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Post by Amy81 on May 10, 2006 5:24:13 GMT -6
This thread follows Ally after she rejoins Bronze Squadron. This way it doesn't interrupt the flow of Logan, Brik, and Gold Squadron since at this point Ally isn't a part of that anymore.
This first post is a repeat from the "Pilots in the ready room" thread, the rest will be new!
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Ally's mind was still on Brik, but Jorlan had made his point. Time to earn your cubits, warrior. But still, she wished she'd had a longer time with him to talk some more. Yeah Ally, talk is what you were interested in... She smiled. Brik was an interesting man, in many ways.... Concentrate Ally! There's a job to do!
Ally went over to where her viper stood in 'repair row'. The tech she'd met upon landing was still in charge of seeing if the ship could be turned around quickly enough to launch with the next mission. If not it would be pushed out and away to be looked at another day.
"Hey" she said as she walked up to him. He was underneath the rear portion of the ship, a dangle of wires and tubes hanging in front of his face as he poked around. He didn't look at her, only grunted as he lay there and continued to work.
Ally stood there for a moment, then climbed the ladder to the cockpit. She peeked in, noticing that it looked nearly spotless. Amazingly so, considering how she'd lost her lunch over just about every inch of it's interior.
"Looks pretty good in here" she said. "Smells good too" she added as she hopped back down.
"You're welcome" the tech said flatly. He kicked a leg as if to point at something. "You can empty the shopvac if you're interested in lending a hand."
Ally looked at it, scrunching up her nose. "Aw, I just got a clean uniform on..."
He slid out from under the ship, a look of death in his eyes. He was just about to say something when she put up a hand. "Kidding!" she said. "Just kidding!" She walked toward the vac muttering "Geez, and they call me L-Tude...."
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Post by Amy81 on May 10, 2006 5:52:58 GMT -6
Ally pushed the shopvac back toward the viper. It had been pretty gross dumping it's contents, but she figured since she'd made the mess in the first place, it was only fair to help clean it up.
The tech was still under the rear portion of the viper as she approached. "One purged shopvac, reporting for duty" she announced. The tech remained silent. If he'd heard her he made no move to acknowledge the fact.
Ally stood for a long moment. "Ohhhkay then..." she said, taking a step away. There was other prep work she could be doing.
"Lieutenant" the tech said suddenly. Ally froze and looked toward him. "When your stabilizer went, which way did the viper tumble? Did it roll or go end over end?"
"End over end" Ally replied. Over end over end over end...
"Those repairs" he went on, "Where'd you learn to do that?"
"On the fly" Ally replied. "I got talked through it."
"By who?"
Ally hesitated, unsure what the tech was getting at. She didn't want to name any names. She couldn't believe this guy would want to get Logan in trouble when all she did was save Ally's life, but still she was unsure of his motives. Maybe he just wanted to congratulate her...
"Not sure" Ally replied. "It was pretty crazy, what with almost getting splattered against the battlestar or fifty thousand different pieces of space debris. Is it important?"
"No" he said. "Innovative is all." He went back to work. Ally felt bad not trusting the guy. She did sort of know him after all. But she didn't want to do anything that might rebound on Logan. She had her back, even on the smallest of things.
Ally laughed to herself. Me? Having Gold's back? Just yesterday I resented Gold and Logan as the symbol of everything I envied of them all. Now look at me. Protecting Logan.
And in love with Brik.
"Frackin' lords of motherfrackin' Kobol!" the tech suddenly yelled as something broke and fluid began to drip down from somewhere onto his chest. He grabbed a rag and held it up to the leak. "Frack!" he repeated.
"Need help? Ally asked, walking closer and beginning to crouch down.
"No" the tech said, his voice still loud.
"I take it my viper is still in doubt then?" Ally asked.
The tech sighed, and this time took the time to look at her. "Ally, you're lucky you're so cute. Otherwise I'd..."
"Ahem. That's Lieutenant Ally, mister." She smiled at him. "I'll leave you to it." She stood up and began to walk away.
"Good" the tech replied. "Good. Thanks."
There's other stuff I need to do anyway. Ally made for Bronze's staging area. It's where she'd find the rest of her unit.
