The Most Dangerous Game

Posted on Tue Oct 21st, 2014 @ 2:48pm by Commander Eliana Masters & Lieutenant JG Rayleigh Carver & Captain Jey Cleh & Lieutenant Commander Adria "Tempest" Desoro

Mission: Bloodpath
Location: Starbase 80 - Main Promenade
Timeline: Following "Just Breathe"

ON:

By any measure, one would have to consider Eliana's visit to the Chesapeake a complete success. Without any rapport built up with the ship's captain, a request to speak to a senior officer with the intent of getting him or her to transfer faced long odds at best, but somehow she had managed it. Of course, Glover had not gone down without a fight, but the negotiations had gone well enough that she did not have to use her trump card.

Of course, the transfer orders were locked away in her jacket pocket, but Ellie had no intentions of using them. Yes, it was true that she could force Lieutenant Carver away from her position and reassign her under any one of multiple clauses in the code of regulations, but forcing someone to work against their will was never really an option, even in desperate times.

Now, the trick would be to actually find the officer in question. The physical description contained in her personnel file portrayed a short, fit brunette with a penchant for sport and flying. Since the main computer on the Chesapeake had not yet fully integrated with the systems on the station, a simple query to the computer was unlikely to yield any results.

"Computer, locate Lieutenant Rayleigh Carver."

"Error. Unable to locate. Please try again."

It was eternal optimism at its best.

"Looking for me?"

Masters turned towards the voice and saw a match for the description she had been given. As luck would have it, she had just walked by and was within earshot of Masters' query to the computer.

"As a matter of fact I am," Eliana smiled as she approached. "Commander Eliana Masters, Starbase 80, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise Commander," Carver replied, accepting the outstretched hand that had held a PADD just moments ago. "Lieutenant Rayleigh Carver of the Chesapeake, but you already knew that. Can I be of help in any way?"

"I hope so Lieutenant. Were you heading somewhere? I could probably point you in the direction of where you want to go."

"Uh, actually, I was just going to go to the promenade and find some food. I'm craving a home cooked meal - uh, don't tell chef that though," the shorter woman added quickly.

"Your secret is safe with me," Ellie motioned as if she were zipping her lips. "I have a recommendation and a proposition for you, if you don't mind mixing business with dinner."

"Please, lead the way."

There was no going back once the first impression had been made. If anything, the exchange was polite, almost to the point of insincerity. On the surface, two strangers had met, but it lacked the usual camaraderie that was shared amongst pilots. While having this thought, Masters realized she had forgotten to explain that particular fact about herself.

"I've never flown a Nebula class starship before, how is it?" Eliana queried. If her conversation mate could fill in the blanks, hopefully the aforementioned camaraderie would be established.

"I was wondering if that red meant command or flight control," Carver laughed in return.

"Well actually, both."

"Oh, well then, two for two is a pretty good way to start. Um, to answer your question, it's fairly maneuverable in tight spaces because despite the massive size, it's fairly compact. Not lacking for power either, though some of the newer stuff can outrun it. To be honest, I prefer the smaller stuff, it's what I was raised on."

"Interesting, did you ever plan on getting away from flying starships and going back to being a support craft pilot?"

"Not really," Rayleigh replied as the duo entered the turbolift. "It's not that I wouldn't want to, but I don't think many pilots end up leaving the bridge for a job flying shuttles and runabouts around. I haven't really done that since I was an instructor back at the Academy."

"I see." Eliana was going to save the pitch for later, but she could not have hoped for a better start to the conversation.

The turbolift dumped them onto the main promenade, curiously distant from the main food court. Of course, truly good food was worth a bit of a journey, not that Rayleigh was any wiser to the fact. To her then, it would be a happy coincidence that her fellow pilot would meet yet another flygirl on the way.

"Oh hey, Adria!" Eliana waved to her friend.

Adria had received a message to meet Eliana at Kataran's. "Eliana good to see you."

"This is Lieutenant Rayleigh Carver," Masters introduced them. "Lieutenant, this is Commander Desoro from the 220th Tactical Air Group Command."

"Pleasure make your acquaintance Lieutenant. Most around here call me Tempest," Adria directed her attention to Rayleigh as she was introduced.

