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["Captain's Log Supplemental. We reach our destination in four days. No word from the Klingons that tensions have decreased or an actual attack has occurred. All we can do is prepare for the worse and hope for the best, especially as there is so little information on the Kinshaya on record. End Log."]

[USS Challenger Crossing Klingon Space]

Three days into the week long trip to their assigned sector, the Challenger led task force married up with a second task force consisting of the USS Finland and USS Moldova, both Norway-Class; the USS Tarhe, a Cheyenne-Class; and the Steamrunner-Class USS Rainier. The additional ships formed up with the Challenger's group and the larger task force continued on to the Klingon border with the Kinshaya.

Ian was the senior captain at the moment, but this would change when they were joined by the USS Galahad whose captain was the senior of the twelve ships. Ian was actually very happy not to be senior. He'd been in several battles as captain and even a couple large scale battles, but he'd never commanded so many ships at once.

"Captain's Log Supplemental. We reach our destination in four days. No word from the Klingons that tensions have decreased or an actual attack has occurred. All we can do is prepare for the worse and hope for the best, especially as there is so little information on the Kinshaya on record. End Log."

["Captain's Log Supplemental. Whatever Klingon intelligence discovered that led them ta believe a Kinshaya attack was imminent, has clearly not changed. We have nae been ordered ta stand down or return ta Federation space. If anything, the Klingons seem ta have an even higher sense of urgency about our arrival. As we are allies, we didn't pick up an escort when we reached the Klingon border, all we got was a gruff 'Proceed' from the border station.]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As her crew conducted battle drills, the Challenger continued to drive through space at high warp and was now approaching Klingon space. It would still take a week to reach the coreward border, but from now on, all the preparations became more real and the crew could feel the shift in tension as they approached the most likely avenue of approach the Kinshaya would use if they decided to attack.

"Captain's Log Supplemental. Whatever Klingon intelligence discovered that led them ta believe a Kinshaya attack was imminent, has clearly not changed. We have nae been ordered ta stand down or return ta Federation space. If anything, the Klingons seem ta have an even higher sense of urgency about our arrival. As we are allies, we didn't pick up an escort when we reached the Klingon border, all we got was a gruff 'Proceed' from the border station.

"As the ships of the task force were called upon from various sectors of Federation space, we are arrivin' at different times and different vectors. We have however married up with the USS New Orleans, lead ship of that class, the USS Hungary of the Norway-Class and the USS Ararat a Steamrunner. I have ta admit, there is comfort in numbers as we continue ta our area of operations.

"So far, all departments show that they are takin' the possibility of combat very seriously and report an improvement in response times and the overall skill levels of the crew. This is especially important with so many just out of the Academy ensigns and senior cadets aboard.

"The science boffins have tried ta find a weakness that would disable or at least reduce the lethality of the Kinshaya. One viable option is modifyin' the gravity platin' on the approaches ta critical areas that would allow increasin' gravity ta 12Gs. The Kinshaya are big, and bloody strong, but I doubt even they could handle 12Gs for long.

"What will happen in the future is unknowable, but I believe we are about as prepared as a ship and crew can be. We have one final week ta iron out any last issues and then we will find out what fate has in store for us. End log."

["I'm nae so sure I look at a 'score' in the Flyin' Tigers program. My personal best is shootin' down three Japanese planes. However, the way I measure things is how well I avoid damage at the higher skill settin's. I've come back shot up pretty badly several times and gotten an earful from my crew chief Flip for it, but I figure comin' back at all when you're faced off against a squadron of Zeroes when there are only four Tomahawks is a success."]

[Bridge]

The worst part of going off to battle was the march to get there, and Ardy could feel it across the whole ship, only amplifying Ardy's own restlessness and readiness to get going. She wanted to get this over and done with so she could get back to Maddy as soon as possible.  She never thought to admit it out loud (though she was pretty sure Alex had probably picked up on it at this point, ) but she missed Maddy's fireball-like presence running circles around her. In fact, according to their calls,  Maddy was doing just fine after the initial shock of missing her and Alex the first couple of days. Ardy figured as much. Nothing ever stopped that kid.

