Posted by Lieutenant Helena Laursen (Helm/Nagivation Officer) in Memory: End of First Year Training Mission

Posted by Captain Marceau Renault (Commanding Officer) in Memory: End of First Year Training Mission

Posted by Lieutenant Helena Laursen (Helm/Nagivation Officer) in Memory: End of First Year Training Mission
April arrived and with it, squad assignments. For the size of their class that meant 13 people to a squad. Helena and Marceau had been put on a team together. She knew the other pilot as well. They were a mix of every department, at least two, security science, medical, linguists, pilots, engineers. They all had specialties. They had about two weeks of classes before their first training mission and there was a lot of speculation. They were given packs and told what they needed. Between classes they had to figure out where to get most of the supplies and who had access to get it. It was a puzzle that they had to solve. Everyone’s pack would be checked for the required equipment. Points would be taken for poorly organized or incomplete packs. Helena was excited to get off the Academy grounds and breathe after the turmoil of returning to campus. Not everyone was so eager…

Helena

Marceau was on the ‘not so eager’ side. Since he was medical, he’d been able to avoid confronting the Flying Problem. First year medical was about studying and learning what is typically in different kinds of med kits, what is typically in a sickbay, and then more typical first year medical student stuff. He’d had no need to go up yet. He was glad he’d been placed with Helena. It was at least a little comforting to know that maybe she could be his pilot. But he was still very worried about it.

He’d mentioned it to Lucy, and she had been surprisingly unhelpful (surprisingly to him, anyway). She’d said maybe he should just stay home, tell them he can’t do it. He couldn’t do that.

He was working with the other medical cadet to prepare their medkits so he didn’t have to think about flying up. Then, when those were finished, and what Marceau thought was well organized, he checked the list and with the other cadets in the squad for anything else medical had to get or anything else he could help prepare.

~ Marceau

Helena looked over the equipment list with the other pilot. They started out by going to the hanger bay and trying to requisition a transport plane. The Senior cadet shook her head and laughed. “Sorry, you can’t have that.” Helena and Billy knew it was a long shot, but they tried. But what could they get? The engineers would get tool kits…but the transports some times required special tools that weren’t in a basic tool kit, so they got that. Then on a whim, “Can we get a PaDD with the schematics for the different transports available to first year cadets?” Helena was the only first year that had tested out into higher level classes so she figured that nothing would be ranked for higher level flight training. The senior grinned, “Yes, you can.” It took her a few minutes but then passed the PaDD over.

It occurred to Helena the next day during their security class there was something else she could probably get. She went and talked to one of the science officer, Yvette, in the squad. They went to the quarter master to get navigational equipment. Compass, star charts, binoculars, etc. Helena also asked for star charts, a sextant (because why not) and maps. They were given a basic map of the area, without a lot of detail. Remembering the day before, Helena changed her request to specifics: Planimetric Maps, Topographic Maps, Thematic, Navigation Charts, and Cadastral Maps and Plans. The quartermaster nodded with slight twinkle to his eye. “Very good cadet.”

They all met in Kenneth’s room. It was pretty packed with all 13 of them in there. But they went over their packs to make sure everyone had the basics that were required. Then Helena and Billy learned when they had gone to ask for a plane. “The more specific we are, the more ‘out of the box’ the more things we can get. I don’t think we should go over board. We don’t want our packs so heavy we can’t carry them, but it might get us an edge. Like these maps.” She spread the topographical map out, “Now we know where we’re going. There’s no place names here, but we could do an inquiry with the computer and see if we can get more detail? It’s all about being prepared right?”

Helena

Marceau and one of the science cadets in their crew and the science cadet said, “If we can figure out where it is, we’ll know what kind of natural resources we might have around us. Both good and bad.” Marceau opened his medical kit, “We have basic medical kits with different bandages, a medical tricorder, some weak meds, and a few other things.” He glanced at the other med cadet, “There isn’t many ‘out of the box’ things we are cleared to use as year one medical cadets but eh…” Marceau chuckled nervously, “Hopefully we won’t need it anyway.”

~ Marceau