STF

Memory: End of First Year Training Mission

Posted Nov. 26, 2022, 4:27 p.m. by Captain Marceau Renault (Commanding Officer) (Lucas Foxley)

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
Posted by… suppressed (31) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
“It’s overcautious but I agree,” Marceau said, nodding to Akela. He took the ice pack and rested it against Helena’s ankle. “Don’t be afraid to move it, but don’t overdo it, either.” When he had the ice pack against her ankle, he moved up and sat by her, looking at her. With Akela gone and everyone else back to watch or sleep, they were pretty well alone, so Marceau lowered his voice, “You as peur of dogs? You’re scared of them?”

~ Marceau

Helena pulled one knee up as she set her coffee down. Her arms wrapped around her knee, hugging it to her. Eyes staring hard at her ankle as she flexes it experimentally without too much pain. “Yeah,” she took a deep shuddered breath. “When…when I was 14…my parents took us to Alaska to watch the Iditarod. We were out a few miles or so from Anchorage. We wanted to get away from the crowd and see the…dogs run. It was late after they passed we spotted this dog…thought he got out of his pen....” Helena shook her head, “We…had heard wolves and dogs howl…howling like that. Didn’t think much of it.” She dropped her forehead to a her knee for a long silent moment. “It was wild, hungry, I don’t know…it…” She sat up slowly, visibly shaking and undid the collar of her uniform and slipped it half off her left shoulder. The firelight and flickering shadows catching and defining the long deep scars across her shoulder. Marceau had seen the scars before, of course. He had never asked, and Helena didn’t talk about it.

Helena

Marceau had seen the scars, but only once. When they’d played poker in his quarters before leaving. Of course he had wondered, but he hadn’t asked. He wouldn’t ask a question like that. Now that she was telling him, he hugged her, pulling her tightly to him, comfortingly. “I’m sorry that happened.” He said softly, still hugging her. It was one of those hugs she’d seen him give Lucy, like when Lucy failed a test in a subject she struggled in.

~ Marceau

Helena hadn’t realized she needed a hug until Marceau pulled her in tight. Her head ending up in his shoulder, and his brave pilot began to cry.

“Ca va aller, mon pilote intrepide,” Marceau said softly to her as she cried, hugging her tightly. (It’s going to be okay, my brave pilot.) He sat in silence with her for a little while, letting her cry quietly against him.

No sobs or blubbering but a strong rushing release of fear and adrenaline as the horrible memory returned. After long moments with her only the sound of the crackle and hiss of the fire, the worst seemed to be over. Helena hugged him back and then sat up wiping her face on the sleeve of her jacket. “I’m sorry,Marceau. I didn’t think…I didn’t know it would be an issue. I honestly didn’t even think about it. I guess I owe everyone an apology.”

Helena

“If you owe them an apology, then do I owe them one for being afraid to fly?” Marceau asked. “We aren’t going to run into dogs in space. Most likely. We are going to have to fly… beaucoup.” (A lot). He looked at her and smiled. “So nothing to apologize for, yes?”

~ Marceau

Helena looked at him a moment and then a little smile peeked out. “Maybe not an apology, but an explanation. We are lucky we were in camp. If we had been hiking I could have really been hurt in the dark and taken someone with me.” That idea didn’t sit well with her. She did reach over and squeeze his hand. “Yes we have to fly, but I will do the flying, yes?” She asked in a gentle imitation of him. “But there is no guarantee we won’t see,” she shuddered slightly, “dogs or something like them on alien planets. I will have to find a way to control my fear.” Like you do she thought. Marceau was afraid but he never screamed or fainted from that fear.

Helena

Marceau nodded. “An explanation then.” He looked at her and smiled, “Right… You’ll fly.” There was a note of nervousness in his voice. He didn’t scream, unless there was bad turbulence, and he never fainted, instead he sat in silent panic, hanging on to whatever was closest to him, clenching until all his muscles were sore. “I will deal with the space dogs, and you’ll fly me.” He said it like it was fact, with certainty as he smiled again.