So, she kept busy. While they weren't going to be in active rotation, she had all the flight crew running drills to see how well they could fly in high-stress fights against heavily maneuverable enemies. She wasn't expecting them to be the ones to fly the ship or doing fighter runs if they ended up going in the fight, but doing something, anything was better than waiting, and the junior crews needed the practice.

When she wasn't helping the rest of the flight crew, or on bridge duty making sure the ship was in, she ran fighter runs with Ian in his Flying Tigers program.  All good practice but still, not enough to keep the itch off her trigger finger.

Coming onto the bridge. she nodded to Ian and cracked her fingers as she moved on the bridge. "Morning boss, you beat your high score on the Tigers yet?" she asked, more filling the time if anything. At some point, she still needed to check in with Engineering at some point. Making sure that the ship didn't fall apart (or that the engineers wouldn't curse her too much) during battle was pretty important in her books.  Passing Alex and the Ops officer he was talking to, Ardy gave a nod, before relieving Schultz off the helm, checking the ship was on autopilot, then swiveling the chair around

"So, You've seen me fly, boss. Any recommendations you think I should tell the Engineer crew to make before we really go into battle?

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

When Ardy spoke, Ian had to admit to himself that his mind had wandered. One of the things no one tells you before you become a captain is how boring it was sitting in the center seat. Under normal circumstances, the crew was skilled enough to handle most tasks on their own. It was only when in combat did the captain have to make decisions they couldn't. And since combat wasn't common, the captain had very little to do. Therefore, Ian welcomed the interruption to his woolgathering.

"I'm nae so sure I look at a 'score' in the Flyin' Tigers program. My personal best is shootin' down three Japanese planes. However, the way I measure things is how well I avoid damage at the higher skill settin's. I've come back shot up pretty badly several times and gotten an earful from my crew chief Flip for it, but I figure comin' back at all when you're faced off against a squadron of Zeroes when there are only four Tomahawks is a success."

Switching gears, Ian continued.

"One of the reasons I like the atmospheric simulations is that modern pilots dinnae think in those terms anymore, thus you pull out an Immelmann, a Split-Ess, or a Hammerhead Stall, and they've never seen those maneuvers before, which leaves them unable ta keep up. The primary thing that Engineerin' needs ta do is keep both warp cores purrin' and Ops needs ta be ready ta switch power rapidly from shields ta structural integrity. It's one thing ta do a Split-Ess in a 2.5 tonne Tomahawk, it's an altogether different thing ta make a 3 million tonne Trailblazer do one."

["Aye Lass, that's the rub of it. Time ta see what you've learned so far and if'n you can get this beastie started."]

[Holodeck - Hangars]

"You said that right. There's a lot to get in one go. " said Ardy, mentally mapping each of the controls in her mind's eye. "Alright. So, what I'm getting is we need to get her going down this runway fast enough  so that enough wind gets under the wings here and can help it fly, right? And to keep the angle just right so that it actually gets up?" she asked, keeping an eye on the systems.

At the mention of the historical setting this holoprogram was set in, Ardy nodded, looking around at the airfield.  "Didn't know that. Honestly, sounds like something my dad would have known all about, he was an old history buff," she remarked, hopping into the cockpit. "I'm down for the air combat rounds. Best part of flying if you ask me; Going fast and flying fancy. Can't get that going on just shuttle duties."

She started running the sequence. All 32 steps. "Here goes nothing!"

[Holodeck Two - USS Challenger]

Ian listened to Ardy and it was clear she had grasped the basics of atmospheric flight which pleased him because so many modern pilots simply could not wrap their heads around the idea of a vehicle that couldn't fly itself.

"Aye Lass, that's the rub of it. Time ta see what you've learned so far and if'n you can get this beastie started."

Ian swapped places with Ardy and pointed out what to do when she hesitated at a couple points of the start up process. She followed the steps and was rewarded with the engine roaring to life.

