Class is in session

Posted on Sun 30th Apr, 2017 @ 9:45pm by Lieutenant Colonel Brooklyn Wellington

948 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Wrongs Darker Than Death Or Night
Location: Marine Holosuite One

The Razor-Class starfighter approached Starbase Vanguard's fighter hanger. "Ok, let's go for a manual approach," came the voice of Captain Brooklyn Wellington. Automated approaches were a cake walk, where the computer took control and guided the fighter, shuttle, or runabout into the hangar. But manual was just that--manual.

Corporal Ben Smith guided the Razor class starfighter towards the waiting landing bay. His breath was rapid as he piloted the fighter. Even though he knew it was a simulation, it still felt and seemed real.

"You're coming in too hot. Decrease speed," came Wellington's voice again.

Smith pulled the throttle back some in response.

"Still too hot! Raise your nose by fifteen degrees! Shit, wave off, wave off!"

However it was too late as the razor crashed onto the deck and the holosuite simulation ended. The doors opened as Wellington approached Corporal Smith. "I--I'm sorry, ma'am," he said as he tried put aside the adrenaline now filling his body.

"Relax, Smith," Wellington said, holding up a hand. "Only a vulcan can get a manual landing on the first try--even I failed it the first time. But learn from your mistakes. You now know how quickly a mistake can happen and the results. Remember that piloting a ship in space is a total different world than piloting in atmospheric conditions--especially on manual."

"Yes ma'am."

"Go and study your manuals some more for class tomorrow. You're dismissed, Corporal.'

"Aye ma'am," Smith said before heading for the holosuite doors that opened as Lieutenant O'Malley entered. "Ma'am, it's time for your testing of the Black Knights Squadron."

"Ah, yes. Let's see how they're doing," Wellington said as she walked with O'Malley out of the holosuite.

-----------------------------------

The black hull Valkyrie Class Attack fighter sped through the darkness of space, nearly invisible to the naked eye as it caught sight of it's prey--a flight of Razor Class Interceptors. The Razor pilots, seeing the incoming bandit, broke up, splitting off into two groups consisting of two fighters and increased speed towards the Valkyrie. 'Staying in pairs--good,' Wellington thought. 'Now it's time to see if you have claws.' "Hold on and get ready to fire," she said to her Weapons Officer who sat in the seat directly behind her.

Wellington shoved the throttle all the way forward as the Warp engines engaged and the fighter disappeared in a flash of light as it hit the light barrier and almost immediately brought the fighter back out of warp and into full impulse, bringing the fighter into a high energy turn, that strained the inertial dampeners causing a 6-G load onto Wellington and her weapons officer and brought her fighter onto the six of two of the Razors. The weapons officer fired as the tactical computer gained a sensor lock and fired two simulated torpedoes that tracked their targets and struck.

Inside the fighters, the weapons went off line and a red light filled the cockpit to indicate they had been killed. "What the hell? How'd she get on our six so fast? She came out of nowhere!" one pilot complained, shocked.

Wellington spotted the other two razors coming in fast as the kept her fighter at full impulse and again pushed her fighter to warp and immediately bringing it back out to full impulse. Again, she pulled another high energy turn, coming up on the six of the other two razors. The weapons officer fired two more torpedoes with one striking it's target and the other narrowly missing, as the lone surviving pilot banked hard and released countermeasures. Wellington, without missing a beat, followed the fighter. She knew better to get into a maneuvering contest with the smaller, more agile Razor. However, the Valkyrie had significant speed, range, and endurance factors over the Razor as well as being the only starfighter capable of atmospheric flight. Wellington then broke off as the Razor pulled into the turn tighter, and then rolled her fighter over, coming in behind on the six of the Razor, called a barrel roll attack maneuver as the Weapons Officer fired another torpedo that struck it's target this time.

"Alright, the fun's over. Let's get back to base and we'll see if you learned anything from this encounter in the debriefing," Wellington said with a grin.

------------

Wellington entered the pilot's briefing room to the sour faces of four defeated pilots. "So, can any of you tell me how I defeated you four so quickly?" she asked, leaning forward on the podium at the head of the room.

"No idea, ma'am. You were like a ghost. One minute I had you at five thousand K and the next you were on my six," said a female bolian.

"And therein lies the answer," Wellington replied to the confused looks of the four younger pilots. "When a ship or starfighter goes to warp, there is a momentary sensor loss as the sensors readjust to tracking a faster than light craft and the sensors end up with two target. One is a ghost sensor contact and the other is the real one. Admiral Picard once used a similar tactic against the Ferengi called the Picard Maneuver, except I modified it to come in behind the target."

"Son of a--" one pilot said as he chuckled.

"I'll have to remember that one for myself," grinned another pilot.

"Do so, and learn from this encounter and apply it to your training. If you have nothing else, you're dismissed."

The four pilots stood before replying, "aye, ma'am!" They then headed for the exit.

Hungry, Wellington decided it was time for a visit to the promenade for some food as she made her way out of the briefing room.

 

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