Home of all pilots and air operations. Ready room, mess hall, training center all in one. Located in Hold 9.

<<<<<<  From Captain's  Quarters

    When they entered the  Flight Opps, Kray looked around,..Guess'll be  sayin' this alot  the next Month or so?..but i haven't been here  yet....

 He took his  hat off, Motioning   to the floor where the Hangers lay,..Spent alot of time in the Hanger section, after  i woke up, and  we stop the  ship from toastin' us...I....am a wee bit  embarrassed ta  say, I thought you might have been the pilot who took the bad  guys  outta here.... figured there couldn't been any one bloody good enough to fly them out.....

 he shrugged throwing both Hands out.....King-We and I buted heads a few times... managed ta get my  fighter up.... took up the  reserve  fighters....flew against a coupe surprise Drones....

 then he  grinned at the Russian as if he was hiding a secret, flew a  shuttle out fer the  engineer  Blokes ta fix the engines...so, I logged  what bloody hours i could get me Bleedin'  'ands on!

"Haha comrad! I am not bad guy. Not bad guy pilot either. We have 20 pilots here for the fighters, and some twenty more for dropships and shuttles. All are still here. Bad guy pilot was not one of us." Timochev shrugged as he looked around Opps. It wasn't nearly what he had expected. Instead of the spartan bunkhouses he was used to in Russia this place had everything. Luxery lounge sets, game tables, a big kitchen. Numerous simulators, beds for those on call, showers, lockers, anything for a group of pilots to camp out away from their appartments. He walked up to the coffee machine, selecting a strong espresso. "You want coffee?" He waited a second for Kray's reply, then sat down at the long table. "Kong-We excellent technician. Try not to trouble her. She will keep us up there where other techs fail. I do not think any of them is as good as her. That why she is quartermaster."

Timochev sat back, checking their new base of operations out.
"How you like this place lieutenant?"

  There is a bit of a Chuckle,Well, Comrade.. he said  as he pointed to  the  regular coffee, then started to hunt up what they had, the way of Milk and sugar.

   Your  warning  about  Kong-we is a little  late.. we butted heads a bit...but i think its all better now..least ways, she doesn't snap  at me..

   He sat  down by Timochev and looked around,..good place for us to   hang out and not be bothered. It might not be a bad idea to see how many of the shuttle pilots  have the skill to bump up to  fighters? And the other way around...never know when we might need back ups?

  Taking a sip of his  coffee then points at  Timochev with his  cup as he says...Hanshel is  damn good too... he helped get me out the first time?  I streched out me fighter's legs a bit..an' used the Gun Cams  ta take a look at the outside o the Marco?... That's when they  found the Broken Vane... and   me and Kong-We took some Techs out , who fixed it  right fast...

 ..got  my 19 runnin' like it  did in India, right before i got the deferr ta play Footie...

 There was a grin, though it looked a bit sad,..was doin' pretty good in the league...Then i got the call..... its  damn odd ta think on? Part of Me wishes I would have stayed..finished the season..but?..I'd be dead by now?....an' Out here.. I might be able ta do some good?  Can't   bloody well say how...'less we run into somethin' that don't like us...

    As he  drinks his   coffee,the  pilot  takes in the surroundings,... I don't know if they caught you up on everything....'bout the Bloody engine...bastards... they best hope   i don't  get ta pull the triger on them, not only fer the  thpousands of  folks  on the ship... but fer Patterson, that Guy, just like the rest of us....climb out of our  freezer and have ta save the bloody ship from torching itself?... The  Guy..did everythin'..and more... an' what's  'is  bleedin' reward? he gets bloody sick....

 ..then i take  me  Fighter out, and  they see the vanes on the engine are bent?..some  debris?.. but who knows... accident  or not..it  don't happen, 'less then send us off course....


 ..I also notcied on of the Hippo's were gone... Told the SEC 'bout it..but  don't think she'll listen ta me  much anymore..after  i wanted  ta see if you were..Um...you?

 ..now?  here's  me thoughts?... ya know the  Range of a Hippo?..so they hadda had a  place ta go to?... If  we'd find the  timestamp..or ..a good bloody guess, as ta when the Hippo took off? we draw a circle and find out where they went?

 he put his   coffee  down and threw up his hands, now?..if they had  another ship? then we ain't gonna find them..but if they had a planet to land on...or a planet to cruise  to?..then we can find the bastards..an' make them pay...


