| Flashing Raspberries |
| Summary: | Scene on the hangar deck after the conclusion of the latest wargame exercise. |
| Date: | February 22, 2041 |
| Related Logs: | Raspberries(Event) |
| Players: |
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-[ Hangar Deck - Port ]- -[ Midship - Battlestar Cerberus ]-
The single largest rooms on the Cerberus are the hangar decks. Each flight pod consists of two stacked landing bays with adjoined decks and hangars, which along with computer-assisted landings results in a faster Viper recovery rate. Mirror images of each other, these two huge areas are located on the flight pods. The inboard sides of the deck, closest to the ship's main hull, are lined with parking and maintenance bays for Vipers and Raptors based aboard the battlestar. The outboard side of the deck contains the launch tubes used by the Vipers for standard deployment. Huge blast doors seal the deck into four sections, each one containing an elevator that leads up to the flight deck directly overhead. The fore-most section contains an elevator system that leads towards Aerospace Fabrication.
-=[ Condition Level: 3 - All Clear ]=-
Marko pauses to twist his flight helmet off before starting to go over the usual post-flight system checks and shutdown before unstrapping. "That was fun. I owe Bunny a drink for that. Good flying with you, sir." he says, nodding to Cidra politely.
"And you as well, Ensign," Cidra says as she emerges from the Raptor. The craft has been deposited safely back on the Deck and left for the deckies to refuel and what-not. She considers him. "You are still lacking a name. For one who flies my backseat, this will not do."
Alessandra slips out of her Viper after having landed, that not having happened until now due to having stuck around discreetly to observe the game from the sidelines. A post-flight check happens and then she finds a place to sit, her helmet set aside for now while the fresh air is relished.
Red flight's lead is somewhere in the mix of pilots disembarking from their ships and being slapped with post-flight checklists. It's not difficult to spot his red and white fighter, even if he didn't make a point of hauling his helmet off the moment his feet hit deck, tucking the clipboard under his arm, and beating a path toward the Blue pilots. Tradition, presumably. Might be something he picked up in his civilian life.
Daphne climbs out of her viper with a little help from deck crew, and makes her way down the ladder. She's in something of a hurry to pull her helmet off, taking slow, deep breaths once she's able to breathe the closest thing to fresh air that she's going to get aboard a battlestar. Her face is covered in rivulets of sweat. She meanders towards the middle of the hangar and towards sweet, precious coffee.
Lasher is a little more subdued than after the last wargame. After his fighter is brought back into its usual position on the deck, his cockpit slides open and he hands his helmet and his hard seal collar off to the waiting crew chief. His face is devoid of emotion as he runs through the post flight checklist. The lieutenant exhales sharply before hopping up and descending the ladder down the side of the steel-gray Mark VII.
Quinn slips down out of her raptor, once bringing it in for a smooth landing. She steps out of the back hatch with Trask a moment later, smiling wide as she pulls her helmet off of her sweaty head… "So… coffee? Food? Bunny, we doing a debrief?" She calls over to the younger officer, rather content not to be in charge for once.
Tisiphone takes her sweet time disembarking from her Viper — even longer than Daphne, as a matter of fact. She sits in the cockpit far longer than even Ensign-precise post-flight checklists could account for. Helmet off, head canted a little to one side. Listening, it would seem. Finally, she does heave herself up and over, and hops down to the hangar floor.
Wow, a call sign so soon? Marko blinks a little, realizing that the moment of truth is now at hand and mentally preparing himself for something flare-related and almost certainly girly. It'll be a hot one for his old man if it is, that's for sure. Marko'll never hear the end of it. "Well, eh…I'm…ready, sir." he says, steeling himself.
Evandreus hops down from his own boat not long after his ECO, for to thank all the nice people who came to the game. Quinn's question catches him in the headlights, though, and he looks aside to Jujubee, then back to his Cap'm, "I don't think we need one, right now. I'mma go over the data we collected, then maybe we can have a Raptor meeting if there show up any glaringly obvious ways we could Do This Better," he gives his opinion.
