| The Sims |
| Summary: | Devlin, Marko and Leyla talk shop in the berthings, and come up with a plan for training up the nugget. |
| Date: | 30 Aug 2041 AE |
| Related Logs: | Black Doesn't Wash Out |
| Players: |
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| Pilot Berths |
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| 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. |
| Post-Holocaust Day: #185 |
Marko is currently in his rack, privacy curtain half-open, reading a dog-eared Raptor manual and sipping at a bottle of water. Ah, the thrilling life of an ECO.
Now that the raptor's been put away, so to speak, and Leyla's off-duty, the woman might actually consider getting out of her flight suit. or more to the point, she did. As soon as she was 'wheels down' so to say, it was out of the ship in a flash, and off to make a quick trip to the bunks, grab a change of clothes and back out again. A shower, a trip down to the laundry, and then she's on her way back into the berthing, flight suit in tow. Standard issue Navy fatigues, with black gloves added on. A quick spin of the wheel opens the hatch, long enough for her to step in, before the tug comes to try to get it closed again.
"Hold up," comes the request from just outside as Leyla starts to tug the hatch closed. A hand on the outside stops her shutting it, and Devlin slips in after her, flashing a friendly smile and offering, "Thanks," regardless of whether or not she actually held the door for him or he caught it himself. He's dressed in off-duty fatigues and tanktops, and carrying what looks like a small pile of laundry and a book as he heads in, not in any particular hurry once he made it through the door, it seems. "I'm not sure we've met," he says to Leyla, "Alex Devlin." He starts to offer a hand, and then stops abruptly as he sees the gloves, asking instead, "Where on Tauron are you from, if you don't mind me asking?"
Marko looks up from his manual as Nugget and a female newcomer he doesn't recognize enter the compartment. "Hey, Nugget. How's it going?" he calls, giving the Mid a wave and the female a polite nod. "Tauron? Oh..the gloves." he adds, nodding a little. "You sure you're in the right place, miss?" he inquires.
It's rather hit or miss, really, whether she held the door, or just let him grab it, the towering, to Leyla, man's hand grabbing the metal just as she releases it. A quick assessment, as she counts down along the berthings, down to the empty bunk she picked out of the lottery post transfer, "No worries." She does, at least, step out of the way so she's not blocking the door, making it about a quarter of a turn, before she gets both questions, one from the left, the other from the right. "Derry, in the Country. You?" That's the answer to the first, Leyla's eyes scanning, reading, really, the tattoo darkening the big man's shoulder. Anyone familiar with Tauron, might likely be able to add the Black to that, if they recognize the accent, which is only slightly diminished by Caprican standard. "Leyla Aydin." As for the second, she turns her head towards the man still lying on his bunk, "Last I checked, this is the berthing that came attached with the transfer orders."
"Hey, Marko," Devlin greets the other man with a friendly smile, "Nice to see you." He turns back to Leyla then to nod, "Ah, okay. I've got cousins in Durand," in the Black Country, but nearer the edge than some places, "But my family is from Knossos, originally. I'm from Libran," he admits. His shoulder tells the story to those who know how to read it, though parts are covered by the top of his tanktop sleeve. An old family and a proud one, but aren't they all? From Knossos, a branch transplanted to a Taurian enclave on Libran, he part of the first generation born after emigration. "Nice to meet you, Leyla," he offers, meandering along towards the bunk marked ATHENOS, P., where he lingers. "How's the wedding planning going?" he asks Marko.
"Leyla Aydin?" Marko asks, blinking in surprise before smiling and hopping down from his bunk to offer the woman a handshake. "Just got a memo about you this morning." he says. "Sorry about that. There wasn't a picture attached." he chuckles. "Marko Scaurus, otherwise known as 'Flasher'. Lieutenant Trask wants me to be your backseater while you get oriented in the Raptor." he explains. "Pleased to meet you." he adds. To Devlin's query, he just groans softly. "It isn't…" he sighs. "Every time I get a minute to start doing something about it, somebody finds me something else to do." he says, hanging his head. "Lunair'll be the mother of two kids by the time we finally tie the knot." he chuckles softly. "Did you mention Derry?" he asks Leyla, cocking his head curiously. "I think Pop's family were from Derry….I can't be sure though."
"A forest is nothing more than a collection of lone trees." That comes in Taurian, and will follow in Caprican, if either or the other man give her the 'she just sprouted two heads look'. "I'd ask you if you've had a chance to go back, but…" Not really much point in that, now. "But it's good to meet you." Leyla, for her part, doesn't have any of her own tatau visible, which seems to suit her well enough. She continues into the berthing, multi-tasking, as it were, if only to set her flight suit down on the closest table to start overhauling. There's a slight raise of her eyebrows as her new ECO introduces himself, "Lieutenant, good to meet you. I just got the jacket on you this morning. The El-tee seems to think you'd be a good fit for me, though, he's assigned me a minder, just to ease your workload." Just in case that memo got lost, "A JG named Doe?" As she has no idea what this wedding business is about, she just leaves that alone. But she does answer the last, "Good people from Derry."