~ Marceau

“Deal.” She wanted nothing to do with space dogs. She reached over and squeezed his hand. “When you make Capt I’ll fly you to your first ship and be your pilot. Until then I’ll still fly you wherever and whenever I can.” Helena bumped his shoulder gently but instead of sitting up she just leaned there with him. They both should sleep but Helena was very sure she wouldn’t settle enough, and certainly not outside. After awhile Marceau helped her move her bedroll back to her tent and hobble into it.

Marceau raised a brow and looked at her. “When I make Captain? What makes you think I’m that good?” He asked, chuckling a little. “But either way… I hope you will fly me whenever we can.”

She gave him a look that conveyed a single word ‘Seriously?’ “You have a way with people. You put them at ease, get them to talk and listen but you do as well. Good qualities in a commanding officer.”

The next morning felt to early, but Helena was up. They split into 4 groups, Helena staying with the group at camp. The search for the clues began.

Helena

The clues led to some rations and water, to hold them over for the next part of their mission. The clues led them to locations, where they had to search for each thing. It took almost all day to find them all.

~ Marceau

The third group called back over the short ranged comms after lunch. They found a large stash of crates. They needed help. Helena and Flenza stayed at the camp and Emilio and Alvida went to help, since the other two groups weren’t back yet.

The crates contained helmets, life jackets, waterproof cases for their electronic and personal gear. Kenneth opened the envelope they found with the crates that evening. “We’re going rafting. We have two days to get 50 miles. We can take a day to repack and rest and hike the next or arrive early.” He summarized after reading.

“I think I would rather arrive early,” Marceau commented.

That was the general consensus from the rest of the squad after making sure everyone who had had bumps and bruises and strained muscles were good to start the long hike the next day.

That evening, in addition to deciding how they would proceed, Helena, embarrassed but determined, explained to the rest what had happened and why.

Helena

When Helena finished explaining what had happened, Marceau found himself speaking up too, “I have a fear of flying. I hate planes. I hope I never need to pilot anything.” Then he looked away, embarrassed, and instead smiled a little at Helena.

~ Marceau

Helena squeezed his hand for a moment and gave him a reassuring smile. “We’re all afraid of something.” Kenson shrugged and grinned at Helena and winked at her, releasing some of the tension around the group, “Guess that means we just gotta make sure Helena gets a sedative the nights of the full moon.” Jones patted her shoulder and sat down on her other side, opposite of Marceau, “Yeah, think I agree there. The other option is to give you a plasma gun, and you’re an okay shot, but I don’t wanna come back from ‘personal’ business and get shot.” They all laughed at that, Helena included. Except for Gerard who seemed to take offense on her behalf. “It’s alright Helena, you can stay with me.”

It was awkward and Helena knew he meant well, but she just wasn’t interested, and there was silence for a moment from everyone. “I appreciate it Gerard, but unless you can learn to growl, bark, and howl in a way that tells those beasts to go away and not eat me, I’ll stay with Yvette. Have you guys SEEN her in hand-to-hand practice.” They all had heard of course, Yvette was fierce and she’d been asked to transfer to security out of science but she didn’t want to. Helena wasn’t sure if Gerard would try to learn to communicate with dogs over this.

They all went to bed and started out the next morning for their next location.

Helena

“No barking needed. Only weapons.” Marceau grinned, “As long as the one with the fear is not the one using them? I would stand guard with you.” The next day, the hike felt long and hard. “I will be glad if I never have to hike again,” Marceau commented, right before he tripped and found himself sprawled on the ground. He was fine, just living up to his reputation of “not the most graceful.”

~ Marceau

Marceau wasn’t the only one to trip, slip, fall, or get a scrape that day. Helena took it slow and there was no horrible damage to her ankle but after a few hours of hiking it was tired and tried to give out a few times. When they arrived though it was almost like a party. The area was clear and easy to set up for the tents, but the best part was the site was on the banks of a deep pool that was at the bottom of a waterfall. Those inclined swam and even had a makeshift bath. Billy hung back though and when Akela asked him about it the other pilot sighed and then raised his voice to be heard. If Helena and Marceau could admit their problems so could he. “So you all should know…I’m not afraid of the water, I’m afraid of drowning. I never learned how to swim.”

