HADESNRPG: HADESRPG: (2 1632) Ensign ‘Thumper’ Danny Drake and XO LCmdr Ire ‘Crash Bandicoot’ Williams

[Mark Howard]

Stunning post you two.
Love it.

On Tue, 23 Jan 2024 at 23:30, Robbie Gray via Hades-rpg <
hades-rpg at startrekfreedom.com> wrote:

> Mission: First Furlough
>
> Day: 2
>
> Stardate:2446.07.21
>
>
>
> (Mars – 1st Fighter Wing – Warbirds - Ensign ‘Thumper’ Danny Drake and XO
> LCmdr Ire ‘Crash Bandicoot’ Williams - 1632)
>
> Ire stood watching the fighters take off and land as the different
> squadrons went on their patrol routes. He felt a touch of sadness about
> being back here again as he remembered his time with the Wing and how
> things have changed since then. The people they had lost and others who had
> moved onto new and better things. He knew that these things happened in
> life but he wished that they could all be here again like it was in those
> carefree times. He rolled his eyes at himself.
>
> “It was only two years ago but what a crazy two years it has been.”
>
> He continued to stare out of the view port at the fighters.
>
> A practice flight of the M-03 Warbirds was coming to an end as 4 Valkrie 5
> fighters flew into the M-03 hangar. There entrance made the place rumble
> and shake. To an outsider this would be alarming, but to members of the
> fighter wing it was as familiar to them as their own besting hearts. As the
> fighters landed and the pilots exited their crafts, on of the pilots
> charged at another one.
>
> “ WHAT THE HELL WERE DOING OUT THERE THUMPER?” An angry pilot yelled into
> the face of another.
>
> “ You stick the formation, that was my patrol and what I say is what we
> do.”
>
>
> “ Not my fault you couldn't keep up with me in the dive.” The pilot with
> the call sign Thumper said.
>
> The angry pilot grabbed the flight suit of Thumper and pulled him close.
>
> “ You better watch yourself…” He snarled just before releasing him.
>
> Thumper watched as the other pilots walked away. After a few moments, he
> thought he was alone and threw his helmet across the hangar bay. As he it
> slammed it against the ground a few meters away, he instantly noticed
> another officer nearby, looking in his direction. Thumper squinted his eyes
> and noticed the rank pips of a Lieutenant Commander. “ Sorry about that
> Sir.” He shouted and began his approach. “ I didn't think anyone would see
> tha…” He paused upon realising who he was looking at. “ Holy shi…I mean wow
> Sir, it's you !” He exclaimed as he approached Ire Williams.
>
> Ire held his expression neutral as he approached the pilot. “Is that how
> pilots of the Warbirds treat their equipment these days?”
>
> “ Sorry about that Sir. No it's not, it's just getting harder and harder
> to keep my cool around these guys.” He said.
>
> “And why is that?”
>
> “ They just can't accept that a new guy got a pilot's seat, plus everyone
> hates Nova Squadron around here. It's no excuse for how I just acted though
> Sir.”
>
> “No it's not. Ensign!”
>
> “ Ensign Danny Drake, Sir. Everyone calls me Thumper.” He said introducing
> himself.
>
> “Good to meet you Ensign Drake. I am Lieutenant Commander Ire Williams.
> People call me Crash Bandicoot.”
>
> “ I've heard.” Danny remarked but didn't want to play into the game of
> insulting a commander.
>
> “So why are people having problems with you being new and from Nova?” He
> thought he might already know but he wanted Drake to say it.
>
> “ Things are different from when you were here, when you came here this
> place wasn't fully up and running. You had to pull every string you could
> to get people to pilot whatever crafts you had. Now everything is
> established, everyone wants the hot seat, and they don't like it when
> someone who graduated gets a seat simply because I was in Nova. Been here
> for 3 weeks and I'm already in my third squadron.” Ensign Drake said.
>
> “And why is that?”