["Captain's Log, Supplemental. We will reach the coreward border of Klingon space in eleven days. I want ta commend the Engineerin' department for keepin' us runnin' smoothly after so long at high warp. The other departments are trainin' hard and I believe by the time we reach our assigned sector, the Challenger will be as ready as she can be.]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Deep Space K-7 was long behind them as the ship returned to high warp. Even though they had only stopped for two hours, it was one of the most emotional port calls Ian had ever witnessed. Although the Federation task force's primary mission was to observe and support, no one was under the illusion that the Kinshaya would respect the non-combatant role Starfleet Command had assigned them. All signs pointed to heavy fighting when, not if, the Kinshaya crossed the Klingon border in strength.

In anticipation of heavy fighting, all departments were conducting battle drills within their areas of responsibilities. Ian was supplementing these drills with full crew drills to improve response time for critical tasks. Each department was also relying heavily on the holodecks to give the most realistic training possible in order to prepare for whatever happened next.

Ian spent his free time alternating between holodeck time in Kunming and in Klingon language lessons. He had regained his edge in atmospheric operations fairly quickly as much of flying was deeply ingrained muscle memory. The Klingon lessons were going slower. He was getting there, but not as quickly as he had hoped. As the ship raced for Klingon space, Ian activated his log.

"Captain's Log, Supplemental. We will reach the coreward border of Klingon space in eleven days. I want ta commend the Engineerin' department for keepin' us runnin' smoothly after so long at high warp. The other departments are trainin' hard and I believe by the time we reach our assigned sector, the Challenger will be as ready as she can be.

"The Science department has been twistin' itself in knots tryin' ta suss out anything useful on the Kinshaya, but most of the data we have on them is shrouded in rumor and legend. Even the Klingons haven't seen one in 135 years, thus we have no livin' memories of the Kinshaya. The best guess Science can present is that the Kinshaya are xenophobic religious zealots. This makes any diplomatic solution next ta impossible. Ta the 'Demon Possessed' anyone nae a Kinshaya is both 'them' and a heretic at the same time.

"We will reach Klingon space in three and a half days. The other Starfleet ships assigned to the task force will arrive a day or two ta either side of our arrival date. We will remain under the  command of Captain Trindra Soro of the USS Galahad. However, should the Kinshaya provoke an attack, we become a squadron under the local Klingon commander, a General Membok, which accordin' ta the file on him, made quite the name for himself durin' the Dominion War as a junior officer.

"Although I feel comfortable sayin' that all aboard the Challenger hopes against hope we can avoid the expected heavy fightin', I believe that those self-same personnel figure fightin' is inevitable. No ship in the fleet can take a punch like Challenger can, thus we be ta showin' that she's a braw brawler should they test our resolve. End Log."

Hey everyone, let's welcome Ensign Cerna Nox to the Engineering Department!

EXCELSIOR!

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

It had been a long ten days. During the trip, Ian had called for multiple battle drills to hone the crew to peak efficiency. There were still far too many cadets and ensigns just out of the Academy to his liking, but you work with what you had, not with what you wish you had. The young members of the crew were eager to learn and were diligent about their duties. However, none of them had heard a weapon fired in anger before and it was unknown how many would prove to be unable to handle the stress load of combat.

The ship had dropped out of warp and was approaching the venerable space station K-7, now called Deep Space K-7, but this was still the location of where Kirk and Spock, with the help of some tribbles, stopped a sinister plot by the pre-alliance Klingons. They wouldn't be here long, only as long as it took to off load the two hundred and seventy-nine civilians from the ship.

This group consisted of spouses and children of the crew. Ian didn't have children and his significant other was safely on Earth at Starfleet medical. However, Ian did have an understanding of what it meant to be away from family. He'd only been home a handful of times since he'd joined because of the rift between him and his father. He was on good terms with the rest of the family, but no one defied Gavin Galloway to his face without consequences. So his communications with his mother, brother, and sister were kept quiet.

The Challenger took up a synchronous orbit around the station and once in place the transfer of personnel began. Most of the children would transport with at least one parent, but for those few that both parents were part of the crew, the counseling staff of the space station would take responsibility for those children. Challenger was not the first Starfleet vessel to get ordered into a dangerous mission, but with enough time to ensure the safety of the non-combatants and would not be the last, thus Starfleet had a solid procedure in place to handle such situations. The only thing the procedures didn't account for was the difficult of those involved that had to say goodbye to their loved ones before knowingly venturing off into the unknown. It was times like these that Ian was glad he didn't have children.

