Posted by Commander Samantha Jean “Sam” Halloway (Executive Officer (Incoming)) in Eleanor Carnegie and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
It took a grand total of 14 hours, 23 minutes and around 9 seconds for the Chimera’s Executive Officer to find out that one of the very first pilots to touch down on the Fleet’s newest Mega Carrier had had backed a 350 million credit Recon bird into the forward bulkhead hard enough to actually dent the damn wall. On her first on-deck walk through, the TOPGUN Recipient and Ace pilot in her own regard, Halloway looked up after taking approximately a dozen steps into the Bay and saw it. It was in that moment that a half dozen deck crew seriously considered requesting emergency beam outs as the redheaded pilot blew a gasket on the bird in question’s Crew Chief.

“I don’t give a damn what time it is! You tell that hack to get his ass to my office IMMEDIATELY and bring his frackin’ Squadron Skip with him! I only wanna say this once!” For a trim woman, the Commander projected like a Marine and had a near frightening look in her eye as she snapped. “I said now dammit! Now move your ass!” And with that, she was gone… and not a soul said so much as a word as they all quietly went back to their duties.

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Eleanor was late. It wasn’t like she was complaining about the previous night. It was just that it had made her lose track of time and she had left Dawkins’s quarters later than she had expected.

She was finishing putting on her uniform when the call came through, and even if it had put her even more behind schedule, Carnegie was happy she had taken the detour by her quarters to take a shower and put on some clean clothes.

=A= Um, Captain… Peterson here… XO wants you & Smoke in her office… like now.=A= Staff Sergeant Luke Peterson sighed as he paused and then continued. =A= I just got handed the biggest ass chewin’ of my career… over Smoke backin’ into the damn bulkhead. I’m sorry Ma’am… I didn’t see the witch coming till she was standing there starin’ at the dent. =A= He swallowed hard and added. =A= I will get Smoke on his way but I should warn you… she’s not just a stuff-shirted Fleeter that thinks she knows what she’s talkin’ about. She was sportin’ a Flight Jacket… full of patches… including a TopGun patch on the right chest trimmed in gold. You know what that means, right Captain? She won the Trophy… she might be an ass but she’s no joke… which means she will NOT go easy on either of you. Hope she don’t shake up Smoke too bad. He’s a good kid… just a little over zealous. Good luck ma’am. Sorry again… Peterson out. =A=

Eleanor sighed, and for a moment she wondered if the subject would ever go away. Tapping her commbadge she replied.

=/\= Thank you Peterson. I’m sorry you had to be on the end of that. I’ll take care of it. Tell Smoke I’ll meet him at the XO’s door. =/\= There was a pause as she took in all the information that Peterson had relayed to her. =/\= I’ve briefly met with her yesterday. But thank you for the heads up. Carnegie out. =/\=

So, this was going to set her schedule back even more. Carnegie sighed and shook her head, before passing a comb through her hair and putting it back up, pressing her glasses against her nose and heading out the door.

When Eleanor arrived at the XO’s office, Smoke was already there waiting for her.

“Morning Ma’am. I’m so sorry…” But Eleanor cut him off almost immediately.

“It’s too late for apologies, Smoke. You know better than to back up like that. I hope this teaches you a lesson.”

“Yes Ma’am. I’m sorry Ma’am.” He was visibly shaking.

“Come on. Let’s get this over with.” Straightening her uniform one last time and adjusting her glasses on her face, Eleanor took a deep breath and pressed the chime.

When the door hissed open to the Executive Officer’s personal office, the walls were covered in awards, plaques and certificates… and sure enough… directly behind her centered on the wall was the coveted TopGun Trophy just above a rather large wooden plaque featuring a pair of gold Master Aerospace Wings dated four years before. For Eleanor, it would be highly unnerving as the woman looked barely older than she was.

Halloway, XO

Without realizing it, Eleanor held her breath as the pair walked into the office. Her gaze landed on the multiple awards and certificates that filled the wall. And sure enough, the Top Gun Trophy was the center piece of the collection.

Clearing her throat and standing at attention, Eleanor greeted the Chimera’s Executive Officer. “Captain Carnegie and Lieutenant Thunderhawk reporting as ordered, Ma’am.”

Eleanor’s gaze held straight forward never meeting Halloway’s. Smoke eyed the visitors chairs.

Carnegie, Sentinels CO and Smoke, Sentinel Five