JP Yogan Yalu & Kalianna Nicholotti — Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor, Parts 1 & 2

[Genkos Adea]

You know when one of these guys has written a post, you're going to have  good time. When two of them do it, you get some real magic.

(( Holosuite 9, Xaevu’s Discount Holo-Arcade, Maklau Beach, Risa ))

Yogan sat on a holographic chair in the otherwise empty room, twiddling the data chip between his fingers.  He was a few minutes early, but he was grateful for it.  It was only after he’d arrived, checked in, and been escorted into the hired suite that he realized how improper it might look to be meeting Captain Nicholotti… alone… at a holo-arcade… on Risa.  It had taken him 10 minutes of nervously pacing around the suite to get over that, so, yes, early was good.

The invitation had been unexpected, but not unappreciated. While she had no idea what to expect, Kali's curiosity had been piqued at the idea that the helmsman wanted to meet her at a Holo-Arcade, on Risa no less. She definitely raised a couple of eyebrows when she read it, but never hesitated on whether to show up or not. 

And so, as she entered the room, she saw the tall Trill man stand and the chair he was sitting in vanish, leaving them both in a very empty, very plain room. She approached, her Marine t-shirt hanging loosely around her shorts as she looked around questioningly.

When she entered, Yogan stood, and the chair had been sitting in vanished into the holographic ether from whence it came.  Neither of them was in uniform, which Yogan knew from prior experience was less weird than if he’d turned up in his and she hadn’t.  It was just as well, since Yogan’s chosen activity would necessitate a change of attire anyway.

Yalu:  Captain.  Thank you for agreeing to meet me here.

Kali nodded.

Nicholotti:  Of course. It's not every day the captain gets invited to participate on someone's adventure. 

She offered him a reassuring smile having no idea what this was about, but knowing that if it was important enough to ask her to be there, it was important enough. Her full attention was here in this moment then. 

Yalu:  I’ve spent too much time by myself already.  I’m getting back out into the world and doing things.  ::holds up the data chip::  And I came across a program I thought you might like to run with me.

Now her curiosity was very much engaged. She watched him as he held up the chip.

Nicholotti:  Oh?

Yogan stepped over to the control arch and inserted the chip.

Yalu:  Computer, run program.

The room disappeared behind the simulation.  At first, it looked nondescript:  a flat expanse in all directions and hard macadam under their feet.  The ‘discount’ in Xaevu’s Discount Holo-Arcade was evident in the loading time, as elements took several seconds to populate and then grow sharper and clearer in detail.

Mountains in the distance came into focus, and yellow and white lines crisscrossed the pavement on which they stood.  The pièce de résistance was the last item to populate: a large, grey aircraft from Earth’s liquid fuels age.  The temperature in the room rose and Yogan squinted in the holographic sunlight, then smiled at Nicholotti and gestured to the tin bird.

As everything came into focus, a nostalgic grin appeared on the captain's face. The things her crew dug up on her...she shook her head as the antique jet came into view and solidified in the gleaming sunlight.

Yalu:  I don’t imagine this needs any introduction to you, Captain.  ::beat::  If memory serves, it is something called a Boeing F/A 18-F Superhornet?

Nodding slowly Kali finally took her eyes from the plane and turned them to her fellow pilot.

Nicholotti:  Indeed it is. Ever flown something like this?

Yalu:  ::shakes head:: I’ve been piloting suborbital craft since I was a teenager, but nothing like this.  I’m excited, though.

Kali stepped forward and approached the metallic bird that sat silent in the sunlight. The heat radiated off the tarmac and warmed her legs as she reached out and let her fingertips run along the leading edge of the closest wing. When she got to one end, she stopped and looked back across towards the [...]pit and the open canopy.

Nicholotti:  You should be. There's nothing quite like this.

Her eyes moved towards the next part of the plane as she continued her walk around, seemingly and momentarily oblivious to anyone or anything else. It was like a love affair and she had eyes only for the piece of machinery before her. Minutes later, she ended up back at the beginning, next to her helmsman again.

Nicholotti: So you mean to fly this then?

She grinned.

Already starting to sweat in the heat, Yogan dabbed his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt.  Although perhaps some of it was attributable to nerves.

Yalu: ::chuckles::  How about I copilot?  I looked over the specs, but I’ve not mastered the controls just yet.

Nicholotti: Alright. We'll need flight suits. ::She eyed him carefully.:: How's your stomach? This bird doesn't come with inertial dampeners.

