Lieutenant Wyatt Ral - Test Flight!
Jason Price
((Deck 7, Main Shuttlebay, USS Thor))
Repairs had been completed on the Modi and Wyatt returned to the Magni, popping his head into the open doorway and asking if the other pair had completed theirs. After confirmation they had Wyatt suggested they take them for a test flight they had all stood outside the shuttles to decide which to take out first.
Meris: On J'naii we have special tokens for this but in these circumstances this will be an acceptable facsimile.
Kreshkova: And vhat do you do vizh zhem, Meris?
Ral: This sounds familiar. Explain how it works.
Meris: See how I have only colored one side of the token? The colored side will represent the Magni and the uncolored side will represent the Modi. Now comes the interesting part... I will use my thumb to accelerate this token spiraling it into the air. While it is spinning, you can't hardly know which end it will land on with any degree of accuracy. In the air, you ::points to Kreshkova:: as the ranking officer will "call it". That is – you will declare which side of the token you believe will land facing upward? If your call is correct, that is the shuttle we will take out. If your call is incorrect, then we will take out the opposing shuttle. Do you understand? ::looks between them, not sure they get it:: I can explain it again if that would be helpful.
oO Of course a coin toss. Oo
Wyatt saw Sasch look over at him and he gave a barely perceptible nod, a silent agreement not to point out it wasn’t just a J’
Kreshkova: I vould be delighted to participate in your ritual, Meris.
Ral: I think we get the idea. ::smiling:: Go ahead, Lieutenant.
Meris stepped back into a slightly wider stance and balanced the token expertly against the edge of their thumb. The look in their eyes suggested deep concentration.
Meris: Are you both prepared?
Wyatt watched as Meris attempted to build the tension and anticipation of the spin. They clearly took the entire process very seriously. But then everything about Meris always seemed to be very serious.
Kreshkova: I’m ready!
Meris: Now Commander! Call it now!
As she’d spoken she flicked the token into the air, it spanned quickly, the marked side flashing as it spun up through the air before heading back down towards the deck.
Kreshkova: Magni
Wyatt looked at Sasch as she called it. Of course it had been the ship she had been working on and cared so much for. The disk hit the ground and rolled a long way, clinking against the side of the Modi and falling onto the blackened side of the disk.
Kreshkova: Vell, look zhere! It’s heads…I mean, I got it right! So, zhat means ve’re taking zhe Magni out, right?
Meris: That is correct. Because you declared that the colored side representing the Magni would land facing upward, and because the colored side did, in fact, land facing upward, the outcome of the ritual dictates that we will take the Magni. Had the uncolored side landed upward instead, we would have taken the Modi despite your selection. ::a beat:: It is an extremely sophisticated system.
Ral: Seems fair to me.
Both shuttles needed testing and Wyatt had no preference about which came first.
Kreshkova: Vell, let’s go zhen! Meris, since ve got zhe chance to repair zhe shuttle, should ve gif zhe engineer zhe chance to fly it?
Wyatt’s eyes widened slightly with a look of mild surprise at the suggestion. The two of them were both pilots and the more obvious choice whilst he monitored the systems.
Ral: I wouldn’t want to deprive either of you of the opportunity after all the work you’ve both put into her.
Meris: If the Lieutenant would like to pilot the vessel, I'm happy to serve as his copilot.
The three of them headed back towards the Magni. Wyatt had a few butterflies, it had been a while since he’d flown a shuttle and now he would have two pilots observing how well he did. And how many mistakes he made. He had just climbed back on board when he heard Sasch speak. He turned and realised she was talking to Meris.
Kreshkova: You haf a little grease on your cheek. Here.
Meris caught the rag that had been gently thrown to her and smeared the grease further across her cheek.
Kreshkova: May I?
Meris stood there while Sasch took the cloth and wiped the remaining grease from their face like an attentive mother. Wyatt sensed a slight uneasiness from Meris at the closeness of the action.
Kreshkova: Zhere. Much better.
Meris: Thank you Commander.
Ral: A little grease is always a good sign you’ve been working hard. ::smiling::
Wyatt claimed into the pilot seat and the display lit up as he touched it and the computer recognised him. Meris claimed into the co-pilot seat beside him. Meris’s hands moved across the console activating the shuttle systems.
Meris: Auxiliary power online. Running preflight diagnostic sweep on helm controls, RCS thruster quads, and inertial dampening systems. Warp core output remains stable and plasma variance is holding within acceptable limits.
Wyatt hit several keys and the computer chirped back a quick response.
Ral: Confirmed. Everything appears to be within nominal range.
Kreshkova: Response.
Meris: Structural integrity field synchronized. Navigational deflectors responding normally. Control surfaces calibrated. All primary systems at standby.
Ral: Looks like we’re all set.
Kreshkova: Response
Meris keyed the shuttle's communications system active and requested departure clearance from shuttlebay operations. Moments later the familiar whoop-whoop alarm echoed throughout the bay as the massive doors began to part before them, revealing the stars beyond.
Meris: We have clearance to depart, Lieutenant. You may take us out at your leisure.
oO Here we go. Oo
Wyatt turned towards Meris.
Ral: Try not to judge my flying too harshly, Lieutenant. :: smiling::
Kreshkova: Response
Wyatt took a slow breath as his hands moved across the console and the Magni eased up off the deck. The shuttle rose smoothly into a controlled hover before easing forward. The speed increased slightly and in seconds they were passing through the atmospheric forcefield.
Wyatt pushed the nose down and they left the Thor behind as they were enveloped by the darkness of space and the stars shone as hard white points. He relaxed slightly as he made a few turns.
Ral: How’s the systems looking?
Kreshkova/Meris: Response
Ral: She’s handling well.
Kreshkova/Meris: Response
Wyatt couldn’t help but grin slightly as he nudged the throttle forward letting the Magni get some distance from the Thor.
Ral: How rigorous a test had you in mind, Lieutenant?
Meris: Response
Now the controls felt more familiar he relaxed into the pilot role. His grin widened as he rolled the shuttle hard to starboard. The Magni spun through a full barrel roll, although the artificial gravity made sure the effects weren’t anything like what they’d feel in a planet's gravity well.
Kreshkova/Meris: Response
Ral: Still within tolerances?
Meris: Response
Wyatt accelerated the ship rapidly then commanded a full emergency stop while initiating a 180 degree turn. The inertial dampeners compensated rapidly and smoothly.
Kreshkova: Response
He looked back at the commander and smiled.
Kreshkova/Meris: Response
—
Lieutenant Wyatt Ral
Assistant Chief Engineer
USS Thor NCC-85852
C239903WR3