In The Heat of Battle

[Shura]

(Sorry about the tittle , I really couldn't think of anything.)


Jade Rhea - http://www.rpnation.com/showcase/miles-illays.4406/


Miles Illays - http://www.rpnation.com/showcase/miles-illays.4406/


The station came into view though the inky darkness of space, an impressive ship all around which rivaled many other in the fleet. Jade watched with uncertainty as the transport ship docked. She had gotten used to the last ship and the crew working there. It was a smaller force that didn't see a lot of combat but was since she could focus on her projects during the down time. Now she was being put on a bigger ship which saw a lot more combat but had higher grade weaponry. She would be kept busy to say the least.


With a loud THUNK the ship finished docking and the passenger were let off. Jade grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder before following the crowd out of the ship. She pulled up her bracer fort quick notes for who she was suppose to be meeting with "Hmk... Miles Illays..."


@Sovereign

 

[Sovereign]

Miles felt like a walking contradiction. Everything in his nature drove him to trust people, to forge bonds, and to find strength in and for others. But whenever someone outside his comfort zone walked into his own little bubble, he felt hesitant. He'd bled with these people, worked with them, fought with them, and been with them when any of them died. On spacecraft, nobody was truly safe. It's why Miles was getting a new crew member for his fighter team.


He heaved a sigh, tugging absentmindedly at his hoodie zipper and leaning his head back against the cool bulkhead. A bunch of other crewmen were rotating out, so a lot of officers and crew chiefs were here to pick up new additions to their lot. Few of them seemed enthusiastic, but perhaps not as conflicted about it as Miles was.

 

[Shura]

Jade scanned the crowd as it slowly thinned out looking for the captain of the team she would be joining. A bit of anxiety started to gnaw at her stomach, she never like meeting new people it was always awkward at best. She sighed softly scanning around the room onces more before spotting who she was supposed to meet with and making her way over. She moved towards the man realizing he was a good bit taller than she originally though. "Miles Illays?"

 

[Sovereign]

(By the way, the link to your profile at the top is the link to my profile xD )


Miles' head perked up upon hearing his name called. His eyes flicked immediately to the source, a woman shorter than him by a fair amount. "Yes, I'm Miles. You must be Jade. You're being attached to my maintenance crew as the new Crew Chief, right?" he asked. He pushed off the wall and stood straight. "Well, welcome aboard." he didn't sound very enthusiastic. "A lot of the crew has been working together for a long time already. Try not to feel bad if you find yourself getting second-guessed frequently at first," he said, though one might be able to extrapolate that he didn't just refer to the crew she was to preside over.

 

[Shura]

Jade nodded as he greeted her a bit surprised that formalities had been by passed. She was used to calling people by rank or last name it seemed odd. "Ah yes. I have been assigned to you unit as crew chief." She confirmed before following the taller man out of the docking bay. She listened as he offered some kind of welcome speech though her mind had been more focused on the task ahead of her. "I see... I will keep that in mind." She replied tone fairly formal and even. Her eyes scanned the ship taking noticed of its state and maintenance as well as the level of equipment present.

 

[Sovereign]

Miles led her into the bowels of the ship, far from the larger docking bays to the better equipped pits and hangars of the pilots who'd earned such a privilege. He explained everything he could off the top of his head as they went down. He went over the standard drills, the bit sizing conventions of the custom tools his crew had ordered, the shift responsibilities, her responsibilities, his responsibilities, and most importantly --combat protocol. He spoke in a surprisingly nonchalant tone for someone supposedly well-decorated and combat-hardened. Perhaps though, that was just his way of remaining impenetrable --stony, cut off from those outside his inner circle. That made sense as a theory anyway.