Devlin has to think a moment, and it shows on his face, but he nods to the Taurian saying without needing it repeated in Standard. "I think I've heard my grandfather say that," he tells her with a bit of a smile before brows rise at Marko: "I didn't know you were Taurian, too. Cool." He offers them both smiles and then turns back to the bunk he's stopped by, tugging the curtain back to reveal blindingly-pink bedding that one would hope is not his. He peeks inside, and then sets down the very small pile of laundry and book and tugs the curtain closed again, leaning back on the ladder. "Well, hopefully you find some time," he offers the other man, "I know Bubbles has started on the dress a bit." To Leyla he offers, "Doe? Oh, that's Bunny. He hasn't been around much lately, busy with all sorts of projects, I think, but he's good at helping people get integrated."
"Me, nah, I'm Caprican. Dad immigrated from Tauron, mom from Gemenon." Marko explains. "Bubbles started on the…what?" he adds, eyebrows shooting up at the mention. "Heh, yeah, Bunny's good people, Aydin. He'll set ya right." he nods, moving to climb back up the ladder and sit on his own rack. "So what were you doing before you joined the Harriers?" Marko asks. "Ell-tee's memo mentioned a squadron, but I didn't recognize it."
Leyla settles into a chair at the table, pulling out the small field kit of supplies she brought with her. The interior liner (and there must be one or else these things would get majorly stinky) of the suit has been removed, and neatly folded after being laundered, so her real focus is on the suit itself, which she begins to check over, an inch at a time, searching for gaps, damage or other unmentionables. "Well, hopefully sooner rather than later, I'll run into him. I don't think we'll be here indefinitely, and I'd like to get up to speed before we head out to wherever." As for mention of her prior squadron, Leyla shakes her head, "I don't imagine you would have. The stussy—The Hephaestus spent most of my deployment patrolling the mining corridors, searching for new tylium fields. Which makes for some interesting games of thread the asteroid field, but doesn't make for headlines back closer to home."
"Oh, gotcha," Devlin nods to Marko before grinning a bit, "On a wedding dress. I guess she offered to design and help make one, and actually," he pauses, "Maybe I'm not supposed to be telling you this? I guess it could've been a secret, or something. I have no idea, but… girls, you know," he shrugs and smiles crookedly, "Anyways, forget I said it, yeah?" He sits on Bubbles' ladder and watches as Leyla checks her flight suit and listens to her describe her past service before asking, "How long have you been flying?"
"Heh, ah, gotcha." Marko replies, nodding. "Don't think I ever heard of the Hephaestus, or if I did, I've forgotten it." he says. "This was my first deployment on active duty." he admits. "Talk about a shakedown." he smirks wryly. "Okay, I'll keep my emitter at the 'off' position, Dev." Marko smiles, nodding. "Just remind me to slip Bubbles something nice."
It's always a strange thing, moving to a new squadron, a whole world carrying on around you that you're not a part of. Still, Leyla doesn't seem the least bothered by talk of people she doesn't know and events she's not in on, seeming quite content to be working on her suit, "She's an old girl, from the war." There's a pause, as Leyla considers, "The first war, I guess, now. We used to joke you could always tell which way she was turning by the direction and volume of the creaking of her decks." It's not glamourous, being relegated to a nearly derelict battlestar that's too old to do more than 'coast guard' work, but there's obvious love in Leyla's voice, for her first post. "Still, she knew how to put you through your paces." Mining is dangerous work, scouting for it equally so. "Started flying summer after my first year in the Academy, so…'33…8 years? But was in Flight School '36-'37, so technically, 4 years? Give or take?" There's something very close to a smile, or at least a curl to the edge of the left side of her mouth, "You got to deploy and be a soldier, not play around like the rest of us." Sad, but true. "Except the poor bastards that got stuck on this little slice of heaven we're orbiting."
"Thanks," Devlin grins at Marko and then laughs and nods, "She's a big fan of sweets, and silly computer RPGs, if you happen to have any of either of those lying around. I'm right you're a computer guy, yeah? I thought I heard that from somebody." He scratches at the side of his head and then listens to Leyla talk about her ship with obvious curiosity. "I just enlisted," he explains, "About a month ago. A lot of my sim training seems to involve asteroid fields, you'd probably find it really familiar," he chuckles.