That started impromptu swimming lessons for the rest of the day for Billy. That was a good thing because they spent the next four learning how to white water raft, followed by a three day drip down stream, through rapids to their next destination.

Helena

Marceau did not have the same problem with boats and water that he did with planes and he actually enjoyed the white water rafting despite the difficulty of the rapids they were to do. It was easier to him than all the walking and he was thankful it wasn’t something like rock climbing or flying something. So those three days went by fairly quickly for him and the team was off to their next mission destination.

~ Marceau

Billy made it through the rapids, though he would never enjoy being in the water. They put him in the middle of the raft and that kept him from getting hit by the worst of the rapids.

Their destination was a welcome sight. Not just the end of a three day trek down the river but there were bunk houses. That meant running water for showers and the chance to clean their clothes and maybe real food rather than ration packs.

They were greeted and told to pick a bunk house, make use of the amenities. They were told that only one other squad had arrived so far. That training would commence once all the teams had arrived so enjoy the down time. They had already learned not to waste time. Gear was inspected, cleaned, and repaired. Trash they had been carrying properly disposed of, and everyone given a check for scrapes and cuts and ticks.

The bunk house was one large bedroom, a dorm style bathroom with seceral sinks, stalls, and showers, and a common room with kitchen. And LAUNDRY MACHINES! Not one person in the squad was not happy about that. Helen tossed her gear on one of the top bunks and then went rummaging through cabinets and the refrigerator to see what was there.

Helena

Marceau made a beeline for the showers. It had been far too long since he had one and his thick and curly hair did not like not having access to showers. Once he was out of the shower, he went looking for food in the refrigerator. He picked something out and then chose the bunk closest to Helena’s, settling in with his bag. He was ready to go home, wondering if this was going to be the last mission. It seemed like it, since all of the squads would be there. Lucky they had beens second to arrive, that meant more downtime for them.

~ Marceau

Kenneth, Kenson, and Jones had gone to ‘scout out’ what was up. Gerard and Akela were arguing over what kind of meal they could make in the kitchen. Everyone else was scattered about. Helena, had grabbed a shower and was now on her bunk, feet bopping, fingers tapping, lip syncing to the music playing in her ears. She felt the bunk move as someone claimed the bed beneath hers. She rolled over onto her stomach and hung her head over and grinned. “Marceau! Is that you? I didn’t recognize you without all the dirt.” She laughed, then swung down and plopped herself at the end of his bed. “Didn’t recognize myself in the mirror either.” She looked at him for a minute, her head tipped to the side. “So how are you doing? Do you think Lucy has forgiven you?” Marceau had been quiet the last few days and Helena figured he was probably missing her. They hadn’t exactly left things on a positive note.

Helena

“I look better without it, don’t I?” Marceau commented. He frowned and sighed at the reminder of his home life. “Not until a couple days after I return.” He made a face. “A week, maybe.” He sighed again, “I’ve talked to her… About the Starfleet stuff. She just won’t listen.”

~ Marceau

“Well maybe after this stint she’ll realize it isn’t so bad. She has her own studies, and surely they will take her away for hands on experience and study too. And when we get back surely she’ll realize you are worth waiting for.” Helena waggled her eyebrows and chuckled. “She shouldn’t stay mad at you that long though. It’s not like you joined Star Fleet after you met her. You two haven’t been going out a year yet. It’s too soon to change your life plans for each other.” She stared at him a minute. “You know I like Lucy, right? But don’t be like me. Don’t let someone else almost ruin your career before you’ve even started.” It still stung for Helena that Morgan had been such a jerk. He’d been decent enough to stay away from her, but obviously he was talking because his friends were worse. She could have been kicked out of the Academy or lost her pilot’s license. “Just keep talking to her, yeah?”