"A pleasure to meet you Tempest," Rayleigh held up her end of the socially accepted norm.

"Well, since we're all here, I'll let you in on a little bit of a secret. For the best Terran cuisine on the station, you have to go to Kataran's," Masters motioned around the corner. The storefront was far from flashy - it would go mostly unnoticed with only a quick glance but then again, maybe that was done intentionally. Despite the suspicious looks of her companions, Masters led them up to Kataran's Palace and waited for the staff.

Kataran's Palace was a quiet little restaurant. As was the norm, only about half the tables, and booths were occupied. Quiet, relaxing music played through speakers that went unseen. The bar, which sat dead in the center of the place was tended by one person, who seemed to be quick, and knowledgeable about his job.

Moments after the group entered into the restaurant, a rather petite blonde woman appeared from around the corner. She flashed her friendliest smile. "Welcome to Katarans." She greeted, as she picked up three menus from a nearby counter. "Would you like a booth, table, or the bar?"

"A booth sounds good to me what about you two?" Honestly at the moment Desoro didn't really care given the way her schedule had been so far.

"Sounds good," Eliana and Rayleigh both nodded in turn. "We'll have a booth please."

"Right this way please?" The woman said. SHe led them half way around the bar to a booth that seemed isolated for the moment. No other customers were nearby that particular spot. The woman placed the menus on the table. "Here you are. Have a seat, and I'll be right back to take your orders."

As she started to walk away, a voice came from the bar. "Sarah, you forgot your name badge again!" The man behind the bar scolded. "How many times do I have to tell you? Customers like to see the names of the people they're interacting with!"

"Ugh!" The frustration was evident on her face as she sighed. "I'm such a blonde!" She said before moving off towards the back room.

There was a time in Ellie's past where she had dyed her hair blonde, but she had let her hair color return to its natural brown for at least the past decade or so. Still, the exuberant waitress's outburst drew a smile from her. Maybe it was time to change hair color again, who knew?

"I have to be honest," Masters addressed the group. "I've only been three or four times, but all the smart recommendations on the best Terran cuisine seem to lead to this place. So far, they haven't done anything to suggest a negative reputation. You should try the artichoke dip as an appetizer. I haven't a clue what an artichoke is, but it is delicious."

"Oh, you're not from Earth?" Rayleigh posed a question.

"Well, no. Only been a few times actually," Eliana replied. "I'm El Aurian. Just about older than the Federation itself, if you'd believe it."

"That's incredible. I, uh, I've never met an El Aurian before. I'm actually half Betazoid myself, but I prefer the food from Earth. There's something immensely satisfying about it. The variety is nice too."

Adria listened and nodded with a smile, "Although I'm full blooded Betazoid I enjoy a variety of foods. That's what you get growing up on a starship."

Their conversation was interrupted by Sarah's return, name badge and all. She set a glass of water in front of each of them, which was a standard here, then straightened back up, this time producing a PADD seemingly from nowhere. "Are you ready to order, or would you like a bit more time?"

"Artichoke dip for a starter please," Masters chirped in.

"Oh man!" Rayleigh had spotted something. "You guys dip your own onion rings? Please, please, please, please, puh-leeze let me have an order of those."

"Absolutely we do!" Sarah replied, tapping in the two orders she had gotten already. "Everything here is made fresh when you order it. We only replicate perishable items, but all of our other ingredients are stocked up every month by cargo ships." She turned to Adria. "Anything for you, Miss?"

"I'll try the fried zucchini strips appetizer," Adria replied then turned her attention back to the others. "So should I ask why you wanted me to meet you here?"

"Ok I have your orders." Sarah said, as she finished tapping on her PADD. "I'll be back in a few minutes with your orders." She said before walking off to another table.

"Well, I'll be as straightforward as possible," Eliana took a deep breath as she skipped treading water and jumped straight into the deep end. "We're having some issues with our pilot staffing here at the station, and we've been approved to consolidate the training program between Tempest's department and mine due to the commonality."

"Ah, I see where this is going," Carver replied, reaching out in front to take one of the glasses of water that had been left on the table.

