Rook to King's Level One

Posted on Wed Aug 4th, 2021 @ 12:24pm by Lieutenant Commander Marcus Decius 'Gladius' & Lieutenant Sturek 'Rook'

1,325 words; about a 7 minute read

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

ON



The CAG's office looked out over the flight deck of the USS Tokyo. Marcus could see the goings on of the flight crews readying the sleek Valkyrie fighters for their next sortie. He watched the Ammo Techs changing loadouts for practice. Then, he saw one of his pilots walking across the deck at a measured, precise pace. Sturek was supposed to be off duty, yet he was in his duty uniform. Well, thought Marcus, now's as good a time as any. He tapped his comm badge. "Lieutenant Sturek, Report to the CAG's Office. Mr. Sturek to the CAG's Office." He saw Sturek tap his comm badge in response.

"Acknowledged," he replied tonelessly.

In a moment, a chime sounded at the office door.

"Come", said Marcus.

Sturek entered. "Lieutenant Sturek reporting as ordered, sir," He said as he stood at rigid attention.

"At ease, Lieutenant," Marcus said, gesturing to the chair opposite him at his desk. Instead, Sturek relaxed only marginally, switching from the position of attention, to Parade Rest.

Marcus gave a mental shrug. "Rook, it will be waste less of your energy and my time to sit down. Please do so."

Sturek sat stiffly, as if he had never relaxed a day in his life.

Marcus pulled up a holographic display of the training ground where they had played tag, and queued up the sensor logs of the exercise. "I would like your honest analysis of the exercise we conducted earlier. I would also like to hear your assessment of your own performance."

Sturek watched dispassionately as the game of tag played out, his face a mask of neutrality. When it was over, he spoke.

"Squadron performance overall was below optimal levels," he stated flatly. "The exercise itself was not well thought out, and followed no existing Starfleet protocols for fighter training or assessment. Your rather unorthodox maneuver tagging Lieutenant Kusuda as 'It' was unexpected, so naturally, she didn't know how to counter it. Gemini was clearly caught by surprise, and reacted illogically, even taking into account her unfamiliarity with the A1 variant of the Valkyrie. She should have performed a split-S and then extended and escaped, rather than performing the shearing maneuver to conceal herself behind an asteroid."


He rewound the log to just before Grey Ghost went after Gemini. "Lieutenant Riverside's single-minded focus on Gemini left her wide open to attack from your fighter, had you chosen to pursue rather than observe; a flaw in your logic, if I am being accurate. You should have taken the pressure off Gemini by coming in on Riverside's six and taking out her engines."

Marcus raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected to be evaluated as well.

Sturek continued. "My performance was also not as expected, in that I did not get a shot off, even though I was in a better tactical position when Gemini panicked. I must admit, the irrationality of her moves distracted me, and she wasn't where I expected her to be. As for Lieutenant Riverside's attempt to get us out of position by firing on friendly ships, it shows an unprecedented lack of discipline and trigger control. It is possible that she either misunderstood your orders, showing a lack of basic communications skills, or she intentionally ignored your orders, demonstrating thoughtless self-aggrandizement in the name of 'winning'. This goes above and beyond the normal level of arrogance so many human pilots seem to adopt as part of their persona. She is not a stabilizing element in the squadron, and could put personnel and equipment at risk.

Your use of the Picard Maneuver was again unexpected, but effective at getting you in front of the target and in optimal firing position. I have never seen that maneuver performed with a fighter before. However, Lieutenant Riverside was obviously watching, as she immediately used the same maneuver on you to get her kill. Telegraphing her intention on an open comm channel, however, was reckless, and could have tipped off the enemy, giving him advantage."

He forwarded to the end of the encounter. "I am at somewhat of a loss to explain why you ended the exercise as soon as Grey Ghost became 'it' rather than allowing me to pursue her, since I was the only who avoided any damage at all." He stopped speaking.

Marcus sat back. "Well," he said dryly, "I asked for an honest evaluation, and I got one. Sturek, you have a keen eye for detail. But you tend to assume that fighter combat is logical and precise, like a game of Tri-D Chess. It is not. It is chaotic, unpredictable, and messy. The tactical rules and scenarios already known will only take you so far as a pilot, and dogged adherence to them will limit your growth as a pilot. You need to learn to improvise, adapt, and overcome. You need to think outside the box. I know your heritage and tradition are not big on spontaneity, but you must be able to adapt 'on the fly' so to speak to changing battle conditions. Communication is key when fighting in a unit. You did not communicate with your fellow pilots. You could have cooperated and coordinated with either myself or Grey Ghost, or both of us to take out Gemini, but instead, you remained silent, individual, and alone. Are you familiar with the pack hunting tactics of wolves on earth, or packs of Targs on Q'onos?"

"I have heard that those animals hunt in packs, and are able to bring down prey much larger than themselves," Sturek offered.

"Exactly. A fighter squadron is like a pack of wolves. They hunt together, and communicate with each other on a sub-verbal level, operating as a cohesive unit to bring down their prey. All I saw out there today was a bunch of individuals, easy pickings for a truly disciplined Romulan fighter and wingman. Romulans are very clever and deceptive, as you are no doubt aware. You cannot rely on predictability in an engagement with Romulan pilots. You must be able to adapt in an instant to their illogical moves. Does that make sense?"

Sturek considered. "In a way. For Vulcans, however, illogic is not something we strive to understand. it is an undesirable trait, so we tend to avoid thinking along those paths. We prefer precision, and order."

Marcus quoted a line from an old 20th century fantasy adventure he had been watching. "You must un-learn what you have learned."

Sturek cocked an eyebrow. He obviously did not get the 'Star Wars reference.

"I want you to study up on pack tactics and how they can be adapted to space fighter combat. Also, pay attention to mated pairs of Timber wolves on Earth, and how the female protects the male by appearing to put herself in a weak position. I will expect a report in two days." He looked Sturek in the eye. "Lieutenant, you have a very good and useful set of skills. But you are too rigid in your application of them. There is an old play on words that applies here: 'Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.' He smiled. "Learn to be flexible in your thinking in the cockpit, and off duty. You will find that even though it's illogical, it will make you a better pilot, and deadly to the enemy."

He stood. "I want you to know that my door is always open for questions, concerns, and anything else you wish to discuss. Please feel free to request time with me if you feel the need to do so. Dismissed."

Sturek stood at attention. "Understood, sir." He turned on his heel and left the office. He had much to consider.

Marcus looked after him. It was a toss-up in his mind who would be harder to train; Riverside, or Sturek. It depended on who was the most teachable, he concluded.

OFF

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