#128 Testing Herself, Officially

Posted on Sun Jan 8th, 2023 @ 12:42pm by Major Jackson "JJ" Barnes {Meji} & Warrant Officer Shannon Money {Meji}

Mission: BUGS OH NO!!
Location: USS Amandora
Timeline: current

ON:

After spending time doing what was required of her in the berth, Lance Corporal Money showered and got dressed after the hardcore PT that Barnes had put them through. His philosophy was that space travel made you soft. You get soft and the galaxy will shit you out with zero warning. So, every leatherneck in the unit came out breathing like freight trains and sweating bullets, herself included. It had been some time, since Basic, that she had been put through that much exercise in a single go. It felt good, with Shannon realizing that her own personal style of exercising had fallen short of the mark. She would need to adjust her regimen and get back to it. Improvise, overcome, adapt: the SFMC credo, would have little meaning to an out of shape soldier.

Now, clean and dressed properly, and having secured herself some time in a holodeck, Money made her way to that very chamber. Entering the chamber through the arch she ordered the computer to give her an exact duplicate to shuttle bay 2, complete with the craft there, which the grid-squared room morphed into. There it was, her fighter, parked behind Alesha's. "Computer, I want these fighters to act and react exactly as they would in reality, in space."

"Acknowledged." Said the computer, that warble sound being heard as it complied.

"Hot damn," said Money, smiling from ear to ear as she went to the one that would, in reality, be hers if her request for department transfer was accepted. But, Rivers had said she needed a test in the simulator so, Shannon was simulating. Going to the fighter and mounting the stepladder she accessed the cockpit, which opened for her since this was a simulation, not the actual fighter needing to be assigned to her. Hopping in she sat down and strapped in, flight helmet in her lap while she activated the panel. She spent several minutes familiarizing herself with it, making slight location changes to certain things presented. Now, with the console set for her personal preference she activated the engine coils, allowing them to warm for 30 seconds before she switched them on. Hearing the impulse drive activate and feeling the thrum of power through her body made her grin. She wore one of the thinner, form fitting EVA suits (SNW style), putting on her helmet and leaving the transparisteel mask open. Lifting off she swept her fighter to the side to avoid Alesha's fighter as she passed, her canopy closing as she hit the key on her way towards the exit into space. Lined up dead center to the open bay door Money accelerated out the exit and into free space and as soon as she cleared the bay she jacked the fighter up to 1/4 impulse power according to its own stats and performance level.

"Oh, hell yeah," she said as she maneuvered around the starboard nacelle and pylon into open space, observing her readings and ship performance for a few minutes as it cruised through space. At 1/4 impulse she did some barrel rolls and then went into a few evasive maneuvers, seeing that the fighter obeyed her every command instantly and smoothly. There were no reverberations, no vibrations, just a smooth ride during emergency maneuvers. Straightening back out she kept looking to the emergency thrusters key, not at all sure what that was or what it meant. So, being the brave soldier of liberty that she was she set herself in her seat, wriggling her butt cheeks and pelvis to make sure she was planted correctly. Taking in a few breaths to prepare herself Money was about to hit the key when she noticed that one of the thumb triggers would do the same thing. Hmmm.

Having set herself as best she could in preparation, not knowing the result of her experiment, Money pressed the thumb trigger and WHOOSH! The fighter kicked up instantly to full impulse, so quickly that the inertial dampeners could not keep up with it as it activated, pressing Shannon back into her seat as the small fighter rocketed through space. "Oooooooh shiiiiit!" She cried out with laughter as her ship tore through the fabric of space. Hitting the key to deactivate the emergency thrusters, the ship going back to 1/4 impulse power, Money was all giggles and laughter. She patted the top of her console. "Oh yeah, darlin', we'll be unstoppable." Giving herself a few moments of thought, Shannon decided it was time to test her abilities in the fighter. "Computer, add an asteroid field dead ahead, thick and involving gravity induced motion and movement."

Ahead of her fighter in the holodeck version of space a large asteroid field appeared. So large that she could not see the end of it when she looked right and left. Perfect, she thought. Again, she hit the thrusters and jacked forward at full impulse until she reached the edge of the asteroid field, cutting back to 1/4. Internally, she set her power allocation for a 25% reduction in inertial dampeners and life support, her helmet mask closed now. Taking that power she shunted it to her maneuvering thrusters and shields. "Alright, let's do this." Without further delay Shannon Money entered the asteroid field, jamming The Beatles; HELP, while she went, using the rhythm of the song to keep her own reactions in tune (pun intended). With the added power to maneuvering her fighter reacted that much better, that much quicker as she zoomed between the large chunks of rock and ice, some moving erratically and causing her to make on the spot corrections to her path, which she did. She had done the same thing numerous times in the Sol system, in the asteroid belt there, impressing her flight instructors. They had not thought of reducing systems to add to their flight capabilities and survivability. Money was pretty sure that that type of thing was still not being taught to newbies, since it was against protocol for recruits to change the dynamic of the craft while training. For her, this would be her ship, her life, and she would do what she needed to to survive in any condition or environment while her ass was strapped to an impulse rocket.