Helena

Marceau nodded to Helena. “It’s two months. I do miss her, but.. we’ve both chosen our careers. I can’t just not go.” He nodded again and sighed. “She says she doesn’t want to go out in the field. She wants to get her degree and consult for businesses, make sure they’re following environmental regulations. Those things where she doesn’t have to go anywhere.” He smiled up at Helena, “Don’t worry, I won’t leave you alone in Academy. I have no plans to abandon Starfleet.” There was nothing Lucy could say to change his mind. He had to do this, planes or no. He nodded again, “Yeah.”

~ Marceau

Helena shrugged over what Lucy wanted for her career. “She still has to complete the lab classes and work. I mean I’m glad she knows exactly what kind of career she wants, and I’m sure her family has enough connections to help her find places to apply to when she graduates. But life is seldom what we want.” She grinned, “You better not leave me to do this alone. Seriously though, Marceau, do what makes you happy. Whatever that is.”

Marceau smiled. “Lucy will have to learn how to live with it. I’m staying.”

Helena grinned, “Good. I’d miss you if you left.”

Kenneth and Kenson walked back in about then, spotted Marceau and Helena and come over and sat. “Man are we in for it.” Helena leaned back against the ladder to the bunk, “What do you mean? What’s out there? Big Foot?” She chuckled.

Kenson threw a pillow at her which she caught with an ‘ooofff’. “No. Training grounds. Looks like practical application of everything we’ve been learning this year. Everything from law to emergency medicine to linguistics to security measures.”

Helena’s head bopped back and forth and then she shrugged. “Oh good because I know I didn’t have room to back my books. We get to study before finals.”

“A practical application of everything, huh?” Marceau said. He was thinking it shouldn’t be too hard, with how well training had gone so far…


And that’s exactly what it was. And they weren’t allowed to use their ‘experts’ for everything. Helena had languages this semester that meant she was tasked with doing translations for the crew, not Gerard or Alvida. They helped her study and review, and Helena some days just wanted to cry in frustration. If she didn’t get it right there were consequences in the success of their ‘missions.’ There were security maneuvers and emergency medical aid practice, and equipment repairs to complete.

It wasn’t all physically gruelling, but they were all exhausted at the end of every day.

Helena

It was way harder than Marceau expected, when they had him doing security stuff or engineering. The science he wasn’t too bad at. Languages he was… Not as bad as Helena. When it was over, he was glad it was done. It wasn’t necessarily physically gruelling but it felt mentally exhausting.

~ Marceau

The next morning they were given extra time for breakfast which made them all nervous. The commodore stood up as they were all starting to finish their meals. “You’ve done good work the last two months, cadets. You have 3 days until finals begin.” This caused a stir, more excitement than anything. Most everyone assumed that meant they were done, there would be a plane ride home after they helped clean and reset the camp. Those hopes were very quickly dashed as the commodore continued. “So I suggest you all get going. You have three days to find your way back. Get your gear and get going.”

The hurried back to their tent, everyone quick to put their packs in order and then gathered in a loose group. “How are we supposed to make it back to San Francisco from here in 3 days? We can’t hike that fast.”

“What if we took a commercial flight?”

“But how long to the nearest airport? Or bus station?”

“Did anyone even bring money with them? I know I didn’t.”

“We’ve got to get going, we can’t waste time.”

“We’ll waste more time if we don’t have a plan.” And the conversation broke down into several conversations between two or three people and then switching people back and forth.

Helena

Marceau quietly pulled out a map and began studying it. After a moment, “Guys, come here and look!” When the group had come to stand around him he showed the map. “We can make a plan with this. Let’s see what’s around us that we can get to. The nearest commercial airport is far enough away I don’t even see one on here.” He looked around on the map a little longer. “What else can we use around here?”

~ Marceau

They all gathered round. Marceau was right. They had to see what they were dealing with, what resources they might have, and then plan. They all looked at the map. Jones nudged Billy and pointed at the map. Billy reached over and tugged Helena’s sleeve. “Laursen, is that what I think it is?”

Helena walked around the table so she wasn’t looking at the map up-side-down. She began to grin. “I do believe it is. Yvette how from camp to here.” She tapped a symbol on the map.