Picking up his coffee and taking another  drink,...that helps us  2 ways?.. 1... we  find  them and kill them....and learn why they done it..... and 2?... we  find a place ta live...But?  that stuff there?..is above me pay Grade....

    While they talk,  Kray begins to walk around the  area, checking out the beds and the lockers  and such.  He checks for an armory  that they can use to defend the place, or stor weapons  that they may take out on flights.

  ..This is well thought out..be a bit better  if  we knew how long  it would take to find a home....The way it looks,  the Colony might have to start on Board MArco..and..even if  we can't  find a Bloody place ta live, we're gonna havta find  moons, or astroids  or somthin' to get materials  we will need, to replace those  we use..

"She was set up to be a home while we build I believe, so yes, I think you are right."
Timochev follows Kray's lead, checking out their new quarters.
"You won't find weapons here Lieutenant. Boss-man wants those locked with the marines. We all have our sidearms though, so no worries. Do you know any of the other team members?"

      He nods  slowly  as the  investigate  the  room...well. side arms and  baldes are  what i do best...not good with the whole... rifle  thing? But  I'll do  a damn good  job shootin' things up  in a Hellcat....

 ..if ya mean Team, as in other  Pilots?  Naw. Yer the only one i had ver talked to? a couple names  ring bells from the flight rosters of the  wargames? But  never got to talk to them..

 ..If yoou mean team.. as  in  folks  in the hanger and Pilots?... I  Met Kong-We... and Hanschal..he's a damn good bloke.. a fw others are used to me nosin' around... tried ta help out by doing preflight on some, after  i checked me own machine.. Good folks...

"Too bad. But you will get to know the pilots soon enough. Especially your wingman."
He opens up some random cabinets.
"Score!"
Taking a bottle of vodka from the cabinet he just opened Timochev sits down at the table again, reading the label.
"Kiev. Hrm... At this age, its either water now, or pure poison. A nice gesture they put it in here though. Anyway... I want you as flight leader on three flight. You, and two others. One flight will be lead by me, Two flight by captain Rangarajan. I'll let you pick your own wingmen. We will work in three flight shifts once we settle down, mostly patrols. You never know what we encounter. Probably nothing. That would be just our luck, being alone in the expanse, da?"
The russian shrugs as he unscrews the bottlecap. With a grin he looks at the clock.
"Smells terrible. What you think lieutenant? Do we feel lucky enough to try this old potato-water?"

      There is a bit of a wrinkle in his nose,..never  drank much...like to keep the eyes  clear? But i have a wee drop, just so's ya don't have to poison yerself, alone?  eh?

 yeah... bein' our 'ere?  I don't care what folks say.. either the holy rollers, or  labcoats?... if folks think there is nothing out here..and  our little dinky planet  is the only bloody one ta have people?... naw...

 he sits  down  after  grabbing two glasses, a shot glass for himself and a tumbler for   Yuri.

 ..all ya have ta do is look at some of them weird   creatures at the bottom of the sea?.... almost flunked a  science  course at Sidney, 'cause i agrued the point... when right to the Bloody head master..and  he forced the Prof ta give me a bloody A...

 Still?  we're a Bloomin' toothpick  in the ocean out here..'less we find where that Hippo went ta..

Timochev pours the drinks, rolling his glass around in his hand.
"Let me tell you this Shadow. There are two options, and both are equally scary. Either we are alone, or we are not." He slams down his drink, instantly regretting it. With a violent hurl he spits the overaged vodka all over the table.
"Mother Russia, that was terrible! Do not drink that comrade, it is definately a Ukranian beverage."
Wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket he stares at the glass a bit longer.
"Obviously this is not good any longer... A bit like our Earth I think. Personally though, I believe we are not alone. Not by a long shot."

   Kray watches  in a bit of shock, he doesn't even touch the shot glass,..maybe?  we should take that fer someone ta check? who knows...Maybe  Kong-we can use it to clean parts?

