Lt. Commander Yogan Yalu — Come fly with me
Yogan Yalu
(( Main Shuttlebay, Deck 11, USS Artemis ))
Yogan wasn’t dead, and for that, he was grateful. In the eight years since he’d been Joined to Yalu, he’d had a few brushes with death. Barely escaping the disabled Rinascita Station as its oxygen supply ran out came to mind. So did the recent close scrapes with hoards of rage-filled Da’al. Delving into his past lives of course unearthed innumerable near misses. The Yalus, all nine of them, were no strangers to walking the here-today-gone-tomorrow tightrope.
However, this experience was different. Something as frivolous as a bug bite had nearly taken Yogan out for good. The swift intervention and ingenious therapy of one Doctor Hiro Jones had saved him, and although Yogan made a rapid physical recovery, he left sickbay and returned to duty feeling somewhat… fragile. Some of Yogan’s crew mates ventured down to the planet to explore, to assist, or simply to get some fresh air, but Yogan remained shipside, lest more critters decide to take up residence in his knee pits.
Fortunately, there was more than enough to do on Artemis to stay busy. Having only recently re-entered active service, under a new name and a new registry number, the Luna-class explorer was simultaneously time-tested and new. Yogan still would have felt more comfortable on the big, bad Excalibur, but as he explored the new ship, he found that Artemis punched above her weight class in a lot of ways. One of which was her impressive inventory of small craft.
As Yogan entered the main shuttlebay, he noticed there wasn’t a 3-liter water jug, a makeshift pull-up bar, or a storage container fort to be found.
Yalu: oO Never thought I’d miss you, Kirky. But damn. Oo
Yogan looked around for a moment or two while he awaited the arrival of Ensign Kader, Artemis’ new helm officer. Kader came to Artemis fresh from the Academy and Yogan wanted to chat with the newly commissioned ensign, one pilot to another. The heavy double doors slid open, and Yogan offered a polite nod to the Human as he entered.
Yalu: Ensign Kader, thanks for coming. ::looks around the shuttlebay:: Nice parking lot we’ve got here, wouldn’t you agree?
Kader: response
Yogan recalled how nervous he was whenever a senior officer wanted to “chit chat” with him. Lacking the empathic ability of a Betazoid, Yogan couldn’t know what Kader was thinking, but he tried to give off an air of informality just in case the guy felt apprehensive.
Yalu: On a bigger ship, flight ops and shuttle ops are two separate departments. On Artemis, there’s a lot more overlap between the two. I presume you’ve familiarized yourself with Artemis’ complement of small craft. Is there one design you prefer over the rest?
Kader: response
Yogan nodded. Before any good Starfleet pilot ever took the helm of a starship, they’d spent countless hours training in workbees, shuttlecraft, and runabouts. Finding out a pilot’s likes and dislikes on the job would be more revelatory than a half-hour of small talk in the mess hall.
Yalu: ::points to the nearest parked craft:: How about we start with this one? Is there anything you would want a pilot to know before getting behind the controls for the first time?
Kader: response
They walked over to the nearest craft as Kander answered Yogan’s question. Yogan then scratched his beard, grinned slightly, and pressed his palm against the access panel. The hatch opened and a whoosh of pressurized air… whooshed.
Yalu: Let’s take her for a spin.
Kader: response
Tag / TBC
Lieutenant Commander Yogan Yalu
Second Officer & Strategic Operations Officer
USS Artemis NCC-81287
D238804DS0