Orions and Furballs and Flight! Oh, my!

Posted on Wed Jun 20th, 2018 @ 12:51am by Captain Jayam "Jay" Vidod & Commander Arlaena Torr
Edited on on Wed Sep 12th, 2018 @ 7:51pm

Mission: My Place In This Universe
Location: Jay's office, Main flight deck, and in an Argo over the planet
Timeline: 2388/08/19 0736 (August 19 2388 0736)

Arleina Sherrean Torr was in a good mood. She was getting to go somewhere that neither any other Filra had been nor many of Starfleet. The natural curiosity of the feline demanded to know what was here, but the training of both the Filra and Starfleet kept her grounded. Only her tail gave her away as she moved through the Starbase toward the office of her new boss, Jayam Vidod. It swished behind her in an intricate dance of both pleasure and anticipation.

Reaching the office, she wrapped her tail around her waist, forcing it into barely-contained obedience -- the tip still tapped against her leg. She straightened her back and her uniform -- part of her hated the thing because it flattened down her fur, but she understood its purpose and so tried to ignore the itch -- and tapped the door chime for entry. The cat curiosity struck again, this time in the form of I wonder what he'll be like! but she pushed it aside... for now.

The door swooshed open and a large Orion male, with pale Trill spots trailing along his temple, was stepping towards her. His eyes having discreetly swept over her, he smiled at his approach, just on the opposite side of the doorway, "Commander Torr, welcome." He extended out a hand to shake hers.

Arleina had always thought that gesture was odd, and she considered returning the oddness with her own and shaking the hand with her tail. Resisting that temptation to be kittenish, however, she extended her own hand and shook his in a firm grip. "Thank you, sir. You must be Captain Vidod, yes?" she responded, her light Filra accent making it sound as though she were purring slightly on the r's.

"Yes, I am." Jay replied, one corner of his smile lifting, liking the sound of her voice. "I'd like you to come with me," he said as he started them walking away from his office.

Arleina's head canted to one side, and her tail twitched slightly, but she followed him. "Of course. Where are we going, if I may ask, sir?" she asked, that cat curiosity slinking its way into the foreground.

"The main flight deck," He quickly glanced over to her. "How familiar are you with Terran idioms, Commander?"

Arleina frowned in thought for a moment. "Depends on the idiom. I've learned some, but I'm sure I don't know all of them. Why?" she asked curiously.

"Well there's one that means to demonstrate one's true talent or ability," Jay explained as they rounded a corner. A moment later they entered the flight deck. "I'd like you to show me what you're made of, Commander. Take your pick." he nodded out towards all the support craft sitting there, and half smiled with expectation.

Arleina let her eyes slide over the ships on display. Granted, she could have easily flown any of them, but she wanted something that would a) showcase her skill and b) be fun to put through its paces. Spotting an Argo, she grinned a toothy, feline grin. "That one." she said, pointing at it while her tail did a complex dance of pleasure and excitement behind her -- blasted thing just refused to stay coiled around her waist!

Noticing her tail, Jay inwardly chuckled and started leading her to the Argo. "So when was the last time you flew one?" he asked.

Arleina followed her new chief, grinning. A soft purr began to rumble up in her throat at the thought of flying. "A few years ago during a supply mission." she answered. "But I didn't get to really make her work. Couldn't jostle the supplies too much." she added with a slight frown. Not only did she love to fly, after all, but she loved to fly fast.

Jay half smiled again. "Well there's no supplies this time." he said, and as they were approaching the shuttle, pressed his hand up against the door control, causing the panel to flash, and the door opened. They entered, and he slid into one of the flight seats, directing her to sit where the pilot in command would. "She's all yours, Commander."

Arleina could not help either the grin or the purr that escaped her controls as she took the pilot's chair and began the pre-flight on the shuttle. Her tail flicked a couple of times in anticipation before she coiled it around the base of the chair, anchoring her to the chair.

When she had finished the pre-flight, she requested launch clearance from shuttle control and glanced at her direct superior and passenger. "Ready, sir?" That grin was back, and her ears were perked, indicating her readiness for what was soon to come.

