Three Pilots

Posted on Sat Mar 12th, 2022 @ 7:42am by Commander Raiden Kosugi & Ensign Ralen Koges (Ziyal) & Lieutenant JG Spencer Griffith-Bailey

Mission: The Goddess
Location: Arcadia Messhall
1804 words - 3.6 OF Standard Post Measure

Raiden looked at his PADD and just stared at it for a long moment, he was way behind on meeting the other helmsmen that were on the Arcadia. Scoffing a little bit at himself, Raiden went to seek them out. The mess hall might be a good bet to find them, it was chow time anyway.

Spencer had already finished eating and was leaning back on one of the chairs while he finished his drink. He'd only been on the Arcadia for maybe a day or so and hadn't had an opportunity to meet many other people except a few on the bridge.

Putting the cup down, Spencer stretched out his arms in front of him and rubbed the tattoo on his wrist, and thought about how he hadn't chatted with Rubi for a few days now. His thoughts, however, were interrupted by someone walking over and sitting down next to him.

"Honestly if I see the underside of a shuttlecraft again in the next week I swear I am going to blow that airlock," Ralen exclaimed as he dropped himself next to the soul at one of the tables within the lounge. Biting a bit of bread he rubbed the crumbs off. "Sorry, Ralen Koges." he said through muffled breaded words and extending his now crumb-free hand towards bearded-looking Human.

Spencer looked up and laughed while extending his hand to return the shake, "Spencer Griffith-Bailey. Blow the airlock and watch the boss go nuts, he'll have you seeing the underside of the shuttlecraft for the foreseeable future." He laughed again as he motioned for the other man to sit down with him. "Come, take a seat."

"Quite a mouthful of a name." Ralen said ironically given the food rolling around his own. "But if the airlock was mysteriously to blow..." he said looking innocent. "Maybe voles would be to blame." he grinned.

Raiden having just gotten his own food took interest in two individuals and strolled his way over. "Voles are a good excuse but would be an awful mess to clean up after. Especially with their penchant for eating things that have a bit of spark to them. Guess it could be zesty spaghetti?" giving a grin. "Mind if I take a seat? I'm Raiden Kosugi."

"Sounds tasty in my opinion, but I'll eat anything," Ralen said looking up towards the Asian gentleman approaching them. Then he uttered his name to reveal who he was. Ralen smiled broadly. "Thought I recognized your face, always gotta know who your boss is in case he sneaks up on you," he said holding both hands up as if to illustrate his point. "Join us. We'll have a party... although you and I are the only ones still eating." he cocked his head towards Spencer.

Spencer looked at them both and took a long swig of his drink, "Not my fault you guys came late." He shrugged and grinned widely. "I can't say I've actually had the delicacy of vole before so count me out on that one. What can we do for you, boss?"

"Nothing much, just wanted to grab a bite to eat and also see if either of you were here. Both of you are and just wanted to engage in some chit-chat. Always best to get to know one another." taking a seat and using a pair of chopsticks to begin eating his ramen noodles. He paused between bites, "So new people on the ship, and you'll get to take turns piloting the Arcadia. Do you think you're up for it?" flashing a smile before he picked up some more noodles, sort of slurping them into his mouth.

"Ah, I've flown bigger," Ralen admitted. "Well Tabo Koges has... one of my symbionts previous hosts." he had been joined with him for many years now but still was getting used to all the memories and personalities that were held within him. "I am pretty confident I can manage. If not I am sure Tabo will pop up for a visit."

Raiden nodded then picked up a slice of egg that was in his ramen and deftly popped it in his mouth, "So..." him talking around his egg slice. He held up a finger and drank some of the tea that he had, then continued, "You've got the ability to fly some large ships, that is good. How about you Spencer? What's your preference and what sort of ships you can fly?"

"The smaller the better, Boss." Spencer kicked back on the chair again after listening to Ralen, "I kinda broke a few rules in a previous posting and got grounded from fighters but am happy to fly anything." He hoped that one day he could get his wings back but would probably have to wait a while longer.

"I do like a fighter or a streamlined shuttle. Something quite elegant about being able to hug an enemy ship and them get nowhere near you." Ralen offered into the conversation. "What did you do to get grounded? I am very interested in this now," he added whilst signaling the server for another drink.

