A Gap In The Ranks

Posted on Mon Jun 15th, 2020 @ 9:45pm by Captain Taiga Aisaka & Lieutenant Rinka Hayami 'Sharp-Shooter' & Commander Alora Knight & Commander Nicolas Trigman 'Trigger' & Lieutenant Soren Dillinger 'Speedy' & Lieutenant Bobbie Sue "Bobcat" Hunter

1,616 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: The Elachi Return
Location: Ready Room

ON

With Trigman's sudden departure and resignation after the events earlier that day, Taiga needed to find herself someone to fill in for the Commander of the Air Group and fast. The Tokyo's air group was its main arsenal and like all weapons wouldn't work unless it was properly commanded by the wielder. In this case there was now no one to made the decisions for the air group and that meant that the Tokyo was short of its main purpose.

"Aisaka to Lieutenant's Hayami, Dillinger and Hunter. Please report to my ready room" Taiga said simply. She also sent a message to Commander Knight as well to join them since she was in charge of crew assignments. This needed to be sorted quickly and without fuss, you never know when something might come up and Taiga would prefer to have a working Air Group ready to deploy than a grounded one.

Alora was the first to arrive. She rang the door chime and walked in when admitted. "Hello, captain."

Taiga nodded at Alora in response to her greeting.

A minute later, Bobbie Sue arrived and rang the chime.

Soren walking into the Ready Room, no chime, just a smirk. He had his holo-sphere in his hand and his flight suit unzipped down to his chest. He quickly nodded at who was there before tossing the sphere slightly in the air and catching it as it came down.

Rinka followed Soren into the ready room. She wondered why only the squadron leaders had been called. She hoped that Trigman would be there after what had happened, she saw that he was not and she began to wonder why.

Taiga looked at the officers in front of her. "In case you weren't aware, Commander Trigman has resigned his position on the Tokyo. He has his own reasons to do so. However that leaves us without a CAG and a Squadron Leader. I've called you all here in order to give your recommendations and come up with suitable replacements. You know your people better than I do, so I value your input" Taiga explained simply.

"Alright." Soren said firmly, looking around as he held his hands out a bit, a slight smile forming. "Since, no one is gonna bring it up, I will. I don't care who it is as long as its not someone like the Air Boss."

Taiga smirked. "Air Bosses don't fly. Plus hes lucky to be flying a standard shuttle at the moment" Taiga said. "Plus, he'll be needed where he is. We need someone who can take command and think quickly in a pinch"

Soren laughed out loud, throwing his head back, before looking over to Taiga. He looked around at everyone, as he stopped laughed, smiling a bit before saying. "That's impressive. You were able to say that with a straight face and actually come off like you actually believe it."

"Whether I believe it or not is irrelevant, he shouldn't be in a fighter regardless. No one can be in two places at a time" Taiga explained.

"I can." Soren smirked.

"Only in your head," Bobbie Sue countered with a smile. She turned to Taiga. "I wouldn't use those words, but I agree that I'm not sure how the new Air Boss will do. He doesn't seem to have much respect for anyone but himself."

"I'm serious." Soren said firmly, looking to Bobbie, before looking around at everyone. "Guys? Before I came here I was a master thief and smuggler. You think I don't have a way to be in two places at once? Come on. There is a reason I got away for as long as I did."

"That just means you can make it seem that you were somewhere else at the time," Bobbie Sue countered.

"Shouldn't we keep on track?" Rinka asked. "As much as I can command the air group, I'd rather stay as the deputy. I'll do it if I have to, but a more experienced pilot with more command experience would be better" the serious red head explained simply as she crossed her arms. "The El-Aurian, Phyllis or Sorceress, shes got more experience under her belt than any other pilot in the entire fleet" she added.

