JP Yogan Yalu & Kalianna Nicholotti — Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor, Part 1
jkpbem
(( Holosuite 9, Xaevu’s Discount Holo-Arcade, Maklau Beach, Risa ))
Yogan sat on a holographic chair in the otherwise empty room, twiddling the data chip between his fingers. He was a few minutes early, but he was grateful for it. It was only after he’d arrived, checked in, and been escorted into the hired suite that he realized how improper it might look to be meeting Captain Nicholotti… alone… at a holo-arcade… on Risa. It had taken him 10 minutes of nervously pacing around the suite to get over that, so, yes, early was good.
The invitation had been unexpected, but not unappreciated. While she had no idea what to expect, Kali's curiosity had been piqued at the idea that the helmsman wanted to meet her at a Holo-Arcade, on Risa no less. She definitely raised a couple of eyebrows when she read it, but never hesitated on whether to show up or not.
And so, as she entered the room, she saw the tall Trill man stand and the chair he was sitting in vanish, leaving them both in a very empty, very plain room. She approached, her Marine t-shirt hanging loosely around her shorts as she looked around questioningly.
When she entered, Yogan stood, and the chair had been sitting in vanished into the holographic ether from whence it came. Neither of them was in uniform, which Yogan knew from prior experience was less weird than if he’d turned up in his and she hadn’t. It was just as well, since Yogan’s chosen activity would necessitate a change of attire anyway.
Yalu: Captain. Thank you for agreeing to meet me here.
Kali nodded.
Nicholotti: Of course. It's not every day the captain gets invited to participate on someone's adventure.
She offered him a reassuring smile having no idea what this was about, but knowing that if it was important enough to ask her to be there, it was important enough. Her full attention was here in this moment then.
Yalu: I’ve spent too much time by myself already. I’m getting back out into the world and doing things. ::holds up the data chip:: And I came across a program I thought you might like to run with me.
Now her curiosity was very much engaged. She watched him as he held up the chip.
Nicholotti: Oh?
Yogan stepped over to the control arch and inserted the chip.
Yalu: Computer, run program.
The room disappeared behind the simulation. At first, it looked nondescript: a flat expanse in all directions and hard macadam under their feet. The ‘discount’ in Xaevu’s Discount Holo-Arcade was evident in the loading time, as elements took several seconds to populate and then grow sharper and clearer in detail.
Mountains in the distance came into focus, and yellow and white lines crisscrossed the pavement on which they stood. The pièce de résistance was the last item to populate: a large, grey aircraft from Earth’s liquid fuels age. The temperature in the room rose and Yogan squinted in the holographic sunlight, then smiled at Nicholotti and gestured to the tin bird.
As everything came into focus, a nostalgic grin appeared on the captain's face. The things her crew dug up on her...she shook her head as the antique jet came into view and solidified in the gleaming sunlight.
Yalu: I don’t imagine this needs any introduction to you, Captain. ::beat:: If memory serves, it is something called a Boeing F/A 18-F Superhornet?
Nodding slowly Kali finally took her eyes from the plane and turned them to her fellow pilot.
Nicholotti: Indeed it is. Ever flown something like this?
Yalu: ::shakes head:: I’ve been piloting suborbital craft since I was a teenager, but nothing like this. I’m excited, though.
Kali stepped forward and approached the metallic bird that sat silent in the sunlight. The heat radiated off the tarmac and warmed her legs as she reached out and let her fingertips run along the leading edge of the closest wing. When she got to one end, she stopped and looked back across towards the cockpit and the open canopy.
Nicholotti: You should be. There's nothing quite like this.
Her eyes moved towards the next part of the plane as she continued her walk around, seemingly and momentarily oblivious to anyone or anything else. It was like a love affair and she had eyes only for the piece of machinery before her. Minutes later, she ended up back at the beginning, next to her helmsman again.
Nicholotti: So you mean to fly this then?
She grinned.
Already starting to sweat in the heat, Yogan dabbed his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. Although perhaps some of it was attributable to nerves.
Yalu: ::chuckles:: How about I copilot? I looked over the specs, but I’ve not mastered the controls just yet.
Nicholotti: Alright. We'll need flight suits. ::She eyed him carefully.:: How's your stomach? This bird doesn't come with inertial dampeners.
The laugh that escaped her was all but free. There was always something about the idea of the sky and how she could escape to it that allowed her to just let go of the trappings of her waking, walking world.
Yogan recalled the training he took as a teenager at the Rytela Flight School in his hometown. The school had a few old, old, old craft that probably flew similarly to this one, and his instructors took him up in them a few times. He found those experiences exhilarating, but that had been twenty years ago. He’d not done anything like this since he was Joined. The symbiont and their memories had a funny way of recasting experiences that once were pleasant as uncomfortable and vice versa. But best not let on.