Yvette glanced at the map key. “3 miles.” Helena grinned and looked at Marceau and Kenson. “It’s a private air field. We should be able to find something there. At the very least an access road.”

Kenneth shared a nod with Marceau then turned to everyone else. “Yvette mark us out a route. Everyone else get your gear. Don’t leave anything behind. Gerard make sure everyone has enough rations for five days, just in case. We’ll leave in 30.”

They were the first squad to leave the camp. They were well rested and excited for this first mission to be over so they made good time, arriving just after lunch. There were several hangers and it didn’t look abandoned. That bored good to Helena. There was a Chief Warrant Officer there. He said his job was simply to reassure them that they were allowed on the grounds and to whatever they found.

They found a clear spot and sat to eat a ration bar each and then spread out. They found shuttles, busses, cars, a utility/cargo truck, and a mechanic shop. Nothing worked. They would have to fix something. One of the shuttles would be ideal. Flying was faster. Kenneth, Emilio, and Billy got busy trying to figure out what was wrong with the shuttle. Helena, with the others, went looking for parts. Helena was gone for a bit when she came back a few minutes later, “Guys! Come on grab your packs. Come on!” She was giddy.

She jogged off to a back to a hanger behind the others. She slipped through the doors, “We can take that!” She pointed to a Cessna Skycourier. “19 passagenger capacity, 22.02 m wing span, 4 blade McCauley aluminum propeller, a PT6A-65SC, 827 kW Pratt & Whitney engine. 5.27 cu m baggage capacity, with a cruise speed of 389 km/h at 25,000 ft max altitude.”

Kenson chocked, “Watch out, y’all, Helena is in Love.”

Helena turned red and then grinned, “This is my dream baby. Go help Billy load our gear. Kenneth, you and Emilio come here. I am going to give you a crash course on classic aviation maintenance.” An hour and a half later, the plane was ready to go.

Helena

Marceau silently worried about this plan the entire way there. An airfield? Would they expect him to fly? In what?! Could he do this? There was a big, uncomfortable knot in his stomach for the entire hike. He opted not to eat anything when the others did.

He quietly hoped the planes would be broken and they’d have to take one of those busses or vans. His dread grew with each step further into the airfield until he thought he might throw up on his shoes when they started looking at the shuttle. It looked broken down and rusty. No way was it air worthy! It looked like a death trap. That was it, they were dying. This was the end. He might panic if they tried to force him into that thing.

He heard Helena’s excited call and his stomach dropped. He was the slowest in the group to follow her over to another plane. An even bigger rust bucket, it looked nothing like the plane she’d flown him in before. At least, not to Marceau. It looked like it would fall apart in midair and they’d all plummet to their deaths. It was a ridiculous thought, but the image wouldn’t get out of his head. He was doing so well this mission… He didn’t want everyone to think he shouldn’t be here because of his fear. But looking at that thing felt like jumping off a 200 ft cliff with nothing to stop the fall. He felt lightheaded from the stress and anxiety. He didn’t respond to Kenson’s teasing comment or Helena’s reply.

~ Marceau

Everyone was taking advantage of the lounge and the fact none of the other squads had shown up yet. Helena saw Marceau and the sick look on his face. She was very familiar with that look and she walked over. “Hey, trust me?”

Marceau looked up at her and nodded. “Oui. Of course. Why?”

“Come here,” she tucked her hand into his elbow and led him toward the plane. “The plane we took at the beginning of the year, was a 2 seater, this is 19. It’s much bigger. And she’s got all new parts. Look.” She opened the hatch for the engine and it wasn’t super shinny clean but it had obviously been well taken care of and there was no sign of rust anywhere. Helena walked him all around the plane and showed him everything. “You’ll be in the seat right behind me. I promise I’ll get you back safe. You’ll even have two whole days with Lucy before finals. I won’t let anything happen.”

