Come to Jesus

Posted on Wed Aug 4th, 2021 @ 8:37pm by Lieutenant Commander Marcus Decius 'Gladius' & Lieutenant Iowa Riverside 'Grey Ghost'

1,571 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Operation Romulus Return
Location: CAG's office
Timeline: Present

ON:

Marcus looked around his new office. He'd decorate it to his taste in a bit. In the mean time, he had a maverick to tame.

He squared his shoulders and tapped his comm badge. "Lieutenant Riverside, Report to the CAG's Office on the double. Repeat: Lieutenant Riverside to the CAG's office." He pulled up his sensor logs of their recent training exercise. Glancing at them one more time to be sure he hadn't missed anything, and waited.

=A="Acknowledged."=A= Came Iowa's voice in response

Iowa made her way to the CAG's office at a brisk jogging pace, half expecting having to explain her sins at Alvatar to Marcus in front of Trigman and D'Lar (because it wasn't something she would put past D'Lar for trying to pull). Of course, she had only compiled the list of her smaller modifications about halfway, and she had decided to leave the incomplete list until she got back from whatever this was to complete it and then turn it in to Marcus for review.

Thanks to her pace, she was at the door to the CAG'S office in less time than it would have taken her if she had done so at her normal walking pace, which she likely would have done if she hadn't been ordered to report 'on the double', and she rang the chime, panting for a moment as she stood outside waiting to enter.

"Enter", came the response

The door swooshed open, and Iowa stepped through, still out of breath from the jog there.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" She asked, giving a quick salute.

He could see that she had run here. "At ease, Lieutenant". Marcus activated the holo emitter to display a 3 dimensional miniature of the training grounds where they had played their game of tag. He also added the audio logs and synchronized them from the moment he tagged Gemini. "Lieutenant, I want you to evaluate this engagement. Pay attention to every detail, and then give me your analysis of everyone's performance." He began the playback, enhancing the audio where he was giving the rules of engagement, watching her.

Iowa silently watched the hologram of their engagement from where Marcus had started it until the simulation stopped, analyzing the nuances of everyone's performance until the miniature ran out of data from their excursion before speaking:

"Well, for starters, that Jappy has some kind of Kamikaze technique; no fear at all." Iowa finally spoke once the simulation had finished. "I would've gotten her eventually had you not swooped in and stolen my kill."

Iowa rewound the simulation to the point after Marcus had taken out Nozomi, at which point, his focus had shifted to Sturek, and paused it right before she executed her Picard Maneuver.

"In hindsight, I can understand the logic in going after Sturek next to try and disable his craft, because he was stupid precise! But, what else can you expect from a Vulcan?" She further elaborated.

Iowa further rewound the simulation, stopping unironically at the point where she had fired off a volley of shots in Marcus and Sturek's direction in the hopes of getting them to back off.

"As for me, my performance wasn't exactly peak, which I attribute to the fact that I was relearning the characteristics of a stock fighter." She elucidated. "At times, I was pushing the inertial dampeners to their breaking point, a problem I wouldn't have had if I still had all my mods in place."

Marcus watched her as she explained her motivations and revealed more of her personality to him. This was going to be his first challenge as CAG. He sat back in his char, and regarded her.

Lieutenant, you have explained your actions, and the reasoning behind them adequately. However, I am going to point out some rather large blind spots in your reasoning. I do this without malice, because it's quite possible you are ignorant of them. I have read your file, and know that you flew in World War Two back on earth, and so have a natural disposition to dehumanize your ancient enemy. However, I am now informing you that you will no longer utter bigoted racial slurs against anyone aboard this ship. You are to leave your bigotry and your preconceived notions in your quarters. There is no place for them in my squadron. Do I make myself crystal clear, pilot?

"Yes, sir." Iowa responded in a straight, serious tone.

"Good," he said with icy calm. "Now moving on to the next point..." He paused the playback where she shot at him and Sturek. "Think very carefully, Lieutenant. At any time, did I give you permission to engage any target other than the pilot tagged as 'it'?"

"No, sir:" Iowa responded, having had her memory recently refreshed by the enhanced audio of Marcus relaying the rules of engagement when she had re-watched the exercise.

"Then what justification can you present for disobeying those orders during a training exercise?" Marcus's eyes pierced hers.

"With all due respect, sir;" Iowa began. "I've saved lives with that exact maneuver in the past: Downed two additional..." She stopped to correct herself, as 'Jap' was about to roll off her tongue again. "Enemy aircraft one battle as I was chasing down my target. I found out afterwards the two planes I downed were destined for two destroyers in our battle group. Reckless in the moment, sure; but the lives I saved that day was enough to lessen my punishment."

How times have changed... She added mentally as her complexion darkened.

Marcus sighed. "You've given an excuse, not a justification. What's more, you have given an excuse that doesn't even fit the current situation. When you used that move back in ancient history, it was against a real enemy, and nobody had ordered you not to. You were flying a museum piece! The rules of engagement include the requirement to obey lawful orders given by superior officers. The orders I issued for that exercise were your rules of engagement. They were worded the way I put them to ensure the safety and proper training of pilots under my command. These rules are not flexible, nor am I, Lieutenant."

His voice gained a hard edge as he spoke. "By disobeying these rules in an attempt to prove what a hotshot pilot you are due to your long experience in the cockpit, you could have endangered the entire squadron had we been in actual combat. You have not given me confidence in your ability to be a member of a cohesive unit. This squadron operates as a team, not a bunch of individuals. You will learn to become a member of this team, or your flight status will be revoked, and you will be given a desk job. Now: until the Tokyo reaches its next destination, you will spend four hours a day in the flight simulator, reviewing and practicing squadron tactics and following orders. You WILL learn to fly a stock fighter to the best of your ability without relying on mods as a crutch to prop up your performance in the cockpit. Yes, I said crutch! You went from one war to the next without any improvement in your actual skill and technique, going back into stasis between times so you never adapted to the cultural clues that allow you to integrate into new societies. You modded your fighters to compensate for the facet that you never learned any tactics beyond what your old prop plane was capable of! That changes now! You will become a disciplined member of this unit I can trust with my life, or you will not be a member of this unit at all."

He stood, indicating that the interview was over. "You are dismissed, Lieutenant. And if you step out of line just this much," He made a pinching motion with his thumb and forefinger until almost no light shone between them, "You'll be flying a civilian freighter filled with Spican Flame gems and Antarean Glow Water in and out of DS K-7!"

"Very well:" Iowa said, standing up. "My sisters and I had a mantra between us: 'Always outdo ourselves'. I'll put in eight hours a day on those simulators; I'll learn to fly a stock fighter so good, I won't need modifications anymore; and by the good grace of the almighty, whatever they're calling it these days, you'll see my merits far outshine my shortcomings. Flyboys have come to trust me in the past, and I don't intend for this case to be any different!"

Iowa's tone of steely determination held sincerity in it. She had already been given a second chance, and she was going to make good on that second chance to the fullest, and her name would one day command the same respect for the future folk as it did in years past.

Marcus nodded with approval. "I'm glad we understand each other, Lieutenant. You have real potential. Don't waste it on ego or one-up-manship. You are dismissed."

Without further word, Iowa turned and left the office. Even though things had changed, she still intended to complete that list and archive it for the time being.

Marcus watched her go. He was pretty sure he had made the right call. Only time would tell.

OFF

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