| Let's Roll |
| Summary: | Tillman's still holding Watch in CIC. Cidra and Mackay report in and discuss the future. |
| Date: | 24 BCH |
| Related Logs: | None |
| Players: |
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CIC
The central nexus of the ship, the fighting capability all stems from here. With entrances on both sides, an entire section of the wall will twist its armored glass and doorframes out of an air locked position and allow access. At the rear of the room is a standard hatch that allows access as well. Computer terminals sit in a semi-circle around the main plotting table in the center of the room. DRADIS and other essential readouts are displayed on screens that hang from the ceiling. Forward and aft are a set of glass plots that hang vertically from the ceiling and provide the crew with the ability to coordinate air traffic operations in the easiest way possible.
Even despite it being later in the evening, work on the Cerberus doesn't quit. While the CO and XO are off doing staffly things, Tillman's been left standing watch in their stead. While work crews go about their business installing last minute touches like phones and lighting systems Captain Tallman is standing at the plotting table and looking over some charts. A large cup of coffee is sitting in front of a clipboard which he's taking notes down on.
"Thanks for the directions, Petty Officer," Cidra says as she's shown into CIC by an enlisted rating. "Corridors of a new battlestar always turn my head around." She looks freshly arrived. Her blues are shined but a little wrinkled from transit, and she's hauling around a duffel bag. "Is the CO lurking around here some place? I do not like to wait to pay my respects."
Dressed down in his blues, though the duty jacket is a bit rumpled and in the state of being smoothed, would be the new CWO. A check of the watch on his arm, before he's looking up to a clock on the wall. "Frakkin' wonderful.." muttered as Mackay pulls the the hatch closed behind him. A look is given towards the pilot who was able to sneak in before him. A kiss of his teeth, and the Captain merely falls silent, moving instead to skirt to Cidra's flank and wait. He can clock in soon enough.
Tillman's busy in his chart to care about someone wandering in. So he continues scrawling without looking up. "Admiral Abbot and his XO aren't in. They're on personal time at the moment. I'm the Watch Officer. What can I do for you?" That pen continues sliding across the page as he glances to the chart. The other hand reaches for the cup of coffee as he glances over his shoulder to another Captain. "Price? Grab me Uram Sector Romeo One-Five, would ya?" Coffee sipped, he looks back to the map.
Cidra hears footsteps behind her, turning her head to spy Mackay. "Here for the meet 'n greet, too?" she asks with a faint half-smirk. "Always the same song and dance. Though I wonder if the steps are fancier on a shiny new Mercury?" She winks, turning her attention to Tillman. She half opens her mouth to give her preliminaries, but trails off. Eyes narrowing. After a beat, her smile widens. "Clive?"
"Ayup." comes the backwater accent, belying the one eyed man's colony. Yeah, you can just smell the Aerilon wheat on him. A half smile is tossed back to the Major, before he's looking back to the man keeping at the watch. Unlike Cidra, Mackay tossed his duffle on his bunk and then slunk out over here to do the report. Smile and beam. But, as it stands-it seems he's missed the CO and Xo respectively. "I hope so, or at least got a good enough grip on em, eh?" a chuckle back as hands are jammed down into his pockets. Though upon seeing that someone knows the TACCO-Mackay quiets up. He'll watch before introducing just yet.
Price is just delivering the rolled chart when he hears his name. His brow furrows, which is painfully obviously on his balding head. He finishes the thought he was putting down and looks up. "Well ain't that some shit," he breathes with a near hoot. "Cid Toast!" He says it with some meaning and a few of the working crewmen glance up to the man who was prior in a poor mood. "How you been Cap'n? Still trying to make the Viper Babies look bad?" he cuts her a wink and looks to Mackay as his hand extends out to Cidra in what might as well be a hug for all the angle to it. "Heya Captain. Same thing. Just missed 'em. Trying to report in?"
Cidra's own alto carries a strong note of Gemenon. To those who know about such things. She winks at Tillman. "I thought I saw your name when I skimmed the roster. I would've sent you a message but…this seemed more entertaining." She can't hug much from that angle, and still carrying her duffel, but she manages to clasp Tillman's shoulder fondly. For Mackay's benefit she adds, "The TACCO and I served together in another life, way back in my Captaining days."
A grin comes on Sig's lips, if that jagged line could be called a grin. "Seems like, that's the gist." And his eye flicks back between both Tillman, and Cidra for the moment, hug noted with a faint grunt as he shifts his weight subtly. "Take it you two know each other." yes, Mackay is obviously Captain obvious for the moment as the two make good on their reacquaintance. "Already got m' pack stowed. Just needed t' do the whole official sign in an salute parade." he adds on before looking back towards the Major. "Ah. Well, very good. What was th' station if I can ask?" And then there's a beat. "Sorry, my own manners…I'm Sig Mackay. You're new CWO." this given to the benefit of both, as more than likely Tillman will see him in here more than not.
