Pick up Sticks, Lay them Straight - Part 1

Posted on Fri Dec 28th, 2012 @ 6:45am by Lieutenant Jonathan "Jack" Mantell & Lieutenant JG Paul Akron & Petty Officer 3rd Class Garth Macy
Edited on on Fri Dec 28th, 2012 @ 6:51am

Mission: Funzone
Location: Main Shuttlebay, Deck 7
Timeline: Twelve hours after "For the Trill Who Has Everything"

"Hey, Lieutenant."

The doors of the turbolift had barely opened before the Miran youth's ears were greeted by the eager tones of Petty Officer 3rd Class Garth Macy. Jack gave the Arizona's Chief Support Craft Pilot a grin, as eyes from around the main shuttlebay were discovering their diminutive department head. Introductions were made, and Jack met the Shuttlebay Manager, a timid Bolian Chief Petty Officer named Halvir, and several of the shuttle pilots. After their initial small talk had ceased, Halvir, inquired gently as to Jack's purpose.

"I actually came to ask a favor," the spikey-haired Lieutenant began. At this mention, Macy and the shuttle pilots took interest, even as Chief Halvir looked positively numb. Jack almost giggled at the sight of the Bolian Chief's distress, but he bit down lightly on his tongue to stop himself. The boy put out his hands as he opened his mouth, trying to reassure Halvir. "No, no, nothing like that. I just want you to prep two shuttles of the same class."

"Oh, certainly," the Bolian responded with gratitude sagging his words. "Yes, sir, yes, we can do that." He gave Jack something that looked like a bow, and left the dumbstruck boy standing entirely unsure what to think of Chief Halvir.

Jack shook his head, and made his way over to the Shuttlebay's empty Traffic Control room. Once inside, he drew a breath and held it. Here we go, the boy thought, exhaling slowly before raising a hand to his chest. His heart in his throat, the boy tapped the gold and silver-emblazoned logo of the Federation's premiere naval arm. Clearing his throat and raising his voice, Jack activated the ship's internal communications, "Lieutenant Mantell to Lieutenant Akron."

A heartbeat later -or was it two?- a response came out through his badge. [This is Lieutenant Akron.]

"Can you please come to the Main Shuttlebay?"

[Uhh, sure, Lieutenant. Right away, sir.]

The line died, and Jack let out a breath. His heart fluttered and sank back to its proper place. Summoning Macy to the control room once more, he gave the young man some additional instructions to implement, just to spare the poor Chief's trousers from another near-disaster. All alone in the control room, Jack had time with his thoughts.

His mind flashed back to the six weeks of flight training he had endured just prior to the Federation-Klingon War. Starfleet's attempt to make the Miran fit the mold had soon collapsed under its own weight. The grueling days, the constant tension and pressure, the need to be deadly, accurate and quick all at the same time was an impossible task for the child. Yet it taught Jack an important lesson, about his own limits, and what he could take. The very thing that broke him once had transformed into an unyielding strength.

Jack's thoughts were interrupted as he noticed Lieutenant Akron entering the Main Shuttlebay flow below him. Stepping out of the control room, the boy took a deep breath as he rode the short lift down to the lower level. It shuddered as it met the deck beneath, masking the boy's own nervousness. No, he told himself, that's gone. The focusing technique he had learned from Captain T'Prev did its job, allowing Jack to approach the Junior Lieutenant, standing close to the timid Bolian Chief, with ease.

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Ahh, good, I'm glad you're here, Lieutenant Akron." Jack gave the young man a polite smile, feeling just an ounce of satisfaction as man's discomfort was made apparent. "How long have you served on the Arizona?"

"Counting the Prometheus-class version, just over two years now."

"Congratulations," Jack's smile became genuine for just a moment. Build him up, and then rip him down. The same strategy that had worked so well on Starfighter Recruits fifteen years ago was playing out well here today. "How many times would you say you've been to the shuttle bay?"

"Well, pretty much anytime an away mission needed a pilot," Akron explained.

Jack said nothing for the moment. It was pretty much as he'd expected, and this should prove to his advantage in the next few moments. "And otherwise? Weren't you the Chief Conn Officer for a while, until Captain Haverson replaced you with another? What did you do then?"

"I, uhh, I pretty much left things up to Chief Halvir here." The man gestured towards the Shuttlebay Manager, but the Bolian had disappeared since Jack's approach.

The boy simply nodded, and gestured to the two birds that Macy and his pilots had prepped. They were no fighter jockeys as far as time went, but Jack was sure that the shuttles were in tip-top shape. Assuming that Macy had programmed in the right data, there should be no further cause for uncertainty. "You recognize these, I assume, Mr. Akron."

"Of course, sir," the man returned in a clipped voice just a second later. "Those are Mark 7 Shuttlecraft."

"I know they're a bit dated and they're anything but fast by modern means, but those are sturdy craft there. You're certified to fly one, I presume?" the boy asked, baiting the Lieutenant just a bit.

Akron's stare passed right through him. "Of course," the Junior Lieutenant said harshly, "I fly for every away mission."

You say you can fly, Jack wondered to himself, but can you truly fly? Spreading his arms, the boy grinned, "Great, then let's do this!"

"Do...what?" Akron stood dumbfounded.

"A training scenario," the boy explained. "I had our shuttlebay crew set it for moderate difficulty, it should accurately simulate a convoy mission during the Battle of Betazed in the Dominion War. We'll each be in separate instances, so it will be a true test of skill."

Akron simply stood there for a second. Then he asked, "Why couldn't we just do this on the holodeck?"

"Oh," Jack chuckled, "you think this is all simulated? The ship and the course will be real, I already cleared it with Starbase 11's control." The boy grinned, "Yes, that means we're leaving the shuttlebay. Pick your poison, Mr. Akron, and let the game begin!"