Wings of an Eagle

Posted on Tue Jul 12th, 2011 @ 6:57am by Major Patrick Smith & Lieutenant James Holbridge

Mission: In Our Time of Need
Location: SB900

Patrick was in Fighter ops. Having been on the go for nearly a week with little sleep managing the CAP. He hadn't even had a chance to meet the new Squadron leader, and when his voice came over the comm it was nearly a blessing to get himself out of the now very warm control room.

"Ah Captain Holbridge. Of course. My office in ten be ok?"

Not a problem, sir


VAMPIRE SQUADRON WARDROOM:

The skipper sounds stressed, Jim noted as he cut the channel.

He had no time for further musing as Sergeant Allen, his crew chief, came into the room. "Hate to be the bearer of bad news, skipper, but your bird needs a new set of manual controls."

"How come?"

Allen held up a set of burned-out isolinear chips. "These are the interface chips for your manual controls. Most guys use the flight computers. You like manual and that puts a lot of stress on the control chips..."

Holbridge held up his hand. "Take some series-30 chips, raise the input rates and plug them in, sergeant."

"If we do that then we will have to upgrade the processor trunk along the spine, which means pulling the bird apart. You won't be able to fly."

Holbridge laughed. "I won't allow an officer-pilot to countermand a crew chief-sergeant's decision. If you need to do it, have at it. I can use another ship if I need to." This comment earned him a glare from his crew chief. "get to work!"

Jim rose from his seat and left the room, eager to meet with his boss for the first time.

CAG OFFICE

Smith walked into his office and went straight to the replicator. Great. More coffee he thought as yet another cup appeared before him. It was a good job that the Starbase had some decent stuff if you picked the correct blend. He sat down behind his desk and let out a sigh of relief for the moment of getting off his feet before lifting the padd of information on his new squadron leader and until he got someone permanent his new XO. He chuckled as he thought about how to land that one onto the newbie.

Jim calmly walked into the CAG office's outer atrium where the secretaries sat. A pretty Deltan female with a bald head and green eyes stared openly at Jim, a sly smile on her face. Holbridge rolled his eyes and smiled, "Hello Veronia."

"Hello, Longshot! He's expecting you!"

Jim hustled into Smith's office and found the exhausted man seated at his desk. "How do, oh beleaguered boss-man!"

Smith let out a half sigh half chuckle. "Captain good to meet you. Would you care for some of this actually great coffee or something stronger" he asked as he patted his desk drawer.

Jim smiled at the man's greeting. "Sorry, cap'n, I don't do that anymore. But I will take a mug of that coffee!"

Smiling Patrick replied, "that's good because there's nothing in that drawer yet." He poured another cup of coffee and handed it to Holbridge.

Holbridge gratefully accepted the cup. "What say we quit calling each other by rank, huh? I'm Jim."

"Sounds like a plan to me. Patrick or Paddy. Pleasure to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you. I haven't met too many vets of the Dominion War who weren't maimed by the Jem'Hadar." Jim commented innocently.

Patrick laughed, "I'm a bit to young to have been in that one. Not sure whether to be glad of it or not. Looks like you picked up a momento though."

Holbridge touched the scar on his face and laughed, "I got that bailing out of a prototype fighter in the Saturn Flight Range. I went into an uncontrolled spin after the RCS quads shorted. I was in Sickbay for two months getting my face rebuilt and a new eye. I came back and got my new call-sign, Longshot, cuz nobody thought I'd fly again! Well, here I am"

Patrick raised an eyebrow at that one. "I was a test pilot as well. Done a lot of Valkyrie work in the early stages there. Nearly lost it on a low level run a few years ago. Was flying a test run and as I went under an old bridge part of it fell and clipped me. Sheered part of the fuselage right off." He let out a chuckle at the one. "The odds of that like. Still managed to fly it back to base. Somehow I think only the best are test pilots for that reason. Done a few other things that I can't talk about as well. But haven't we all?"

"Nice to know I'm not flying for some paper ace! I hate the bureaucratic ass-kissers that manage to sneak into the Fighter Corps. Anyyhoo, I guess i better tell you why I am here. I been looking over the CAP logs of my guys and we need live-fire exercises. And since our commanidng admiral decided to exclude us from the Divitian party, I think we should set up a skirmish between the Valkyrie jocks and the Redemption crews; let everybody figure out who the top dog is." Jim slurped his coffee and grinned.

Patrick motioned to one of the many padds on the desk. "That's the answer there. Our own dedicated live fire range. And I'm positive your Redemption guys will get creamed by my Valkyries. You'd be way to slow. Besides Jad my flight lead can't even catch me in his ship and he's an ace." Patrick had a confident poise about him on that one.

"I saw the reruns of that lil fracas. You were relying to much on the computer to get you out of that solution, but you got him good. As of the Redemption's being slower, I brought 24 new Mark III's with me when I arrived. As for my own coup stick, i have logged some fifteen kills, including battlecruisers and orbital platforms." JIm said straight-faced.

"Unfortunatly because we were to close to the base we kept them on. In a real engagement they would be off. Well as off as they can be." Patrick replied a bit to defensively. "As for you I've read your file to know what you've done. Your experience is exactly why I want you about. I have the skills and the nohow but you've heard the screams."

"CAG, I'm not here to blow my own horn but get some training set up for my flyers on the number four range. The scenario I'm envisioning is the strikers get hit after they drop their ordnance. The Dominion used that tactic often enough and I'd like to live fire it with the Valkyries. This way we can evaluate just how much the gap has been closed with the new Mark III Redemption and what we have to do in Fleet to get 'em on the razor's edge. The fighters will have an edge, but I suspect the gap has been narrowed a bit."

Patrick laughed into himself. "Somehow I don't thing even your speed boosts will help you. But they will certainly level the playing field. Will we be joining or observing?" He enquired.

"Great! I'll get it on our schedule and we'll do this in a week, give you fighter pukes a chance to freshen yer skills." Holbridge flipped Smith a jaunty salute and left the room.

a JP by

MCPT Patrick Smith
Aviator Boss-man

&

MCPT James Holbridge
Squadron CO/Smokin' Ace/Best Flier in the Delta Quadrant/