"You minx." Tillman squints at her, ilting his head a bit in her direction as he mutters. But its all grins. "I haven't even had a chance to -look- at a roster. I rolled in here last night and had orders waiting for me up here. This place? This place is insane. ..Wait back in?" He looks to her rank and draws back, slowly lifting a salute. "Well sierra hotel, Major Hahn," he says with his best Officer Voice (tm). Looking back to Mackay he nods and extends his hand. "Clive Tillman. Tac Officer. Pleasure to meet you. But I know what you mean. I saw the old man in passing but nothing more. We've got a busy few months coming up." His eyes move between the two of them. "In addition to running Carrier Quals, we've got wargames at the same time. Apparently some Admiral is looking to impress and has VIPs coming out with us. Which means that the three of us? We're going to be getting busy here very soon."
Cidra smiles, ever so faintly, when Tillman notes her rank. "They weighted me down before I left Picon. A present after I got the assignment. I have a feeling it's going to be one of those very mixed blessings. I managed to get the CAG spot over the Air Wing here. Lots more administrative headaches at that level than herding Raptors and ECOs. And I'll have to deal with the Viper jocks." She smirks, albeit fondly. To Mackay she inclines her head. "Major Cidra Hahn. Lately of Picon Fleet Headquarters, though Captain Tillman and I were on a hitch on the Battlestar Aegean together before that. You're heading up Weps, then?"
Hand's out and taken with a good grip given over to the TACCO. The burnt skin easier to identify there on the back of his hand. "Pleasure, Clive." Mackay grins before pulling his hand back, only to offer it over towards Cidra "Ain't that always how it frakkin' goes? Soon as you get her bolts barely sealed, someone's pushing you out into the black to show how hot your shit can be." A chuckle there. "Looks like long nights for us." a nod back to Tillman. "I'll be sure t' run some of my numbers for you once I get a whole on our store- show you some ideas. Keep th' pilots outta th' flack wall." A grin back over to Cidra "Though I spect you can wrangle those cats easier than my barking from in here would ever do. Nice t' meet you as well, Major." clicking his tongue slightly, the Captain nods in return "That I am, fresh from th' Atlantia. Always wanted to see the Aegean. I heard she had a beaut of a gallery. Put on a good light show..Lit up like Colonial day…" and for a moment the Weps seems to get sentimental, only to shake it out for a laugh. "We can do better, an will do it. But yeah, t' answer your question, I will be. Took me a long time to get here."
Tillman bugeyes a bit with the news about being made CAG. "All of a sudden you go from one squadron, to fifteen. My dear Major, -sir-, you have a tough job. I have a feeling you're right about those mixed blessings, too. Luckily they can't promote me much further unless they want to risk putting a lovely personality like mine in command." He waggles his brow at her and looks back to Mackay, nodding. "I've never been one to turn down input from Weps. If you've got ideas, I'd love to hear them and at the very least see if we can test 'em out. Who knows, maybe even put a few holes in something, aye?" There's something aggressive about the man's smile. Maybe its his inflection. "Yeah. Aegean was a beautiful boat, too. We had a helluva CO, too. Admiral Strye? Whew!" A shake of his head. "So yeah, you all know about as much as I do. Note said we're heading to Uram. Eventually. No word on when, in what strength, or what we'll be up against."
"Herding cats is a good way to put it when it comes to pilots," Cidra says with a very faint chuckle to Mackay. "I'll do my best. I wouldn't mind taking a look at those figures once you work them up. My baby's are the Raptor missiles but I like to keep a working knowledge of what's going on up in CIC, especially with the big guns." To Tillman she snorts. "Yes, the Air Wing complement here is definitely impressive. I'm looking forward to it, though. If we've got some decent squad leaders, the machine should oil itself without too much chaos."
Mackay grins, as hands are comfortable now back in the man's pockets. A little self-conscious? Hard to say, all the same Mackay seems unfazed one way or the other. "No problem, sir. I'd like th' pilots to at least see what we're capable of. Though I trust my gunners, and I trust th' pilots. Human's have always and will always be prone to making mistakes. As it stands th' more we know the better we can plan, and at least have a strategy that slams a few holes into th' bastards we're facing, while keeping all of us alive." His own little philosophy. Work with everyone and curse to urge the guns along. Eyes look back towards Tillman, and he's chuckling softly. "Strength means nothing. You can cut through strength, least in the war games. A good broadside can cripple any ship, or chase em outta a fight long enough for you to recover." working in the gallery first hand taught him that little tidbit. "So we're off to Uram. Anything to note of who's in our group?" Nothing like knowing everything. A little future planning has never hurt.
