CYCLE 4 – MINUET
CHAPTER 1
"Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth"
- Maj John Magee, Jr – Earth (Human)
STARFLEET ACADEMY, SAN FRANCISCO, EARTH
NOVEMBER, 2289
The stars pinwheeled across her canopy in a pirouette of fireflies as she cut her engines and spun the Viper on all 3 axes. For that moment, her trajectory was predictable and she was vulnerable to the weapons on the pursuing star fighter.
2,000 kilometers below, Captain Ray Spruance and Commander Ih-Tedda closely watched several displays tracking the combat. Captain Spruance spoke first, "Finally. He has her."
Ih-Tedda, a full-blood Apache, wasn't so sure. She said, "Wait. Watch."
Heather jammed her left side-stick to its stop, the Viper shuddering as it skidded sideways, several warning lights flashing on her instrument panel as the thrusters fired at maximum, the hull groaning in protest. The other fighter sparkled, the twin phasers striking a brief, glancing blow across her port shields and she fire-walled the throttle, disengaging the safety-overrides. Stamping on the rudder pedals and slamming the right side-stick over and back, she attempted to bring her own weapons to bear as the other fighter flashed past, it's wing nearly clipping her dorsal fin while it too began to spin around.
Laughing, she keyed the computer to blast out one of her favorite songs - "Magic Carpet Ride" by Steppenwolfe, from a band and a style of music popular centuries before her planet was even discovered by humans. As the blue curve of the Earth filled her view, the Viper began shaking as the acceleration went beyond what the inertial dampeners could handle and pinned her to her seat.
Spruance said, "I will be damned." The strains of ancient music came out from the speakers and he said, "What the hell is that?" And a moment later, noting that her Viper was pulling 7 gravities beyond its limits he said, "Commander! She's going to..."
"Sir, wait. Trust me."
"These are 2nd year students? This is an unacceptable level of risk and whatever that noise is has no place in..."
"Sir, this is why I asked you here. This is not a normal situation."
Heather's Viper had done a complete reversal of it's trajectory and was screaming straight down, using the Earth's gravitational field to add to her velocity, the tenuous atmosphere already beginning to bite at her fighter. The pursuing craft was also struggling to overcome a velocity vector that was straight up and turn it into one going straight down and her radio came to life with laughter, "No fair! You're going to break her!"
Chuckling she answered back "Maybe. But you'll never catch me!"
Cadet Andrew Sterling said, "Watch me!"
The two craft continued their twisting, spiraling course downward, glowing like meteors as their speed increased well past hypersonic.
Spruance looked at Ih-Tedda, "They are NOT going to do what I think they are going to do are they?"
"Sir, please trust me. You need to see this. I understand the risks, I understand that they are violating safety regulations. I will take full responsibility."
He shook his head, watching the two craft drop down to the wave-tops and level off in a punishing pull-out. A sensor buoy caught a brief glimpse of Heather's Viper zipping by, a rooster-tail of spray thrown up by the hypersonic shock wave.
Spruance's jaw dropped, "Brilliant!" but Sterling wasn't so easily ensnared. He slid his own Viper to the side and climbed slightly, creating a twin to her rooster-tail – but he couldn't bring his weapons to bear. "Oh no. Commander, no, no, no – vector them..." he was interrupted by a smashing series of bangs as the two fighters roared over Starfleet Academy and headed back into the clouds.
Glaring at the younger Commander he said, "How long has this been going on like this?"
"Virtually since we first put them in a fighter, sir. They are two of the most natural fighter pilots I've ever heard of. I've called both of them on the carpet multiple times for safety violations with almost no effect. Once they get into a cockpit they are literally overcome with the pure joy of flying and fighting. I took it upon myself to analyze their flights – although they regularly violate Academy regulations, they actually do an excellent job of mitigating and managing risks; They simply use a very, very narrow safety margin. More like what you would expect in an actual combat situation.
"This is my problem – they are astonishingly good, and astonishingly difficult to rein in to training standards when they are in the air. My choice appears to be kick them out for flagrant violations of safety regulations, or find a way to keep them with us and to hell with the regulations. My preference is the latter. They are simply too good to throw away."