Yalu: ::pats tummy:: I’m sure I’ll be fine, as long as the safeties don’t cost extra.
That was fair. It was the holodeck, but that didn’t mean much to her. Once she was in the sky, that was the reality. As a fellow pilot, he would understand.
Nicholotti: Well, there’s no time like the present.
Yalu: Let’s do it.
The process, while vital to her in every way (but inconsequential being they were in a holodeck…), did not take long to complete and soon she was directing him up into the backseat of the jet. He was a bit tall for it, and she laughed at the way he had to bend to fit into the thing, but she’d seen others do the same.
To be fair, she had laughed similarly at them as well.
Climbing up herself and calling for the ladder to be removed, she allowed her memory to guide her in the preflight. The silence that had surrounded them soon was filled with the ever growing roar of engines that started quietly, but grew steadily behind them. Lights appeared on the consoles, some blinking, others off, and still others illuminating the cockpit. Kali continued through the motions, moving her feet and looking in the mirrors to see the appropriate movements, and the same for the airfoils on the wings.
Satisfied, she called back through the radio in the helmets.
Nicholotti: You ready for this?
The captain’s voice came through tinnily inside his helmet. It would be an exaggeration to say that his knees were in his ears, but not by much. Given his height and size, had he lived on Earth 400 years ago, he would likely have been disappointed if he’d attempted to pursue a career in one of the Terran air forces. If he’d known, he might have thought to nudge the program’s settings to allow a more comfortable seat. But this wasn’t a pleasure cruise, it was a business meeting.
Yalu: Affirmative. Ready when you are.
He couldn’t see it, but there was a smirk on her face as she took her time and guided the jet towards the perfect center on the runway. Once there, she paused only a moment before she slammed the throttle all the way up and kicked the afterburners on full, launching the hunk of metal into the sky. As soon as it was off the ground, she pulled the nose nearly all the way up and rocketed straight upwards.
It was only after she’d gotten the turning and burning out of her system, and thoroughly put the jet through some of her favorite moves, that she finally allowed it to settle into somewhat of level flight.
Yogan felt the g-force in his guts as the jet accelerated almost perpendicularly to the planet’s surface. If he didn’t know any better, he’d have sworn some parts of him were left behind, a Trill trail of bits and pieces dispersed across the holographic landscape. The captain clearly knew how to get results out of the antique craft, and a kaleidoscope of sky, sea, and surface swirled in front and above them.
Nicholotti: How ya doing back there?
Yalu: Never better! ::beat:: This really is a beautiful aircraft. Maybe we could land so we can appreciate its exterior?
Kali laughed. He had been the one to invite her…
Yalu: Just kidding. Kind of. The triple salchow was a bit unexpected, if I’m honest.
Nicholotti: Fair. But I know that’s not why we’re here. I’ll hand over the controls if you tell me why you really wanted to do this.
There was somewhat of a pause, and then the words filtered out over the helmet headset.
Yalu: I know that Resolution was the first ship you served on. I’m sorry that she was lost on our watch.
Kali raised an eyebrow, though he couldn’t see it.
Nicholotti: You can’t apologize for something that isn’t your fault. You all did the best you could with what you had. ::She paused a second and banked the plane, heading into a different direction.:: How are you handling things?
Being the subject of multiple interviews and inquiries and so on was never easy. She’d been through plenty and knew first hand. Still, it impacted each of them a little bit differently.
Yogan hadn’t considered the fact that they’d be seated single file, and that he’d be having this important conversation about his professional future with the back of the captain’s head. With the lack of eye contact and the headset crackling and hissing throughout, Yogan felt a bit like he was having a conversation with a radio ghost from the past. They couldn’t very well go paint horga’hns, now could they? Addison had already claimed that privilege. Ah, well, they were here now, and Yogan had the captain’s ear until their hour in the holosuite was up. No time like the present, as they say in Temporal Mechanics.
Yalu: I withdrew at first. I felt overwhelmed by everything that happened. But then I spoke to some people who helped me out.
Good. That was very good. Kali had not. It had taken a Betazoid back then to get in her head and tell her she was alright. She wondered if that was all that much different now, since another Betazoid in an entirely different capacity was now getting into her head...with her as a willing participant.
Nicholotti: That’s good. It’s good to have close friends among our family.
Indeed, the ship was a family and the Resolution had been closer than most. But even without a ship, that didn’t change.
Yalu: Cayden, Addison, and Genkos especially. They all helped me realize something about myself. Captain, I think I see a future for myself in command, and I want to pursue it.
TBC
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Fleet Captain Kalianna Nicholotti
Commanding Officer
USS Resolution
R238605KN0
Helm Officer
USS Resolution NCC-78145
Justin D238804DS0