>
> “ You were Nova Sir, you know how it is. They always look for ways to
> strip us down.” Drake added.
>
> “I see.”
>
> “ From the moment I got here, everyone has been questioning everything I
> do, and making over the top demands of my performance. I'm not asking for
> special treatment or anything.” Ensign Drake laughed and shook his head.
>
> “ I'm just looking to be treated like everybody else.” He said as he  took
> his gloves off and folded them, tucking them in the belt of his flight
> suit.
>
> “Unfortunately that will take time. You need to find a way to work with
> your squadron and the squadron has to adapt to having you in it.”
>
> “ May I ask ? What brings you back here Sir?”
>
> “I am just passing through. I met Commander Frost and Squadron Commanding
> Officer Caonrobh.”
>
> “ The way these guys talk about you. You're a legend. We analyse your
> flight paths from the battle of Wolfe 359 all the time. You outran 11
> photon torpedoes in about 20 seconds, making 9 of them strike into other
> torpedoes and at the same time you locked in on and engaged two targets ,
> both of which you neutralised with ease.” Ensign Drake said with a smile,
> truthfully he was kinda star struck.
>
> “There were and are a lot of other pilots who were there who flew better
> than me that day. Who did not make it. I was lucky.”
>
> ~Including Frost who saved my ass that day~
>
> “ Also the evacuation you did during the battle of the Kuiper belt was
> absolutely insane. Bailing out in the middle of active engagement had to be
> a hard call to make, Sir.” Drake remarked
>
> “Yes I would not suggest doing that but that was a situation where staying
> on board would have meant death to both me and my flight officer.”
>
> “ You were the go to guy your ability to make such split microsecond
> decisions makes you one of the best, if not the best.” Ensign Drake
> commented.
>
> “That is true but being the best pilot in the wing is an achievement to be
> proud of but it doesn't mean much when you get into combat. Yes I could fly
> rings around the enemy at Wolfe and Kuiper Belt one on one but you are
> normally never in a one on one fight. I survived because of my wingmen. In
> the Wolf battle I lost my wingman within the first few minutes of the
> fight. It was a mess, enemies were everywhere where you looked.  I had
> seven separate wingmen during that fight and I was wingman to five others.
> We did not survive because I flew amazing, we survived because we flew
> together. I knew that any pilot I had on my wing would look after me and
> they knew that if I was on their wing I would keep them alive or die
> trying.”
>
> He paused for a moment keeping a tight control on his emotions as he
> thought about those times. “Look what I am trying to say is that you may
> fly the fighter alone but you never fly alone. You need to be able to trust
> your fellow pilots and they need to trust you in turn.”
>
> “ Captain Hawley said the same to us in Nova, I'm pretty sure the old man
> said it to you a few times as well, Sir.” Drake said.
>
> Ire smiled at the memory. “Yes he did.
>
> “ I want to be a part of a team, but I'm finding myself having to hold
> back my abilities to meet the standards of those of flying with. We were
> doing Cobras today and none of them knew how to do it right. I did it and
> instead of having to worry about my own fighter, Ensign Frame almost
> slammed into me. Worrying about them up there is more dangerous than any
> enemy threat. I don't trust their ability and thus far haven't seen
> anything to tell me to. It's like they want to show off when I'm flying
> with them, to prove they are somehow better than me and in the process they
> completely disregard safety.” Drake sighed. “ Sorry for venting Sir. I just
> thought you'd be somebody who could actually understand me.” Drake shook
> his head.
>
> “ Maybe this isn't for me. I've heard the Fenris Rangers are making waves
> out there, around the Fesarius sector.”
>
> “If that is what you want I have a friend with the Fenris Rangers I could
> talk to but before you rush off the Fesarius sector to fight pirates. Give
> the fleet a bit longer. You are needed here. You just need to find where
> you fit in.”