The laugh that escaped her was all but free. There was always something about the idea of the sky and how she could escape to it that allowed her to just let go of the trappings of her waking, walking world.

Yogan recalled the training he took as a teenager at the Rytela Flight School in his hometown.  The school had a few old, old, old craft that probably flew similarly to this one, and his instructors took him up in them a few times.  He found those experiences exhilarating, but that had been twenty years ago.  He’d not done anything like this since he was Joined.  The symbiont and their memories had a funny way of recasting experiences that once were pleasant as uncomfortable and vice versa.  But best not let on.

Yalu: ::pats tummy::  I’m sure I’ll be fine, as long as the safeties don’t cost extra.

That was fair. It was the holodeck, but that didn’t mean much to her. Once she was in the sky, that was the reality. As a fellow pilot, he would understand. 

Nicholotti: Well, there’s no time like the present. 

Yalu: Let’s do it.

The process, while vital to her in every way (but inconsequential being they were in a holodeck…), did not take long to complete and soon she was directing him up into the backseat of the jet. He was a bit tall for it, and she laughed at the way he had to bend to fit into the thing, but she’d seen others do the same. 

To be fair, she had laughed similarly at them as well.

Climbing up herself and calling for the ladder to be removed, she allowed her memory to guide her in the preflight. The silence that had surrounded them soon was filled with the ever growing roar of engines that started quietly, but grew steadily behind them. Lights appeared on the consoles, some blinking, others off, and still others illuminating the [...]pit. Kali continued through the motions, moving her feet and looking in the mirrors to see the appropriate movements, and the same for the airfoils on the wings. 

Satisfied, she called back through the radio in the helmets.

Nicholotti: You ready for this?

The captain’s voice came through tinnily inside his helmet.  It would be an exaggeration to say that his knees were in his ears, but not by much.  Given his height and size, had he lived on Earth 400 years ago, he would likely have been disappointed if he’d attempted to pursue a career in one of the Terran air forces.  If he’d known, he might have thought to nudge the program’s settings to allow a more comfortable seat.  But this wasn’t a pleasure cruise, it was a business meeting.

Yalu: Affirmative.  Ready when you are.

He couldn’t see it, but there was a smirk on her face as she took her time and guided the jet towards the perfect center on the runway. Once there, she paused only a moment before she slammed the throttle all the way up and kicked the afterburners on full, launching the hunk of metal into the sky. As soon as it was off the ground, she pulled the nose nearly all the way up and rocketed straight upwards.

It was only after she’d gotten the turning and burning out of her system, and thoroughly put the jet through some of her favorite moves, that she finally allowed it to settle into somewhat of level flight. 

Yogan felt the g-force in his guts as the jet accelerated almost perpendicularly to the planet’s surface.  If he didn’t know any better, he’d have sworn some parts of him were left behind, a Trill trail of bits and pieces dispersed across the holographic landscape.  The captain clearly knew how to get results out of the antique craft, and a kaleidoscope of sky, sea, and surface swirled in front and above them.

Nicholotti: How ya doing back there?

Yalu: Never better!  ::beat::  This really is a beautiful aircraft.  Maybe we could land so we can appreciate its exterior?

Kali laughed. He had been the one to invite her…

Yalu:  Just kidding.  Kind of.  The triple salchow was a bit unexpected, if I’m honest.

Nicholotti: Fair. But I know that’s not why we’re here. I’ll hand over the controls if you tell me why you really wanted to do this.

There was somewhat of a pause, and then the words filtered out over the helmet headset.

Yalu:  I know that Resolution was the first ship you served on.  I’m sorry that she was lost on our watch.

Kali raised an eyebrow, though he couldn’t see it.

Nicholotti:  You can’t apologize for something that isn’t your fault. You all did the best you could with what you had. ::She paused a second and banked the plane, heading into a different direction.:: How are you handling things?

Being the subject of multiple interviews and inquiries and so on was never easy. She’d been through plenty and knew first hand. Still, it impacted each of them a little bit differently.

Yogan hadn’t considered the fact that they’d be seated single file, and that he’d be having this important conversation about his professional future with the back of the captain’s head.  With the lack of eye contact and the headset crackling and hissing throughout, Yogan felt a bit like he was having a conversation with a radio ghost from the past.  They couldn’t very well go paint horga’hns, now could they?  Addison had already claimed that privilege.  Ah, well, they were here now, and Yogan had the captain’s ear until their hour in the holosuite was up.  No time like the present, as they say in Temporal Mechanics.