"Ready," he clipped back warmly. A smile spread on his face as clearance was given. "Now take her out."

Arleina grinned, the soft purr growing in volume slightly as she directed the small ship from the starbase. For the moment, she was keeping it slow and smooth, ensuring that they were far enough away from the base to avoid scaring anyone close enough to a window to see what she was about to do. Once they were at a good distance, she increased the speed of the Argo, pushing it to the upper limit of its sublight engines. Hassh'iyrr Filra (Almighty Filra), but she loved flying fast!

Now that she had it at its top speed, though, she was going to push its limits another way. She began taking the small ship into a series of turns, rolls, dives and climbs that made the poor thing groan and shudder slightly, though not dangerously.

Jay was pleased Arleina took him at his word, to show him what she was made of, and put the shuttle to the test as well. Perhaps it was a species thing, as well as personality, that some flew with more restraint although given permission to step outside it. The Filra pilot having no compunction at taking him at his word, Jay gave a small grin, enjoying the flight and feeling a wave of nostalgia roll over him.

Watching for the landmark, Jay pointed at a mountain range, "Head there. Towards the Montagna Ventose." and smiled as he translated, "The windy mountains."

Arleina grinned, though since she was facing away from him, he would not see it. She loved challenges, and he was giving her one. She flew the Argo toward the mountains and braced herself, tail coiled around the base of her chair to anchor herself. As the winds began to buffet the small ship, her fingers flew over the touchpads, directing the ship through the mountain range. She felt the thrill of the flight, of the danger, and the purr resonated through her as the small craft dodged, flitted and weaved through the craggy peaks and challenged the wind for supremacy in this airspace.

Jay was feeling impressed but he hadn't expected to feel anything less from Arleina as a pilot. When looking over his choices for the position of Senior Flight Officer, he had requested her, after all. "Over the next couple of weeks, I'd like you to familiarize yourself with Sapientia's terrain, and the system," he said, looking out at the scenery. "As a search and rescue pilot, it's a priority." He glanced over at her, "So in the meanwhile, I'll lighten your primary duty responsibilities."

Arleina did not look at him, but that was to be expected given the terrain she was currently navigating. She did acknowledge his statements, however. "Understood. By familiarize myself, I assume you mean actually fly over and through it, not just look at maps and charts?" she asked, a note of hopefulness entering her tones. Maps and star charts were fine as far as they went, but there was no substitute for actually flying through and over an area for really understanding it, she believed, learning its moods and quirks. So she hoped that Jay would let her do so as much as time permitted.

Holding back a smile at Arleina's barely contained hope, he answered, "Yes, that's correct. You might enjoy partnering with our other SAR team pilot, Lieutenant Jamie Mallory. If you do and can't make your schedules work, let me know."

Arleina grinned, though he couldn't see it since she was faced away from him. "Awesome!" she enthused, using a word she'd heard Humans use in a context that told her it meant that something was really, really, good... and this was! "I'll talk to her first chance I get!"

Jay's smile grew to a full grin, and then his eyes happened to catch the time. "Well, let's head back, Commander," he said, and inwardly sighed. "I could do this longer, but I have a staff meeting in 20 minutes."

Arleina felt the purr ceased for a second as his words sank through the excitement and became clear. "Sshrral!" she muttered under her breath, a word of invective among most of the races descended from the Felinium as Filra were. However, she turned the small ship, using the winds as a surfer uses a wave to push him where he wants to go. "Heading back." she said louder for him to hear, but she was sure he could hear the disappointment in her tone as she had in his. She hadn't really intended for it to show, but neither did she make any particular effort to remove it.

As expertly as she had flown the small craft into the mountain range, she flew it out and back toward its hangar. She was looking forward to following the previous order though!

Having been looking out over the terrain, Jay had taken a moment to watch her profile before looking away again. He was feeling Commander Arleina Torr was another unique felinoid, and grinned inwardly at the thought of working with her.

~End~

Captain Jayam "Jay" Vidod
Chief of Flight Operations
Starbase Magellan/Serene Colony

&

Commander Arleina Torr
Senior Flight Control Officer
Starbase Magellan/Serene Colony