ILLUMINARRPG: (3 - 0700 ) cadets Eish Cuvh, Winston Soar, Ray Wong Jane Walker

[John Tsang]

Mission:  A Cure Delayed
Day: 4
Stardate: 2445.10.28

(Shuttle Tchaikovsky,  cadets Eish Cuvh, Wisnton Soar, Ray Wong Jane Walker 0700)


Cadet Eish Cusv briefly wondered how he got through to  the Academy but he was felt lucky  that he managed to get through all classes and the physical training.

Cadet Cusy didn't fit his stereotype of anything at all,  cadet Jane Walker thought. He was just too... effervescent to be in security. And green. And he was kind of, well, cute.

~Stop it,~  Jane told herself, trying to keep her eyes above her shoulders. ~Don't let first looks sway your judgment.~ She had, after all, made it through the Academy and won a coveted slot on the Illuminar

“So what did you specialise in?” asked Jane.

The Andorian cadet  wasn't entirely comfortable with small talk, but part of the reason why he signed up with Starfleet in the first place was to work onboard the Illumina  with the best the Federation could offer. Even if it meant having to endure conversations with someone much younger, though admittedly, her beauty was tolerable.

"Sniper," Eish said, almost breathlessly. "Lt Lee recruited me straight out of sniper school."

~Sniper?~ Jane absorbed the information, looking at the Androrian security officer with a newfound respect. If the chief of security had hand-picked her to join his team, he had to be   good. In that same instant, he noticed the carrying case tucked unobtrusively under her seat, long and sleek and menacing. It took but a second for her  to realize what it was.

"Is that..."she began, tentatively, "...uhm, an SRS-99?"

The technical specs flashed through his head - length 161.2 cm, width 22.7 cm, weight 3.8 kg empty, ammunition type 14.5 x 114mm tritanium, single and semi-automatic firing mode, capable of penetrating physical and energy shielding, first used in the Dominion War where its reliability and durability were proven...

Cusy  beamed, patting the top of her sniper rifle case. "I never go anywhere without her."

Jane was almost on the verge of asking if the Androrian had named his weapon... and decided to defer the question for a later occasion. There would be time enough to talk to Cinda at length once they had settled aboard.

Seated behind them, cadet Winston Soar was also quite excited, although he was acutely aware that working on a real starship was a whole other block of ice than studying at the Academy. He had almost not believed it, thinking it was some sort of computer error, when his fleet assignment had come up.   Now he was only minutes away from stepping aboard.

Seated across from her was Cadet Ray Wong who turnedhis attention to the view outside the shuttle. They ought to be approaching the Illuminar any time now. Life at San Francisco was enjoyable. The last four years as a cadet had flew by, and now he was on the cusp of arriving on his first starship assignment, and if the reputation of the Illuminar dnd her captain was anything to go by, he knew that he was going to have an amazing opportunity to experience the adventure of space exploration.

"Shuttle Tchaikovsky," announced a voice on the comms, "you are cleared for priority arrival in Shuttlebay Two."

The pilot response was crisp. "Acknowledge and thank you, Independence."

The pilot  focussed on his controls for a moment, checking that the shuttle was flying on course, before he pointed at a spot on the canopy, between two drydocks.

"There she is!"

The cadets craned their necks to follow his gesture, but jane couldn't see anything from where she was seated. He had trouble locating the ship amidst the clutter of the orbital dockyard infrastructure and small traffic above Vulcan.  Yet moments later  the Illuminar came into view, peeking out from behind the neighbouring drydock. She felt his heart skip as he anticipated the majesty and grandeur and magnitude of her-

"She's beautiful," said Ray the words escaping from his  thoughts.

The pilot nodded. "Indeed she is, cadet . Indeed she is."

The cadets watched as the shuttle came around in a flyby across her primary hull, then smoothing out an arc down the length of the drylock, curving into the plane of the base and slowed as it neared the stern of the great vessel. The braking thrusters fired, slowing them down even further, as the pilot took over the final docking maneuver, making a dozen small adjustments to smooth out the ride in a way that the computer autopilot never could.

Winston had anticipated this moment for a long time, and now that it was here, He had to remind herself to breathe.  The long, graceful swept-back nacellhe - he could imagine its matching pair in place - promised untold speed and power, and  he knew that he had much to do to make herself deserving of such an assignment.

The welcoming port of shuttlebay two grew larger as the shuttle neared, and  the pilot brought the craft to a silky touchdown inside the shielded docking bay, and cut the thrusters. There was a hiss as the shuttle hatch depressurized, turning into a descent ramp.

"Welcome aboard, cadets ," The pilot said grandly, "to your new home

(reply none)

(posted by John)

Sent from Mail<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=550986> for Windows 10

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