"So, Lasher," is called out from about fifteen meters away, "Laundry? Are you frakking kidding me?" Allie hasn't moved from where she sat but she is right in line of sight of the other pilot which means he'd have to be blind not to see her. Once that's said she yells out to her wingmen, "Way to go Blue. We owe the Raptor people a shit ton to drink as thanking them, huh? Make good on it ASAP." The cheerfulness doesn't ebb in the least upon seeing Shiv and, in fact, her smile grows wider.
Sitka makes a detour past Laskaris' fighter, of course, and thumps the Lieutenant with his helmet once he's in range. "Cheer up. The purpose of the exercise was to showcase the raptors' countermeasures suites. You did good." He even chances a small smile for the man before peeling away and continuing off across the 'bay. "Toast," he addreses Cidra, once he reaches her. His free hand's offered, presumably for a shake.
Juno yanks her helmet off. "Who's idea was it originally to drop the flares?" she calls out to the collective. "Was like flashing your junk at a rival pyramid team's cheerleaders."
Daphne sips her coffee, helmet pressed to her side with the other hand, "Whoever's it was, it sounded way better than it worked. I like how it was supposed to work on paper way better." She grins and gives Alessandra a nod and as much of a wave as she cna manage with her cup of coffee.
"Shiv." The grin Cidra offers Sitka is a notch wider than standard for her. She de-gloves, takes his hand and clasps it firmly. "The ECOs performed their task admirably. I will trust a backseater with my life any day. You and Lasher did not fare so badly yourself. You two fly quite well together." Then back to Marko. She eyes him mildly. Says nothing for the moment. Then replies to Juno, "That would be Ensign Saurus, Lieutenant." A chuckle. "Flashing. Quite. It was not a bad notion, even if it was not so formidable as we might've hoped. I like a good trick. The beauty of these exercises is we get to experiment in a more controlled setting."
"I can think of something a little more demeaning if you like, Allie," Lasher retorts to Lucky as his boots hit the hangar deck. "It was the first bleedin' thing I could think of." The passing Shiv gets a brusque nod. "Not complainin', sir. Just would have liked t' nail that little bugger a little quicker, is all." A look over to the retreating Tisiphone, and then to Daphne. "I hope your friend there thanks you later, Kolettis. We'd've had her with bloody time t' spare if you'd been an easier catch."
"Be nice, Jujubee," Evan cajoles at his backseater just a little bit. "Like the Major says, y'know… it might have worked. Didn't do us any harm in trying, once, did it?" he points out, though he reaches out an arm to squeeze her into a snug if she'll let him, and tosses a warm, supportive smile over to Marko. "You all did an awesome job keeping that field together, guys."
Oh joy, he's gonna get to stew about it for a while, perfect. Even with that thought, he can't help but chuckle and blush a little, shrugging. "Seemed like it was worth a shot. Lasher and Shiv just didn't fall for it. They must have the concentration skills of falcons." Marko adds, moving to snag a cup of coffee and take a big sip.
Quinn nods curtly at the confirmation they don't need a debrief. "Alright, Bunny… nice work running that. Nice work, everyone." With that, she gives a brief wave to the room and heads for the hatch, ducking out, probably to the showers..
Juno protests mildly, "I think the maneuver has merit. On the fly it maybe didn't work so well, but it had potential enough to be a viable emergency tactic. It was certainly out-of-the-box thinking. I am being nice!" she protests, and then leers over at Marko. "So you're the flasher, eh?"
Sitka shakes a little more firmly than some, but it's hardly bonebreaking. Softened by civilian life he may be, but once a stick jockey, always a stick jockey. Or so they say. "I hope the QUODEL got a good show out of it, at least. Any pilot worth his salt shouldn't have had any doubt about the worth of a backseater. Teasing aside." He seems quite adamant that that be impressed upon her, and releases her hand only after he's finished speaking. There's no smile in return, but there is a fleeting warmth in his blue eyes. And then he departs to offer the same handshake to Alessandra. "Good flight," he offers low-voiced, just a smidgeon shy of making eye contact.
"Or Sparkleberry." offers Daphne innocently while she sips her coffee. Lasher gets a knowing nod, "It's becoming a trend. I could slow down a little next time, sir. Only turn portside and no inclination changes greater than 60 carom? I understand how things slow down with age, sir." She flashes her eyes at him.