Helena

Marceau stood and went with her, trying not to hold his stomach while they walked. He looked skeptically at the immaculately kept engine. Helena let him circle around the plane, looking at it, while she explained to him, several times. Then he nodded uneasily. He looked around like he was afraid the others would overhear. His voice shook a little bit. “I don’t know if I can do this.” It wasn’t that different from the beginning of the year, was it? It was a bigger plane, so he’d be sitting behind her instead of next to her. She needed to focus on flying anyway. The other plane was a two seater, this one was bigger. Bigger should be better, right? Bigger meant a bigger boom when they crashed, his brain told him. He caught his breath.

~ Marceau

“We’re flying under capacity in both passengers and cargo. Our packs are lighter than we started. I have been flying plans like this for years. Marceau,” Helena took both his hands and squeezed them. “I promise nothing bad will happen. A bigger plane means you won’t feel the winds as much. This flight will be even smoother than the last one. We have no stop over. Straight to San Francisco, four hours. That’s it. You can do that.” She paused and the offered, “I brought Dramamine with me. You could sleep on the flight.” Akela could give him something, but she understood if he didn’t want to ask her.

Helena

Marceau nodded, his curly hair bouncing with his head. He did not want to ask Akela. He was, despite their earlier conversation about fears, embarrassed by his phobia. He has no traumatic reason for it. He had never been in a crash, he’d never lost anyone in a crash. Nothing like that. He had simply always hated flying and he didn’t know why. Marceau squeezed her hands back. “I will try the Dramamine.”

~ Marceau

Helena went back into the cargo hold and climbed in. She looked around for her pack and then dug in the pockets for the bottle. She hopped out and handed him the bottle. “Here.” She had brought it for Marceau knowing they would be flying out. They had had been up for 2 days so they were exhausted and slept on the plane anyway. “Billy and I have to file the flight plan and then we’ll get on board. Go ahead and take that and breathe.” Helena smiled and squeezed his hand.

Merci.” Marceau squeezed her hand back and then took a dose of the Dramamine. He spent the rest of the time they were waiting, waiting for the meds to kick in and trying to do relaxation exercises.

45 minutes later, there was a lot more activity going on as other squads decided to check out the airport. They were boarding the plane. Helena and Billy were in the cockpit going through a preflight check.

Emilio got on and looked around and looked at Yvette, and then at the seat past her. He sat down in an aisle seat and reached over and closed the window. Yvette turned to look at him. “You okay? You look kind of funny.”

Emilio paused, “Umm…yeah, as long as I don’t look out the window.” Kenneth looked over, “Afraid of flying?”

“No. Afraid of heights. I do okay if I don’t look out the window. I just pretend I’m in a car or a train. But all heights. It’s why I volunteered to belay on the ropes course. So I didn’t have to go up.” He looked sheepish, “I guess I should have said something before.”

Jones sat across from him, “How are you going into space?” Emilio coughed, “I won’t look out the window.” That got a soft snicker from everyone. “Really, I just want to design the ships, not go up in them.”

Helena

Marceau climbed into the plane and picked the seat closest to where Helena would be. By then the meds had kicked in and he felt pretty tired, but still anxious for the flight. He heard Emilio’s conversation with everyone. It made him feel a little better, but he felt like it was a little different, since he didn’t want to go into space, and Marceau did. Yet the idea of flying on one of those space shuttles terrified him more than a plane did.

~ Marceau

“But Emilio, we’re in service. We don’t get to pick where we go.” That was Yvette. Emilio nodded, “I know. I guess it is like my grandfather. He was terrified of the water, but he served in the navy.”

“I am terrified of aliens.” Alvida looked sheepish and Gerard looked at her with confusion. “But Alvida you are a comms officer, a linguist. You are going to study alien languages.”

“I…I know that. I guess it is kind of like the boogie man. I never met an alien, and there was never a boogie man in my closet, but I’m still scared of it. I mean Vulcans and Denobulians are peaceful enough, but if they all aren’t? I am not a security officer or a MACO by any stretch of the imagination.”

Jones stood up and flexed, a lot. “It’s okay Alvida, I’ll protect you.” That got howls of laughter.

Helena

Marceau smiled slightly at that and it helped to relax him a little. Before long he was buckled in and ready to go, and dozing off in his seat. It had been a long mission and he must have been tired because he slept the entire flight back.