["As you see, just startin' this beastie is complex. Gettin' into the air is a touchy thing as well. This plane has what is called a 'tail dragger' configuration. Two main wheels under the wings, a smaller wheel under the tail. Ta take off, you have ta gain enough speed that the horizontal stabilizers get enough lift ta raise the tail off the ground, then pull back on the control stick ta direct the wings ta go up, but not at so sharp an angle that the tail hits the ground. If'n you do it right, the plane will lift smoothly. Then, as I said, no automation, you have ta activate the mechanism that will retract the landin' gear.]

[Holodecks - Hangars]

The sweet but pungent smell of gasoline immediately hit Ardyn pretty hard as they walked onto the runway towards the plane. Gasoline had long since been replaced by a different fuel source these days, but the environment was the same as the hangars these days; rows of planes and mechanics  mulling about doing repairs.

The holodeck certainly didn't miss any detail in this simulation,  from the painted fuselage to the large propellers and standard-issue wings. it was a lot smaller than a typical shuttle, even her typical Delta Flyer, meant to hold one, maybe two pilots?

"She's a beaut, for sure." said Ardy, eying the plane as Ian explained the specs and how it worked. She actually didn't mind the fact that it was completely manual. She actually preferred it that way with the shuttles she flew, much to the consternation of all the other pilots who had to fly the shuttle after her.  She had once put her trust in a faulty computer system, and it had cost her copilots's life.

"Heh. Manual flying's  a lot more fun anyway. Keeps you on your feet. ."

Hopping up onto the wing, she carefully studied Ian as he demonstrated the intricate startup process for the plane. It would take a bit of getting used to, given all the buttons and knobs to memorize, but after a bit, she understood the basics well enough.

What actually surprised her was the sudden gust of wind that came from the propellors, whipping her ponytail straight behind her like a flag in the breeze. The noise was deafening, but the thrum as it shook the plane felt almost electrifying.

"HOLY @^$#&! THAT'S AMAZING!" she yelled as she tried to keep her balance on the vibrating plane.

[Holodeck Two - USS Challenger]

Ian nodded over the roar and then went through the shut down procedure, it wasn't as many steps as the start up sequence, but it was still complicated. Once it was possible to be heard, he said.

"As you see, just startin' this beastie is complex. Gettin' into the air is a touchy thing as well. This plane has what is called a 'tail dragger' configuration. Two main wheels under the wings, a smaller wheel under the tail. Ta take off, you have ta gain enough speed that the horizontal stabilizers get enough lift ta raise the tail off the ground, then pull back on the control stick ta direct the wings ta go up, but not at so sharp an angle that the tail hits the ground. If'n you do it right, the plane will lift smoothly. Then, as I said, no automation, you have ta activate the mechanism that will retract the landin' gear.

"That's just what it takes ta fly this thing. The settin' we are in is the nation state of China in 1941, which had been invaded by the nation state of Japan. China was mostly agrarian and dinae have the industrial or technological base ta field a competent air force. As a result, they essentially hired mercenaries ta fight for them. These pilots came from the nation state of the United States which had a very large military. The pilots had ta resign from the American military ta keep it from lookin' like the United States was at war with Japan. Everyone knew the truth, but it was just part of the politics of the era.

"These mercenary pilots were known the American Volunteer Group, or AVG, but known better as the Flyin' Tigers. They were paid better than in the military and got a nice bonus for every confirmed shoot down they got. I mention all this because at more difficult levels of the program, you will engage in air to air combat. Thing is, the Japanese have better pilots and much more maneuverable planes. If'n you nae learn ta fight ta the Tomahawk's strengths, you will lose. Now, let's go through the start up sequence again and when you think you have it, you hop in and see if you can get the old girl purrin'."

[Fleet Applications - Join Here!]

Link to your application Jake is here:

https://shadowfleet.org/forum/fleet-applications/brigadon-checking-in-18-june-2024/

[Fleet Applications - Join Here!]

