"Following Orders"
[previous "Things Are Never Easy"]

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Setting: VIPER 3, Cockpit
Stardate: 30148.0825

Between the time he had fired on VIPER 1 and the news of the Captain having been okay, Jayson had not breathed. The destruction of the craft had left him with a fear that the Ensign could barely control. His entire body trembled at the thought of what he had been a part of and what the result could have been.  Following orders had been one thing, but killing his CO on his first mission would have been an other matter entirely.

Thinking it through a little he could see why Commander Maya had acted as she had. The Captain's VIPER was going to collide with the SPHINX and kill everyone. Still ordering to fire on the disabled ship could not have been easy for her, and following that order had not been any easier for him.  Luckily though everything had worked out in the end, at least for their CO if not his craft.

Flying next to he SPHINX, Jayson thought of Counselor Dalziel and what he would say to her.  "The favorite part of this day was when I tried killing my Captain." Of course this was not the case and would not be anywhere close to what he would enter in his log. Actually, having heard Seska's voice saying that he was alive and well had so far been the high point of the day.

A small flashing red light accompanied by an audio warning made Jayson look down at his instruments. The computer had identified a problem between their speed, angle of approach and the moon's surface which rapidly approaching.  The two VIPERS needed to act quick if they were to avoid crashing.

"Stark to Ttosk, we need to get the SHPINX's nose up and slow it down for landing."

=/\= What do you think I am trying to do here? =/\=

Jayson realized that the same indicator had appeared in front of the other pilot and that both were now faced with a difficult task. Where three VIPERS had been, only two now remained to pull off this maneuver and the stormy weather around them had not helped in the least.

"We need to slow things down. What if we turned the VIPERS around?"

=/\= You are crazy, you know that? =/\=

"Hear me out. If we pull a 180, we could use our main engines to actually slow down the SPHINX."

=/\= But we wouldn't be able to see where we are going. =/\=

"Right now all we are seeing is the ground getting closer a lot faster than we should."

=/\= Fine, but pulling a 180 in this weather is impossible. =/\=

"Fine, what do you suggest?"

=/\= You and I trading place. We fly ahead, turn around and take each other's place, facing the other way. =/\=

With the surface approaching at an alarming rate, Jayson did not truly see any other option or the time to debate as to any better way to accomplish this plan.

"Kicking in boosters in 3... 2... 1... GO!"

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Jayson Sousa

Ensign Jayson Stark
Operations
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501