"Nobody's that good, Ih-Tedda. Send some of Nova Squadron after them. Let one of the older cadets bring them down a peg and remind them that they're only human."
"I did, sir."
"Which one?"
"I sent Nova Squadron after the pair of them."
"Yes, which pilot?"
"No, sir. I sent the ENTIRE Nova Squadron after them. It wasn't even a decent fight. I have the tape if you'd like to review it."
"You sent five senior cadet pilots after a pair of second-years and you're telling me the newbies won?"
"Yes, sir. It took them less than two minutes to take out all five. Then they started chasing each other again. I had to recall them at that point."
"Recall them. I want that tape, I want their files, and I want both of them in my office as soon as they land. The Commandant is going to have my ass in a sling for that sonic boom stunt – don't even try to tell me that wasn't deliberate – I at least want to know why it's going to be in a sling. And you will ground them until I make my decision."
She tapped a key on the console, "Viper Flight, Command. Return to base immediately. Romeo tango bravo, out."
Captain Spruance watched the trace of the two ships arc over and begin returning, twisting and rolling around each other like a pair of salsa dancers.
"Do they ALWAYS do that?" he asked.
Laughing Commander Ih-Tedda answered, "Yes, sir. As I said, there is a great joy within them when they fly. It is...irrepressible. I'm not sure it would be wise to try."
"How are they outside of a fighter?"
"Outstanding cadets, sir. They are always contrite when their flight violations are pointed out – and always forget all their good intentions the moment the cockpit closes. They are natural leaders and natural instructors, always willing to help their fellow cadets. Sterling took it upon himself to help one of our cadets who was struggling with formation flying, providing hours of extra instruction and even flying extra training flights. Their marks are generally good. Both are well-liked and well-respected.
"I'm afraid their dogfight with Nova Squadron has made them something of a legend; definitely not my intent. The senior cadets have yet to live that down. To their credit, they haven't attempted to make excuses – they were simply outclassed and know it. This has not helped my attempts to rein in our two rogues."
"Who are they, Commander?"
"Cadet Andrew Sterling, from Ft. William, Scotland, Earth, and Cadet Heather, from T'Elesh, Dosad. Um, you'll find her records under Heather Wilkes. Although she follows Dosadi traditions she used her father's last name upon joining Starfleet."
"What do you mean her father's last name? Don't Dosadi use just one name?"
"Yes, sir. Her father is human. Captain Thomas Wilkes, retired."
Spruance looked at her. "She's half human? I didn't even know that was possible."
"I haven't pried sir. Apparently there are only 4, her, a sister, and two brothers."
"Please tell me her siblings aren't planning on flight training as well."
She chuckled, "No sir, one brother is a farmer here on Earth, the other is in the Dosadi Imperial Fleet and her sister is some sort of itinerant historian and story teller."
"Interesting. Which one is the better pilot?"
"Neither. Sterling is the more methodical and patient. She is quicker to see and take a transient advantage. He is the better leader, she is the more inspiring. He is elegant, she is dramatic. I've never seen one score a kill on the other. Perhaps if I'd sent Nova Squadron after them one at a time...No, probably not."
"Could you take them?"
She thought a moment. When she flew, her fighter carried with it 11 different tally marks signifying enemy craft destroyed; A huge total for the normally peaceful Starfleet. "Sir, I honestly doubt it."
"Damn. Very well. Send them and their records to me. And ground the pair of them. Assign them extra tutoring duties to the first year students and cut any off-duty privileges they have for consistent, flagrant safety violations. Then I want you to assign them to maintenance during their duty hours for that sonic boom stunt."
"Sir!"
"Commander, I WILL bring these two to heel. And if I elect to keep them, I want them to be grateful for the opportunity. I don't give a tinker's damn HOW good they are, they WILL learn that there are consequences."
"Sir, I'm not sure that's wise – Do you want to..."
"From what I saw today, there isn't a damn thing in the world I could do to take away their joy of flying and fighting, Commander. But we can add some maturity and some caution; The best steel is tempered. Don't forget those records, Ih-Tedda."
"Yes, sir." she answered sourly.