 

[Shura]

Jade followed Miles about the ship eye scanning and analyzing while retaining the information that was being said. When the subject of battle came up Jade made sure to pay special attention to how things were done on this ship. Every ship she had been on had their who ways and methods when it came to fighting. She hadn't seen much combat, her specialty was with fixing and experimenting. Not to knock her piloting skills, she could zip around in just about any ship regardless of specs or size. Adapting to another fighting style on the other hand would take time, which wasn't something they had a lot of.

 

[Sovereign]

When finally they came to his crew quarters, she might notice the crew had the privilege of having their cabins right next to their hangar, as opposed to in the living quarters half way across the ship from the other hangars. It was a big deal to be able to have pilot and fighter prepped and ready to launch in just a couple minutes as opposed to fifteen or twenty. The rest of the crew waited patiently in the crew lounge, a couple of men and women who would now be taking their orders from her. They all gave her the same half-lidded expression --none of them to thrilled to have her as their new chief. They liked the old one, an veteran mechanic and a good friend. It had to be hard stepping into those shoes --they knew this on an academic level, but they just didn't quite care.

 

[Shura]

Jade noted how close they were to the hanger and was grateful for it. She had always spent most of her time working or experimenting so she spent very little time actually in her assigned room or anything. When Jade arrived at the table with her new assigned crew she could already tell they weren't exactly to pleased to have her a superior. She wasn't really surprised, from what she understood the previous head mechanic was well liked and very experienced, the fact that she was younger than some of them wasn't exactly working in her favor either. Technology and mechanics she knew well and could handle no problem. People not so much, it was the main reason she was unsure about the assignment but she didn't have much of a choice. She forced a small awkward smile. "Uh... Hello. Nice to meet you all."

 

[Sovereign]

The team grumbled their hellos before disbanding and spreading out to take care of their own work. Miles didn't seem all that surprised by their behavior either. "They'll warm up," he said flatly. "Anyway, welcome to the crew. That room in the corner over there is yours. Mine is the next door on your left, and the door to the right of yours is the bathroom. It's a ship so our crew only gets one bathroom and one shower. Lock's busted and ServTech hasn't come out to fix it in almost a month --probably because it's not ship critical. Just try and remember to knock," he explained. "So, you settle in. I'll be back in an hour or two, command wants to have a meeting with the five most experienced pilots on the vessel. Not sure why, but orders are orders," he added. His eyes were never more less than half-lidded when he talked with her, and he kept his hands shoved in his pockets. He turned around and offered a short wave before exiting the hangar.

 

[Shura]

Jade watched as every one scattered before looking over to Miles. While he had done a lot more talking than the rest but he was also the leader of the time so he had to inform her of everything to adjust and settle into the new assignment. She shifted her gaze over to her room that would be assigned to her and nodded at the mention of the rest room. "Understood." She looked back to him with them neutral expression she had worn the entire time. "I suppose I'll see you later then..." She muttered before he took his leave.


Shaking her head she made her way over to her new room stopping there only long enough to look around and drop off one of her bags which held mostly clothes. Her tools and such she kept on her as she made her way over to the hanger. She saw a few others around going about their usual business and paid little mind to them. Socializing wasn't necessarily high on her priority list. She moved towards the ships instead and found the one she had been assigned to along side Miles. It was in fairly good shape for a ship which saw combat on a regular basis.


Setting down her bag of tools near the ship she went about her usual regiment inspections, and system checks, at was a fairly extensive list of examinations which helped her to both familiarize herself with the ship and personal setting that were already in place as well as make notations on what needed to be upgraded, replaced and fixed. Jade might not have much in terms of experienced but made up for it with a extensive knowledge and understanding of tech far beyond her years.

 

[Sovereign]

The ship's personal settings and modifications were extensive: a cleverly rigged spare ammo cell, an additional 30mm cannon to each bank of two, an additional missile rack on each wing, additional maneuver jets, an infantry weapon rack, the list went on. The ship certainly seemed specialized to Miles' taste exactly, some of it was out of regulation --but the approval sticker spoke volumes of just how much this pilot meant to the ship.