Cidra's smile widens another notch at Juno. A little nod. "The Lieutenant puts it aptly." Blue eyes focus on Marko. "Flasher it is. A fine name for an ECO." Practically stamped on his forehead. Poor ensign. A simple nod to Sitka. "Most invigorating. I have not had a chance to stretch myself much during these exercises. It was…refreshing."
Alessandra reaches up as she grins at Daphne, looking a bit sheepish. "Showed me up pretty good. Nice flying. You and Tisi both. Color me impressed, huh?" A glance is darted towards Lasher and she -almost- comments back but the arrival of the Captain causes her to stay her tongue, playful retort held in check for now. "Hey, yeah. Nice bit of teamwork you and Lasher exhibited, sir. Nice show." She puts her hand in his and gives a firm shake, Sitka's arm pumped up and down a few times before she draws back. "Can't say I was thrilled to be ganged up on like that. But hey, if there are two men who I'd want to be ga…" The punchline's never delivered but it should be pretty obvious what Lucky was thinking.
Evandreusgives Juno a squeeze and a playful grin at her assertion, then looks over toward Cidra, slyly, "I -knew- you had an ulterior motive for letting me put a new game on the docket, Sir," he notes askance to her, all mischief a moment.
Flasher…well, that's not too horrifying. Make for a hell of a story at some point. Heh, 'Flasher' it is, sir." He smiles and tosses a salute to the Major. "Tried the same thing at a pyramid game in high school, Deep Freeze. Got about the same reaction then as it did today. Pretty much 'Oh, well, okay….anyhow..'" Marko chuckles, shaking his head. "Anyhow, if you'll excuse me, I have got to find a head, my back teeth are floating." he says, slurping away the last of his coffee and chucking the cup in the bin.
A finger jabs in Daphne's direction. "Watch it, Kolettis," Lasher replies mildly. Then, his eyes find Marko, and his brow raises slightly. "So, you were the one with the flare idea, eh?" The pilot folds his arms. "I'm not sure whether t' congratulate you or throttle you, Ensign." His voice is dry as sand. Lucky's aborted comment simply gets another browraise.
"Thanks, Lucky." Daphne nods a bit more seriously. "Means a lot coming from you." She blushes crimson, too. At Lasher's mild caution, she smiles lamely, "Watching it. Apologies, sir." and otherwise just sips her coffee, listening.
"Is your arse that sad, Flasher?" Juno asks cheerfully. "I'll make a point to check next time we're in the showers. You deserve the benefit of my expert opinion. Ares' family jewels, I'm hungry."
The 'punchline', delivered or not, seems to go right over Sitka's head. It's possible the Captain simply doesn't have a sense of humour. Or maybe all this handshaking and 'good game's just a formality to him, and his mind's.. elsewhere. Hard to say. "Consider it a compliment, Lieutenant. We'd intended to pick off the strongest pilot, and section lead, first." Brisk shake returned, he withdraws his hand and steps back again. "Look forward to flying on the same team, one of these days." A small smile before he pivots, and heads away. That post-flight checklist ain't gonna do itself.
Cidra is in a good mood after the flight, though not quite at mischief-level. She catches Evandreus' eye. "I always have an ulterior motive, Lieutenant. I like to think they are for your good, however. Creative thinking is a trait I like to encourage and if my lieutenants - junior or otherwise - take some initiative, I am certainly not going to object. I am glad to see you lot stretching yourselves for these games."
"Thank you, sir. And the pleasure was mine, sir." A pause. "And I too look forward to it." Compliment-giving finished, Allie looks back over to Anton, her head playfully angled to the side. "Come here," she requests lightly while beckoning the man over, waving him closer with a casually languid wave. "Did I upset your delicate sensibilities, Lasher?"
Marko makes his way back from the head looking like a man born again. "Okay, someone answer me this. We can build computers so smart that eventually they decide they don't need us anymore and try to kill us. We can travel faster than light over huge chunks of space and make it look easy. Why in name of the Lords and Ladies of Kobol can we not put a can in a Raptor?"
