Bayside
Posted on Tue Apr 30th, 2019 @ 3:45am by Captain Jelane 'Firefly' Shiqwue & Brigadier General Francis 'Judge' Sobel
Edited on on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 @ 1:35am
1,146 words; about a 6 minute read
Mission:
The Drumhead (Empok Nor Premier)
Location: Fighter By 4
Timeline: MD001 1300 hrs
General Frank N.M.I. Sobel stepped through the lock and into the recently converted docking bay. He moved to the side, clearing the way and took a good look. He’d seen the plans and camera footage, but there was nothing like taking a look for yourself.
Plus, his aide de’ camp was off running tasks, so he didn’t have a parade following him. He wasn’t under any delusions about how long his presence would go unnoticed, but he had a few minutes.
So far it looked good. They had crowded four birds in this particular section, which had two forcefield protected bay doors, which made for tight quarters. The first launch fighters could squeeze straight out while the second flight would have to apply rudder to take the openings centered.
Frank hoped the pilots could keep their wits about them to remember that or there was going to be a mess.
Then he caught sight of the 2738th Fighter wings CAG walking toward him and he shook his head.
Raising his hands, Sobel grinned at the Marine CAG. “You caught me, Captain. I thought I’d get a look without disturbing things too much. What do you think of the bays so far?
Jelane smirked and came to attention. "Sir welcome to the hive. I see you wanted to take a stroll make sure the fleet is getting this right. Well I can tell you sir that I have not let them out of my sight and have been making sure that they get this place done right."
Captain Jelane Shiqwue or simply Firefly to her friends shirked the chain of command very often. However, she thought it best not to in her first meeting with the Judge. Although they did have something in common, their distaste for the fleet. She still felt like she had to prove herself to the man.
Sobel grinned. "The Hive. I like that. As long as they don't bend the birds, I suppose it will work. How soon do you think they'll be ready? Not the estimates I've been given, but your opinion?
"I named the bay The Hive as I am Firefly and this is my home." The Bajoran smiled broadly as she fell into step with Sobel. "To answer your question sir. Alert one fighters are ready to launch as we speak. As for two and three, the launch bays are still under construction. The transport division is almost non existent, but, Sundown has that under control." After a pause Jelane frowned, "I am sorry sir I mean First Lieutenant Steves. If I may sir why are we here?"
Sobel let his eyes trail through the bay again, lingering on the fighter craft, waiting a few beats before answering. "Well Captain, its one thing for my staff to check on. It's another if I' seeing nosing around. Especially for the station personnel and their superiors."
He smiled as he saw her still staring at him. "It will filter up that I've been wandering around here and I'll get contacted tomorrow to see if something was wrong. In between here and there, the mice shall scurry about and timelines versus work schedules will be looked at and hopefully a few hours will be shaved off."
He paused again as he walked over to a display showing diagnostics for the nearest fighter. He beckoned Firefly over and gestured at it, "Motivation comes in all manners. Since I can't yell, cajole, or beat wisdom into the Cardassians who are oh so worried about their mercantile concerns and keeping a good spin on things, part of what I can do is show the flag and try to keep things moving at speed."
She nodded sagely, everything that he had said made perfect sense. A General poking around would certainly get the wheels moving a lot quicker. "If I may be so bold, it seems that they are expecting something big to happen. That is if they created an entire Marine unit. Also I find it hard to believe that the Federation would commit so much manpower to the Cardassians. Especially since the Cardassians are not commiting the same amount of manpower." She noticed the way the General looked at the fighter on the screen and she remembered her surprise for him. "Sir this was going to wait until the unveiling of the bays but I think you should see it now. Please follow me."
Sobel smiled and fell into step next to her, "By all means, Captain. The Brigade is here to keep them from melting down and to try and prop up the existing government. We won't get too involved in domestic affairs, unless poked with a stick, but a show of faith by the Federation can't hurt I suppose."
As they threaded into the bay, he returned an occasional salute and then snickered, "Plus, having a Brigade take over real estate peacefully is good for the economy."
Within a few moments the two arrived at a fighter that was under a drop cloth. She turned to the General with a knowing smirk on her face. "As I said sir we were going to wait for the ceremony." Shiqwue pulled the cloth back toward the cockpit glass with a flourish. There under the canopy was stenciled, Brig Gen Francis Sobel and underneath "Judge". "We were told that before piloting a desk, you piloted one of these. So we thought you should have one should the whim move you. She parks right next to mine." She smiled broadly as she indicated her own fighter.
Nobel could only stand and look the fighter over for a few minutes, smiling, then turned to the Captain. "Thank you, Firefly," he said. Moving to the fighter, he walked around the ship slowly, running his fingers over the fuselage and looking at a removable diagnostic 'baby monitor' that was attached near the crafts entry point.
Having completed his circuit and assured himself the bird was indeed ready to fly, he glanced at his chronograph and then at Shiqwue. "Well, Firefly I seem to have an hour or two to spare. Perhaps we should test them both out. I can always use extra hours to help earn that flight pay and this bird will need all the hours I can cram into it in order to keep her from becoming a hangar queen.
Firefly smiled broadly and nodded. "As you order sir, so shall it be done." Without any further ado she hopped into the cockpit of her fighter and began the startup sequence.
A Joint Post By
Brigadier General Francis Sobel
Commanding Officer, 258th Starfleet Marine Expeditionary Brigade
Empok Nor
Captain Jelane "Firefly" Shiqwue
Commander Air Group, Empok Nor
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