Wanting Wings

Posted on Thu Mar 10th, 2022 @ 3:30pm by Ensign Aenardha Sh'vastarth & Ensign Breena Powell

Mission: The Only Thing Left Was Hope
Location: Shuttle Bay
Timeline: Current

Aenardha used public vision to get to the Shuttle Bay. Along the way, she continued to attempt to hum that incomprehensible tune the little girl in her memory hummed ceaselessly. The little girl would sometimes pop up in what she saw, but no one else would ever see or hear her. Aenardha knew she resided only in her own memory juxtaposing herself into telepathic vision and hearing. Aenardha would soon want to meditate more in an attempt to figure out who this little girl in her memory was.

For now though, Aenardha had another interest to pursue. Being blind, the piloting part of the curriculum at the Academy for officers was waived for her. But there never meant Aenardha was unable to fly. She studied shuttle schematics all the same and learned the controls. All she needed was another person present that she could read, so she would be able to see what she was doing and also have the situational awareness to perform adequately.

Though there were plenty of species the Aenar were unable to read, humans, save for but only a few individuals, were not among those species.

Public vision diminished greatly as Aenardha entered the Shuttle Bay. Knowing the basic layout of the bay and where shuttles were supposed to be positioned, she ventured around and toward where she heard someone working. The person’s vision did not carry with it any tags of secretive information so Aenardha allowed herself to tap into said vision. She saw a power relay being worked on. Aenardha knew very little of power relays. The person’s situational awareness clued them in on the fact that a person was approaching. This provided Aenardha with what she needed to arrive at the person’s location.

Breena hear the footsteps approaching. The shuttle bay was all hard surfaces and open spaces, a giant echo chamber, so there was no hiding them. She finished connecting the power relay and maneuvered the panel back into place before she turned, wiping her hands free of grime of her uniform pants. "Can I help you?"

Aenardha looked back at herself through Breena’s vision ensured that she was looking Breena in the eye. “Ensign Aenardha Sh’vastarth, Intelligence, U.S.S. Pandora,” of course. “I was hoping, in your free time that is, if you could assist me in learning to fly a shuttle.”

Breena looked her over, frowning. "You want to learn to learn to fly a shuttle? You know, there are holodeck programs for that. Why do you need me to teach you?"

Aenardha thought a quick second. Every now and then she would come across someone who didn’t know. “Being blind and all,” as all Aenar were, “makes it hard for me to know exactly what I am doing. But officers need to know how to pilot shuttlecraft. That bit of the curriculum was waived for me at the Academy. Does not mean I do not want to learn. And I would rather learn from someone who knows these things inside and out.”

"Well, you're not getting in the pilot's seat until you can manage the simulator in the holodeck. Since visual flight it out, you'll have to learn instrument flight." Breena considered the other woman. "Did they make you take the theory, at least?"

“They,” Aenardha began, “did not. I did peruse technical manuals and learn shuttlecraft theory on my own. Just…no one at the Academy wanted to help me out.” Not that she asked anyone. “If I can get someone to sit in and be my eyes, I can eventually be an adequate co-pilot. Plus, I think it would be advantageous if you were to request engineering to replace the touch controls with braille-improved controls. The worse ‘they’ could do is say no.”

"Oh, no one is touching anything until you clear a simulator in the holodeck," Breena said. "So you've never piloted a shuttle. Please tell you've operated some kind of vehicle at some point."

A land transport, a bicycle, a canoe. Anything.

A brief but seemingly eternal stretch of silence from Aenardha was all that was needed to know that she could not tell Breena that without lying. “I have studied the technical manual and did use telepathic vision to see what the cadets did during training.” Aenardha knew it was out of line but, “I might have even read the thoughts of a few cadets in training…without their knowledge…and stored away their knowledge for later use.” Aenardha felt she had to confess that to, at least, give Breena a little peace of mind. “I have never operated one of these things before but please do not think I am entirely without knowledge of operation theory. Be with me on the holodeck and I believe I will surprise you.”

Breena sighed and threw up her hands. "Fine. Fine, you can show me what you can do. On a holodeck simulation. If you can prove there that you know what you're doing, we can talk about you trying an actual shuttle."

Breena knew that it wasn't going to be as easy as Aenardha thought. Theory was a starting point, but it took time and lots of practice to actually pilot a shuttle. Some people never quite got the knack of thinking in three dimensions while also tracking the controls. Starfleet shuttles didn't have as many automated systems as civilian shuttlecraft.

Aenardha was taken somewhat aback at the outburst bit did recall, from reading Breena’s profile that she was a ‘shot of caffeine in human form.’ Aenardha did not really know the effects of this ‘caffeine’ and was also unsure she wanted to find out.

Also, from Breena’s profile, her peers oftentimes described her as ‘not inclined to give up, even when it might make sense to do so.’ If her piloting skills proved impressive enough, Aenardha hoped Breena would take her under her wing as a teacher, and then not give up on her when Aenardha made mistakes. And she was sure to do just that.

As in all things however, one would never know until they tried.

“I don’t think an actual shuttle will be advisable for a while, that is, unless we are in deep space with nothing to run into.” Aenardha’s antennae stood erect, excited at the prospect. It did not take a telepath to feel Breena’s reluctance, but she hoped to turn that reluctance into a bit of hope.

“Tomorrow then, after our respective shifts? I can accommodate your schedule. Just let me know when and I will be there.”

"Tomorrow then." Breena shook her head. "I'll warn you. I've never been much of a teacher."

She was impatient. She knew that about herself. But if the captain expected her to take on helm duties along with chief shuttle pilot, it made sense to be putting in practice time in general. Maybe teaching would put her in a studying mood.

“All I will need,” Aenardha hoped she was telling the truth, “is a pair of eyes.”

Breena shook her head. Aenardha was about to get a rude awakening on what flight involved. "We'll see."