Whenever she finished with the ship and returned to the main bay, she might hear the commotion in the crew lounge. A quick peek would show Miles and the rest of the crew sitting together, talking and laughing. They all seemed so different together, happy and full of life. The pilot himself was awake and aware --posture open and eyes clear instead of clouded with guarded disinterest. From the conversation it was not hard to tell that these guys had been together for a long while, and most of them knew each other even before joining up with the military. it would be a hard group to become a part of, let alone earn their respect.

 

[Shura]

Jade took note of the modifications only slightly surprised but given that the squad was one of higher rank than most others. She made notations of what needed to be updated and repaired. The ship had been kept in great shape but there were a few things that needed attention. There were also a few upgrades that were possible that could follow the style and systems already set up.


The whole time she worked on her own only vaguely paying attention to the echos of conversations the rest of the crew. She noticed they had warmed up to each other quickly but wasn't surprised. They knew each other well from the sounds of it. A new comer was going to be the odd man out regardless of what happened. She had shifted from Team to Team she rarely tried to actually make deep connections.

 

[Sovereign]

Time passed and the laughter and squalor of the lounge faded like a college party at 3am --all at once. All the other crew members headed to their quarters except for Miles. Each of them bade him good night, and headed into their cabins. The soft hiss of pressurized pneumatics sounded as each door opened and then subsequently settled into place. The pilot wandered into the hangar having all but forgotten about the new mechanic. To his surprise the crew chief lingered, tinkering with the fighter and apparently taking notes.


"Shouldn't you be asleep by now?" he asked genuinely, perhaps the least neutral statement he'd made to her yet. His hands remained shoved in their respective pockets, but that appeared to be a habit rather than a guarded gesture. "It's nearly 1am and the say starts early," he added. New or not, the wellbeing of his crew held a position of importance on his priority list --perhaps the highest importance.

 

[Shura]

Jade had been lost in her own check and inspections when the pilot approached. She glanced over at him from over the projected screen on her hollobracer and noticed the time. It wasn't exactly new to her though, she would spend an entire 24 hours and not even realized it had passed. "I tend to sleep very little, 4-5 hours usually." She muttered in response. "I like putting my time to better use and getting work done." She added figuring she would tell him up front of her habits that most considered unhealthy. But it was how she functioned and what she had adapted to. "You have some interesting modification on this ship... do the other have the same or is it specialized?" She asked her eyes focused in on the the screen once more going over the list of notes.

 

[Sovereign]

"That's not healthy," he said, a predictable response. "You're also the crew chief here, I need you to be at your best when shit hits the fan you know. Need you well rested and alert," he warned, not threateningly --more like concerned. "As for the ship, it is specialized to my specifications. After so many sorties out in the void certain flaws become noticeable. Where I lose maneuvering power, what I needed when I failed to make a kill. All sorts of little fixes along the way to make it more suitable for my optimum piloting capacity," he explained.


Miles approached the craft and ran his fingers over the wingtips. The riveting was flush, which always confused him --this was a ship for space, there was no drag in space. This could be a box and maneuver the same as a perfectly aerodynamic vessel. His hand trailed further, he could feel some of he places where fresh plating had been applied to patch damaged panels. The new plates felt smoother, the older plates felt slightly warped and pockmarked, sometimes almost sandpaper-like from heavy radiation.

 

[Shura]

"I'm awake and alert." She informed simply "It's just something my body has adapted to any more and I'm usually groggy." She shrugged knowing it sounded a bit weird but it was true. Only time she really slept longer than 5-6 hours was when she was sick or had stayed up the entire night before hand. "I see." She nodded as he explained his reason for specializations logical reasons, each pilot had their own preferences.