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Post by Amy81 on May 10, 2006 11:40:01 GMT -6
As Ally walked up to the Bronze staging area she could hear the familiar voices of her squadron mates. Her eyes watered suddenly, for just a moment, and Ally brushed the forming tear away. It had been close, real close. A few feet the other way and Ally'd just be a memory to these guys now. She wondered how many of them would grieve.
She entered with a big smile. One pilot turned and saw her. "Hey! Our long lost sister returns!" Most of the others turned to look. A general mix of shouts rose up in greeting.
"Good to see you guys" Ally said. "Good to be back." Like hades. I've seen how the other half lives. It might not be good to be back, but it's good to see these people again.
"Heard you been mixing it up with the big boys" one pilot said. "What's the matter? We're not good enough anymore?" His tone was joking, with a tinge of mock hurt feelings.
"Stow it, Bulk-up" Ally said, pushing the muscular Bronze pilot lightly as she walked past him. "You know I'm Bronze through and through."
"On the outside maybe" Bulk-up answered. "You ain't let me see the inside." Some shouts and laughter went up in reaction to his comment.
"Just have to take my word for it" Ally replied in a sing-song voice. More laughter.
"Hey L-Tude" another pilot spoke up. "What do you hear? We in on this next gig or what?"
"I know just as much as you do" Ally said truthfully. "Be prepared for anything, like the Major says."
Another pilot snorted. "Yeah. Guess it's back to the solium leak suits and 'kids day' presentations."
"Hey mister?" another pilot asked, imitating a child's voice. "How come you didn't bring a real warrior? From Gold squadron?" More laughter shot out.
Ally smiled but put up a hand. "Now you guys know those presentations are very rewarding."
"For you maybe" Bulk-up shot back. "You've got to vent those pent up maternal instincts somewhere!" More laughter.
"Keep it up, Bulk-up!" Ally said shaking her head. "Keep it up."
"Just for you, L-Tude" Bulk-up replied, "Just for you."
Ally laughed as she reached her locker. Her smile faded as she opened it. She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Back where I belong, she thought. Not a Brik in the bunch. Less than an hour from leaving him, and already it felt like it was all just a dream.
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Post by Amy81 on May 11, 2006 6:01:14 GMT -6
"Hey stranger" said a familiar voice from over Ally's shoulder. Ally turned, and smiled broadly at her closest friend.
"Janey!" Ally said. "Good to see you." They hugged for a moment. Ally then sat down in front of her locker, Janey sitting next to her.
"I heard about your adventure today" Janey said. "You okay?"
Ally nodded. "Yeah. I mean, I guess so. As good as I can be after being as good as dead."
"I would have been there if I'd known where you were. I couldn't pick you up on the scanner. I only got bits of chatter."
"I know, Janey" Ally said, putting a hand on her friends arm. "I got split off. Ended up flying with Gold. They saved my butt."
"Gold huh? What's it like with the top guns?" Janey shifted the chair around, and sat with her back to a locker.
Ally couldn't help but smile. "Pretty good actually. They operate at a totally different level. Whatever is on the board, they always know the job is theirs. They never have to deal with what we do. Wondering if we'll get a piece of the party..."
"It's why we hate them, remember?" Janey reminded her.
"It's not hate" Ally replied. "Intense envy with..."
"Feelings of hostility" Janey finished for her. It was an old phrase that they'd used many times. Actually toasted to in the O-club. "Okay. As long as you remember then. I was beginning to wonder for a moment there if you've forgotten who you are."
"Never" Ally said. "But."
Janey leaned forward. "I knew it. Spill it woman."
"I sort of met someone."
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Post by Amy81 on May 12, 2006 6:07:07 GMT -6
"Really?" Janey asked, leaning even closer. "A guy?"
Ally nodded. "Of course a guy."
"Who?" Janey wanted to know. To her this was huge news. To anyone who knew Ally it was huge news. Ally had clearly not been interested in having anything to do with the men of Bronze Squadron aside from her duties as a warrior. Most of the men, unwilling to see their own shortcomings, had figured Ally just wasn't interested in any sort of relationship. "You love him?" Janey asked. "Does he love you?"
