Inspection

Posted on Sat Mar 14, 2015 @ 2:25pm by Commander Caden Aldrex & Lieutenant Kyle "Loki" Carter

1,543 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Eye of the Beholder
Location: Fighter Deck
Timeline: MD 02 - 1630

[ON]

Kyle was sitting in his office going through requisition forms when he was called over the comm.

=/\= Deck Chief to the CAG, Sir you should know the XO of the Station is walking around down here right now. Looks like a surprise inspection.=/\=

Kyle hadn't met the XO yet, when he check in there wasn't one aboard. "Copy that, on my way." He put his work to the side and headed out of his office.

****Fighter Deck****

Kyle heard a stern voice as he approached the parked line of fighters. "And who was responsible for keeping the maintenance records on tail number 86-1047?"

"That would be me, sir." One of the senior chiefs replied.

"You always use this PADD for those records?"

"Yes, sir."

"And the grease smudge on the corner of the PADD? I assume that's from your finger?"

"I can't say for sure, sir, but yeah, probably."

"'Yeah, probably.' And if that smudge distorts the very important text on the screen, don't you think you run the risk of having someone else read it wrong? What if an inspection isn't done or a maintenance gripe isn't fixed because of that smudge?"

"I...don't know, sir. I'll clean it up."

"Oh, you'll do more than clean it up, senior chief. There's going to be an investigation. Starting with you and moving right up to the top of this air wing. Sloppiness has been the standard operating procedure for too long down here. It's going to stop even if heads have to roll. Do you hear me!?"

"Yes, sir," was the nervous reply.

Kyle was moving with urgency to catch up with the XO. From the tone of his voice it sounded like someone spit in his coffee this morning. He made it around a Valkyrie and had the XO's back to him and saw the Senior Chief he had been yelling at. "Excuse me Sir, I'm the CAG, Lieutenant Carter." He wasn't looking forward to a tongue lashing but he didn't think this Senior Chief deserved one so Kyle was willing to play the uncomfortable role of lightning rod for the moment.

"Not just the CAG," Aldrex said, turning around to face Carter. "I'd say you're also a sucker." He grinned from ear to ear.

"What? What the? Are you serious right now?" Kyle questioned with a ridiculous grin on his face. "Caden how have you been?"

The two men caught each other in a bear hug. Then Aldrex said to the senior chief, "Thanks, I owe you."

"No problem, sir," the senior chief said with a grin. He didn't mind getting berated publicly to prank his boss. He only regretted that they couldn't have carried it to a more extreme level. That would have been fun. He left the two officers to catch up.

"I'm the XO here," the Trill explained to his old friend. "Arrived only a few days ago with my wife. How have you been?"

"Oh excuse me, congratulations Commander." Kyle said with a smile. "I've been alright, just recently checked in myself, transferred over from the Thatcher. Now you said wife, did you and T'Zera ...?"

"No," Cade answered with a wry grin. "My wife's name is Amia. She's taking the CMO position here. I can't wait for you to meet her. But we can sort that out later. Do you have time to talk shop for a minute?"

Kyle nodded at Cade's answer about T'Zera. "Of course I have time for the XO, anything you need." He said patting Cade on the shoulder. "I've only been aboard a short time, I haven't had the time for fun yet so I know that's not what this about?"

The two men started walking side-by-side down the line of parked fighters. They stepped aside momentarily as a wheeled tow-cart drove past them. "I know you're still getting settled in, so I don't want to pressure you," Aldrex said, "but what would you need to get up to a 90% or better operational tempo?"

"I'm currently looking at an organizational shift in the Wing. I think once it's implemented things will turn around. When I have a proposal ready I'll send it your way prior to sending it to the Captain if you'd like." Kyle answered.

"Yeah, that'd be great. Depending on what you say I may want to add some of my own thoughts to it. I would like to step up fighter operations in a way that will greatly enhance the station's presence in this region."

"We can definitely increase patrol routes in the system." Kyle reassured him. "I am planning on moving the CAP watch-bill from a 4 shift rotation to a 3 shift rotation with one week on, two week off schedule."

"That'll be a good start. I also wanted to explore the possibility of some long-range patrols. Think your people are up for that?" It was a tall order, he knew. Spending more than a couple of hours in a cramped fighter cockpit could make anyone stir crazy.

Kyle winced some what at the XO's idea. "Commander I don't think leaving the fighters exposed that far from the Station is a good idea." He said respectfully but bluntly. "Maybe we could send some patrols out with a garrison vessel for a bit more fire power and also in case something happens and you need more utility than what the fighters alone offer."

Aldrex responded with a lopsided grin. "I'm not itching to send anyone to their doom, Kyle. I plan to make use of all the hulls we have present. All the same I think we need to make an extra push to assert our control over this sector. I'm not sure if you've noticed but there seem to be a lot of unsavory elements that operate with impunity in this neighborhood. To win the fight in here I believe we should start out there, in places where some don't expect to see us. If you think the fighter wing can contribute I'd love to have you on point."

"I'll do what you need me to. You are right about the territory and we need to have a projection of force in the sector." Kyle said responding with a nod. "We'll get the patrols worked out and I'll make sure my pilots are aware of impending change."

"Great," Aldrex said, walking a bit faster. "Next thing I want to talk about is your safety procedures. What I had in mind was..." He paused, noticing Carter's expression out of the corner of his eye. The CAG was already working hard to get the air wing back into fighting shape. He had his own plans and procedures cooking. The XO stopped in his tracks and gave Carter a half-suppressed laugh. "Sorry, Kyle. I'm kind of new to this XO gig. I'll have to learn not to micromanage some things. I'll let you run your wing the way you want to, and if you're open to my ideas I'll add them as sub-notes to your official report. Deal? "

"It's alright, I wasn't planning on saying anything unless you suggested uniform inspections weekly." Kyle said with a laugh. "We'll work on the expanded patrols and I'll send the outlines by you when they're ready."

"Sounds good to me," Aldrex replied. He nodded to the row of fighters. "Mind if I take the nickel tour since I'm down here?"

"Of course." Kyle moved aside to be clear of Cade's view of the ships. "I know it's been a while since you've been in something like these. Flying your big cushy starships and all."

"I wanted to be able to use the head every once in a while."

"Pfft... who needs to use the bathroom, just don't eat or drinking anything 3 hours before every flight." Kyle said joking. "Besides, it looks like you could afford to skip a meal." He mumbled quiet enough so only Cade could hear him. Quickly changing subjects before the XO could fire back a barb Kyle pointed out one of the fighters. "Razor class, one seater, smallest class of the star fighters used by the Fleet. Only really effective in a defense role, they work best using swarm tactics. Small and agile enough to evade most attacks and still packs enough of a punch that if you have a squadron working cohesively they could take on a hostile cruiser."

The XO looked up at the sleek, deadly machine with a satisfied nod. "How soon can you take me up for a check ride?" He asked, getting to the questions that mattered.

Kyle shot Cade a wicked grin. "If you wanna get re-certified in small craft operations we can definitely do that. These are completely different animal then what we flew at the Academy though, Cade. If you're serious I'd like to start out in a Valkyrie, you pilot it and I'll ride in the WSO seat." He said nodding to a row of the two seaters across the hanger. "Unless you wanna play cowboy and and go solo." He said friendly ribbing him.

"Baby steps," the XO said with a wink. He climbed the ladder of the machine next to him and made his way up to look at the cockpit.

[OFF]

 

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