"Yeah, you hope." Tillman looks to Cidra fondly, his own smile playful and a little entertained by this development. "I haven't met anyone from the wing yet, though. Thankfully." The smile flashes a little wicked at her before he reaches for the coffee mug again. "Though I did meet our Chaplain; Captain Karthasi seems two and a half gallons of 'alright'." The TACCO nods a few times to Mackay then. "Oh yeah. I've seen that enough to know you don't plan to win unless you know for a fact the other guy went home. As for our strength?" He shakes his head. "I just know Uram. If the Admiral has any more information, he hasn't passed it along to me yet. So far?" He sips his coffee and gestures to the plot behind him at the table. "Looks like a mess out there. Did a game about..maybe six years ago edging on that sector. There's a lot of floating debris. Screws with DRADIS."
Cidra looks to Tillman for any scraps of mission gossip he might have. She's new around here, after all. A grave nod of agreement is given to Mackay at his words. "Mistakes will occur even in the best of times, though Lords' hope not often if everyone keeps their heads clear. I try to keep them to a minimum where I can." A hint of interest when Tillman mentioned the chaplain. "I've not had the opportunity to see the ship's chapel yet. I'm looking forward to meeting her myself." She avoids dwelling further of matters of faith at the moment, but her interest is apparent. A slim frown comes to her face as she listens to the rest about Uram. "I'll have to pass that along to my ECOs. Give them some warning if nothing else. Maybe they can find some way to compensate. I'm amazed with what the backseaters come up with half the time."
"Probably to keep us from catching a scouting party, let alone to make it that much..fair? Tense. Frak if I know." Sig, adds on to Captain Tillman's assessment. "If anything it'll make it hard for us to smooth about, but it allows us t' hide as well as anyone else. If anything we could park th' Cerebus and set up a shooting gallery." Lure em in and blow them out of the air. He'll have to do some more reading and look over the charts. See what he can come up with before they head out. As for talk about the Chaplain he's not chiming in. Instead he just simply nods with a grunt. Easiest way to skirt out of a conversation of that nature.
"She's good people. I think you'll like her," Tillman reassures Cidra as to the Chaplain's personality and style. "As for Uram? Yeah. Might be a good idea to prep them. I remember getting a lot of DRADIS ghosts and odd reflections out there. The tumbling debris sometimes reflects back some ugly signatures." The man nods a few times to Sig, then. "Yeah. Exactly. But the problem is we're big and nasty. If they have us hunting smaller boats than its going to get interesting. If you both, you know, don't mind? Come up with some ideas on how to use your departments to spot targets from as many angles as you can. And what you can do about them. Nothing is too crazy to consider at this early stage."
Cidra makes no effort to turn the conversation back to the chaplain. Her attention's all on talk of war games now, nodding a little along with Mackay. "Mouse traps like that do have a certain appeal. I'll see if there's talent enough in my Raptor pool to figure out a way to find some clarity in fog like that. If nothing else, they'll know what they're getting into." A smirk suddenly curves her lips. "If they *do* have this ship hunting smaller boats, you know they'll be gunning hard as they can for us. No better way to score points then to say you took the shine off a brand new Mercury."
Mackay nods back towards Tillman. "Of course," Sig says as one hand comes up to hitch at the belt around his waist. "I'll get with my Chief, and my officers, see what we can come up with. Given we got debris flying about like that, our shots are going to be more obstructed than anything..Small or big that's something we're going to have to figure before I have slugs out in the air." Something too close could easily frak up the situation in a real way, one way or the other. "I need to inspect the galleries, and see what all I am working with. Nothing like having a damned ship of the line under your fingertips." A brief pause "If you have any additional info on Uram, beyond what I could find on the files, or cortex..I'd be obliged for." One can never be too prepared.
A nod given over towards Cidra and Mackay is kissing his teeth for a moment. "Maybe playin wounded ain't a bad idea then. They might come in hotter than they normally would, if they think we're suffering system malfunctions."
Tillman sips at his coffee once more, watching Cidra as she speaks. "Right. We'll probably be told more in the coming days but for now let's just keep the circulating ideas low profile. Nothing secret, though. But yeah, like you said. Scratching us on our first cruise would likely score some smaller Commander a promotion. Loose lips sinking ships and all that shite, yeah?" His smile is a bit twisted. There's blood in the air. To Mackay: "Anything I get from Admiral Abbot will be passed on as soon as I can. I've got some ideas myself about what we might be looking at but I really don't have anything to base it on so its just random speculation. Though I do like the idea of playing dead or wounded. If we went out now, it wouldn't be far from the truth."
"Sounds right deceptive there, Cap," Cidra says to the Weps with a wink. She approves, obviously. "I've always enjoyed surprises. Well, not so much being on the receiving end, but the giving of them has its charms." She nods to Tillman. "I want a more indepth meet-and-greet with our CO anyway. I still need to meet the man. I'll have a chance to feel out the situation a bit more then. In the meantime, I mainly want to get to know my pilots. Birds don't change much. The people flying them…there can be some surprises there."
