AWD #614: Weasel is a dance
Weasel is a dance
Summary: Gloria speaks to Kelsey about wing qualifications
Date: 25/02/2017
Related Logs: None
Kelsey Gloria 
Raptor Squadron - Deck 2 - Battlestar Orion
The berthings for the ship's Air Wing are the same that one would find on any other Mercury-class Battlestar, though they are distinctly different from the rest of the bunks on the ship. These bunks are separated not into sections of sixty, but by squadron. That means that there is a little more room to move around with only twenty to twenty-five pilots in one bunkhouse. Some officers have brought a small rug to sit in front of their bunks, but the tables and chairs are standard military issue. At the rear is a small couch that was probably new when the ship left anchorage and seems to have been kept carefully clean.
AWD #614

Rumor has it that Kelsey flew Bennett over to the big Arpay Carrier last night and the old squad leader still hasn't returned. Maybe she's testing out all those new toys. Kelsey, however, has managed to carve out some free time. She looks like she's been run ragged. At least she isn't working through certifications unlike last time. Kelsey is laying in her berthing with the curtain left open. She's reading and dozing, alternating between the two. Kid seems like she could use a nap or three. But for the moment she is awake.

Gloria has heard that there's a modified raptor about but so far no one is letting her get her grubby little mitts on it. Instead she's been in the library trying to cram theory, but now it's time for a shower and then some rack time. Stepping through the hatch into the berthing she dumps a few books on her bunk, then starts to strip, only noting Kelsey a few moments later. "Hey LT," she greets cheerfully, "you gonna kill me if I ask for a quick word?

Kelsey tilts her head to the side and smiles to Gloria. "Hey Bean. Nope. For the first time in weeks I think my biggest predicament is nap or food. I feel like a cat." She tosses the book aside and moves to lay on her side. A hand is offered down. "Come on up, have a seat."

'Bean' gets a faint thinning of her eyes, if that sticks she's going to have to have words, but she takes the offered hand anyway. "I was trying to decide between nap or shower," she confesses as she settles, "been hitting the books again. Reckon the librarians are fed up of the sight of me, but there are worse fates I guess." Yes, it's small talk, but she's meandering slowly to her point. "Been reading some of the tactical stuff that usually gets covered in the academies, got me thinking about going for a Qual. Spoke briefly to the CAG about it in the mess yesterday, but she expertly delegated to you in absentia."

"Naps are usually the right answer." Kelsey seems to have started sleeping much better in the last month. She looks healthier, more vibrant. More awake, though more distracted as time goes on. She sits up with Gloria's arrival and leans against the side of her bunk. "I know the feel. I think the librarians started to hate me." The last gets a blink. "Huh. Me." She looks down, thinking about that. Upon consideration, it makes sense. It just seems like the idea of her teaching anyone except the raw recruits… that's different. Anything else takes finesse. "What were you thinking? Short term and long term qualifications, so don't just tell me what you want to do next."

"Well," Gloria replies with the kind of bright, mischievous smile that suggests the next words out of her mouth might not be truthful, "well, given how splendidly I seem to be doing in raptors, I thought the obvious next step would be to dual-train onto Vipers as well, and go for Dogfighter." She fains a serious look, but can't hold it for more than a few seconds before she giggles slightly. "Okay, so maybe not that. I'll be honest, there's only one that really stands out as interesting, and that’s Weasel. Longer term though, I reckon Mudhen, which obvious needs Ordnance. The big O doesn't really inspire me I must admit, but I reckon I could get it done. Looking at the Sabre missiles wasn't entirely torrid after all."

Kelsey groans at the mention of Vipers. "Oh my Gods, I disown you. You're no backseater of mine. Be gone! A pox upon thee!" She laughs with it. "Viper is a four letter word, sister." The Lieutenant winks with it. The real interest gets a more serious look from her and she nods along, seeming to understand. "Similar track to me. Mudhen is my goal." She takes a long breath. "Ordnance isn't super exciting for most. Its counting a lot of bombs and such, reading about them, maintenance. Yawn. But you have to know what the effects are of what you are using in order to be sure you are using the right tool for the job." She brings her knees up closer to her chest. "Its not for the faint at heart. You know its going to be a lot of flying in the same manner I do. Low altitude, trying to get them to shoot at you."

"Yeah," Gloria admits with a more serious expression, "I don't expect it's going to be easy, or pleasant, but if it's what the fleet needs then you've got to try right? Like I said, Weasel seems to be my jam, and if it was a case of just doing the stuff I wanted to personally, then I'd stop there. But it's not about that is it. It's about doing what you can to win this war."

Kelsey nods a few times, looking down. "I'm your squad leader, technically, until Bennett gets back. I guess you need my permission. I'll sign the paperwork to start the process for you. But before I do, I wanted to ask what you path of study was going to be? Focusing on intel, books, signals, sims and flying? And do you have an instructor or sponsor?"

"I was kinda hoping you were going to tell me that," Gloria replies with a faint shrug. "I know how I'd do it if I was looking to smarten my jacket to get PO2, but I've frak no idea how you guys do it up here. Books I can do, I'm a dab hand with the DRADIS and jamming already, but how to put all that together? No clue I'm afraid."

Kelsey rubs the side of her face and lofts her brow. "Uhhhh. I may be the only certified Weasel pilot left. The person I learned from died during Blue Axe. …Maybe the rest did also." Which is daunting to consider. The fleet's main strike pilot isn't sure about this. It isn't fair to put this all on a 21 year old, but nobody else was asked if any part of this war was fair for them. "I need an ECO to help. We just.. Hrm." She wets her lips. "I'll try to work with you as I can as a sponsor. But I'm limited. Also, I want you to spend time reading about SAMs and AAA and what they do. How they do it. Its like like fighting Cylons, row after row of them. Weasel is personal. You need to be okay with it becoming that way for you."

Gloria winces slightly at the admission, but tries not to let it show too much on her face. "I'll dig out my notes from when I started looking into the sabres," she says, confidently, trying to draw the conversation away from the slightly mawkish, "I did a lot of reading around, so that seems as good a place as any to start. Given the APF I'm guessing that cylon and colonial systems are on teh reading list?" As for the bit about it being personal, that confuses her slightly so she just nods once. "I've never fought cylons like that," she notes, "mostly I've been up in CIC, then there was Leonis, toher than that.." she shrugs, "guess there's only one way to find out though."

Kelsey seems to smile a bit more with Gloria starting to take some of the initiative for this. "It is the perfect place to start. But yes, read up on everyone's systems. We even have that Saber we captured. Its set up on Picon." She rests her chin on her propped knees. "Someone is shooting a missile at you. Usually one at a time. The goal becomes to kill that site before it kills you. The site knows that it needs to kill you first. Second place is death. It isn't like lines of tin walkers. Scary, but impersonal. Weasel is a dance. You have to lead or die. So be careful."

"Copy that," Gloria replies with a smile as the captured site is mentioned. It's still one of the achievements she's proudest of, even if command had never really said anything about it afterwards. "Was always more a singer than a dancer," she notes as she pushes herself off the edge of the bunk and lands ont the floor, "but I reckon I can stomp on a few sets of toes if there's a need."

"I suppose a singer works. Putting out music. Jammin. Just, you know, learn the dance moves you're singin about." Kelsey turns again to look down to Gloria as she hops down. "Don't be afraid to step on toes while you are learning this stuff. If you aren't, then you aren't taking chances."

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