| PHD #273: It's Not The Size Of The Boat |
| Summary: | Khloe and Wade give some protips to Shiner about how to survive Nugget-dom. |
| Date: | 26 Nov 2041 AE |
| Related Logs: | None. |
| Players: |
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| Flight Simulation - Deck 11 - Battlestar Cerberus |
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| A training room specifically dedicated to honing aerial skills, this area is equipped with several flight simulator pods that allow the pilots to practice maneuvers and tactics without being in a real live plane. The Viper-pods are installed on one side of the room with a little space between them, an attempt to provide a realistic feel for close-range wing training, while a smaller number of Raptor sim-pods are installed on the opposite side of the room from the Vipers. A central computer terminal and overhead display screen sits at the head of the room, where one can input exercises and data to be run in the sims, scroll through score records, and control the training modules. |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #271 |
Khloe stands at the master console, the overhead display screen scrolling through a variety of data. Mainly, it appears she's researching gunnery training programs, of intermediate skill levels and higher. Nearby, stacked up on a desk, are several flight training manuals, most of which share a common phrase: "Basic Flight."
The one advantage to still being somewhat gimpy is that Shiner can't actually propel himself particularly fast along the flats ad gangways of the ship. This, in turn, means that when he trips on the way into the sims, he manages to just about recover before he's flat on his face, cane whipping down from his shoulder to steady him. Still in deck overalls and smudged with grease, there's little doubt he's come straight from his shift, but he gamely throws up a sort of salute as he straightens himself out. "Sir! I'm here for training, sir! Sorry I'm late."
"The first lesson that I'm going to teach you, Mr. Wright," Captain Vakos says, without looking up from her console as she continues to poke around its data stores. "Is that if you are going to report for training, you do such on time, properly groomed, and in a proper flight suit. For now, I'll overlook this, since you clearly can't take a piss without someone holding your member, yet. What's the ETA on when you'll be giving that cripple stick back to Sickbay?"
Shiner looks down at his overalls, then squints over at her curiously. She didn't even look! How does she KNOW? "Uh… yes, sir. But I just got off shift, sir!" he protests. "I got here as fast as I could! And I'm hardly using the stick at all," he lies smoothly.
Another person that drops by the Flight Simulation Room, is Wade. He is wearing his flight suit at the moment, helmet held under his right arm. When he steps inside the room, he spots Khloe and Shiner, and decides to approach them. The man offers a salute to Khloe "Captain", followed by a nod to Shiner after lowering his hand "Mr. Wright, I hope you have been doing some reading?" After that, he says nothing more, because it seems that Khloe is doing some teaching at the moment. He steps to the side for a moment and places his helmet on a table.
Khloe is quick to return Wade's salute, although Shiner has the most of her attention. "Then you need to schedule your time better. It's not practical to come off shift at 2100 hours, and then attend training at 2100 hours, if you have to hobble your lame ass from the deck to your bunk, in and out of the head, changing into a flight suit, and hobble here." As Khloe talks, she comes out from behild the console, so she's standing near the stack of books. Actually, she leans and plants a hip against the desk, resting her elbow atop the impressive book stack. "What's Lieutenant Duncan assigned you to read, then? I'm curious." She asks, tone a shade on the droll side.
"Aye aye, sir," Shiner affirms, briefly pulling a face. "Uh… he said to get a book on the Viper and learn all the bits, sir. So I've started on that." He unslings his bag from his shoulder, beginning to dig in it. "I can show you if you don't believe me."
Wade crosses his arms over his chest, listening to what Khloe asked Shiner. His attention moves to Shiner and finally nods in acceptance, it is true indeed; Wade asked Mr. Wright to get books on the Mark VII so he can at least know what he is looking at when sitting in the cockpit and outside of it. Regardless, it's Khloe's show right now, so he stays in silence unless something is asked. Or unless he has a comment to make, but so far, nothing.