Ally laughed. "Yeah, I think I love him. He's name is Brik."
Janey thought for a moment. "I don't know him. Never heard of him."
"Me neither" Ally admitted. "But I have now. He's in Gold."
"Gold?" Janey asked. "Well that takes care of that romance. You know you'll never see him. Are you sure it's love? Sure he wasn't just tossing a token piece to the poor wannabe from Bronze? It's easy to do you know, when you know you'll never cross paths."
Ally stayed quiet, looking like she might cry at any moment. Janey saw the look and reached out to her friend. "Hey, come on" she said. "I didn't mean it. You like this guy, huh? Tell me about him. How'd you meet?"
Ally felt like maybe just dropping the whole subject. But then she changed her mind. She knew Janey, and knew the perspective that they both shared as members of Bronze. And nothing she had said was anything Ally hadn't already wondered about anyway. "We met during the battle" Ally began. "I got pulled away from Bronze and Brik got the cylon off my tail. I returned the favor. Long story short, after we landed he wanted to meet me so bad he went into the ladies room without realizing it. He was trying so hard to make a good impression and be gallant. It was so nice to be treated that way."
Janey nodded. "No wonder your head got turned." She looked around the room. "None of these lunkheads would think of an approach like that."
"It wasn't an approach" Ally insisted. "It was genuine."
"I know" Janey answered. "I wasn't questioning it. So what else happened?"
"We had coffee. He told me about his life before the attacks. Pretty sad too. He lost everything. Everyone." Even himself.
"Did you tell him about your two brothers who will beat the snot out of him if he's just jerking you around?" Janey asked with a smile.
Ally shook her head. "No. And at the time I didn't want to tell him that my family is all still alive. I did tell him about how I got to be called L-Tude though."
"By the lords!" Janey exclaimed. "This is serious then! You never want to talk about that! Did you tell him about the broken nose?" Ally nodded. "Oh my lords" Janey said, putting a hand over her forehead in pretend anguish. "My best friend is in deep!"
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Post by Amy81 on May 19, 2006 6:04:21 GMT -6
A bronze pilot came out from behind the row of lockers, walking past Ally and Janey. Neither looked up as he passed, or they would have seen the sideways glance he gave them both. He made his way over to Bulk-up, who was at his locker checking his assault gear.
"Yo Bulk-up" the pilot said. "You'll never guess."
"Weasel" Bulk-up replied as he continued what he was doing without looking up, "I don't have time for your felgercarb."
"It's about L-tude" Weasel offered.
Bulk-up stopped for a moment, then went back to checking his gear. "What?" he asked finally.
Weasel slid down into the seat next to him. "Ally's got a guy."
"Frack you" Bulk-up replied. Then after another pause, "You ain't fracking with me?" Weasel shook his head. Bulk-up glanced over toward Ally, and could see her talking with Janey. Those two were always talking. "You know who?"
"Some lug in Gold squadron."
Bulk-up dropped the armor he was holding. He shot Weasel a glance, then bent down to pick it up. "Gold? What the frack. I've been trying to get in her uniform for yahrens. Now she... Gold? You sure?"
Weasel nodded and stood up. He loved to stir things up and step back to watch the show. His work here was done.... He patted Bulk-up on the shoulder as he walked away, while the muscular warrior sat there staring at Ally.
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Post by Amy81 on May 19, 2006 11:25:22 GMT -6
Bulk-up sat at his locker as he and Bronze squadron continued prepping their ground gear. No one in the unit seriously thought they'd be chosen for the mission, and the work went by pretty quickly. One by one they finished up, and as usual during down time groups split off and several card games broke out. Bulk-up's mind was mainly on what Weasel had told him, and he waited until Ally had paired off for a game before he got up.
Ally was sitting with Janey and two others. She handled the cards like a pro, and was just getting ready to deal when Bulk-up walked up, casting a shadow over the table. They all looked up, but Bulk-up stared only at Ally.
"Little light?" Ally asked with a small smile.
"Room for one more?" Bulk-up asked in reply. He looked at Ally like he was seeing her for the first time.
"Grab a seat" Janey said, pushing an empty one in his general direction. Bulk-up took it, spun it backwards, and sat down with his legs hanging off either side, his arms resting on the back of the chair as it rose up in front of him. He never took his eyes off of Ally.
