Introductions and Aspirations

Posted on 07 Mar 2025 @ 7:21pm by Lieutenant Callisi Veera & Captain Brynhild Kleim

1,652 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Miranda
Location: Captain's Ready Room

She took her challenge to heart. She took the words of the Captain, and the Ship Second, to heart. She wrote a proposal, then deleted it. Wrote a new one, deleted it. Each time she put words to PaDD, to her it sounded worse. Words and phrases, concepts on digital canvas. She had to put SOMETHING down, she couldn't just talk the Captain's ears off.

She closed her eyes..... eye. She put a hand over the prosthetic to bathe it in darkness, and then she began again. A proposal. A history. A legacy. She spoke from the heart. From her pride in her Navy. From her pride in the fleet. To better. To BE better. An hour passed, then another, then another. What she had at the end wasn't terrible. It was better... she'd keep this one, and with that she'd head off to the Captain's Ready Room. To meet the new captain, and to forge her destiny. Remain in Ops. Become the Wing Commander. Do both and sacrifice everything. Choose one and not go insane. That part she was still working on.

She'd reach the ready room, hesitating for a moment. An uncharacteristic delay, before she steeled her courage and rang the announce chime. The die, as it were, was cast.

Captain Brynhild Kleim was still getting used to the extra pip on her collar as well as this ready room. It was bigger than her executive officer's space on her last posting, although it wasn't necessarily 'big' since the Odin was not a luxury sort of ship. She didn't mind that, as she wasn't a luxury sort of woman. No one who came up through the fighter pilot ranks and then chose the masochistic path of command usually wasn't.

When her door chime went off, she was standing next to her replicator but hadn't ordered yet. She'd gotten caught up in reading the PADD in her hand. "Enter," she called, looking up once the door swished open.

The door swished, and had barely stopped before Callisi took two steps in. Quiet steps that carried her far enough in that the doors closed behind her before she turned to the Captain. Crisp and clean, it was obvious that Callisi's upbringing was military. Certainly not Starfleet's military, though. "Sir. Welcome aboard." she began.

"Lieutenant Callisi Veera. Here for a formal meet, and a proposal for you and the Ship Second." a pause, Callisi relaxed but only just, "I realize you're still getting your ears up. This proposal needs no action or attention now, but if you have the time I would like to walk you through it. It concerns the fighter wing aboard the Odin, and my aspirations to improve it into something worth calling a fighter wing."

This is off to an interesting start, Brynna thought as she took in the officer before her. She took a moment and then inclined her head slightly. "At ease, Lieutenant," she said. She ordered a coffee from the replicator and then went to sit down behind her desk, setting aside the PADD she had been reading. She waved at the chair across from her in invitation. "Do tell. What are the deficiencies that you see in the air group here and what is your plan to rectify them?"

Callisi relaxed at the notice, and at the invitation she took the offered seat. "Their record could use improvement. One of the .. pilots in the wing is a synthetic intelligence, which for all its response time and processing speed it lacks variety and capacity to adapt. Of the last four missions its been sent out on, two were returns with damage. Unlike a real pilot, who can move to another craft while repairs effect, this one cannot." she started. "The rest of the wing has adequate performance, but I can't stand by while Adequate is the new Acceptable." Callisi's sin was pride, that much was evident. Ten seconds into a conversation with her, and it came right to the front.

"I served for nine years in the Navy back home. Drop ship pilot. Troop transport, blockade running. I was trained to be a fighter pilot, but the need was elsewhere." she paused for a moment, "I lost the eye on my second year. I became the Dead Eye on the field. I served seven more years after that day. Now I'm here, operations chief, and this ... pilot earned the Deadeye name." a pause, as she composed herself. "I owe it to the corps to improve the wing's performance, to help them be better than just Average. I owe it to the callsign to make sure it's in good hands. I owe it to Starfleet to make every section the best it can be."

