Ride of the virtual valkyries

Posted on Thu Oct 5th, 2023 @ 3:40pm by Lieutenant JG Ash Rowe & Ensign Bracca

2,702 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: The devil wears tripolymer
Location: Holodeck 1

ON:

Ash gripped the frame of the doorway as she half swung into the flight bay, spotting Bracca reading from a computer screen. "Hey! Just the pilot I wanted to see..." she moved in fully, offering a small smile. "Got some time?"

"Oh hey Lieutenant." Bracca said hearing a familiar voice definitely aimed his way. He clicked his Lcars screen off to something less important. "Sure, what's up?"

"Well...I figured that since I'm now foot loose and fancy free of the docs, maybe we could go for a spin?" she suggested with a half smile, meant to seem tempting. What pilot didn't like to fly? "In the holodeck at least. We haven't had a chance to hit the cockpit together yet."

"You're right, we haven't." Bracca replied, he had wanted to see what the woman who had taken over primary flight control duties from him for quite some time. "What did you have in mind?"

"Hm...well seeing as we have to make do with holo time rather than the real thing, we could conjure ourselves some fancy fighters?" she asked lightly, but wasn't sure if he'd prefer bigger craft.

"I'm better on a starship but I'm qualified in a fighter, could be interesting." Bracca said. "There's a holoprogram for the fighter attacks during operation return." He then suggested.

"Let's do it," she motioned with her hand, giving him an easy smile as she turned to head back out. "And you can tell me a bit more about yourself on the way. I feel like I don't know enough about you yet. Stupid Sickleave."

"That was extremely unfortunate for you, getting that sick so soon after arriving for a new assignment." Bracca remarked as they left the flight bay.

"Complications from an old injury," she shook her head with a sigh that betrayed her frustration. She may as well be open with him from the start. "I got smashed up in a bad crash, they had to pretty much weld me back together again."

"A shuttle crash or a hover car?" Bracca asked, he had a feeling he'd heard of a Rowe in hover car racing but wasn't certain.

"Hover car," she confirmed with a half smile, sighing wistfully as she shook her head. "I just never...quite had the same edge again after that. So...here I am, with slightly more forgiving ladies."

"I've seen some really nasty crashes in hover car racing. You're lucky to still be alive." Bracca remarked, he'd seen the outcome of those unlucky.

"Yeah," she said softly, taking in a deeper breath, as though shaking the feeling off. "And I even get a second chance, on the best ship in the fleet, hm?" she nudged him gently with her elbow

Bracca chuckled. "Best of the old breed of ships, the Wolff is no Odyssey class. What survived a massive firefight last year is getting old but the refit she had is keeping her going."

She nodded at the description, watching him with curiosity. "Are you a ship enthusiast? Is that what pulled you towards flying?"

"I've always been interested in flying." Bracca replied. "Used to watch shuttles and cargo ships flying around back home and always wondered what it'd be like to be up there. So I learnt to fly as soon as my parents would let me. And that eventually lead me to Starfleet."

Ash smiled gently at the description, pausing outside of the holodeck to tap on the screen and get the programme going. "Did it meet your expectations?"

"Well I'd never get to fly something this big in all kinds of weird and unusual situations if I'd kept to the cargo ships and all that sorta stuff," Bracca replied. "So I'd say it definitely did."

"Ah...a fleet flyboy rather than a diplomat. I get that," she was chuckling though, almost teasing with it as the doors opened to a hangar with two shining fighters waiting for them.

"Oooh Peregrines. Haven't been in a real one of these since the academy." Bracca said smiling as he looked over the bulky starfighter. "Not as smooth as the Valkyrie but certainly packs a wallop."

"I like to feel what I'm flying," she admitted with a grin, already half way up. "The programme is set for a local patrol with a random outcome. Shall we roll the dice?"

"Lets go." Bracca said heading in the direction of the other fighter. "Random outcome you say.... could be fun. I'm going to take a pair of full size photons. Slow me down a little but just in case we encounter something a little heavier."

"I like your style," Ash grinned as she slid into the seat, settling herself in as the cover came over. "All good? Can you hear me?" she checked the comm between them, starting to warm her up.

"Loud and clear." Bracca reported after he settled into his own fighters cockpit. "Beginning pre flight. You want to lead Lieutenant?"

"Always," she chuckled, but shook her head despite him not being able to see. "But this time, you lead," she said decisively as she tapped controls. She wanted to see more of the pilot, to get a feel for his style in a non pressured environment.