"Straight Pyramid?" Ally asked everyone at once. They all mumbled in agreement, and Ally began to deal. She could feel Bulk-up's eyes on her, and it was beginning to make her a little uncomfortable. She looked up, met his eyes with hers, and stuck out her tongue at him, trying to break the uneasy feeling.
She smiled at him, but it faded quickly when he didn't smile back. Silently he took the cards as she dealt.
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Post by Amy81 on May 22, 2006 9:53:23 GMT -6
Ally dealt the cards, then put the rest of the deck face down on the table. Picking up her cards, she saw she had a pretty good hand. Keeping her expression neutral, she looked around the table, trying to steal any betraying reactions from the other players.
Janey looked at her cards, then set them down and pulled out a fumerello. Where she'd picked up the habit, Ally had no clue. They'd both entered the academy around the same time, and Janey was as squeaky clean as they came. Now she chomped on fumerellos, and had made it through about half the male population of the squadron, in and out of love affairs every other secton it seemed. Still, Ally loved her like a sister.
She looked across the table at Grease, a pilot who should have been a full tech and mechanic. He knew the ins and outs of anything that flew, but loved to fly them more than fix them. He had no clue about Pyramid however, and why he continued to sit in and lose like he did, Ally couldn't figure it out.
Ally glanced at Hush, but he always looked the same no matter what he was involved in. He didn't say much, or mingle much, but when he did something he always did it to the extreme, and remarkably well. She had no doubt he'd end up with the biggest pile of cubits by the end of play. He always did.
Looking at Bulk-up, she found him staring right back at her, his cards still face down on the table. She looked away, feeling very self-conscious. She scratched at her ear, smoothed her hair, and really wanted to be somewhere else at the moment.
Janey broke the silence. "I'm in" she announced, tossing two cubits into the center of the table.
Grease looked confused, the way he always did during card games. "Uh, me too" he said. Tossing in two cubits, he pulled out two cards, setting them down. "Two please."
Ally smiled. She dealt him two cards. Grease looked even more confused as he picked them up.
Hush said nothing, but he tossed in two cubits as well. Ally expected him to perhaps do something more, ask for cards or something, but he said and did nothing.
Ally looked at Bulk-up, and caught him still looking at her. However he looked away this time, finally making a show of picking up his cards. Ally waited, but he made no move to join the pot.
Ally cleared her throat. "Take your time" she said to Bulk-up. "I'm in, and dealer takes one card." She tossed two coins into the pot, but before they had a chance to land, Bulk-up tossed two in as well. Ally discarded a card and took a new one from the deck. "You need any c--" she began to ask Bulk-up.
"Three" Bulk-up said, cutting her off. Ally cleared her throat, and dealt him the three cards. She looked at him for a moment, and noticed again that he was looking at her instead of the cards....
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Post by Amy81 on May 22, 2006 11:44:32 GMT -6
It was Janey's turn again, and she took time to light her fumerello, then tossed in two more cubits. Grease hesitated, then threw in two, probably because Janey had done so rather than from anything close to a good hand. Hush tossed in two as well.
Ally looked at her cards, waiting for Bulk-up. It was his turn, but he did nothing except pick up his new cards. Ally cleared her throat again, and tossed in two cubits. Again Bulk-up immediately threw in his two, nearly at the same time Ally did.
Ally faced him. "Is there some problem, Bulk-up?"
He sighed, debating whether to speak. "What's the matter, L-tude?" he asked finally. "My gold no good here? Or do you just prefer your gold with two legs?"
"What in hades does that mean?" Ally wanted to know.
"You know what I mean."
"No" Ally replied, shaking her head slightly, "I don't."
"You too good for us Bronze losers?" he snapped. "Is that it? If that's it, fine. But you've got to latch onto the first Gold pilot you meet? Like it's gonna lift you out of this swamp hole of a squadron or something?"
"I don't think it's any of your business" Ally snapped.
"I think it is" Bulk-up replied. "You ain't Gold material. None of us are. It's why we're where we are. Why we get passed over. You don't think you can elevate your miserable existance by bedding some officer from Gold squadron do you?"
