Rallying The Troops

Posted on Mon Mar 2nd, 2020 @ 3:45am by Division Admiral Thomas Lasky & Post Captain Keyan Fardreamer & Lieutenant Colonel Kell "Cyclops" Tainer & Colonel Anthony "Ironhide" Raynor & Chief Warrant Officer Ryi "Taffy" Amlari
Edited on on Mon Mar 2nd, 2020 @ 3:46am

Mission: Mission 40: Thirty Pieces of Silver
Location: Various Locations - USS Roanoke
Timeline: 0800Hrs - August 7th, 2391

Lt Commander Tom Lasky looked around at the assembled pilots, many of them looked depressed and unhappy and he could not blame them. "Hey.. chin up son... We're not beaten yet.." Lasky said to one of the younger pilots.

"I'm Sorry sir."

"Nothing to be sorry for.." Lasky responded quietly. "I'm feeling it too."

Just then the last few pilots arrived as Wukari entered the hanger.

"Fives," Ryi spoke up. "Rachael told me she was fit for duty. Why isn't she here?"

"Firebird went off to Warrant school this morning.. We won't see her for three months... Sorry Ryi." Lasky responded.

Wukari walked over to Lasky, saying, "Hey Tom."

She looked over at the pilots, and noticed a lot of missing faces. The only Squadron commander present was Leadfoot. Sideswipe and Wicked witch where still in a starbase recovery room, and mirage was gone.

Ryi stood back with her arms crossed. Firebird was off at school. Eight Ball would be on profile for the next couple of weeks. The rest of her original flight was dead. She really had no one to talk too.

Lasky looked down at Wukari. "Hey..." he paused as he looked around. "I know you're all suffering... we've lost a lot of good people.. we most of our equipment.. and we've been reduced to half our guys killed or wounded, many others wondering if this is where it ends.." he paused. "But... is this it?." he inquired of the assembled pilots. "You guys tell me?"

Wukari has never seen so many sad faces before. Roanoke was normally the crew of misfits, but she had never seen them look so, defeated before.

Ryi looked up and tried to answer Lasky. "Sir, we knew the risks of flying when we volunteered. In the back of our minds we all know that we will lose someone close to us. What we aren't expecting is to lose so many so fast. We are having a hard time making sense of what happened. We are Pilots and we are professionals. We will get over this. There is nothing you can say to cheer us up. Right now we should be sad. That said, we will do our duty. We are Star Fleet officers."

"We will recover from this.." Lasky said quietly as he smiled at Ryi. "We will get new pilots and new people to fill out our ranks... and we will teach the new guys how we do things..." Lasky said quietly. "Since being assigned here... I've watched you all grow as pilots..." he smiled. "I've watched you all grow as people too... some of you came to this ship as washouts from other ships... and I've seen you become real pilots and real men and women." he paused. "People I can say that I am proud to have served with."

"And we will not tolerate failures like Hurd and Dratt anymore," Wukari added. "Oh, by the way, its worth mentioning that our dear friends hurd and dratt did die to a stampede of cows near the beginning of the last mission."

There were a few snickers and chortles of laughter that went around the crowd as a result of that comment. "So... guys... what do we do now?"

"Going back to flying?" Ryi asked, unsure.

"No... We go on leave... We live life... and we honor our fallen as only each and every single one of us can..." Lasky explained. "Granted we lost a lot of good people... and we will remember them, with every ship we fly... with every single successful sortie we complete... with each mission we accomplish... and that... is what makes us the fortunate ones...We will remember them.." Lasky paused. "I like the poem from Flanders fields..."

Ironhide spoke up. "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning. We will remember them." he spoke quietly.