"Yes," Masters replied flatly. "We need someone to run it, and every reference I talked to seemed to recommend you. You made quite the impression during your time as an instructor at the Academy. I'm hoping you'll do the same here on the station."

Adria listened and heard Carver's reluctance. "Do you really want to make a difference? We need a top notch instructor to help train pilots that are the tip of a spear. Out here it's not starships that define success or failure, its my department and our other auxiliary craft. The main responsibility for protection in this region falls on us."

"Well, I'll admit, I was sort of getting used to life on a starship," Rayleigh explained, thinking of the friends and relationships she had built with her fellow pilots. "I've got a few questions to ask you."

Their conversation was interrupted as Sarah returned with two of the given orders. "Here you go." She set Eliana's, and Adria's orders down in front of them, then turned to Rayleigh. "Your onion rings will be just a little longer." She gave the woman a smile, then asked in general. "Can I get you any drinks?"

"I'll take a tea thank you," Adria replied.

"Glass of lemonade please," Carver returned. Eliana motioned that she was content.

"So, what's life like here on the starbase? Anything you like about it?" It was Rayleigh's turn to do some questioning.

As Sarah walked away, Lizzy appeared at the entrance to the restaurant. Unlike the uniform she was usually seen wearing, she sported a pair of loose black slacks, and a pink, almost red blouse. Her gun was attached to her hip, secured in standard fashion just in case it was needed.

"Life on the station is good. If offers a lot more to do than on a Starship, even though we're so far out," at that point Adria happened to turn her attention to the doorway. Surprised to see Captain Cleh, not because she was standing there but because of how the Executive Officer happened to be dressed.

Noticing that the others' attention had been distracted by someone else walking in, Carver turned around in her seat to see who it was they were looking at. She was naturally curious, and she knew it had to be something or someone important to distract both Masters and Desoro from their recruiting efforts.

"Who is that?" Rayleigh asked.

"Uh, she's the executive officer, and I'm thinking she hasn't noticed us sitting here yet," Eliana replied, scanning the area for trouble after she spotted the holstered weapon at Cleh's side. Masters must have looked confused or bewildered, because Rayleigh had a questioning look on her face by the time that Ellie had returned her attention to the booth.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I just . . haven't seen Captain Cleh without her uniform or outside of work," Masters replied in turn. She changed the projection of her voice so that it would carry a bit better before continuing.

"Captain, there's a seat available with us if you'd like to join us."

Adria directed her attention back to the others, "Anyway I was about to say they also give us a bunch of cool technology to aid us in our mission out here."

"I'm looking over the list now," Carver scrolled through the PADD she had been provided earlier, "and I can't believe some of the numbers you all have on this station. We used to be lucky to rotate twenty birds in and out with enough parts to keep the maintenance people happy. Multiply that by ten and you've got a start towards becoming the sort of operation you have here."

"Yes, that's right," it was Eliana's turn to do a bit of the selling. "As I'm sure you know, quality of life is a bit better here than based on a ship. Larger facilities, and we're one of the few stations lucky enough to be based around a planet."

"Oh, the beaches were just amazing the last time we were through on leave," Rayleigh nodded. "I have to say, it's tempting."

"Guess this place is getting popular among the crew." Lizzy said, as she approached the booth. She hadn't expected to find more than maybe one member of the actual starfleet crew in here, and now she had to be sociable. This was the burden of her promise to Kathleen. "I'm not on duty, so if you're talking business, might be better for me to take another table."

"No, nothing official here. Just having a chat with who we hope is going to assume the training responsibilities in flight country," Masters explained. "Please, have a seat and join us."

"If you insist." Lizzy said as she sat down. After so long of living alone, it was odd for her to socialize with people. It was somewhat like she remembered, except that she always seemed to get strange looks from others. "I don't think we've met. I'm Jey Cleh. XO of the station."

"Rayleigh Carver, it's my pleasure," Carver smiled in return.

Moments later, Sarah returned, setting Rayleigh, and Adria's drinks down, along with Rayleigh's onion rings. She noticed the Captain sitting there. "I see you found your friends." She said smiling at Jey. "Can I get you anything?"

"Just a beer please." Lizzy replied.

"I'll be right back with that." Sarah said, then walked off.