>
> “ Yeah, everyone knows about him. That's all they do here in the warbirds
> is talk about him…no one says his name, not after what he did, not after
> what he became. I know he was one of the first here with you and Captain
> Williams, I couldn't imagine what it was like to go against one of your
> own. I'm sorry for talking about it sir.”
>
> He smiled sadly at Drake. “He is still my closest friend no matter what
> happened. He is trying to atone for what happened to him. He is on a
> different path now. Not everyone gets that opportunity.”
>
> Drake nodded his head then looked around the hangar bay.
>
> “ Sir, is there an opening aboard the Hades ?”
>
> Ire pulled himself out of his memories and back to the question that had
> been put to him. He quickly ran through the flight ops manifest and nodded.
>
> “There maybe but why?”
>
> “ This place isn't working out for me. I hate being on a planet. I was
> raised on a starship, I think I belong on one.” Drake mentioned.
>
> “If you joined the Hades you would be mainly flying her. Although with
> your fighter experience you would get rotated between Helm and the
> fighters.”
>
> “ That's fine with me Sir. There isn't much that I can't pilot. Conn was
> my major in the academy anyway.” Ensign Drake said happily.
>
>
> “You should think about this. The Hades is not like fighter she is a lot
> of mass in motion and responds like a rock compared to a fighter”
>
> “ Sir, I know the difference.” The Ensign quipped.
>
> “We will see won’t we.”
>
> “ DRAKE !” an officer yelled.
>
> Turning to look,  Ensign Drake noticed it was Lieutenant Commander Fallon.
>
> “ Sorry to interrupt, Commander Williams, but I need Ensign Drake to start
> cleaning some spare parts for the Valkries.” Commander Fallon said with a
> snicker.
>
> “ All because I'm Nova they treat me like this..” Ensign Drake said
> silently enough that only Ire could hear it.
>
> Ire paused for a moment. He knew that he had to be careful as he was a
> guest at the base and had no authority in the squadron.
>
> “Excuse me Commander Fallon. Why is Ensign Drake cleaning spare parts? I
> am sure that there are far more important piloting things he could be doing
> and don’t you have ground crew who are supposed to be doing that?”
>
> “ Relax Commander, Just reminding the new graduate of the pecking order.
> Nova Squadron tends to make new officers a little lazy.” The Commander said
> without knowing Ire was Nova squadron himself.
>
> He took a step closer to Fallon. ~Ravok would be disappointed to see how
> they are treating his squadron~
>
> “Is that so?”
>
> He kept his voice hard but calm. The memory of him and Erin on Batzed when
> he did what he thought was the right thing but got it wrong and had a
> massive chewing out.
>
> “ That's right, gotta work em hard early on.” Commander Fallon remarked.
>
> “As a ranking officer of the squadron. Is it not your job to help
> encourage growth and development of the people below you?”
>
> “ Maybe that how you shippies do it, but that doesn't fly here. We have to
> be harder. Can't afford to become complacent.” Fallon said.
>
> He stepped closer so that he was right in front of Fallon. He did not
> raise his voice because there were other people present but he put steel in
> his voice when he spoke.
>
> “If that’s how you treat officers in your chain of command I dread to
> think how you treat the crewman under your authority.”
>
>
> Fallon didn't back down and stood.
>
> “ And what the hell are you gonna do about ? This is my squadron, your in
> my house.”
>
> “What am I going to do about Commander Fallon? To you nothing but I can do
> this.”
>
> He turned to Drake.
>
> “There is a place on the Hades if you want it. I will have your transfer
> request done before I reach orbit.”
>
> “ Aye Sir.” Ensign Drake said with a smile
>
>
> “ What ? You can't !” Commander Fallon exclaimed.
>
> He looked back at Fallon.
>
> “If you can’t see this Pilot’s potential then you have no right to be in
> that uniform commanding personnel. Good day Commander Fallon.”
>
> With that he turned and walked away.
>
>
>
> (Reply None)
>
> (Posted by Rob and Robbie)
>
>
> --
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