 He looks  about for a Mop   and  begins to   wipe up the floor , as he does, he asks,how many  planes, gonna be in the flights? We have 20 Pilots  assigned and 4 pool planes.... For  my wingman   Kelly Wallace?  American Bloke likes to mix it up...me second choice is  Steffan Piirinen , the Swede? saw some films on him....

 from that roster? we gotta lot of Captains there... don't know how they'd  feel about an LT leadin' them...and if they a  Book warriors , thay ain't gonna bloody  like me a bit!

"Wallace, da... Good pilot yes. But this Wallace I think will be a surprise for you though. Is not that bloke Kelly Wallace from 151st squadron you flew with in India red flag." He grins. "Same name though. And Piirinen, yes, good choice. He crazy like you."

"Captains, commanders... That will not be problem. Is just rank, da? We all in same, how you say, boat? We all in same boat here. Captain, commander, sergeant, I do not care how your country calls your rank, and neither should they. If they do, they answer to me, or Ascott. Out there..." he points at the one outside window the quarters has. Judging by the occasional rock drifting by the Polo was at full speed now. "Out there, we all the same, and we all equal."

"I will lie to you not. Some might not agree on my choices, but they are my choices, and I am the commander here. When I give order, I expect it followed. If not, I hand out ground duties easy. They know. You have not trained with us, but I know you are good pilot. I have seen first hand. I trust you can lead flight three.

He leans closer to Shadow, his voice softer now, as if discussing a conspiracy, or sharing a big secret. "I studied you Shadow. You really are good pilot, but hothead. Always trying to steal show. Yet I also see you fly when leading a wing. Thats when you show you are great pilot. Then you think. So i let you lead wing. You make smart choices when responsible for others."

"Anyways..." he stands up, tossing the bottle in a trash compactor. "This stuff not even good for giving to black bear. We should go, conference hall awaits. Everyone should be up by now. Lets go meet the team."

   Shadow smiles a bit at Yuri's take on him...ahh..well I'm  Bloody Glad ya feel like that... yeah..like to see the other Blokes..i dunno how many o' them know  me?... It might be  just as  good to have  the one who wish ta fly with me  step up?..That's half the bloody  battle there?...  The lads  and Lasses on the Adelaide liked ta fly with me.... Captain though?.. not right happy with the way did things sometimes....never knew if it was cause I did them? Or because they worked!

 As they were walking  out the  door he asked,.. damn. not the same Wallace?...  Ah well.. I'll go with the Swede then? am' we'll see what happens after that!

"Nope, certainly not the same Wallace. Unless she was a bloke once..."
Timochev laughed aloud as he entered the turbolift.
"If so, doctors did a damn good job. Come, comrad."


-->To conference room.

<< from Barracks.

  When they  enter,  He smiles a bit, It was gona be a bit of home now with other pilots  about.

 Cap'm  Yuri will tell ya more, But  we have this, an' our  private quarters as well... a fair right place  ta wait for  a patrol...

  He''' take a  seat by one of the tables  and  watch the others check out the digs.

  While the rest of the Pilots   look around, he gives them their  space as they begin to sort out what has happened.

  Taking His drink with him, Kray decides to check out the Video Game systems, and tried to find a pilot based game, or  a sports  based  game to  kill sometime with.

Kray notices Fifa 2034, Afterburner 12 and Wing Commander revised amongst the games present. There is also Madden NFL 2030, NHL 2K35 and World of Tekken. While by no means an extraordinary gamer, he has at least some experience in all of those, as they are rather common games, or at least were when the Polo left.
It seems Captain Wei-Fu Yun has already set a highscore in Afterburner.

   Looking over the titles, he thought  about the American football game, But settled in on the WingCommander Revised...

  He began to   make his character   as he listed  to the backround  noise of his Fellow Pilots.   always like to  get into the RP side of the GAmes., Though his decisions  were more  'his own', rather then what might be expected in the game.

While in the middle of creating his character for Wing Commander, Kray suddenly hears his name being called. Its the Frenchman, calling him from the simulators.
¨Ozzyman! Ozzymandias! Hey, come here.¨ The fake pirate has settled himself into one of twelve simulators, casually having swung his feet up on the virtual cockpit HUD.
¨Come, Ozzyman, do some dogfighting with me. Let me see with my own eyes what you are made of.¨

Several of the other pilots look up from what they are doing, curious to find out if the Australian pilot takes up the virtual glove glove tossed at him.