Marko's commentary pulls a grin from Sitka as he happens to overhear bits and pieces of it. He keeps his head down though, helmet tucked awkwardly under one arm while he ticks off boxes on his checklist. Occasionally, his forearm's dragged across his forehead to wipe off an errant trickle of sweat. He looks pretty beat, all told, from the little game.
Daphne's apology is paid little mind, as Lasher's crew chief's clipboard is quickly initialed and handed back. Laskaris looks at Allie with a crooked expression for a moment, but does join her as requested. "You'd have t' try a little harder than that, m' dear," he replies to her question, his tone a perfect deadpan as he runs a hand through his hair.
"Have you ever tried to stay on a toilet when a ship made a hard turn? Imagine that in zero gee, and with a lot more maneuverability," Raedawn quips as she comes in, looking around the little group with a smile. "How was it out there?"
"Were you checking out your self-proclaimed inferior butt?" With a waggle of her fingers toward Evandreus, "Good pilotin', Bunny Buns." Juno starts heading for the lockers, wanting to get into her off-duties and stuff her face. And of course, adding to her reputation of being a corpse frakker who also has a thing for butts. She notes philosophically, "Space is full of enough crap, why add more?"
"Tense. Lasher and Shiv went on the warpath, and then Flasher," Daphne indicates the newly christened Marko with a twist of her coffee cup, "Reinvented the flashbang. I'm still not entirely sure what happened. "
Evandreus lets Juno go and looks aside a little, scratching at the back of his head as something like praise comes from the CAG. This is Bunny, bashful. "Oh! Are you going to mess, dude?" he asks Juno, since she mentions being hungerful. "You could always put on a diaper underneath your flightstuit, Flasher," he points out.
"That is something you should perhaps speak to the Deck crew about. See what they make of the notion," Cidra suggests mildly to Marko. Is she having a bit of fun with him? Probably. "I should hit the showers as well." And off she goes.
"Hey, my butt was fourteen years old, it's improved with age, Deep Freeze." Marko quips. "Heh, no…I think the deck gang take enough crap from us as it is, sir." he smirks.
Alessandra can't help but to smile, her eyes taking on a slight gleam to them now. "You should have lied and said yes. Would have gotten me to do your wash a second time to make up for it." Looks like someone will be getting only one freebe. "On a serious note, though, I wanted to compliment you on your flying. Just wish I could have given you and the Captain more of a show on my part."
Sitka stays out of the bulk of the post-game socialising, though the occasional glance is sent the other pilots' way. His expression warms, fractionally, when he spots one of his squadmates making her way onto the deck; if she glances his way, she gets a little nod of acknowledgement. And then, he signs his checklist off with a flourish, and passes it back to an orange coveralls'd technician. "Stabiliser's been just peachy, since you took it apart and replaced it," he points out. "Thanks."
"Shower first, then mess. I'm sweating like a sacrificial boar." Juno proclaims cheerfully. "Wanna meet up, Buns? And anyone else, of course."
"Shower sounds about right," Evan nods. "Then… well, we'll see what they're offering up, eh?" he adds with a chuckle, "I'll be down after I finish up post-flight," he adds, heading back onto his boat.
"Why should I lie, when I can just beat you in a fight so as you'll do it for me?" Laskaris replies brightly, his cheer seeming a little forced. But then, doesn't it always? In truth, the thought had never really occured to him. "Thanks, though," He dismisses her final comment with a terse wave. "Ya did alright. Like Shiv said, had t' take the best out first. Not that it really helped us in the end, anyhow."
"Oh no you didn't," Allie grunts while frowning, her own smile disappearing rapidly as Lasher's retort rings in her ear. "Hey, I could have given you a run for your frakking money if I was allowed to shoot back. Sheesh, for as much good all that dodging did, I should have had a bullseye painted on my ship." Evan's seen out of the corner of her eye and she shouts out to him, "That's what you did, didn't you, Bunny? You painted a frakking bullseye on my Viper when I wasn't looking!" When people start to file out she looks around, where they're going lost on her since she wasn't paying attention to the others. "Someone must've busted ass," she utters, that being the only logical conclusion in her mind.