Hello Cadet,

Your Academy Training Course is located here:

https://shadowfleet.org/forum/eng-and-ops/enginnering-atc-level-1-cerna-nox/new/#new

["Try ta nae lose them again ya pillock, you have a history of that."]

"Uhh... thanks ya great wanker." Kyan replied before the filter had a chance to kick in. In truth he was glad Ian was doing it this way... if he had to do it that is. The little Onlie wasn't big on ceremonies or getting dressed up... or speeches. He didn't really care about ranks or titles either. And honestly, he figured that he'd  either take a break from Starfleet or lose a pip in some other way sooner or later. That usually happened after he got promoted. It was getting to be a tradition.

"An dinna be trying ta put no more on there though... I'm not after bein a fat admiral til me hair gets grey so." then remembering what had happened last time... "And dinna go gettin killed or hurt or nothin either... Yer chair's jobby so it is an I'm not after having it!"

In fact, Kyan decided that Ian wasn't going on any more away missions. If he got himself shuffled off, he knew Hamish would just put another pip on him and probably put a Vulcan as his first officer too. He shuddered at the image.

"Captain, your actions are in violation of Starfleet code Fifty seven, chapter three, verse five." the Vulcan would say, and then Kyan would have to stun him for mutiny. Then there'd be another court martial, and the Vulcan Admiral would be mad because his Logic buddy had gotten shot.

Or they'd stick him with some uppity Human grup who spent his off time polishing his academy ring and making his every hair on his head was combed and his shoes looked like mirrors all the time. He honestly didn't know which would b worse.

They'd both end up shot. That was a given.

"Thanks Jettis." Kyan grinned. "It's next ye ar so ye are. So ye can replace me when they take it back."

[Briefing Room - USS Challenger]

Ian smirked and Kyan's response as it was entirely in character with the way he lived his life. Ian suppressed a smile and replied.

"Try ta nae lose them again ya pillock, you have a history of that."

Ian clapped Kyan on the back and added.

"Now I believe you have some inspections or summat ta do Commander."

["Aye Lass, I'm ready."]

[Holodeck 2]

This day had been in the waiting for way too long. Ian owed her, and the timing never was right to fulfill it. She was already waiting at the doors,  already pretty stoked to try out the program. Apparently, this replicated an old Earth plane, used in old military skirmishes long ago—something she had seen in old movies she had seen with her dad years ago.  He was a military buff, and even though the war these planes had been used for had been long-since fought, there was still something kind of alluring about the old machines, something, she had to admit, she had to agree.  He would be so hyped to see me now. she thought, almost wistfully, before getting herself out of reminiscing.  The Captain would be here any moment.

If what Galloway had told her was right, there was a lot more than one would think about these aircraft. Something she'd have to look at for herself.
Anyhow, atmospheric flying on shuttles and other light craft was one of her specialties—perks of having her earliest flying experiences on the raceways.  She was pretty sure she'd pick up this sort of flying old fighters pretty quickly.

"Heya Boss. Ya ready?" She asked, smirking.

[Holodeck Two - USS Challenger]

Ian beamed when he saw Ardy in her Flying Tiger flight suit. He'd sent her the replicator pattern so she'd feel more at home in the program.

"Aye Lass, I'm ready."

Ian turned briefly from Ardy to the holodeck controls.

"Computer. Start Tigers Simulation Galloway One."

"Program initiated."

The doors opened and the first thing Ardy noted was the sharp tang of a strong chemical smell. Ian noted her nose wrinkle and smiled.

"That's summat called gasoline. Common petrochemical of the era, it permeates just about everything. Now, let's go see the lady you came ta fly."

Walking past the few buildings and tents of the airfield, the two came to a line of machines that were completely foreign to her experience. A tubular body, stubby flat extensions on either side of the body, and what looked like a fan slapped on the front. It was certainly nothing like anything she'd ever seen at the Academy, but Ian's eyes glowed with sheer joy.

Ian let Ardy get a good look at the machine before he started to talk.