Khloe's usual stoic scowl deeps a bit. "Mr. Wright, I'm fairly certain I could tell, one way or another, if you were lying. One thing you'll have to get through that skull of yours is that officers trust other officers. If we deceive one another, there's no trust. There's no dependence, no reliance. I believe you." Her eyes stray, glancing over towards Wade; even if she doesn't smile, there's a slight narrowing of her eyes that suggests a grin. Then, they peer into the apprentice's impressive junk bag. "Learning a Viper's components through a deckhand's perspective, then?"
Shiner has impressive junk, presumably. "It's easier to learn from the real thing, sir," he admits with a shrug, shoving the book back away again. "Having a guy tell you what's what makes it stick way easier than books and stuff." He glances to Wade, adding defensively, "But I totally got the books, too, sir! So you can totally trust me and everything."
"You can do both, Mr. Wright. Like we spoke before…it is ok to ask others, but you also need to /read/. Just asking makes people think that you are not interested in making a real effort. Now, I know you are, you have told me that. So why don't you show that by hitting the books?" While it sounds like a question, that's an order. "Captain Vakos is right, Mr. Wright. Trust is needed in a Squadron, if there is no trust, there is no stability." He clears his throat at this and now shows a smirk to him "I guess a visit to the doctor to ask on your progress shall do it" He looks at Khloe now, and offers a polite nod to her. That can be also traced as a smile.
Khloe folds her arms across her chest, watching the exchange. Then, a question to Shiner, changing the trajectory of the conversation: "Tell me, Mr. Wright, what is the most important component of a Viper Mk. VII? In your opinion."
Shiner opens his mouth to reply, then closes it again, frowning in thought. He starts as though to answer once more, then hesitates again, shaking his head. Finally, he hazards, "Uh… the fuel injection?"
Wade goes silent again, crossing his arms over his chest as he waits to hear Shiner's response to that question. He takes a deep breath and simply looks at him, completely neutral expression. There's people that would actually argue on what's the most important component. After hearing his answer, he doesn't tilt his head to look at Khloe, instead, he looks at his helmet and then back at Shiner.
"Wrong. The pilot," Khloe corrects, her eyes traveling over to the sim pods, no doubt seeing Vipers in her mind. "Your Viper is just a tool, like a wrench, or a spot welder. If used by someone unskilled, it's just a blunt object. And while I have seen more than one deckhand use tools as blunt force objects during repairs, the application of that blunt force is what's important. The choice, the skill behind the impact. Do you understand what I'm saying, Mr. Wright?"
"I… shouldn't hit things with a wrench?" Shiner attempts, squinting at her. "I was going to say pilot, too," he adds under his breath.
Wade now looks at Khloe again after she provides the correct answer, there is a very faint, almost unnoticeable smile. He nods to her words and then moves his attention to Shiner again "Understand that Mr. Wright, it is not up to the Viper…it is up to the Pilot. The sooner you understand that, the sooner you'll see how hard you'll have to work to get your wings"
"Mr. Wright, try not to fall over on yourself this time. Atten-SHUN!" Khloe barks in an authoritative command voice, pushing off the table with her hip and letting her arms fall to either side. She's standing at her full height, back ram-rod straight. "If you're not going to take this training seriously, then I'm not going to waste my frakking time on you." It looks like she's going to stalk straight up to him, but something like a memory crosses her face, and she thinks better of repeating what happened a few weeks ago. Instead, she keeps her distance. "Let's try this again. What is the most important component of a Viper Mk. VII, and why? Use your frakking brain, Nugget!"
Shiner sets his jaw, straightening immediately. "I am, sir!" he calls out clearly. "Because the aircraft is just a tool, sir, and it's what you do with it that counts, sir!" In case he hadn't got his point across completely, a grin threatening at his features, he adds, "It's not the size of the boat, it's the motion of the ocean, sir."
Wade stands straight again, adopting a good 'attention' stance. He knows it's directed to Shiner, but perhaps this will help the kid understand that these things are to be taken seriously. It seems that Wade is satisfied with the reply that Shiner provided. As for the last piece? That can be taken in different ways, no comments on his side.