~ Marceau

This plane was a bit different with the cockpit being blocked off from the rest of the plane by a doorway. Helena and Billy left it open. There was no reason it had to be closed. Billy sat co-pilot next to her even though he didn’t know how to fly a Cessna. It wouldn’t have been right to let Marceau sit up front when Billy was their other pilot. Marceau had picked the seat right behind Helena’s. There was a wall between them but she was easily able to reach back, through the door and squeeze his hand before they took off, and again once they leveled off. He was asleep though and she was glad for that. They were all tired and the chatter in the main cabin was soon soft whispers if anything at all.

Helena and Billy kept busy and alert. Helena gave him a crash course in antique planes. She didn’t have her instructor’s license, yet, but there was no reason not to discuss their favorite subject. When they reached the edge of San Francisco Billy contacted the tower for the airport. Helena called back to Emilio who was still awake. “Make sure everyone is buckled up, we’re going to start our descent.” 45 minutes later, the Cessna was docked in a hanger and they were all piling out of the plane while Helena did a final post flight check. The plane was beautiful and she was reluctant to leave it. But they had to get back to the Academy. That meant public transport unless they wanted to walk. Either was fine with her.

Marceau woke during the descent and got off the plane with the others. The flight was a lot easier when he was asleep for most of it.

When they all exited the hanger together Commodore Taylor was waiting for them. “Nicely done cadets. A transport is waiting to take you back to campus. Cadet Laursen! Cadet Ivers!” Helena and Billy stopped in their tracks and came to attention, “Sir!” He walked over and gave them both a once over and then stared Helena down. “There better NOT be one single scratch, smudge, or piece of dust on my plane, Cadet.”

Billy wished the ground would open and swallow him. The Commodore‘s plane? He looked at Helena like she had lost her mind. Helena smiled sweetly at the older man. “It’s better than I found it. You might want to to talk to your maintenance crew, Commodore, Sir. We had to replace several belts, spark plugs and change out the oil before take off.” The commodore chuckled and winked at her. “Good job, both of you. Dismissed.” They saluted and rushed off to catch up with everyone else.

They all piled into the basement of Marceau’s dorm to separate out the equipment they had to return, that way they weren’t all running all over campus. Then they all headed back to their rooms. Helena picked up her pack and grinned at Marceau. “We made it.”

Marceau smiled back at her. “Yes. I’m glad to be back. I want to sleep for a week.”

She waggled her eyebrows, “Don’t you need to go change? You have a long awaited date to get to.”

Helena

“Oh, yeah…” It wasn’t that Marceau wasn’t glad to see Lucy, he was, but he was so tired and Lucy was going to be so much. But he owed it to her, she had waited for him the whole time he was gone. He smiled at Helena, “I need to get going then. See you tomorrow?”

~ Marceau

Helena put a hand on his arm. “Not till tomorrow evening. But Marceau…go shower, clean up really well. We all look like something out of WWIII fall out. Then put on your nicest civvies for her. Have fun. Keep your communicator with you. We’ll call if anything happens.”

Helena headed back to her room, and took her own advice. Then a few of them headed out to a local bar that had live music.

Helena

Marceau took her advice and spent an hour showering and cleaning himself up. Then he put on a nice button-down, and a pair of nice pants and shoes. He made sure his hair looked… Well, like it always did, messy but nice and cared for. It was a very him look. He made sure he looked nice and then he headed over to Lucy’s. He decided to surprise her since they were a little early. It risked her not being home but if she was it was worth it.

He arrived and knocked. A moment later, the door opened. It was evening by then and Lucy was in one of her night gowns with her hair put up. Her eyes lit up when she saw him. “Marcy!” She smiled and hugged him. “Oof!” Marceau chuckled, “Bonsoir, Lucy. We finished early, so I decided to come by.” He was playing up his accent just a little bit, Lucy always loved it. She smiled cheerily and dragged him inside. “Come in, Marcy!! I’ll make dinner.”

~ Marceau


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