Raedawn does indeed glance Sitka's way, and that smile blossoms again, though with more warmth and less professional friendliness. As might be expected, she's wearing a camera case, a familiar, battered, lovingly cared-for old leather relic. She has to laugh, listening to Alessandra. "Oh, dear. Did somebody get you /that/ quick? I guess even lucky people have to have bad luck once in a while," she teases her friend gently.
Sitka hoists the helmet up, and cuts away from his viper as pilots start to filter out. He doesn't look to be in any rush to get where they're going; it'll probably take a little while for the head to clear out, anyway. "Snap a few pictures from the observation deck, Rae?" he wonders as he passes the other Petrel. She's given a little bump with his helmet. Barely enough to jostle her. "Lucky here had some fine flying. I thought for sure she'd given us the slip." Blue eyes alight on the other young woman for a second, with subdued mirth.
"You want t' take it to the sims sometime, Allie, all you have t' do is ask," Lasher rejoins with a smirk. "Won't change a bloody thing." He glances towards the exit as the other pilots start making their way out; like Sitka, though, Laskaris doesn't seem to be in much of a hurry. There's a chortle at the bullseye comment. "Not that I'd need one, of course," he interjects, still mirthfully needling the other pilot.
Alessandra holds up two fingers in reply to Raedawn, that to indicate how many passes it took for Lasher and Shiv to get the better of her. "It was fun. Captain here is a good pilot." Of course Las is as well but she's not going to say that while he's busy ribbing her. "Sims. Yeah, you can bet your frakking ass it's going to the sims. Whenever your free." Reaching out, she pokes at his gut, not going as far as to touch him but it looks like she just might do it with how close she gets. "Captain, maybe you can teach Lasher how to be humble."
"And maybe sacrificial boars will fly," Rae quips, rolling her eyes in Lasher's direction. She's seen the type before. Give him an ego-powered engine and he'd go forever.
She turns to follow Sitka, staying close by. "I got a couple. Most of the stuff happened too far out and too fast, but there were a few good shots. I'll have to see how they turn out. Hearing about all this makes me sorry I wasn't on duty tonight. I could've used the practice."
She blinks at Alessa's two fingers. "/Two/ passes? Wow, a /really/ bad luck night." She leans over to give Lucky a quick hug.
"Do I look like a miracle worker?" Shiv replies in a gamely fashion, teeth briefly flashed with the slightly self-deprecating grin he gives Alessandra. "Besides, that's his squad leader's job. He's not my kid." When in doubt, foist responsibility off on someone else. He hitches his chin to Raedawn. "Speaking of practice. Schedule's going up tomorrow for the demonstration. Nothing you haven't seen before, though I'd like to run a little dress rehearsal as soon as possible. Counting on you to look as good as always up there, Arkili."
"Hnh." Lasher snorts, directing a flat look in Raedawn's direction. He's not the type to make a big deal out of flippant comments, though, and she's at least half right, anyway. He directs a lighter look back in Alessandra's direction. "Humility works contrary to a good pilot's killer instinct, Allie," he informs her serenely. "Half of scraggin' the other frakker is knowing that you can and making no bones about it." A terse chuckle in Sitka's direction, and Lasher starts to move off as he does the old cigarette patdown. "Pleasure as always, Shiv," he calls out in passing to the reservist captain, before looking to Allie one last time. "Laundry's in my locker. Been a while since my skivvies got pressed, too," he says with a smirk. "I'm at your disposal for a rematch."
The hug causes Allie to stiffen a bit like Rae's first attempt at one several days ago got her to but, much to her credit, there is some effort to return it in form of an awkward patting of her shoulder. "Yeah. Hopefully I'll show him up next time, huh?" Clearing her throat, she gets up and starts to follow her temporary boss, somehow keeping her face locked in a neutral mask, Sitka and Raedawn given a wave. "I'll get to that as soon as possible."
Rae notices Allie's stiffening, and doesn't prolong the hug. "Next time," she agrees, patting Lucky's shoulder encouragingly. "Next time."
She turns back to Shiv, trying not to smile. "Dress rehearsal? Oh, dear… I only have /two/ dresses, and they're just a little skimpy for flying. I'll have to manage with a flight suit." Teasing over, she turns to more serious matters. "Should I set the instrument panel cams for good angles before we take off? Or will this not be a close-up flight?"