For the briefest of moments, Khloe gets a look of satisfaction on her face. It is chased away by Shiner's juvenile innuendo. "Close enough," she mutters, shaking her head. She half-turns to point at the stack of manuals nearby. "Add that to your reading material, Nugget. Basic flight, instruction on every indicator and piece of equipment in your Viper, and basic conduct as a Midshipman." She looks back at him, scowling. "If you're not attending your duties on the deck, and you're not attending regularly scheduled basic flight exercises here, you're to be reading. And if there's something you don't understand, write it down, and bring it to either Lieutenant Duncan or myself. Understood?"
"What, all of it, sir?" Shiner asks in disbelief. "All at once, sir? I'll be /months/ getting through all that, and that's if I don't sleep or eat or stop to take a shit, sir!"
"Mr. Wright!" snaps Wade now "You were given an order. Reading books it's not…and advice, it's an /order/ so if you want to be a Viper pilot and an Officer of the Fleet, you will get those damn books and /read/ them. Am I making myself clear?" Yeah, Wade has done…well….bad things, in the past. But that doesn't mean he doesn't know how things need to be done. Oh yes, he does know.
"Ask Ensign Devlin how long it took him to go from Nugget to Ensign," Khloe offers to Shiner, gray-blue eyes flitting over to Wade as he interjects on her behalf. "He's not particularly smart, but he's hard-working. He made his wings in about four months. Less, maybe. And he's a pretty boy." There's a hint of distaste in Khloe's words, and she curls her lip a little bit. "But Decoy is one of our top new pilots, because he put in his full effort and learned everything, quick. It takes about three months to get through those basic instructional manuals. So you better get started."
Shiner pulls a face, but nonetheless reaches for the books to stuff them into his bag. "Yes, sir," he agrees, with somewhat less enthusiasm that one might hope. "Which one's most important, sir? Where do I start with these? I'm… uh… not a great reader, is all."
"Split your free time, separate the topics. Reading a group on certain days, and another group on a different set of days can also help." says Wade, clearing his throat after that "The Officer piece is less extensive, however it is very important as well, keep it in mind." Now he nods and finishes with "Still, you will have to do the reading" Now, he looks at Khloe, listening to what she might say.
Khloe gives a dry chuckle. "Do you think I'm any smarter than you, Mr. Shiner?" This is her form of reassurance. "I grew up in a welfare community on Canceron, for families that used to be indentured miners. I spent my youth vandalizing property and snorting, popping, or injecting anything I could get my hands on. I was not an ideal officer candidate, Mr. Shiner. But what I lacked in smarts, I got by in dedication. If you want this… really want this, you'll find a way to make it happen, and be good at it." With that, she leans over to the master console and switches off whatever she was working on earlier.
"I'll read every frakking book on this ship, sir, if you want me to," Shiner assures her, chin lifting. "I'm just saying if it takes a while, then it takes a while. I want to fly, sir, and that's that. So you can stop questioning it. Sir."
Wade eyes the exit once again, then at his helmet and then at what Khloe is doing. His attention is finally placed back on Shiner before he says "Good, then make it happen" With that said, he nods and clears his throat "I'll make sure to stop by the Doctor's office, to check if you are attending the checkups and to see how your healing process is evolving. I suggest you find Decoy or myself at the gym, we can help you recover the strength of your legs." This is said mainly because either Decoy, or Drips, spend a good deal of time at the gym.
Khloe nods sharply to Shiner. "That's the attitude I expect. Good hunting, Mr. Shiner, and happy reading." With that, the Captain turns to leave the simulations area.
Shiner steps aside to let her pass, surreptitiously ogling her rear end as she walks away, appraising it with a faint tilt of his head and a vaguely impressed expression.
Wade just arches one eyebrow as he sees at Shiner looking at the Captain's ass apparently. He shakes his head at this "Do yourself a favor, Mr. Wright. Control yourself before a woman knocks your teeth out." This is said, after Khloe left. There is a brief smile of amusement there and then he offers "I have CAP, gotta get ready." With that said, he takes his helmet, turns around and offers to the younger man "Clear eyes and steady hands, Mr. Wright. Now go do some reading" With that, he turns around and leaves as well.