Yalu:  I withdrew at first.  I felt overwhelmed by everything that happened.  But then I spoke to some people who helped me out.

Good. That was very good. Kali had not. It had taken a Betazoid back then to get in her head and tell her she was alright. She wondered if that was all that much different now, since another Betazoid in an entirely different capacity was now getting into her head...with her as a willing participant. 

Nicholotti:  That’s good. It’s good to have close friends among our family.

Indeed, the ship was a family and the Resolution had been closer than most. But even without a ship, that didn’t change.

Yalu:  Cayden, Addison, and Genkos especially.  They all helped me realize something about myself.  Captain, I think I see a future for myself in command, and I want to pursue it.

Kali grinned to herself. It was always nice when one of her more promising officers finally saw the promise in themselves.

 

Nicholotti:  If that is your goal, then that is what we work towards. First step...the aircraft is yours.

 

And with that, she lifted her hands up and put them behind her head as if she were taking a relaxing nap by the side of some pool somewhere, wondering what his first reaction would be.

 

For Yogan, the holosuite simulation suddenly got real real.  In front of him was a dizzying series of displays and what 20th century Terrans nicknamed a “joystick.”  He could feel the change in pitch; after even a moment with the captain’s hands off the controls, the aircraft’s course started to degrade.  Yogan took a deep breath and took the joystick in his hand, pulling back slightly, too slightly at first, to even the bird out.  As the craft’s nose pointed back toward the horizon, a memory from Yogan’s teenage years surfaced.

 

(( Flashback – Rytela Flight School, Trill – 2377 ))

 

Flight Instructor:  You have control.

 

Yogan Verso:  I have control.

 

Yogan dared not take his hands off the panel, even to mop the beads of sweat that were starting to run down his temples.  He’d practiced in the simulator, but this was for real.  He was actually piloting a spacecraft… in space!

 

Flight Instructor:  Change course, bearing 215 mark 090.  Speed, 500 kph.  Then take us out past the first signal buoy.

 

Yogan Verso:  Acknowledged.

 

Yogan’s fingers pinched and pulled along the X-Y translation pad to enter the new course.  The craft was small and light–with only manoeuvring thrusters and sluggish inertial dampers.  It lurched toward the new heading and Yogan felt the movement in the pit of his stomach and the back of his neck at the same time.  He braced himself, but resisted the urge to close his eyes.  He was fine, everything was fine.  He felt his flight instructor’s hand land on his shoulder from behind in a reassuring clap.

 

Flight Instructor:  You’re doing good, Son.

 

(( End flashback ))

 

With talk of command and a future spent climbing the ranks of Starfleet at the center of his thoughts, Yogan might have expected a memory belonging to Auzell, his sixth host whose own command ambitions were cut tragically short by the Dominion War.  But instead, he was pleasantly surprised that his own memories played in the background of this important moment in his life.  With as much space as that particular host had occupied in his mind lately, Yogan had been concerned that these desires and drives didn’t really belong to him.  Now, he was certain that they did.

 

Yalu: I think we’re good.  Nothing like the craft we pilot now, where you can leave the [...]pit and grab a raktajino.  This one really needs a steady hand at all times.

 

Nicholotti:  And a good plan to follow.

 

It was interesting where he was taking it - both the plane and the conversation. Kali remembered the many life lessons she had learned among the clouds as a kid with her grandfather in the front seat, at least until she was tall enough to touch the rudder pedals. Then she was promoted into the front seat, but the life lessons continued. Now it was almost as if that tradition continued.

 

Yalu:  A good metaphor for life.  But then again...

 

Familiar enough to know what most of the controls did, Yogan eased on the joystick, sending the jet banking hard to the right.  The sky and the land ahead spun out of view, and they were treated to a spectacular sight: the holographic mountain chain splayed out into the distance, green foothills blending into a brown, rocky cordillera adorned by snow-capped peaks of gleaming white.  It was so beautiful that Yogan didn’t want to stop staring, until an altitude alarm pinged in his ear and one of the panels in front of him changed colors.  He tapped his foot, which was starting to fall asleep from spending too much time at the end of a contorted lower extremity, as he righted the jet.

 

Yalu:  Not too steady that we miss what’s right in front of us.

 

Kali smirked to herself as the scenery outside rushed by and her body was moved by the way the plane tilted to the side. It felt natural, like he just innately knew. And maybe he did. Some pilots were just born that way. Not even the proximity alerts fazed him.