"Oh frack off" Janey yelled at him. "Leave her alone."
"Easy Bulk-up" Grease said. "Cool it, will ya?"
Bulk-up threw his cards at Grease. "No, I ain't gonna cool it. The thought of her and some pumped up, full of it Gold daggit..." He looked at Ally and suddenly lost control, tipping the table and reaching for Ally. He hit her hard as he reached for her collar, then picked her up by it and slammed her to the wall behind her chair.
Ally was momentarily stunned. Her face where he'd struck her felt like it was on fire."Commander frackin' Adama" she cursed. "What do you care, Bulk-up? You've done nothing but snipe at me. Since the day I joined up. What's wrong with you?"
Grease and Hush recovered from the surprise move, and tried to separate Bulk-up from Ally. Janey was pulling on his arm, but Bulk-up didn't react to any of it. He could only see Ally, and his fist full of collar as he held her to the wall. Slowly he began to release his grip, as if he were suddenly coming to his senses. He wanted to say something, but as he stared into her eyes nothing would come to him.
"Frackin' daggit-do on a baffle plate!" Janey said to Ally. "The big jerk likes you!"
Ally reached up and pulled Bulk-up's hands off of her, pushing them away. "Awfully fracked up way to frackin' show it!" she yelled into his face. Led by Weasel, others began to raise their voices as well as they drifted closer to the scuffle.
A voice suddenly brought the room to silence. "Captain on deck!" Everyone spun and stood straight and tall, facing the entrance to the room as Bronze's ranking captain entered, looking suspiciously at the obvious disarray.
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Post by Amy81 on May 23, 2006 10:42:35 GMT -6
The captain stepped into the room, stopping just inside the doorway. He looked from face to face, seeing guilt on every last one of them.
"At ease" he said in a low voice. Then speaking louder, he added "It's what you barge lice do best, isn't it?"
He walked up to a pilot who was unlucky enough to be nearest to him, picking up a handful of cards from the table. "Pyramid. How come every time there's an alert, a card game breaks out?" The pilot opened his mouth to speak, but the captain cut him off. "I didn't want an answer, mister! Let me see your piece."
The pilot got up and returned with his assault rifle. The captain studied it for a moment. "You think this is clean, mister?" The pilot didn't know what to say, or even if he should. "DO YOU?" the captain asked.
"Yes sir. No sir?" the pilot wanted to melt.
The captain chucked the weapon at him. "When was the last time that thing was fired? Never mind, don't tell me. Down to the firing range! On the double! Beta squad: get your piece and get down to the range. Now!" He stood aside, pointing to the door. Everyone from Beta was more than happy to clear the room, and in a micron they were out the door.
The captain now looked at who remained. He looked at the overturned table, and saw something in the faces of those nearby. "And what's going on over here?" he asked, walking closer to the table. Nobody answered, but he could actually see the big muscular pilot break out in a sweat.
The captain stopped directly in front of Bulk-up, but directed his question to Ally. "L-tude! What is going on here?"
"Nothing sir" Ally replied stiffly.
The captain continued to look at Bulk-up. "What happened to your face, L-tude?"
Ally knew it was going to bruise, she just didn't figure it would be so soon. She imagined it covering half her face, and wondered just how big it was. "I-I got clumsy sir" she explained. "Tipped my chair, and knocked ov--"
"Lt. Janey" the captain interrupted, "is that what happened?"
Janey opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated. She looked at Ally, and met her eyes. "Yes sir" she replied dejectedly.
The captain asked Hush, then Grease, never taking his eyes off of the sweating Bulk-up. Getting the same answer, he just stood there staring at Bulk-up for what felt like a secton. Finally he took a step back.
"Alpha squad" he finally barked out. "Viper status. Are we ready to fly?" He got positive replies from those still in the room. "Anyone not?"
"That would be me, sir" Ally replied.
The captain looked at her. "Well you aren't going to be ready knocking over chairs in here, mister! Go!" Ally gratefully scooted past him and left the room. "The rest of you, get your piece and get down to the range." He took a step back, and watched them shuffle for a moment. "I didn't mean tomorrow!" he barked.
The room emptied in record time.
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