| PHD #529: Sitting in a Tube |
| Summary: | Kar meets Khloe. Or, rather, Khloe forcibly meets Kar. |
| Date: | 09 Aug 2042 AE |
| Related Logs: | None |
| Players: |
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| Pilot Berths - Naval Deck - Battlestar Cerberus |
| The battlestar's pilots call this place home. Bunks line the walls with grey curtains to cover their sleeping areas. Lockers sit between each pair of bunks and a round metal table sits in the center, furnished with simple but comfortable steel chairs. A hatch at the rear of the room leads to a communal head. |
| Condition Level: 3 - All Clear |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #529 |
Having just come back from a volunteer shift on Gemenon helping move supplies and having been through the head to clean up, Captain Vakos sits perched on the edge of her bunk, leafing through a set of folders and going over the papers inside. Likely just the bureaucracy of a squadron leader, she seems to be just skimming the information rather than parsing it in any detail. Her hair still looks damp from the showers, already tied back up in her regulation braid. Her skin has gotten quite tan since she started regularly taking volunteer shifts on the planet's surface.
The softer thunk of trainers on steel announces the arrival of the Black Knight's newest transfer, Kar. As he enters the berths, he doesn't immediately notice his new Captain. Instead he seems quite pre-occupied with his locker as he opens it up and begins taking out his duty uniform and proceeding to undress from his sweats.
Khloe gets to the end of one folder and sets it aside. Beginning with the next folder, she pauses on the first page. She then glances up, looking across the room, watching the new face. Then back down to the page. She waits for the transfer to get at least halfway into his duty uniform before making herself known. "Lieutenant Rogers," she calls out, in a clear command alto. "I presume?"
The call from the Captain comes just as he slips into his top. Kar jerks his head to the direction of her voice, and immediately recognising his new Captain, the rest of his body almost immediately follows suit, snapping to attention. "Sir!" he answers, "Yes sir." he adds in the affirmative. As he snaps to, his unbuttoned top is left hanging rather unceremoniously.
"Button up, Lieutenant. The last thing I want to see is you being sloppy in favor of a crisp salute," Khloe states flatly, eyes narrowing. "Although, while you fix yourself, maybe you can tell me why you've failed to make introductions prior to… right now." Her gaze drops, looking disapproving of Kar's current state of uniform.
"Sir", comes the reply as Kar quickly fixes up his uniform, and beings to tidy up his things. "My apologies sir, I got my papers yesterday, and yes sir I haven't managed to make introductions. Though I have met with Lieutenant Malone. Just now in fact, whilst I was warming up before duty…" Finishing putting his effects in his locker, he straightens again this time though at ease as he answers.
Khloe gives a faint nod. "Splash. If you crash half as many Vipers as he does, you'll do just fine." Rising to her feet, she continues to read the page she has open in her folder. "Graduated 2039 from flight school. A Mk VIII jock. How are you with Mk IIs? We've got limited hardware available and you may not be assigned your choice of bird." A pause. "You've been with the Lions, then. Did Broadside kick you out?"
Kar gives a kurt nod as he realises the pages she was reading were about him. "I've trained in Mk II's, and flown them whilst I was on the Hyperion sir. And as for Captain Matise, I uh, I can't say for sure sir. You'd most likely have to ask him. I'm just following orders," he takes a moment as his eyes flick up and a small frown creases his brow, "I don't think I did anything wrong. And with all due respect, if I did, I doubt I would've been transferred into the Knights. Sir."
"Cut the brown-nosing, it'll just get you on my bad side. And let me tell you, Lieutenant, everyone starts on my bad side. It's just varying degrees of shit you start in." It's well-known that Vakos is a hardass in most circles, and a humorless bitch in other, quieter circles. "I'll talk to Broadside and see why he's dumping another pretty boy into my squadron. Last thing I need is a stick that looks good but can't fly or shoot." She flips the folder closed as she walks over to him. She's almost a half a head taller than him. "So. Mantis. You a religious sort, Mantis?"