Raiden took another bite of his ramen, then looked at Spencer. "You know I plan on you getting ungrounded, I am going to be needing all my people up to par and ready to pilot the ship. So yes what made them ground you? Did you do a fly-by near a conn tower?" making a reference to an old earth movie titled Top Gun.

It's not that interesting Spencer thought to himself as he scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly before taking a quick drink and looking at the other two. "Well, I'd just finalized the divorce from my now ex-wife and decided to celebrate by having a few drinks; three to be precise. I'd been chatting up the Captain's daughter, Lauren, for a while and we decided to take one of the fighters out for a bit of a joy flight." He took a deep breath and continued, "Apparently flying while having alcohol in your system AND having the Captain's daughter there was enough to get me grounded indefinitely. He sent it up higher and got me transferred to Flight Control on a different ship, hence why I'm now here." Spencer opened his arms out wide and laughed.

All Ralen took from the stories was the girl. He leaned in a bit and quietly asked, "Did you get anywhere with the daughter though?" a small smirk on his face.

Spencer grinned and then shook his head. Lauren was... different. "She may have a body to die for but it was her intelligence that I found more attractive and I couldn't just use her to get over my ex. Do you get what I mean?"

Raiden nodded. "I get what you mean, but seriously isn't there a way I can find some strings to pull to get you back into flying?" Raiden was serious about this. "Maybe.. the Captain can come up with something."

"If you can, that would be absolutely fantastic." Spencer nodded, "I'm serious about getting back to flying and I can honestly say I've learnt my lesson on that one, plus being grounded doesn't make me a good role model, does it?"

Raiden shook his head, "I'll definitely have you talk to Captain Hawkins, he is one for giving people second chances or even third chances. And I'll talk with him as well. Can't have good people not be utilized." Raiden stated.

"Sounds very un-marine like." Ralen commented. "I mean I am all for second chances, third, fourth." he said rolling his hand to imply a continuation of the numbers. "But usually those from the marine family like to just shut us down and keep on going."

"Well, I am rather determined to have you part of the regular crew as in operating the helm when needed." Raiden responded, looking at Spencer. "With how wild things get out here, we need everyone ready and able bodied."

"Able bodied, just like the daughter..." Ralen said out loud for a moment, his mind filter not engaging as he thought of past encounters of the sexual kind. "But yes, I agree. Get Spencer back into the game." he grinned.

Spencer raised an eyebrow, his face suddenly growing serious at the comment made as he thought about his own daughter, "You all good there mate?" He asked Ralen before turning to Raiden, "Tell me what you need and I can get it done to get back in the air again."

"I'll go talk with the Captain, get that rolling and I want you, Spencer, to make certain you get your practice in where flight is concerned. I want your certifications updated. Run the practices, the battle drills, that sort of thing. I want you in tip top condition." Raiden responded.

He had noticed Spencer's reaction towards Ralen's comment, and wondered about it.

"All good brother." Ralen replied before looking at Raiden.

"How is your qualifications with your flying?" Raiden asked Ralen. "I know I can just look it up but, I want to hear your own perceptions on your skills."

"Largest ship I have piloted would be an older Galaxy class, big girls got some turning circle let me tell you." Ralen began. "Aside from that I've piloted the standard shuttles and runabouts, nothing too adventurous I'm afraid. Although one of my previous hosts was a fighter pilot, fought during the Dominion War."

Raiden nodded, "Well I want you to get your skills upgraded too. Need all my people top notch." he finished off his food then rose from the table to get some dessert, bringing it back. "So, what do you do on your offtime?"

"No problem boss. I can see about some time on the holodeck and real flight time when we are not on an active mission." Ralen spoke. "Time off, you work us like animals sir." he joked. "But seriously, I usually just head to the lounge, the gym or the holodeck. My symbiont finds the noise of water quite soothing so I try to keep them happy."

Raiden gave a nod, "That sounds like a good idea. Even if I don't have a symbiont, I like the sound of rain. It has a peaceful calming affect on me." he ate his dessert which was just a piece of cake and when it was finished, he patted his stomach feeling comfortably full. "Well I've got to get back to it, I'll be checking up on you both later on. And lets do lunch together once more." Raiden rising up from the table. "Until next time and I will also speak to the captain, as soon as possible." with a final wave, Raiden exited the messhall. It was time to go back to work.