Dropping off Supplies (Part 1)

Posted on Thu May 28th, 2020 @ 4:00pm by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Ensign Mikko Ishigami & Commander Alora Knight & Jennifer Daxer & Lieutenant Takeshi Nakazato 'Zack' & Lieutenant Soren Dillinger 'Speedy'

1,893 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: The Elachi Return
Location: Outpost Sixty Three

The Tokyo dropped out of warp near Outpost Sixty Three. The ship was due to drop off some supplies to the small outpost before heading to a nearby Asteroid Field for tactical training. Outpost Sixty Three was an old outpost, it had been established over a hundred years ago and was based on a large Asteroid. Its mission was to watch over the Neutral Zone for any Romulan activity but occassionally ventured into more scientific missions if anything in the area pops up.

It was old and outdated on the exterior, however inside it had been refitted several times over and had some of the latest Starfleet Technology. Should one look at the outpost it would look retro like something from the era of Captain Kirk.

"Take us closer, hail the outpost" Taiga said simply from her command chair.

"Aye Captain" Mikko said from the helm as she swung the Tokyo around slowly and brought the ship to a course towards the outpost. The Tokyo would have to get close to beam the supplies aboard. They were carrying power cells, food, and extra spare parts requested by the outpost.

Alora sat next to Taiga, monitoring the internal chatter on department readiness.

The turbolift doors opened and Takeshi strode onto the bridge, having left the TIC in charge of his Deputy Air Boss.

The viewscreen switched to that of the Federation symbol for a few seconds. Then a Lieutenant in a gold uniform appeared on the viewscreen.
"Captain Aisaka" he said simply. "This is Outpost Sixty Three. Please confirm your clearance code".

"Understood" Taiga said. She tapped a few times on the control panels located in the arms of her command chair. The Lieutenant could be seen checking something off screen as he verified the codes.

"Codes confirmed. Apologies Captain, but we're keeping security tight these days. I suspect you want to begin the transfer of the supplies and pick up the 'package' as well?" he asked.

"Thats correct lieutenant. My Operations officer will contact you shortly. Please provide beam in co-ordinated for both Cargo and two officers" Taiga told him simply. The Lieutenant nodded. "Aye Captain. I'm sending those co-ordinates now".

Taiga rose from her seat as they came through. She looked over at Alora. "Commander, ensure that the supplies are beamed over to the outpost. I will be going over to the outpost for a few moments. Have Lieutenant Dillinger meet me on the flight deck" she turned her attention to Takeshi. "Mister Nakazato, you'll be needed in the TIC for launch procedures" she said simply before stepping into the turbolift.

"Yes, Captain." Takeshi replied, following Taiga into the turbolift.

Alora nodded. She sent a message to Dillinger, then checked with the outpost. "Supplies are ready for pickup."

[Flight Deck]

Taiga stepped out onto the Flight Deck. She looked around, it was fairly quiet. The main runway was clear as it stretched from the aft to the fore of the vessel's through bay. The doors on either end were shut closed.

Soren was under his Valkyrie, a PADD in hand, as he looked through certain areas. Along side him was a woman with dark hair in a old fashion pilot's jumpsuit and a bomber jacket over it.

"Bettie... give me a quick check on the RCS, please?" Soren asked as he checked his PADD.

"They're working as normal. Do you want to adjust them?" She asked with a smile.

Soren looked from his PADD to the exposed area of the Valkrie. He eyeballed the area before replying. "No. It's fine as it is. No use in tampering with perfection, Luv." He put the PADD down and reached down for the panel to put it back on.

Taiga walked over to Soren. "Lieutenant" she said simply as she approached the fighter. "We are to go over to the outpost on the neighbouring asteroid. We have classified information to retrieve from the outpost's computer systems. It needs both of our clearance codes" she explained to him. The information they were gathering could only be collected in person by both a Command Level officer and Intelligence Officer.

"So I am told." Soren replied as he sealed the panel he opened earlier and looked over to Taiga. He raised a brow, crossing his arms over his chest, as he stepped closer to her. At the same time, Bettie did the same. "You're going down to the planet in that?" He gesture to her uniform.

Nodding Taiga looked up and down at the starfighter. "The outpost has a small bay designed for auxiliary craft. How about we kill two birds with one stone and use your fighter? Plus..." she seemed to look away shyly. "I've never actually rode in one yet"

"Captain... You misunderstood." Soren replied as he walked closer to Taiga, smiling slightly, as he continued in a soft but elegant tone. "You can't walk into a fancy restaurant, in just a t-shirt and slacks, and expect to get a table. There's a dress code. Lucky for you, a lot like those places, we have spare suit jackets to be used so we won't toss you out the door." He placed his hand on her shoulder and added. "Protocol requires you to have a pilots jumpsuit if you're planning on flying as a passenger. Its a rule. I don't care, personally, but Starfleet is a bit of a stickler with rules. That's much I know from experience."

