Landau Posted May 21, 2012 Share Posted May 21, 2012 (edited) ((Captain's Quarters Aboard the USS Victory))::There were no stars outside her window that afternoon. Instead, Kaliwatched the few ships that were arriving come in to dock, a few othersleaving, and smaller workerbees moving about the empty space between.Everything was gliding in the total weightlessness of space, lost in thesilence of the vacuum, and all that was left to be heard in that moment washer own breathing.::::Somewhat lost in thoughts of the distant past, the woman who was theCaptain of the ship on which she stood, as well as the massive Starbase thatcontained it, slowly and absentmindedly wrapped the long tendrils of herpitch black hair up and around itself, taming it as if it were an otherwisewild beast. It was a motion that she had come to know well and one that shehad done many times before. The difference now was that she wasn't the samecarefree girl she had been back then. No; now she was a Starfleet commandofficer responsible for far more than cleaning her bedroom, setting thetable, the family dogs, or even a small contingent of Marines.::::Yet, perhaps it was that responsibility that made such trips into the wildblue necessary.::::Once, chasing the demon that had at one time lived in the air had been herobsession. After her own death, a moment that forever changed her bothphysically as well as mentally, it had become a means to an end. Now it wasalmost an escape from a time that was far more safe than the days of old,while being far more dangerous at the same time. She almost felt bad forrunning off for a few hours, thinking that something else would need herattention. It was a feeling that loomed over her mind causing her to feel asif she were forever at the beck and call of her position.::::But in the end, the thought was one she had to consciously fight off.Before Kalianna Arashi Nicholotti was, or could be Captain, she had to bemany other things first; woman, friend, lover, confidant, leader, follower,guardian, and as her father had always called her, doch'ka. That was,perhaps, her favorite of them all. Her favorite, that was, after thenickname her grandfather had bestowed upon her.::::In the stillness of the room, Kali had no trouble hearing the wordsreverberate through her mind.::((Flashback, Earth, 24 Years Ago))Hawk: Come now, my malien'kaia gadyuka. You have much to learn.::A much shorter Kalianna, one who had barely turned five, ran to keep upwith the taller man as he walked out of the small building towards the rowsof metallic rectangles that sprawled across the seemingly barren desertlandscape as far as the eye could see. There weren't too many places left inthe world like this, so it was no wonder that it was big. The fact that herperspective made everything that much bigger only solidified the awe withwhich she looked into the distance with.::Nicholotti: Where are we going, Dedushka? ::The man stopped and smiled down at her then. Even though his face, wornwith the wrinkles of age, was partially obscured by the sun, she would neverforget that smile. Reaching to pick her up, his somewhat gruff voice alludedto what would be the most pivotal moment in her life.::Hawk: Up there.::His eyes looked up and the little girl now in his arms tilted her headback to look up at the stark blue sky. It hadn't made sense to her then, butshe had learned not to question her grandfather. If he said that was wherethey were going, then that was exactly where they were going.::((End Flashback))::A warm smile had appeared on her lips as she remembered the day when shehad taken her first trip into the skies. It had sparked a love that she hadcarried with her throughout her entire life and one that she would soonshare with a man who was fast finding his way into her heart as well. Theway things seemed to fall together just how they should never ceased toamaze her, and as she considered her long path from the day of her firstflight to the day in which she now stood, she wondered if Hawk didn't knowmore about the universe and how it all worked than he let on.::::A contented sigh slipped through her lips as she secured the last piecesof her hair and put her arms through their sleeves, pulling the suit uparound her body where it could be zipped up. Ready, and excited, she grabbedthe helmet that her dedushka had left behind for her years ago and steppedout into the hall. Destination? Holodeck 2. Mission? Scare the seeminglyunshakable Chief Tactical officer with an antique method of transportationand war that was an exact replica of the one that sat at home on Earthawaiting her return.::::The mischievously impish grin appeared on her face as she moved throughthe empty corridors towards her impending freedom. It would not lastforever, but the time she had would be plenty to re-energize her. Like theyounger child who had often begged her grandfather every single weekendyears ago, Kali felt the excitement building as she moved faster and fasterthrough the halls.::((Holodeck 2, USS Victory))::The blue sky inside the room was a stark reminder of her home. A quickglance around told her that all was as it should be; the weather wasperfect, the sky empty, and the sprawling hangars stretching into thedistance like fingers reaching for some unknown goal. Kali took as deep abreath as she could, enjoying the air that smelled decisively of Earthbefore she set off across the tarmac to the rectangular building where sheknew she would find her most prized possession.::::Without hesitation, she approached the heavy door and, after a few secondsof pulling, moved it open just enough for her to slip into the large room. Athin beam of sunlight spilled into the musty smelling space, illuminatingthe outline of a sleek jet. She approached it, stepping around to one sideand reaching out to touch the metallic hologram as if she almost didn'tbelieve it was there. Her fingertips quickly made contact, though, and shefelt the reassuring cold metal right where it should have been.::::Moving on, Kali drifted further to the side and moved up to where thecanopy sat propped open. Her eyes were automatically drawn to a point justbelow it. Had anyone else been around to read it, black letters were barelyvisible just below the glass canopy.::"Mikhail 'Hawk' Nicholotti"::Below the faded