 

[Sovereign]

"This ship has seen a lot," he said, pulling his hand back from the wing and turning to face the crew chief. He wore a serious expression now, arms crossed and posture square. "This ship has outlived two other pilots, and now it has come to me. I'd like to see that it stays up to snuff and that I don't get nixed out in a fight due to some faulty maintenance," he explained. "They tell me you're very good at what you do, so I'll trust the skill set. However, I need you to make sure the work the other mechanics do is up to the same level of excellence. The old crew chief kept the other mechanics doing good work. They're less experience than he was, and he helped them deal with uncommon mistakes and problems. Can you do the same?"

 

[Shura]

Jade looked over as he crossed his arms and adopted a more serious stance. She listened to what he had to say and couldn't help but feel slightly irritated. She wasn't much of a people's person, if it was up to her she would maintain the ships herself but even with her skill it would be impossible with out missing something. And when dealing with lived no mistakes could be made. So far her record was perfect, none of the pilots she had been paired with never had an issue with their ships. But that was a one to one situation at most she would help others not lead them.


Jade sighed softly slipping the visor from her eyes "I'm going to be honest with you. I am very good when it comes to tech and mechanics. A few of the upgrades and updates implimented now are partly because I like to expiriment and improve on existing tech. Don't worry I always ask before doing anything to a ship. That being said I'm not quite sure why they put me in this position. I don't exactly have the best... people skills. Pulse lazers and hyperdrived I can work on in my sleep... getting someone to do something not so much. I'll do my best to try and communicate with the rest of the crew but they don't exactly seems like the most ... Open group." She shrugged slightly "I don't blame them given the circumstances but I can only do so much on my own."


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[Sovereign]

"I get you're frustrated. Know what? We're all frustrated. Most of us have been together on this ship for close to seven years. We've seen it all and survived a lot together," he explained, his expression losing some of it's stony, neutral mask. "I've been less than kind with you, and I apologize for that. I just don't trust you yet. The crew and I joined up together, so many of us know one another from even before the military. The previous crew chief was like a father to us." Miles tipped his head to the side slightly and let his arms drop back to his side.


"You can only give what you can give, but I'm asking you to give it your best shot. If you say your best is unable to work with the rest of the crew, so be it. But I think you'll have a better time here if you try to get along with us," he said, offering the first genuine smile she'd seen from him.

 

[Shura]

Jade tilted her head slightly at the mention of frustration, she didn't feel particularly frustrated simply confused and a bit annoyed. Still she kept such opinions to her self since the pilot seemed to be trying to relate to her which was a step in the right direction. Relating to people was probably her biggest weakness since people normally just bothered her, especially if they couldn't understand what she was speaking about. Which was most of the time. She nodded slightly as he gave her a genuine smile. She smiled slightly in return though it seemed to lack the same emotion as his. Everything about her seemed off to most people, almost hollow like a robot but it was mostly because she disconnected from her emotions and focused purely on what was needed to get done. Her more emotional sides only really came out when she was in her comfort zone which was while working. "I'll try my best...." she assured though wasn't exactly as confident in her social skills.

 

[Sovereign]

"That's all I can ask for," Miles said. With a nod and a quick wishing of goodnight, he headed off towards his own cabin. Truth be told, he could sleep in as long as he wanted so long as no combat missions suddenly came up. He didn't sleep that late of course, as he respected his crew and intended on being there for them. Stripping down to his boxers, the pilot planted face first onto the bed. He slept easily, and as such he passed out mere moments after his head hit the pillow. When he woke the following morning his usual routine had him showered and dressed just after the rest of the team --and that was only because he had to look over morning reports.

 

[Shura]

Jade nodded and bid the pilot good night as well before going back to work. It would be another hour before she went to sleep. Even then she was up before everyone else and back in the hanger as if she had never slept at all. She hummed softly to her self as she finished setting her work station with all of her tools and such. A large tall case stood next to it big enough to hold a person but the contents were still hidden. She had already looked over the morning reports as well as the various other equipment related reports making sure everything was up to code. She seemed a little more at ease compared to the night before.