Dousing her music Money spoke up. "Computer, add in random spacial anomalies."

"Acknowledged."

With that said and done Money kept her perception up, flying as much by instinct as by skill.

Over a three hour period Lance Corporal Money flew through her holoprogram. Asteroids, ship-to-ship encounters, being a point vessel ahead of Amandora during flights through various types of nebula; all of it. When it was over and she left the holodeck through the arch, wearing her EVA suit and carrying her helmet, she was happy as could be. Making her way home to the marine berthing area she walked in, getting looks from her fellow grunts as she made her way to her rack/sleeping area. She began to remove the suit and, as she got down to the body glove and began to unzip to remove it and hit the showers she saw Corporal Barnes approach.

"Have fun, Money?"

"Fuck yeah," she replied, smiling. "You are going to get a transfer notice, Corporal. I'm gunning for fighter jock."

Barnes gave a few positive nods. "Okay. Sounds good. What about all this?" Jack motioned around at the berth offhandedly.

"I'm still a marine," Money retorted, a bit of an edge to her voice since the query, to her, seemed a bit insulting. "When not in that fighter I'm in this life. Semper Fi, Corporal. Unlike most marines that phrase has meaning for me. Always faithful, to the bone."

"Are you prepared for the consequences of your actions," asked Barnes, his meaning being something else entirely. The other marines had gathered around as best they could to hear what was going on.

"Consequences?" She now stood before everyone in just her Underarmor knickers, not even thinking about it. "Such as?"

"Marine pilots who have not gone through the Academy are given the rank of warrant officer. A throwback from the old chopper days for those pilots who have not angled for actual officer. It's a way of honoring them for passing the flight course and gaining Marine Aviator status. All your responsibilities will double, even when you're in here." Barnes was giving her a stoic look, his demeanor showing that he was being as serious as he could be with the line of questioning and his explanations of consequences. "Captain Rivers is an exception for whatever reason, but has proven herself according to her file." He saw the look on Shannon's face. "Yeah, I read it. She is a marine so I want to know as much as I can about each individual I may be in a firefight with. If she's a fuck up then I certainly don't want her near me in a combat action. As of her file, she isn't."

Money got her dander under control, the hackles that were trying to rise laying back down. "I never considered that, JJ. But, if that's what it takes to fly, then I will gladly shoulder those responsibilities."

"Hell yeah, girl. You go!" A female voice called out from the crowd of marines, with others following it up with their own positive responses and a few yowls for good measure.

Barnes finally broke into a grin, his eyes showing that he had returned to a more lighthearted frame of mind. "Well, the unit supports you, so I will. I'll leave a report notice in Hurd's slot at his door. The PADD will have full disclosure, which means this entire conversation will be available for him to look at. West, too. Both of them should find your drive commendable, but since I don't know either of them I can only guess at that. Good luck."

"Thanks, Barnes." Money looked around at all the other faces. "Thanks, marines. Means a lot to me."

After sending her flight training data to Captain Alesha Rivers, which included everything form her holodeck simulation, Shannon hit the showers. While in the shower and enjoying the cascading hot water running down her body it gave her time to think. Achieving the fighter position would be a step up in her career, and receiving warrant officer was not a bad thing. Many a marine over the decades had achieved warrant officer, giving them rank over most grunts but keeping them in the enlisted mindset, easy to get along with since they were the grey area between actual officer and enlisted. Either way, whether people liked it or not, this was her career not theirs. If Hurd and West found it unworthy of her, well, they could grab a box of tissues and go cry in a corner somewhere.

Finishing her shower and getting back into her uniform of the day, Lance Corporal Money rejoined her marine colleagues, who were having a relaxing moment in the day room. To everyone's surprise Barnes showed up with a couple of bottles of Jameson's whiskey and some red Solo cups, pouring two fingers worth into each and handing them out. The marines handed them down the line until everyone had one.

Barnes raised his glass/cup. "To Lance Corporal Money. May she attain her goal and continue to serve as the devil dog she is. Salute, Shannon."

Everyone gave a hear ye then they all drank down their alcohol, with a few of the younger folks coughing a bit. After the drinks were downed then they all sat around as a unit, the chatter and conversations covering everything from personal stories told in mirth to marine business. Camaraderie and cohesiveness.

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