"Look." Soren said firmly, his eyes looking around the room, as there was no sign of humor in his face. "I've know that old bird for a long time. I was one of the rare ones who graduated top of the class when she was teaching at the academy, so I owe her a lot. I owe her for more than my skills in the cockpit. If you can convince her to take the spot, you're gold. Keyword: convince. There is a reason why she's isn't some high ranking Admiral in Starfleet now. She's pulled back from anything demanding and just wants to focus on flying. She's a pilot. Like a lot of us, she was born to fly, but being a CAG comes with a lot of responsibility and a lot of paperwork and that's never been her thing. Don't get me wrong, she's a got the experience, but would she want the responsibility to play den mother to a bunch of pilots whose natural instincts are to take risks?"

Taiga pondered for a moment. "So the problem is convincing her. I can't force anyone into a position, anyone else you all have in mind?" She asked.

Soren stood there silently, feeling bad he might have inadvertently convinced Taiga to take Phyllis off the table. "I also did say she was a great choice. You're right, you can't force her, but talking with her and letting her know why she would be a good choice might help. Hearing her side of things. Whose to say she may not find her own reasons to take the job? My only concern is if something were to happen. I'm worried about my old mentor. That's all."

"Let's look at it another way," Bobbie Sue interjected. "Who else could stand up to the pilots and the air boss without batting an eye?"

"Suzy Q's got a point." Soren added quickly. "To get through to most of these pilots you need someone who is ready to put their foot down and not be afraid to punch someone in the face to get their point across. The Old bird will do both those things while simultaneously telling you a yarn about how she flew a biplane over the Pacific while having tea and crumpets with Winston Churchill before making out with Howard Hughes while doing a barrel roll."

Taiga simply blinked a few times. "I'm going to have to admit that I'm not very versed on European History.... but I get your point" she didn't want to admit that she had absolutely no idea who half of those people were, at least not in front of her officers. "If you think shes the best choice, I would rather you Squadron Leaders approach her about it, you know her far better than me"

"Admit it, Captain. Part of you is wondering whether, what I just said, is something that actually happened or if I made it up." Soren said quickly before looking around with a sly look. "Maybe it did. Maybe it didn't. I'll let you ponder that." He nodded slightly, continuing to look around before stopping. "One of life's many mysteries."

Alora had been quiet up to this point. "Captain, they may know her better, but they can't be the ones to approach her about taking over the position of CAG. That has to come from you."

Taiga sighed. "I wish I wasn't having to ask anyone anything. No offense to anyone here, but I'd have Trigman back in a heartbeat. He's one of the best pilots we've ever had"

Soren rolled his eyes slightly at the comment.

Trigman walked into the room. "I do not have my Orders cut yet, they are still in process according to the Captain's yeoman. No need to go into how he was convinced to stay on. Since the transfer is not completed I should just keep the Job til you find someone better for it Captain." He looked at Taiga. "With respects Captain."

"Alright. Problem resolved itself." Soren shouted slightly as he looked around at everyone. "Good meeting everyone. High marks all around." He tossed his holosphere up slightly and caught it again before adding. "Now that Trig is back, walking though doors and into this room like a freaking ninja, I'll take that as a dismissal. Have fun everyone." He waved his hand and smirked before heading to the door.

"I think this calls for a drink," Bobbie Sue announced. "First round's on me."

"Of course it is." Soren turned, smirking, before adding. "Because... I'm not gonna buy them."

Bobbie Sue laughed. "I'm not at all surprised."

Alora was relieved Trigman was back. Not that she didn't think D'lar or one of the other pilots couldn't do the job, but it was nice to keep the team together. And Trigman was a fine CAG.

Trigman waited for all but the Captain to leave; holding out his hand. "May I have my wings back Captain?"

Taiga hesitated slightly. "Erm... sure..." she said. She was a little surprised about how this had turned out. "Dismissed, I guess?"

"Thank you Captain." Trigman said and grinned. "You coming, First round is on Bobby Sue?"

Rinka followed them out of the ready room silently.

Posting by

Captain Taiga Aisaka
Commanding Officer

Commander Alora Knight
Executive Officer

Lieutenant Commander Nicolas Trigman
Commander Air Group

Lieutenant Rinka Hayami
Squadron Leader

Lieutenant Bobbie Sue Hunter
Squadron Leader

Lieutenant Soren Dillinger
Squadron Leader

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