A grin there, "I like how you think, Cap'n." comes Mackay's twang, before a few gruff chuckles. Blood in the air seems to be infectious. Careful, enough of this, and the whole crew will be chomping on the bit. "Send out a few messages before we pull out of here. maybe generate talk that we're looking to be late, or are speeding through everything." Which they could technically be anyway. "Then once we're out send a Kryptir to our escorts if we have em. Ask for assistance.. Throw chum in the water…" And like that a trap is set. As for what the CAG does say, there's a faint nod. "Aye, same here. Always good t' know who you're serving under…Don't know much about him-What have y' heard?" an open question for the congregation.
"Yeah, you and me both, C- Major." Clive catches himself and settles back against the table, reaching for his mug again. "I'm still interested to see who else comes around. I'd kinda like to see a roster, myself. Anyone else you know, sir?" He sips at the coffee and listens to Mackay with a lofted brow. "That's not a half bad idea. You know, we might look into developing this idea a little more. I don't know if we'll be running with any escorts but putting out a few rumors to that effect might certainly attract some attention in the right direction." To his last question, the man shakes his head. "Admiral Strye from the Aegean told me he's a good guy with a level head. When I saw him earlier it looked like he was stable behind the eyes but hey, that could be a load of scuttle."
Cidra arches her brows at Mackay, nodding along some more with that. A slight glint in her cloudy blue eyes. "If it worked, it'd create more than a few surprises. You gentleman should have the toys to do it on this boat. I didn't meet a single engineer back on Picon who didn't get a hard-on when there was talk about the new Mercury ships. Lords know she sure is shiny." She chuckles. "Little big for my taste, though. If there's anything me and my pilots can do to assist in any tricks, let me know." As for the CO, she shrugs. "Can't say I know much about him. But we'll see. It's hard to tell too much about a commander at first."
"It'll spring like a damned bloody jack-n-the-box." That much Mackay is certain of, though he drops the subject for a moment. If anything it is something that can be worked on. And at least something he can toy with, with the TACCO and his own men over coffee or a smoke break. With that filed away Sig's looking back towards Tillman and nods. "Aye, Commander Grant said th' same bloody thing when I was bein' sifted off." However as the TACCO noted, it could be a load of scuttle. "First meetin' should be interestin."
"Oh I'm sure we could come up with something for you pilots to do. You've got fifteen squadrons at your beck and call. I'm pretty sure we could come up with some good stuff. Though personally, like I said, I'd rather see what you all can come up with in regards to our future scenario." Tillman lifts the mug and drains the rest of the coffee inside down his throat. He stifles a burp and puts his hands into his pockets, too. "Aye. It will be interesting. But that's for you department head types. Me? I'm the guy they stick on watch while you people plan and scheme. Also means less paperwork for me - which hey, can anyone really complain about? But. Ah-" He lifts his arms a bit, cocking them out at the elbows. "Welcome to the Cerberus. She ain't finished and it ain't pretty but I think there's a certain charm to that. Ah, Marines are one deck above us. Mackey, Fire Control is on Five. Everyone lives up on Four. Supply and Forward Obs is on Three. Deck Nine has the Galley. Chapel's right down the hall from it for those interested." He looks between them. "Are there any unofficial questions I can answer? Stupid crap like where to find the Head or something." That easy, relaxed demeanor returns.
Cidra gets another chuckle out of the jack-in-the-box imagery, her faint smile taking on a somewhat wolfish turn. "If nothing else, it should be interesting." She sounds quite eager, in an understated sort of way. Cid seems a composed creature by nature. And another chuckle at the offer for directions to the Head. "I'll figure that one out on my own. Right now, I think I'll just settle in. Meet my jocks. Unpack. See if I can find that chapel of yours. Get a look at my Raptors. I'm curious to see what they've stocked us with. New battlestars sometimes get stuck with surplus birds, but they seem to be making an effort to go new-and-improved of all aspects of this boat."
"Fifteen Squadrons, there's got to be something we can do with them all. The Raptors certainly.." Hell Raptors can jump, that's something that will always be needed. His one eye slides back up to look back over as if he could peer through the ceiling. "Explains th' smell." A joke give, though in truth Mackay has nothing against any branch. Just the friendly Navy rivalry. Squiddies and marines…Joy. A glance back towards the Captain and he is shaking his head. "Nope, we're all good. I think I'm off till First shift before breakfast.." in which he will be standing as Officer of the Watch. "So if you two will excuse me, I'm going t' have a smoke, an sleep, before I have t' get up, all bright an shiny." And with that the Weps is breaking back with a space between him and the others. "Pleasure meeting you both, Captain." And a quick salute thrown to Cidra. "Major.." and with that he's heading for the door. "Gods damned I like this place already.." muttered in his wake.