Lieutenant Ben Garcia - First Fly Through
Ben Garcia
(( Reviewing pilot performance in holo-deck 3 flight simulator, USS Thor. ))
Confusion creased Ben’s forehead: the corridor was empty. Ben hit his combadge with the palm of his hand.
Garcia: =/\= Ben t--- =/\=
The holo-suite doors opened, and peering in, Ben cut the comm link at the sight of Dar.
Elandra: Did you start panicking? :: She asked teasingly, a smile on her lips. ::
Garcia: :: Laughing with a shake of the head. :: Nope, not panicked at all.
Elandra: They all hiding from you?
Garcia: :: Practical joke. :: Smiling a shrug. :: Or, payback for a bad rota. There’s options.
Elandra: So what shall we get the show on the road then? :: She raised a brow. ::
Garcia: Alright, yea. Start with an observation flight? We’ll sit in and watch how the flight … crashed … and then have a swipe at it?
Elandra: Sounds like a good place to start.
Ben nodded and then spoke into the bowels of the room.
Garcia: Computer, run programme Garcia flight simulation echo-delta-tango-eighteen. Run in observation mode for two observers.
The computer acknowledge the request, and the orange and black gridding dissolved to reveal the Embassy’s subterranean shuttle bay eerily silent. A Type 18 shuttle sat prepped for flight.
Elandra: Shall I?
Dar looked at Garcia eager to learn a bit more exactly what had happened.
Garcia: :: Ben smiled eagerly. :: Absolutely, I’ll ride co-pilot. :: Ben rubbed his stubble and sketched in some more detail. :: The programme will run through take off and the first few minutes of flight. We’ll then skip forward to just five minutes before the attack and let it run out through to the crash.
Happy with his response, they entered the shuttle and began to flight sequence this was the usual Type 18 shuttle that Dar had gotten a lot of flight time in at the Academy. Glancing to Garcia she eased the shuttle up and out of the hanger.
Elandra: So are we looking for something specific?
Garcia: :: Ben smiled. :: Your take on the situation as it comes is just fine. :: Ben nodded. :: For the first walk through, let’s keep it broad: pilot response times, alternatives to the actions taken during flight, utility of sensor and flight data.
The shuttle moved out towards the pre-set location of the area Garcia had loaded. As Dar manoeuvred the shuttle, she glanced to Garcia for a moment before setting her gaze on the area ahead of her. Ben spoke over the hum of the engines.
Garcia: Take off and initial flight, straight forward, right? :: Ben spoke to the computer. :: Computer, fast forward to five minutes before the attack on the shuttle.
The computer chirped in acknowledgement.
The scene phased to the correct time index and the programme continued. Dar came to the location indicated on the map and moved the shuttle to hover over the mark indicated on the map. She looked over to Garcia. Dar nodded. Glancing around it seemed to be a heavily overgrown area far on the outskirts of the Talison Forest. Perfect to launch what the Romulans had launched.
Elandra: How did they manage to get a weapon like that onto the planet...I mean there are security checks of all transports entering the planet’s atmosphere...isn't there?
Garcia: Federation and Laudean security checks. :: Ben exhaled with a shake of his head. ::
Dar could tell by his answer that this was one of the puzzling holes in the whole situation of the attack.
Elandra: Do you think they meant to destroy the yacht? I'm guessing they did?
Garcia: :: Ben nodded hesitantly. :: The first shot crossed the wake of the yacht’s flight path.
The conversation was suddenly punctuated by a green pulse starboard side. Exhausted by its futile scratching at the sky, the disruptor charge dissipated into the atmosphere. Anticipating the second blast, Ben tightened the seat restraint with a heavy tug on the shoulder straps.
Garcia: :: Loudly. :: Brace for impact.
Elandra: Response?
The proximity sensors, clankering for attention, were silenced by the second green pulse. This one ripped into the port nacelle exploding into a flash of ashen myrtle green before gushing plumes of smoke. The shuttle stumbled and choked unevenly in the sky. Jutted back and forth, Ben pulled up the damage control report.
Garcia: Port nacelle hit.
Elandra: Response?
A surge erupted under the helm control and cast a flame across Dar and Ben’s legs. Fire retardant powdered the flame out and smoked the air. The residue dried Ben’s throat. The shuttle veered heavily off course with its port side trailing precariously. Ben’s knees clenched at the memory of the burn wound; with the holo-deck safeties on, it was thankfully just an uncomfortable heat.
Garcia: Structural integrity down to twenty two percent. She’s not got a lot of mileage left. We need to land.
Elandra: Response?
An explosion cracked against the interior wall of the starboard quarter, and the smoking port nacelle flared into flame. The shuttle began to plummet in altitude, and its response to helm command was becoming increasingly intermittent. As the shuttle bundled through the forest canopy, the hull split like a boiled egg tapped open with a spoon. Detached, the cockpit travelled a few hundred meters more before finally resting in the lower arms of a tree.
Elandra: Response?
Tag!
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Lieutenant Ben Garcia
Second Officer/HCO
Embassy Duronis II - USS Thor NCC-82607
Author ID number: G239102MR0
Spice King Desingate of Duronis II