"My plan is to coach them. I have nine years of experience on the front lines of a war they've never seen. I can run sorties, drills, simulations of terrain and encounters. Everything from ambushes and recon observations to exfil and dustoff." she offered. "I'm currently the chief of the Operations department, so this will have to be a project after that shift. Breaking the day into a series of threes, I can devote time to Operations, to wing academy, and then recovery and rest."

"I see," the captain replied. Her tone was measured, and her expression impassive. That was pretty much standard for the woman, although the lieutenant wouldn't know that. She had reviews the records of the air group for herself and did not find it quite as wanting as Callisi, but she didn't offer that just yet. She sipped her coffee. "How much flight and simulator time do you presently have on Starfleet fighter craft?" she asked.

"With Starfleet fighters and shuttles, not counting standard shuttle courses in academy... None." she answered direct. No point in dancing around the fact.

"So, you've never flown with this air group, any Starfleet fighter wing, or in any Starfleet fighter," Brynna said. If there was any emotion or opinion attached to the question, it couldn't be heard. "Do I have that right?"

"That's correct. The only experience I have behind a cockpit is the time I served back in the Navy." There was a slight edge to Callisi's response, but she tempered that edge with the respect of talking to the ship's Captain.

The captain made a noncommittal sound. "So, I further understand your proposal will be to train our current air group in the style and tactic of your naval experience prior to Starfleet?"

Callisi gave a nod, "Yes sir." she replied, "I recognize that that might not be something Starfleet wants."

"Not solely, certainly," Brynna agreed. "I'm not necessarily wedded to doing just what Starfleet wants, since this is now my command and thus my air group." She paused to take a sip of her coffee. "Have you had a chance to read my file brief?" There was always some amount of a file available to senior staff on their commander, and then parts that were only viewable to the first officer and her higher-ups. Her departmental history would be part of what was available to the senior staff, however.

"Wing command and marshal of an air group. If your ears were longer, I'd say you've earned your Red." Callisi commented, a cultural reference perhaps. "I didn't dig deeper than I felt I needed to see."

Brynna smiled faintly and inclined her head again. She wasn't one to brag, but she also didn't hide her light. She had been good at her job, and she knew it. "Would you be willing to put in time to learn Starfleet vessels, tactics, and group breakdown and strategies prior to creating a plan to integrate Fleet methods with Ts'usugi tactics before taking on this project?"

Callisi gave a nod, "I would. My initial concept was to drill them as I had been taught. Your notion of learning Starfleet methodology to then apply Ts'usu Navy tactics to it sounds the proper way to approach this." a pause, "It'll give some fundamentals to build off of."

"I'm glad we're in agreement, then," she said. "I'll work up a rundown myself of what I think you'll need to know to best move ahead with the Fleet side of things. Once you've gone through it and put in the simulator hours, I'd like to see a workup of how you plan to merge the styles and proceed with the training." Her faint smile tilted up a little more at the corners. "And if you like, I'd be happy to run some sim time with you."

"I'd like to see about adding Ts'usu Naval craft to the ship's roster of simulations as well. For that, I may need to reach out and contact the Empire for permissions and specifications. For that, I'd need to access the Buoys." there was a capital B there. "Once I get my ears back, once I get my Red back, I'd welcome the opportunity to sh... I'd welcome the opportunity to fly with a wing again." her competitive pride kicked in for a moment, but she reeled it in. This WAS the captain afterall.

"Being in the Ops department will help establish the Ts'usu simulations are accurate. I'd hate to have to program them in myself."

"I look forward to seeing what you put together, Lieutenant," Brynhild said. "You can access what communications systems you need in order to gain the information you require."

Callisi gave a nod, "I'll head to the communications hub to begin the exchange and then get to work on the certifications immediately." a pause, "Thank you, sir."

With another spare smile, Brynhild inclined her head in acknowledgement. "Pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant. Dismissed."

"Likewise, sir. A pleasure." Callisi replied. She had a full plate and wanted it handled sooner, rather than later. With the dismissal, she turned and headed out. So much to do, so little time.

 

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