"Heh, she sounds like a fine old ship, Aydin." Marko replies, hoisting his bottled water in a mute toast to her memory. He's heard that tone before from others in the wing and on the black shoe end of things. For his part, the not nearly so old Cerberus has been his first Battlestar he's deployed on in his career. And the odds are, the only one, miracles not withstanding. "Silly computer RPGs? If you can find a way to worm a list of titles out of her, I might have a couple she doesn't." he grins to Devlin. "Yeah, I'm a computer guy." he adds. "Fair warning, though, I am a computer _guy_ so lemme know if Bubbles has a problem with bodice rippers." he grins. "There's this once series about pirates that's really cool, but kind of racy." he chuckles, blushing a little. "Anyhow, welcome to the Harriers, Aydin. Say, what's your call sign again?"
"We were all nuggets once." Okay, that's not true, some do prefer the title Rook, but hey. "There's no shame in it, just in not taking every opportunity you can to learn, and then to pass on what you know. You with the vipers, or are you a raptor pilot?" She shifts the suit around, having finished the front side, and begins to check along the back, pulling off the gloves of her left hand, when she reaches a burr on the material, to use some of the mystery fixum epoxy every kit comes with, to repair the fabric. "If you need a hand in the sims, let me know. I can teach you some techniques for figuring out which way a field is rotating, and how to calculate the best ways to maneuver around." There's a nod, as Leyla removes the other gloves, mixing the epoxy with catalyst, before she starts to apply the resulting mixture to the damage on the suit, "She really was. I hope to see her again. Last I heard, she was far out and away from the Colonies, it may have kept her safe. But thank you." Oh, callsign, "Sweet Pea."
"Vipers," Devlin explains to Leyla adding, "There aren't many of us at the moment, but I take all the time in the sims and studying I can, so… hopefully I'll be useful out there sometime soon." She watches the suit fixing for a minute before turning back and chuckling at Marko, "I guarantee you she won't have a problem with that. And if she did, I mean… it's my computer," he grins, going on, "But yeah, I'll see if she's got a favorite. I think pirates'd be perfect, though, actually, that was her team in college." Back to Leyla, he grins at the offer of help in the sims nodding, "That'd be awesome, thanks. If you think it'd apply for vipers and stuff too, I'll totally take you up on that."
"Heh, I wouldn't mind a little more cockpit instruction myself." Marko admits with a rueful chuckle. "Qualified, but only just." he adds, shrugging a little. "Just barely passed the eye exam to get in." he explains. "Sweet Pea?" he asks, quirking up an eyebrow. "Okay, there's a story in that somewhere, no doubt." he chuckles softly. "But it'll keep. So you were on Sagitarron when the ballon went up?" he inquires, tone deliberately gentle. Devlin's comment gives him a chance to lighten the mood some. "Heh, well, if she's into raiding and pillaging and booty by the ton, she'll love the Pirates of the Pythian Sea."
"Well, what I'm talking about is being able to read what the asteroid field is doing, using your eyes and your knowledge to get you through. Depending on what you're flying into asteroid can make DRADIS completely useless. You've got to learn to fly blind. Not to count on the tech you're used to using. To know when you're getting a clear reading and when the rocks are just bouncing the signals around. Doesn't matter what you're flying, the knowledge is the same. That's why they program then into the sims to begin with. The sims are meant to help you get a 'feel' for flying. Anyone can read a manual and learn where the power is, where the throttle, the pitch and yaw. But piloting is as much skill as intuition. It's body and memory. It's getting into that seat, and slipping on a second skin. It's knowing when your bird is hurting before she does, it's knowing when you can push her, when she's had enough." Leyla easily shifts her attention between the pilot and the ECO, as she waits for the fixum to finish drying. "Well, I'm always willing to get in the sims, if you want someone to sit in with you, I can take a backseat. I could do with brushing up on ECM myself." Only a faint smile, at the callsign. Yes, there's a story in there.
Devlin listens to Leyla, nodding along as she explains in further detail what she's talking about. The nugget smiles crookedly and nods, "Yeah, it's all muscle memory, everyone keeps saying that. I promise I know that, and I spend as much time in the sims as I can sign up for trying to develop it. Mostly they've had me using the asteroid fields just to practice quicker reaction time in general flying, more or less, and some target work, but working with less than perfect DRADIS would definitely be useful, I'm sure, and I'll take all the help I can get, if you're willing." He smiles, and then adds to Marko with a laugh and a nod, "Yeah, she'd totally be into that. Apparently there was a pirate cheerleader uniform she had at one point, or something? Anyways, it sounds fun. If you would mind lending it, or making a copy or something, that'd be awesome."
"Heh, if you're looking for help with ECO stuff, I'd be more than happy to oblige you." Marko grins to Leyla. "Only damn thing in the service I'm any good at." he admits with a chuckle. "Gods know, I can't brawl, shoot or fly to save my life or anybody else's." he smirks, sipping at his water bottle again. "Yeah, I'll burn her the whole trilogy, just find me some 2.4 compatible discs." he adds for Devlin's benefit. "Don't talk to the quartermaster, talk to one of the engineering wonks." he advises. "They go through 2.4's like toothpicks, even with things as they are, they can always spare a few."
