Asking for an Appeal (part 3)

Posted on Thu Oct 1st, 2020 @ 7:01am by Lieutenant Bobbie Sue "Bobcat" Hunter & Lieutenant Commander Phyllis D'lar 'Sorceress' & Lieutenant Iowa Riverside 'Grey Ghost' & Lieutenant JG Mika Fujimoto 'Pickpocket' & Ensign Saeko Busujima 'Crazy Horse'
Edited on on Thu Oct 1st, 2020 @ 7:10am

1,076 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: The Elachi Return
Location: Fighter Lounge

[CONTINUED]

[OLD]

Phyllis laughed. "Flying was a whole different ballgame back in the day. You should try barnstorming--just not in front of your superiors."

[NEW]

Iowa sighed in defeat as she thumbed through the PADD's contents. None of the information on it came from either her cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder. She could testify her bird being more damaged than simple engine trouble, as well as repeatedly trying to make contact with the TIC or anyone willing to listen. If anything, the data on the PADD felt more like what Phyllis wanted to hear rather than the full story.

"Perhaps my radio got damaged in the scuffle..." She muttered to herself. "Alright, if y'all are only willing to hear what you want, than I'll go ahead and play along with your game. I'll take your remedial courses and prove I can be a better pilot, but if you won't bother to hear the full story in the future, I will be requesting a transfer off this ship."

Iowa stopped her record player and stood up.

"Glenn was always a hot topic on the Yorktown." She grumbled. "Folks thought he was a sell-out, but he played tunes that wanted to be heard. Sounds to me like you've played to situation to get me to be like him and tell you exactly what you want to hear. Happy?"

"Be careful what you say." Mika hinted. "When an occluded front forms, the warm air always rolls over the cold air."

Iowa shot Mika a disapproving look. Mika simply went back to strumming some Finnish folk song after she had finished speaking.

"I have to go off the evidence," Phyllis said. "I can't take hearsay. I've seen too many pilots lie to get out of trouble over the centuries."

Bobbie Sue paused before leaving. "You know, you could have this cleared up by the time we get to earth, if you want. Or you can chase this up the chain of command. It's up to you."

Saeko sighed. She and Mika had largely remained silent while Iowa and Phyllis were talking, but it seemed Iowa's word alone wasn't getting her anywhere, and though it probably wouldn't matter, since Iowa had already capitulated, she figured she'd at least say her two cents.

"Sorceress, with all due respect, I did out of the corner of my eye catch her taking quite a few good hard licks out there." She explained. "I also heard something over the open channel about her fiddling with wiring in her fighter. I didn't pick it up entirely, but it set off some warning flags in my mind, because I was taught to never do that unless it was a matter of life and death."

Mika caught on with what Saeko was trying to do, and also decided to offer her testimony:

"I agree with Crazy Horse." She said simply. "Her fighter was among the many I've been working on, and there were quite a few hull plates that were distorted and some that were missing altogether. Furthermore, her radio relay was a mess, which would support her theory about her radio being damaged in the battle, and only transmitting what it wanted to."

"So did a lot of pilots. We lost a lot of good people in that fight. She's not grounded because she got shot. She's grounded because she thinks she's above the rules. That because she spent centuries in stasis, she should be excused for risking more lives on the deck by her reckless behavior. Pilots like her get people killed. She needs to learn that while pilots do have egos, they don't race ahead of their flight to get the first shot. They don't disobey orders. And they sure as hell don't go in hot without even trying to warn the ground crew. We had another pilot crash on the deck, but she warned the crew she was coming. All three of you could learn from her. Gray Ghost just cut and ran." Phyllis was done. All three of them were going to defend each other's actions, even if everyone in the wing died because of it. They were dangerous, and she wouldn't fly with any of them. "To be a cohesive, effective squadron it's not every man, woman or child for themselves. It's everyone working as a team. You drop out, you don't just abandon the others. You let them know. You keep them safe and you trust them to keep you safe. Trig showed you how it was done. You could learn a lot from him--if you stick around."

Without another word, Phyllis picked up the PADD and walked out to give it to Trigman and tell him of her conversation with the three pilots.

Bobbie Sue sighed. "I've known Sorceress for years. She rarely loses her temper. You three..." She shook her head. "I'll leave that to the CAG, but none of you will fly with me, either. I need people I can trust in my wing. Even if they make mistakes, I need to trust them to own up. To be willing to learn. I think all three of you would be better off on a planet somewhere you have more room to make mistakes."

She paused to have a word with the lounge manager, then walked out.

Iowa looked back and forth between Mika and Saeko.

"I appreciate you two trying to stick up for me," She said. "But next time, don't throw your futures away over an old bird like me. I'm a big girl, and I can handle myself..."

Before either Mika or Saeko could reply, Iowa scooped up her record player and left, nodding to the lounge manager on the way out.

Saeko turned back to Mika and sighed, looking down at her empty plate.

"I think its best if we keep our heads down for the time being." She muttered.

"I wholeheartedly agree..." Mika responded.

Mika looked at her own empty plate and then at Saeko's.

"If we're finished here, than how about we get back to work?" She proposed.

"Best to keep busy around here..." Saeko muttered.

The two got up and walked their dishes over to the replicator to be recycled.

Posting by

Lieutenant Iowa Riverside "Grey Ghost"
Fighter Pilot

Ensign Mika Fujimoto "Pickpocket"
Fighter Pilot

Ensign Saeko Busujima "Crazy Horse"
Fighter Pilot

Lieutenant Phyllis D’Lar “Sorceress”
Deputy CAG, Fighter Pilot

Lieutenant Bobbie Sue Hunter “Bobcat”
Squadron Leader

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