"So as you can see, there's an open atmosphere around the station. To my knowledge, there really isn't any resentment between the locals and Starfleet so transitioning to the civilian areas of the planet or station are a non-event," Masters continued, trying to play off the unexpected arrival of the station's executive officer.

"But we can continue the discussion later," Ellie concluded, "because I have to have some of those onion rings in my life, right now. May I?"

"Please," Rayleigh pushed the tower of rings towards the center of the table, taking one for herself before immediately regretting the decision.

"Wow! Careful! They are some kind of hot!"

After getting Lizzy's beer from the bar, Sarah came back over to the table, setting it down in front of her. "Here you go." She said with a smile. "If you ladies need anything else, just press the button in the center of the table, and it'll alert my PADD."

"Thanks." Lizzy said, before Sarah walked away. She turned her attention to the others. "So there's going to be training taking place for pilots?" Being swamped with the events taking place lately, this was the first time Lizzy had heard about this.

"There's been a shortage of flight crews for some of our more specialized equipment and an overall lack of pilots in general. Adria's facing the same issue on her side of things and knowing the 405th, it's probably more of the same," Masters began to explain the situation, taking another drink of water before continuing on.

"We need someone to head up the training, and since most of the basics are common, having a common training staff just makes sense. You've found us here trying to convince Rayleigh to take the job." Eliana came clean with her intentions, though she had a sneaking suspicion that Carver already knew.

Lizzy took a drink of her beer, setting it back down on the table, then looked at Rayleigh. "I might have another piece of incentive for you if you take the job." She said casually. "Are you up for a challenge?"

"I'm listening," Carver nodded.

"My Yeoman is a young friend of the station's CO, and apparently likes to fly." Lizzy said, then took another drink from her beer. "She's only 17, seems to have some issues of her own, and it might be best to train her one-on-one." Lizzy took yet another sip from her beer, then set it down. "On the up side, she picks up on things pretty well, and I think she'd make a hell of a pilot... What do you think?"

Adria knew exactly who Lizzy was referring to, "I think that sounds like an excellent idea. While I mentioned the pilots shortage in our recent meeting I didn't really get into it further because we had more important matters to focus on."

"So, just let me get this straight," Rayleigh stopped them for a moment, trying to collect all the information that had been thrown in her general direction. "You want me to oversee what is going to be a very large training department. We're going to get navy pilots and help them get started - I get all of that. My question is, who's department will I be working for?"

"Flight Operations," Eliana replied quickly. "Perhaps the explanation was a bit rushed, but the fighter pilots will break off from our course to receive type-specific training once they've gotten the basics. However, our department needs to train our pilots through completion."

"Okay, I understand," Carver nodded, taking another sip. "And Captain Glover is okay with this?"

"I talked to him personally, he was very reluctant to let you go, but he left the decision up to you."

A million thoughts swirled around in Rayleigh's head. She shifted around in her seat, trying to find a more comfortable position from which to think about the opportunity placed in front of her.

"How much time do I have?"

"Not much. Until the Chesapeake leaves, which won't be more than another day or so. The yardmaster does pretty good work," Eliana explained.

"Okay, I'll do it, and I'll be happy to take on a primary student, whoever she is. If she shows real promise, then maybe we'll put her on an accelerated curriculum," Carver made her decision.

Adria smiled, "Glad to hear it." Her main concern was being sure their pilots were trained right. "Welcome to the team." Relieved to know part of their problem had been solved.

"You want to tell the Commodore, or should I?" Lizzy gave Eliana a smirk, before taking another sip of her beer.

"Either works for me," Masters replied. There was an immense feeling of satisfaction and relief. It was almost palpable. Thus, the rest of the meal was enjoyed in a cheerful mood as they all learned something about their newest crewmate. The real work was ahead, but for the time being, it was time to sit and celebrate the closing of a chapter and the opening of a new one.

OFF:

Captain Jey Cleh
Executive Officer
Medical System's Specialist
Starbase 80

Commander Eliana Masters
Director of Flight Operations
Starbase 80

Lieutenant Commander Adria "Tempest" Desoro
220th CAG
Starbase 80

and introducing...

Lieutenant JG Rayleigh Carver
Chief Flight Instructor
Starbase 80