"Copy that." Bracca replied. He was silent for a several minutes as he finished off his preflight checks. "All set, firing thrusters." He announced as his fighter lifted off the deck and with a brief puff of thrust passed through the forcefield of the shuttlebay.

Ash gave him a bit of space before following him out, smiling softly as she settled into the chair and got more comfortable. "You ever worked on your own bird?"

"Course 214 mark 11, 1/2 impulse." Bracca called out the course the holo scenario had picked out for them to begin their patrol in. "I do work on the shuttles here and there but never had a bird of my own to work on."

"Maybe we can change that," Ash chuckled, keeping in close but with enough space to manoeuvre. "First scans coming back all clear," she assured, tapping the results clear. "Maybe I can see if we can get you something to work on."

"I don't know, when your used to flying a starship working on a fighter or a shuttle doesn't always quite feel as good." Bracca replied before something caught his attention. "Hey did you see that? A big energy spike, bearing 168 mk2?"

"Affirmative..." Ash was nodding despite his not being able to see it, her fingers moving quickly for a follow up scan. "Definitely weapon fire...it's coming back as Jem'Hadar..." the distaste was clear even in her tone.

"Looks like our setting is in the middle of the dominion war." Bracca said with a slight grin, born during the war he grew up listening to the stories both good and bad about the massive conflict and he'd fought them in training simulations during the academy. "Lets go take a look, prepare for warp."

"I'm right with you," she assured, prepping for the jump. When his engine geared up for the jump she made it with him, not wanting to leave him hanging on the other side if they warped straight into danger. The blips pinged as soon as they dropped out of warp and she let out a slight whistle. "I'm reading a Jem'Hadar Fighter..."

In the near distance the purple plated Dominion attack ship flashed brightly against the darkness of space as its polaron beams lashed out from its prow striking its blue grey hulled opponent; a Starfleet cruiser.

"And a Miranda." Bracca added. "She's heavily damaged, must have took her by surprise." He tapped at his controls bringing his weapon systems and shields online.

Ash was doing the same when the computer blasted a warning at her; the fighter was powering up and turning in a tight arc towards them. "They've found us..." she confirmed, just as the shields came up.

"Must think we're a greater threat than that Miranda." Bracca said with a mild chuckle, their two fighters were a threat to the attack ship if they got lucky, he hoped whatever crew remained on the starfleet ship could get their weapons back online quickly. "Lets see, in their weapons range fifteen seconds, break right in twelve, then split target his ventral shields. micro torps where we can, my two full size wherever we can weaken a shield." he relayed his battleplan to Ash.

Ash nodded with approval at his plan. Not surprised though, she hadn't expected anything less from the person who had been keeping the ship moving for so long. "Agreed. You fire off your torps first, I'll follow up in the wake. I'll try and get a message through to the Miri too."

"Copy that." Bracca counted down the seconds till they would be in range of the dominion ships primary forward weapon, he locked his micro torpedo launcher onto the target and when his mental count hit twelve he pulled the trigger. "Fire and break, break." As a pair of micro-photon torpedoes left the launcher he pulled his fighter into a tight climbing starboard turn.

Ash kicked her own fighter into gear, pulling off in a tight turn but in the opposite direction, one of the few advantages they had in their small, agile craft over the brute force of the Dominion attack ship. Splitting up forced it to concentrate fire on one of them...and it happened to be Bracca.

"That's it, follow the rabbit." Bracca said accelerating hard as the attack ship turned to pursue him, his fighters size and speed were the only things going to keep him away from the ships polaron beams, only a couple of hits would see him blown to pieces.

Close to the firefight, the crippled Miranda showed a surge of power and there was some movement, but not much. It was trying to repair itself enough to join the fight, but couldn't manage it. Ash had no such problem though, coming back around to get the attack ship in her sights. She fired while it was distracted with Bracca, making each shot count even if she knew the real damage was yet to come.

Bracca's fighter shuddered as a beam passed far too close for comfort. "Whoever is piloting this ship is good." He remarked, he pulled his fighter into an almost vertical climb letting out a mild groan as the G forces compressed him.

Ash frowned, shaking her head slightly at the impressive but foreboding sight. She decided to veer a little away from the plan, letting one of her torps fly at the attack ship to try and take some of the heat off of Bracca.

Unable to match the tight turn of the nimble federation fighter the Dominion ship broke off to starboard and turned towards Ash polaron beam blazing.