"You'll learn. It's hard for everyone, at first, even the ones that tell you they took to flying like a duck to water. It'll come. Just trust yourself. I've seen a lot of good pilots wash out, because they were afraid they'd make a mistake. And I'd be more than willing, to work with both of you. I think the raptor sims would work best. We might be able to squeeze three people into one of them. Since we're not focusing on actual piloting, or won't be, to begin with, I think it'd be better for us all to study together. Or…if there might be a way to link the viper sim's readout to the raptor's, we could at least share screen, so we could all see what you were doing." Leyla shifts the suit, the epoxy having dried, and continues along with her inspection, getting to the end, before she cleans her hands, puts away the supplies, and turns to the helmet, "
"2.4 compatible discs, got it," Devlin repeats with a nod, and another smile, "I'll track some down. Thanks, man, that's awesome of you." He nods a bit more, making mental notes to talk to Engineering. Then it's more nodding at Leyla, shoulders lifting in a bit of a shrug, "However you want to do it works for me? I think the system's set up so you can use multiple pods in the same simulation and see each other and stuff, but I don't mind hanging out in the Raptor and watching, either. I'm easy," he admits with another shrug and a (yes, easy) smile.
"Hey, Dev, have you tried the Virtual Raider yet?" Marko inquires, grinning proudly. "It's set up for all the Viper pods, just select it from the menu." he adds. "Money Shot says the thing's kinda squirrelly, but once you get used to it, flies like a _dream_. It's a mind-blower, I guarantee." he winks. "Sounds like a plan of action then, Sweet Pea." Marko nods to Leyla "You teach me to fly better, I'll teach you everything I know about ECO'ing."
"A virtual raider?" Clearly, this wasn't something that ever made it down the pipeline to the Elevens. "I had heard something about some new project being built, but from what I've been hearing it hadn't even been started yet." The helmet takes less time than the suit, and Leyla's soon sliding her gloves back on, and entering the final phase, as it were, replacing the inner lining into the suit. "I've just been getting bits and pieces, background chatter while I've been ferrying personnel." Yes, to answer your question, raptor teams do listen in on your conversations.
"I sort of did," Devlin tells Marko with a crooked smile, "For about ten seconds before it blew me to bits. I've been meaning to give it another go." He nods at Leyla then, "Yeah, Marko and… and Tis, right?" he checks with the ECO, but is already nodding, "Coded up a new sim using info from real battles and stuff, so it's a super-realistic Raider to fight. I mean, I know I'm not any good yet, but it is crazy-fast."
"Tis deserves most of the credit." Marko replies readily. "She's the one who crunched the numbers and hammered out the Raider's basic flight envelope." he explains. "The rest of it was just figuring how to make a Viper sim act like a Raider." he shrugs slightly. "Just a matter of watching the gun camera footage and finding where all the RCS jets are supposed to go and how hard they can fire."
Leyla listens, curious, considering, as the two men go over the sim, but she shakes her head, "No, this was something else. Something about a new ship that was being built, or thinking about being built. Definitely seemed like they were talking about something concrete." She shakes her head, as she finally finishes her helmet, "I'll figure it out." A hand rises, tucking a lock of hair back behind her left ear, "I've got to drop this back off in the hangar. I'm sure I'll see you both again soon. The sooner we can get started, I think, the better for all of us."
"Wow, Tis did all that?" Devlin asks, brows rising, "I didn't know that. I figured she was in charge of, like, pulling the interesting bits of footage or something. Didn't realize she was a math genius." He grins a bit and then brows rise again at Leyla, "A new sort of ship? Cool. I haven't heard about that, but then, I'm not down the deck as much as actual pilots, obviously." When she talks about leaving, he smiles and nods, "Nice to meet you, Leyla. See you around soon."
"Wait….you mean the Strike Viper got green-lit?" Marko asks, sitting bolt-upright in his rack and thumping his head hard against the ceiling for his efforts. "That's awesome!" he grins, clapping lustily enough to draw grumbles from those trying to sleep. "I knew that was a winner!" he grins, nodding. "Knew it. Glad somebody else listened, finally." Devlin's comments are met with a smile and a nod. "You should've seen the work she did, Dev. It was _amazing_ Gonna put her up for a commendation for it."
"I don't know what got greenlit, just picked up bits and pieces from chatter over the headset noise." Marko knows how it is. Trying to listen to comms chatter and what's going on inside the raptor open air is killer. "I think I heard something about a crewman heading up the work, or something. Coll, I think. Maybe Cole?" A shake of her head, "I'll see if I can dig up anything else. But it was wonderful to meet both of you. I'm looking forward to working with you, Flasher, and you, Devlin." But for now, Leyla gathers back up her flight suit, and makes a quiet exit back out into the hallway.