Kar says, "In my own way, sir, yes." As she steps towards him, he keeps his gaze forward, then finds himself actually having to look up with a glance, before he drops his eyes to his level again. His body subconciously straightens a little more as she steps up, he was told that the Knight's Captain was hard. She was definitely living up to her reputation."
"Well, I'm not. Make sure that you do it off duty and don't let it interfere with your duties. Gods-fearing crew or not, when you're flying my Vipers, you leave your idols in your locker." There's a long pause as Poppy continues to size up the younger pilot. "You got a girlfriend, Rogers? Boyfriend? Fraktoy?"
"Understood sir," he says with a nod, "and no sir, no relationships of that kind." His face remains expressionless as he answers, not a flicker of emotion registering with the question about relations, truth that he really does have none of the sort. And plenty from the Lions would be able to confirm that.
Khloe hmphs softly, studying Kar's face. "Good. One less distraction that I need to worry about hampering your performance." Turning away, she takes a few steps, then turns again and regards him cooly. "Why are you a pilot, Rogers? What caused you to decide to throw all primal instincts out the window and wrap yourself in a flying steel coffin? I'm curious. Feel free to speak freely."
A little taken aback by the Captain's question, Kar finds his gaze falling to her for brief moment. "I, well, when I was still in school I wanted to be like my father. He used to fly Raptors sir." It seems that's the standard answer he gives to such questions, though he's certain the Captain most likely won't believe that to be the only reason.
"Admirable, to follow in one's parents' footsteps," Khlos responds dryly. There's something unspoken, but as Kar doesn't know her well yet, it'll have to remain a curiosity. "What else? Let me guess: you wanted to be a flyboy in order to get chicks."
Kar gives a small shake of his head, "No sir, that was never in my mind. I just wanted to be able to help the colony, like my father did. If being a pilot was how, then that's what I would do. My instructors told me I had the reactions to be a Viper pilot, so that's what I trained in. As I trained I found I enjoyed the challenge and the precision it takes to fly them. Sir."
Khloe hmms again, folding her arms across her chest, the folder tucked under her left. "Well, there's no heroes in the Black Knights. We do our duty. We fly, we kill, we die. Don't think you're making a difference here because you're not. You're just doing your duty to the best of your ability." Some speech. "Do you understand me? You're here to do a job. Do it well, and I won't hound your ass. Frak up, and I'll be gnawing on you like a rabid dog. Is that clear?"
"Crystal, sir." he nods as he replies. Despite her being a hardass, Kar respects her attitude, definitely something he expects from a leader. He takes a gander and hopes he doesn't overstep his mark with his next question. "How are things going ground-side sir?" he asks, a little tentatively.
"They go. The religious and the foolish are busy trapsing around hugging Cylons and looking for answers in scripture, blah blah blah," Khloe responds, apparently not placing much value in both the Scrolls and the effort to work with this "faction" of Cylons. "I'm just in it for the exercise outside. There's only so much you can cycle in place or do pull-ups. Actual outdoor exercise is a rarity, and I'm getting as much in as I can."
"Permission to speak freely sir?"
Khloe nods. "I gave it to you earlier."
"This whole situation puts me on edge sir. To the point I feel like I should be wearing my flight suit all the time, or sitting in a bird in a tube." His arms fold across his chest as he leans against his locker, "Don't get me wrong, we're all taking advantage of Condition 3. But still."
And at that, for the first time, Khloe cracks a slight smirk. "Good. You just said the right thing, Lieutenant. The million-cubit answer." Cryptic, a bit, but it gets Khloe's demeanor to relax. "Now, there's a difference between saying something, and living it. You start living it, and maybe, just maybe, you won't hate me like half my squad." And with that, the Captain offers a quick salute, and then heads for the exit, no doubt leaving Kar confused.
Kar returns the salute with a snap one of his own, but she's damned quick, and halfway to the exit by the time his hand reaches his forehead. "Yes…sir" comes his confused answer as his gaze follows her. He notices the time by the hatch and gaze still on his Captain, his hand reaches and opens his locker, reaching for his flight suit. "Talk about sitting in a tube…" he muses more to himself. Looks like it's probably his shift to sit in an alert viper.