Ash pushed back in her seat for leverage, accelerating rapidly before slamming the bird to Starboard with reverse thrusters, using the natural velocity to keep the spin moving before taking back control and dodging the next energy beam. She whistled with how close it was, shaking her head as she found Bracca. "I'll keep them busy, flank and fire!"

"Working on it." Bracca said his voice somewhat strained as he was still mid loop and pulling hard G's despite the inertial dampeners, after a few more seconds he leveled out and reassessed where he was, finding himself behind the dominion ship but a good distance away. Gunning his engines hard he tried to close the distance while opening up on the aft shields with his pulse phasers.

Ash gritted her teeth as she glanced to the readout, seeing his position and realising he was struggling to close the gap. She decided to take a risk...not a shock from the ex-racer...and slowed up just a little, focussing on evasive manoeuvre over speed, to force her pursuer to also slow up.

"Nearly there, hold on a little longer." Bracca said an idea quickly forming in his head, he'd read Jem'Hadar attack ships had much weaker ventral armour than any other area. A perfect spot for his full size photon torpedoes. "Go full Z negative dive on my mark, as vertical as you can take.

Despite everything, Ash actually laughed at the prospect, liking his style already. "On it..." she assured, chasing the controls to get ready to dive when he was in place. "Okay, let's get it done..."

The distance closing by the moment Bracca held on until he reached optimum range for the torpedeos, far enough away he'd not get caught in any blast, close enough the ship wouldn't have time to react. "Torpedoes locked, hit it."

Ash didn't need to be told twice...she slammed the fighter into action, feeling the slightly delayed lurch as she bounded away from what would soon be the blast site.

As the Dominion ship dived down after the fighter trying to keep its primary polaron beam facing the nimble craft it exposed its underside to Bracca. Two photon torpedoes dropped from his fighters wings, ignited and sped towards the Attack ship, He fired off a salvo of micro torpedoes too hoping to do as much damage to the ship in one go as he could.

Only a few seconds later the two torpedoes slammed into the ventral side the the ship, it's shield flickered under the impact of the first and shattered under the second. Fire blossomed out of a vast hole in the ships belly, plasma vented from shorn hull plates. A moment later the micro torpedoes added to the conflagration impacting in a broad sweep across its hull, the ships starboard nacelle span freely out into space before exploding.

"Got him." Bracca announced loudly.

Ash grinned at the success, letting out a loud whoop before hearing the computer beeping the success of their mission parameters. "Congratulations, Ensign, you've won the program," she assured across the comm.

"Not a bad little program you have there Lieutenant." Bracca remarked as he pulled his fighter alongside hers. "Will be interesting to see what other scenario's it has in its repertoire."

Ash laughed softly, her eyes sparkling after a good firefight. "Computer, end program," she shifted ready for the environment to fade, clanking down onto her feet in the black and yellow grid. "Keeps me on my toes. You're a great pilot, I'm lucky to have you in the team."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Lieutenant." Bracca said as the world dissolved around him. "Will be nice to have someone challenging me for top pilot on the ship."

"Fighting talk, I like it..." Ash grinned, shaking her head as she folded her arms. "The way I see it, I'll bring the speed, you bring the fire and we can't lose."

"Yes ma'am." Bracca chuckled. "We taking anything else for a spin?"

"Right now? Just us, to the bar, if you're up for a drink? I need to stretch my legs," she offered, bending an arm over her head to stretch. "You can pick the program next time though," she chuckled, assuring him it wouldn't be their only training exercise.

"I'm definitely up for a drink, I find high tension flying always leaves me with a dry mouth, even when its a full on cruiser I'm flying." Bracca replied.

She grinned, clapping him on the back of the shoulder with a surprisingly strong hand before sliding it into her pocket as she led the way out. "How about a very dry martini to go with that dry mouth?"

"Technically we are still on duty...." Bracca began to say. "But then you're the chief so if you say we can do it on work time I'm not going to say no."

Ash laughed warmly, shaking her head as she walked in time with his step, nudging her shoulder to his. "Well I did have synthahol in mind...you can shake that stuff right off."

"Synthahol will do for now, soon as the boss lets us have something real, we'll have something real." Bracca said as they made their way down the hall.


OFF:



Ensign Bracca
Flight control officer
[pnpc Taliserra]

Lt. JG. Ash Rowe
Chief of Flight Control

 

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