black lettering, shinier new letters stood out in the dimlight.::"Kalianna 'Viper' Nicholotti"::Kali ran her hand across the letters, letting herself get lost momentarilyin the past.::((Flashback - Edwards Air Museum, California, Earth))::She looked good in her new flight suit. Well, it wasn't really new, it wasactually an antique, but it was new to her. The hot sun cast a glare overthe high desert of California that day, reflecting off the metal of theancient fighter. Some people might call it an old hunk of metal, but forKali, it was escape from the reality of daily life. It lived and breathed asthe fuel hose pumped gallon after gallon of oil based petroleum into itstanks.::Hawk: Saddle up girl. You aren't gonna fly 'er from down there.::Kali had to shield her eyes from the sun to look up at her grandfather.Hawk was what he was designated long ago when he first joined the Corps, andever since he had kept the nickname. Kali had yet to earn her call sign, aname already granted to her by the man climbing into the plane, but she washoping to solidify all that today. Though she had logged many a happy hourin the incredible machine before her, today would be the first time that shewould take the front seat. It had been a day that she looked forward tosince her first flight, when she was 5 years old. Today would be a day toremember and she wanted to remember everything. Taking one last look overthe monster in front of her, she strode up to the ladder and climbedaboard.::::Listening as her grandfather went through the navigator checklist, and twoof his Marine friends secured the fuel hose and other gear outside theplane, Kali settled into the form fitted seat. The five point restraint tooksome time to adjust, but Kali relished the fact that it would never have tobe adjusted again. After today, this baby was all hers. She patted the sidepanel as she started in on her own pre-launch checklist. It was all secondnature and soon she looked up ready to go.::Nicholotti: Here we go.Hawk: Good, let's see what you got.::Her hands went to work, flipping switches and bringing the beast to life.Gauges sprung to life, and the sounds of air traffic control filtered up toher ears from the helmet in front of her. Grasping it, she pulled it downover her long hair and adjusted the mask so that it was comfortable.::::After signaling her intentions to the tower, Kali sat back and waited. Shelistened to the sounds around her until her clearance came through herheadset.::::She lined up the centuries old jet with the equally old taxiways. The dustswirled around them as she throttled up the engines just enough to get themmoving. Though they were old, they had been restored back to pristinecondition, giving the impression of a brand new plane. In its time, theSuper Hornet, as it was called, played a huge role in both military as wellas space related missions. It had been one of the first to avoid the radarof the time, and it could fill a variety of roles. Everything from highg-force experimentation to the air combat superiority needed back then,could be completed by this so called 'hunk of metal'. Now, in a time whensuch machines were obsolete, she still found it thrilling to take it up. Nofailsafe systems to balance them, and no inertial dampeners; in thismachine, speed could truly be felt.::Tower: Hornet one three five, Edwards Tower. Runway zero four left. Taxi intoposition and hold.::It was a process that she had been through so many times before when hergrandfather had been in the front seat, and one that was nearly useless, butanyone who flew these antique planes still followed the old ways. It wastradition.::Nicholotti: Position and hold, Hornet one three five. ::She spoke into herheadset.::::She felt the engines rev up behind her, the power reverberating throughthe [...]pit. Carefully, she moved the aircraft into position.::Tower: Hornet one three five, wind three one zero at niner runway zero fourleft, cleared for takeoff.Nicholotti: Hornet one three five, cleared for takeoff zero four left.::As soon as she had gotten the clearance, she slammed the jet intooverdrive. Reacting to her controls, the plane shot forward, leaving theground behind as she maneuvered it into a steep climb. Perpendicular to theground below her, she pushed it nearly to the point of a stall, spiralingoff into the sky. The G-forces pushed her back into the seat, and herbreaths came faster as she shot the plane through the air..::::Old test pilots used to say that there was a demon that lived in theskies, and anyone who tried to break the sound barrier would surely die ofhis wrath. Kali looked at the gauges in front of her and triggered theafterburners. The jet shuddered slightly beneath her, gathering even morespeed. Seconds later, the airspeed indicator passed the mach one mark. Thedemon had been defeated yet again.::::Kali grinned as the feeling of the G forces pushed her back into her seat.The ground rushed by faster and faster until she finally pulled the nose upand shot off into the sky. It was as if the whole world belonged to her now,and no one could catch her. Flying at mach 1.8, she pushed the Hornetfaster. The roar of the engines masked a distant beeping, which wasthreatening to intrude on her daydreams. Looking around, Kali felt theplane, her grandfather, and the slick exhilaration suddenly drift out offocus.::((End Flashback))::A padd, which she had put into her pocket before leaving her quarters, wasbeeping steadily alerting her to the time. Shutting off the alarm, shehalfway tossed the padd on a nearby table, the only other thing in the roomaside from the plane. Colt would be there soon and she wanted it all to beready.::::Letting her fingers fall from the engineering marvel before her, sheturned to push the door the rest of the way open and get the jet towed outonto the tarmac before he arrived. In the back of her mind, the excitementwas building; not only was she going to fly, but she was going to share themoment with him. And that was when she realized that despite the pain of thepast week, some things made the pain worth it.::TBC--Commander Kalianna NicholottiCommanding OfficerStarbase 118 / USS Victory Edited May 21, 2012 by Necessity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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