Arrival

Posted on Sat Jul 2nd, 2011 @ 7:20am by Lieutenant James Holbridge

ON APPROACH TO STARBASE 900

"Tower, Longshot, inbound Striker, request vector to initial, over,"

=^=Longshot, Tower; we have been expecting you lieutenant. Execute missed approach procedures and come to new heading 0-1-0, mark 1-1-7. We're docking you in the hangar.=^=

"Tower, Longshot, copy five-by-five." Jim smiled underneath his mask. "You okay back there, David?"

A loud retching sound came back over the intercom. "Kiss my ass, Holbridge!"

"Coming around to new heading 0-1-0, mark 1-1-7. Approach Control, this is Longshot, Redemption ball, set recovery one-one-alpha."

=^= Roger, Longshot, copy, Redemption ball.=^= The "ball" call was letting the ground recovery crew know what class of fighter Jim was driving in case the need for emergency forcefileds was needed for gravitic recovery.

The landing was smooth, as usual. The cockpit hissed open and Jim rose in his eat, stretching his arms over his head. The safe transit corridor made for a long flight, and Jim had made the flight more interesting by bobbing and weaving through any asteroid field he could find, scaring the bejeezus out of his backseat passenger, MCPT Dave Lorenz, a new battalion commander for the MEB.

Lorenz rose shakily from his seat, glaring at the shorter man. "I'm glad we finally made it! It's a wonder you didn't get us killed!"

"Stop whining, yer still alive! C'mon we need to go debrief then report in."

"As soon as the ground stops tilting, I'll get out!" Lorenz said, his face still a light shade of green.

Jim chuckled at his long-time friend's weak stomach. This was the same man who managed to fight a half-dozen armed Cardassian prison guards, despite weakness from months of poor diet and ill-treatment. Had it not been for Lorenz, none of us would have made it, Jim reflected quietly as a ground crewman set a ladder against his fighter/bomber. Holbridge quickly scurried down the ladder, then looked up and caught his helmet from a grinning Lorenz.

A grim-faced sergeant major was waiting for both men on the edge of the landing pad. Jim saw SMAJ Woodard and waved Dave over to him. "I think that's our command sergeant major, Bulldog. I recognize him from somewhere."

"That's the guy I was telling you about, the one who took on three Jem'Hadar by hisself." Lorenz replied in a hoarse whisper.

"Actually it was only two Jemmies, but they were tougher than Horta hide, sirs! Welcome to Starbase 900! Cap'n Holbridge, Captain Smith is in the Admin Section of Fighter Ops. Cap'n Lorenz, Major Kamarov is waiting for you in the officers mess."

"Thank you, sar-major." Jim smiled. "Catch up with you in a few, Bulldog!"

"Keep yer ass to the ground, Longshot!" Lorenz grinned as he follwed the senior NCO off the flight deck.

Jim watched his friend leave, then was jolted back to reality by a deck crewman handing him a padd. "Message from Alpha Quadrant, sir."

Jim took the pad from the youngster and tabbed it...Jim, I'm glad you recovered from your crash on Mars. I tried to reach you but Colonel Beckett wouldn't allow visitors. We need to talk soon. D.K. Jim quietly shut the padd off and handed back to the boy, stalking away from his fighter without another word. Damn that woman! he thought to himself.

A post by:

MCPT James Holbridge
VMF-114 CO
Starbase 900

&

MCPT Dave Lorenz (PNPC)
CO, 1st BN/3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade
Starbase 900