"This here Lass is the Curtis, P-40B Tomahawk. It is an atmospheric craft first flown in 1938, which was 464 years ago. It uses a liquid cooled, twelve cylinder inline gasoline engine ta produce power. This was long before anti-grav, so those extensions on the sides of the fuselage are the wings, they provide lift once the engine gets the plane movin' fast enough. Back then, if lift plus thrust exceeded weight plus drag, you had flight.

"Now the most important thing ta ken about the P-40 is that it pre-dates computers by about 20 years. There is no assist of any kind. Everything is mechanical, on a modern shuttle you say "Computer do X" and all you do is go along for the ride. Nae so much with one of these. You have ta operate controls ta get it off the ground and keep operatin' them ta get it ta go where you want it ta go. As there was no computer, you have ta manually start the engine. And just ta give you an idea of what you face here. There are 32 steps in the start up sequence."

Ian then climbed up onto the wing and into the cockpit. Once seated, he waved for Ardy to climb onto the wing.

"Okay, watch me as I go through the start up sequence. Ask as many questions as you like.

Ignition switch OFF.

Landing gear handle control NEUTRAL.

Flap control handle NEUTRAL.

Parking brake ON..."

And on through the rest of the steps, when Ian was finished, the engine roared to life and by roar, it was deafening, one had to shout to be heard above the thundering of the engine and the wind coming back from the propeller threatened to blow Ardy off the wing.

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["Galloway ta Jaeger. Ready when you are at holodeck two."]

[Holodeck 2 - USS Challenger]

As the ship cruised at maximum warp for Klingon space, Ian approached the holodeck. It had been a long time since he'd run the program and he knew he was rusty as an atmospheric pilot. Before he'd entered, he tapped the combadge affixed to his Flying Tiger flight suit.

"Galloway ta Jaeger. Ready when you are at holodeck two."

Ian then put his combadge in his pocket. His replicated period Timex watch told him it was 1904. They would have less than an hour to familiarize Ardy with the Tomahawk, he doubted they would get any stick time, but they had three weeks to get her up to speed. Not a lot of time, but she'd get the basics and that was all she would need to understand the maneuvers of the era.

[En Route to Klingon Space]

After his briefing to the department heads, Ian had visited each department on the ship. He could see everyone was doing what needed to be done to sustain the ship for an extended period of time. Extra supplies had been stocked and the cargo holds were bulging with all the myriad items the ship might need. Sure items could be replicated, but there was only so much replicator mass and it only made sense to stock up in advance to stretch the mass as long as possible and as a back up should something disable the replicators.

The tour also allowed Ian to take the measure of the department heads. Engineering was in good hands even if Sunik wasn't into trading insults like the former Tellerite Chief Engineer, Ian was confident he could count on Engineering to get the job done. Likewise, Lieutenant Wu seemed to have a solid hand on Ops, who were the jack of trades on the ship. If somebody did it and it involved the ship, it was likely someone from Ops would probably be the one doing it.

Ian had worked with Zhuk long enough to trust him completely and thus he had no doubts that Security would be on top of things. The Caitian was a bit new to the Tactical role, so time would tell how well he handled himself in battle, but based on what he'd seen of the man, Ian figured Zhuk would acquit himself well.

Lieutenant Jaeger was an unknown. She certainly seemed competent, but it had been a long time since they served together on Discovery and she wasn't chief flight then. Before they got to Klingon space, he was going to have to invite her to Kunming so she could learn the unorthodox terms and maneuvers Ian used so frequently in battle.

Ian knew Science wouldn't have a major role in the upcoming mission, but one never knew what the boffins could come up with, so he never dismissed their input. He trusted Jettis and knew that his department would deliver when needed.

Finally, there was his Chief Medical Officer. Lieutenant Rasher had been on Challenger for a long time, but the loss of Jess had dumped the role onto the still fairly young officer and he just seemed overwhelmed. He was a good doctor, but if things got complicated, Ian wondered just how well he would hold up under those conditions.

After completing his rounds of the ship, Ian went to his ready room and began to work on his Klingon. He knew a few words, but not enough to be conversant and he wanted to ensure he could communicate properly with their allies. Fortunately, the Klingon language structure wasn't that far from that of Gaelic and Ian was certain he could get a handle on the language in the time it would take to reach their destination.