismissed."

As the cadets and the vets exited some nodded or smiled at him mostly the vets. The cadets elbowed each other at seeing him. When the room had finally emptied he pushed off the wall and walked up to Jess. "So what do you think Jess? No sugar coating. Can the cadets cut it?"

"I guess we'll find out." Jessica noted. "But I do have some advise for you and the skipper; 'there is no such thing as a coincidence.' Our ships show up to aid in the evacuation, and then suddenly these four Elyshan ships just pop out of nowhere? This is how every SNAFU I've ever seen got started."

"Just so you know, the Captain and I feel the same way. Those Erisian ships just didn't show up. More to the point they bear watching.... close watching. We can't afford any slip ups, give them a reason to do something or point the finger at the Captain." Gary replied firmly.

"Boss, I've never told you about my family, did I?" She noted. "My real name is Jessica Kessanna of the ninth house, and there's a reason I use my father's name, even for a Betazoid. It's because the Kessanna clan uses poison, intrigues, and plots as effectively as they are graceful. They're all snakes, and my father was betrothed to the worst snake of all." Jessica mentioned. "I learned how to recognize when I'm dealing with a snake. They are charming."

Gary listened as Jess gave a brief background of her personal history. "Then I'm glad you're here with us to spot any snakes that may show up. I won't ask you to charm them rather I'll ask for you to eliminate them."

"Well, let me know if you want me to sit in as a 'aide' in negotiations. Hell, I'm not a diplomat, but I am familiar with lies, and believe me. People will lie here." She grabbed her flight helmet. "Watch your back out there. We're gonna see a whole lot of hurt by the time all of this is over and done with." Jess noted.

"I may just do that Jess." Gary replied honestly. They needed someone who could see through the BS and get right to the heart of the matter. "As for watching my back, sage advice. Just make sure you do the same. I don't want to lose any of our people though I'm not oppose to losing any of those who want to hinder our job here. Be they Erisian or anyone else."




Commander Gary Taylor
Executive Officer
USS Elysium

Lt. Jessica 'Valkyrie' Vaii
Squadron Commander
USS Elysium