Taiga raised an eyebrow. "Protocols huh" she said simply. Blue was not her colour at all, but if those were the rules she guessed she had to put one on. "Got one in a small... extra small?" she asked.

"A small?" Soren replied, before looking her up and down, and walking away. "Yeah... right. I'm sure a medium will fit just like a glove."

"Just get a flight suit Lieutenant" she said in response as she crossed her arms. She stood by the side of the fighter craft and waited for him. This wasn't her department, she didn't spend much time down here so she wasn't too sure where everything was.

Soren turned to her before giving her a quick salute. "Aye, Captain." He replied with a smirk. His gaze shifted to Bettie as he said. "Behave yourself." With a bit of a wink, he walked off to the pilots locker room.

Bettie watched Soren leave, before shifting her gaze to Taiga. She placed her hands behind her back, allowing her eyes to move up and down, as she slowly approached her.

Taiga was tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for Soren as Bettie approached. She was staring off into the distance at the large doors of the flight deck.

"I have to ask." Bettie said, placing her hands in front of her, as she looked down to Taiga. "Are you going to need a booster seat? Nothing personal, it's just, you are quite small."

She shot a look at the AI, one of non-amusement. "I am fine" Taiga said simply. "I do not require one, I am quite capable thank you very much" she replied. She didn't like being asked that, it seemed rather cheeky to be asking a Captain such questions. "You're definitely Soren's virtual Girlfriend aren't you..." she sighed.

Bettie narrowed her eyes, placing her hands on her hips, as she leaned down closer. "Listen, Kiddo. While I am sure you, being Captain, means you have your big girl pants on it's still a safety issue. Just because you can fit nicely into an overhead compartment doesn't mean we want your brain slamming around the inside of our fighter. So take your, female Napoleon complex and-"

"Whoa!!" Soren came in between them, gently pushing Bettie back, trying to defuse the situation before it gets worse and he ends up paying for it. "What ever happen to behaving?"

"Shorty started it." Bettie replied with slight pout on her face.

"And I'm finishing it." Soren replied softly, easing her away, before turning to Taiga. "You're jumpsuit." He said as he handed it to her. "Bettie's not good with new people. Especially female new people. Don't let her get to you."

Fists clenched Taiga stared at the AI with very hostile intentions. "Turn it off for this flight, or at least make sure I can't hear her. I don't need this when I'm going on an important task..." she half said, half growled. "You're lucky you're a computer program and not a member of this crew" she warned simply. She shot a look at Soren.

"Can't do that." Soren replied, smiling slightly, as he continued. "She functions as my primary fighter computer. For safety, and protocol concerns, I can't turn her off." As he shrugged slightly, Bettie leaned over his shoulder and stuck out a tongue at Taiga. "Not helping..." He said firmly before he continued to speak to Taiga. "I can't promise you won't hear her, but I will promise it stays strictly professional." Soren paused slightly before adding. "Semi-professional."

Scowling Taiga took the flight suit from him and began to slip it on over her uniform. She pinned her comm badge to her chest on the flight suit so it was easily accessible. "Fine, just lets go get that information. Its vital for our patrol"

"There will be a small hangar bay on the other side of the asteroid. Its meant for shuttle craft, so it might be a tight squeeze" Taiga told Soren as she began to climb into the rear second seat of the fighter.

"Of course there is." Soren replied as he climbed into the cockpit. "It wouldn't be a super secret facility without a super secret hanger bay door." He ran a quick check of the systems before tapping on the com. "Dillinger to Shuttle Bay Control. The Eagle is in the nest and we're ready to leave the nest to pick up the nestling."

There was a small amount of silence before a slightly confused reply came. "Say again, Sir?"

Soren rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Amateurs." He said softly before continuing aloud. "Captain is in the fighter. We're ready to proceed to the super secret base to pick up the super secret info."

"Oh... Roger that, Sir. You're clear."

He let out a deep breath as he closed the comlink. "We'll go on 10, Ma'am." Soren said firmly before suddenly going. "1, 2, 10!" He soon said quickly before ending in a slight shout. He eased into the throttle, moving out of the bay slightly fast but not dangerously fast, as they proceeded out of the shuttle bay. They passed through the force field before increasing speed.

The trip wasn't as crazy as the take off, but Soren didn't make it boring. He would increase the throttle slightly, maneuvering in and out of a few pieces of asteroid debris, while on occasion easing through the gaps big enough to fly the shuttle through. On occasion, the gaps would seem dangerously small, but with a quick tilt the fighter would slip through with ease. Once they approached the asteroid with the hidden hanger, Soren eased off the throttle, prompting Bettie to relay the intent code so they were aware they were friendly.

"A little unorthodox there Lieutenant..." Taiga commented as the fighter sped out of the launch bay.

"But it was still fun." Soren replied, smirking.

To be continued...

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