2nd Lt. Ishani 'Snowball' Singh - Every Second Counts

[Geoffrey Teller]

(( Flight Deck, Valkyrie 1 )) 

Glad to finally be back to flying Ishani aligned the fighter along the trajectory that Ringo had laid out.  Time passed and the two of them alternated between moments of flat professionalism while they coordinated and controlled the efforts of the entire squadron spreading through the system and times of silly levity meant to keep the two of them relaxed and engaged.  

Her newly rebuilt fighter was handling well, completely repaired after Specialist Gra'vel's recent test flight.  Ishani liked Gra'vels attitude about the whole thing and had been a strong supporter of her efforts to join the flight team.  The spunky little mound of rocks had set their sights on a lofty goal and kept coming back at it with enthusiasm and honest effort.  Now if only the engineers could figure out a solution that would keep the fighter from dissolving when Gra'vel got a bit excited.  

Ishani's heads up display flashed and a new course plot appeared, a significant diversion from their planned survey area.  She trusted Ringo enough to start making the course change before he offered an explanation.  

Henderson: Snowball, I want to check out something that Valkyrie 3 might have missed, feeding you a new course now.  

Ishani smiled and slid the fighter into alignment as the comm system opened from the troop compartment.  It seemed their sensor data had caught the attention of their passengers as well.  

Rouiancet: =/\= Rouiancet to Henderson and Singh. =/\= 

Henderson: =/\= Go ahead ma'am. =/\= 

Singh: =/\= Snowball online, go ahead Commander. =/\= 

Rouiancet: =/\= Lieutenant Jehe's found something interesting. She'll send the data to your closest monitor. (with a nod at Jehe) We need to double back to the planet in question. Have the full wing converge there. =/\= 

Ishani verified the immediate area was clear before swapping over to the long range sensors and evaluating this new data for herself.  Ringo had managed to get a loose fix on an intermittent EM signature that had been on the very edge of Valkyrie 3's detection threshold.  Their intelligence officer lived up to their name and managed to tease far more information out of the sensor data, establishing a solid fix on a small planetoid near the outskirts of the system.

Henderson: =/\= Well, I'll be damned, we were just about to go check that area out, ma'am. =/\=  

Singh: =/\= Aye Commander, we're on course for the planetoid.  Ringo, advise Valkyrie flight to abort their survey runs and rally on us as soon as possible.  Eta to intercept? =/\= 

Henderson: =/\= Four minutes. I'm sure our pilot here would love to make it three and a half, but I don't think you'd enjoy the ride back there. =/\= 

Singh: =/\= Ringo did remember to give you two helmets, right? =/\=  

The commline closed and the flight deck grew quiet but now the mood had completely changed.  Casual conversation and banter was gone entirely, replaced by the sounds of Ringo intensely working over the sensor data.  Internally, Ishani felt herself growing slightly more tense.  The unexpected had a tendency to be very dangerous in her line of work.  She let Josh work without interruption as they closed the distance to their target.  

Henderson: I'm not exactly sure what we're walking into here. Looks like some kind of energy source, but it could just be the nebula playing tricks on our sensors. 

Singh: Could be a resonance echo from the Thor reflecting off the nebula and back at us.  Big girl is a lot of things but stealthy isn't one of them.  

Henderson: That was my initial reaction, but since Lieutenant Jehe was able to pinpoint it to a planet, I'm thinking it might actually be something. We're still too far out to tell if it's in orbit or on the surface.  

Singh: Understood.  Establish a rally point for the squadron here. ::Ishani marked a point on her hud a safe distance from the sensor contact::  We'll head in close and get some short range readings before committing the rest of the squadron.   

Her job was to take risks, but each risk was carefully calculated to produce a result for the mission.  By having the squadron hang back she had minimized the risk to them for a moment and had left them in a position to offer support if it was needed, but it meant her fighter would be very much alone and extremely exposed.  Ishani could feel the muscles in her shoulder and neck tensing as the sensors kicked back new information about their target.  

Henderson: =/\= Alright ladies, we're still a couple minutes out, but the computer's got a fix on this thing. Definitely an unnatural energy source in orbit of the planet. Still can't tell what it is, but it's not very big. =/\= 

Singh:  =/\= I've ordered the squadron into a standoff position for the moment until we can verify the nature of the contact.  We're setting up for a high speed pass to collect short range sensor data. =/\=

Jehe/Rouiancet: =/\=Response =/\= 

Henderson: =/\= Whatever it is, there's more than one. It just split into six separate energy sources, and now they are spreading out in orbit. =/\= 

Ishani watched as her threat board lit up, the small constellation of sensor contacts spreading out and coming into better focus.  Something about their movement reminded her of the mines they had faced near New Bajor.  Outside her canopy, the small planetoid was rapidly growing as she angled the fighter in for its reconnaissance pass.  

Singh:  =/\= Forty seconds till we're within sensor range of the first contact.  Strap in and hang on tight down there.  =/\=

Henderson/Jehe/Rouiancet: =/\=Response =/\= 

The last few moments stretched into an eternity as Ishani pushed the throttles up towards their limit, turning her fighter into an arrow rushing across the outermost orbit of the planetoid.  Less than a second after they closed to short range Ishani's threat display began howling in alarm with multiple weapons locks detected.  They were under attack.  

Singh:  =/\= Valk Flight this is Valk One Actual we are red repeat we are red break formation and go defensive =/\=

Bright green weapons fire lanced past the canopy close enough to dazzle Ishani's vision and she rolled the fighter largely by instinct, barely dodging another blast.  The satellites had spread out to encircle her, trying to cut off her avenues of escape.  Her hands tightened on the controls as she keyed the intercom to Josh.  

Singh:  =/\= Ringo you think you can do something about the weather? Bit too hot here for my liking. =/\=  

The fighter shuddered, a near miss passing within 5 meters.  Ishani launched countermeasures and willed her fighter to dance.  

Henderson/Jehe/Rouiancet: =/\= Response =/\= 

The fighter rocked, a glancing hit on their portside shields. 

Singh:  =/\= Can't keep this up forever Ringo, tell me something.  =/\=

Henderson/Jehe/Rouiancet: =/\= Response =/\= 

Ishani wove between fields of fire that were tightly interlocked, finding the few remaining miniscule gaps.  Her hud lit up with a group of new contacts, the remainder of the Valkyrie flight completely disregarding her orders and rushing in to provide support.  They'd be within weapons range in seconds but in the midst of combat, seconds could be a lifetime.  Their lifetimes.  

Henderson/Jehe/Rouiancet: =/\= Response =/\= 

Tags/TBC!

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2nd Lt. Ishani 'Snowball' Singh

Marine Aviator

USS Thor

V239509GT0