 

Nicholotti:  Indeed.

 

Yalu:  If that was the first step, can I ask what the second step is?

 

The echoes of her past rang in her ears. So many questions had been asked among the sky as she punched hole after frustrated hole through the multitude of painted clouds up there. And yet, no matter where she had come from, or where she was going, somehow her grandfather had always made it so that she ended up answering her own questions. She couldn't help what came next.

 

Nicholotti: Whatever step that larger-than-average foot of yours decides to take.

 

At this, she glanced over her shoulder and offered him as much of a 'what do you think?' look as she could, though she wasn't sure if he caught it or not given the way the seats were set up. Still, the sentiment was there and she could hear his understanding in his voice as he next spoke.

 

Yogan smirked, certain that his involuntary chuckle was loud enough to carry over the headsets.  Of course he couldn’t get away with it that easily.  He would be responsible for determining how this would play out, for charting his own course.  Speaking of which...

 

Yalu:  Well, suppose I might be interested in making a change.  ::beat:  I mean, so much is up in the air right now.  I don’t even know whether I’ll still be serving under you in the future.

 

Kali had an idea, but she didn't let on...much. In this case she simply steered things back to the idea that he wanted a change.

 

Nicholotti:  A change?

 

Yalu:  But assuming I were, what if I were interested in a role that might challenge me a bit more than helm?  Something that could help me gain the experience I need to get where I want to go?

 

Oh, but the helm got them all where they needed to go. She grinned, finding it quite satisfying that she could keep it to herself. Challenge was something there would be no shortage of in their new home, and an idea was already forming in her mind as he began his proposal.

 

Nicholotti:  I think something along those lines can be arranged, assuming you were interested in such a role.

 

Yogan swept the jet around the far side of the mountain chain, where the strip of green foothills was narrow and gave way to a thin stretch of beach, and then ocean as far as the eye could see.  He bit his lip as the g-forces acted upon him.

 

Yalu:  I would be interested when the time is right.

 

The plane moved again and Kali found herself enthralled by the mountains as they passed to the side. She smiled.

 

Nicholotti: The thing about these steps is that you never know when the time is or will be right. You just...jump. You jump and you know that you aren't alone. That long list of people that got you here, today, they are still there.

 

She paused a moment as she looked at one particularly interesting cloud formation that went by. It kind of reminded her of a starship in and of itself despite it being quite clearly clouds.

 

Nicholotti: And no captain in their right mind would set an officer up to fail.

 

There was the whole bit about an officer being a reflection of their command staff, but in all honesty, Kali simply cared about her officers. She wanted them to succeed, to reach their goals and attain the things that they set as their life achievements. For some, that was command. For others, it wasn't. Whatever the goals were, it was part of her job to help facilitate them.

 

So enjoyable was the experience, Yogan almost forgot that they were in a holosuite, until an anachronism appeared in the sky before them.  It looked like a Risian version of a sand timer, with most of the sand having fallen from the upper to the lower well.  Alien aesthetics notwithstanding, the message was clear:  the time that Yogan had booked was fast expiring.

 

Yalu: I suggest we get one last look at this mountain chain, then head back to the base?  We should have enough time for a proper landing.

 

Nicholotti: Of course. This was a good idea. I've not had this much fun in far too long.

 

Kali sat up a bit and prepared to take back the airplane. Their time was nearly over, which would end far better if they landed and were on the ground when everything came to a screeching halt. Still, it had allowed her a moment to get back in touch with a side of her she'd not connected with in some time, though between the model from Colt and this experience, she was thinking the universe was telling her that she might start.

 

Nicholotti: I have the aircraft. ::Beat.:: We make it happen if you're ready. Just don't wait too long. Opportunities don't last forever. Or very long for that matter.

 

With the captain in control of the flight, Yogan allowed himself the luxury of appreciating the otherworldly vista as the jet turned back one last time.  In eight lifetimes, he had learned that truer words could not be spoken about the transient nature of opportunity.  Out of 368 years full of memories, the only true regrets Yalu ever had were those of chances never taken, of drives never pursued, of avenues never explored.  Fighting the twin saboteurs of fear and self-doubt was far easier said than done, but it was necessary when pursuing something worth having.

 

Yalu: I think I’m ready.

 

--

 

Fleet Captain Kalianna Nicholotti

Commanding Officer

USS Resolution

R238605KN0

 

and

 

Lt. Commander Yogan Yalu

Helm Officer

USS Resolution NCC-78145

Justin D238804DS0