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Lt. (jg) Colton Nathaniel West ([info]colton_west) wrote in [info]kobols_legacies,
@ 2008-04-18 23:33:00

Previous Entry  Add to memories!  Tell a Friend!  Next Entry
Current location:Avalon - Hanger Bay
Entry tags:( a completed scene), (c) colton west, (c) jake mackenzie, (l) avalon

A New Arrival
The heavy echo of combat boots on the metallic flight deck carried across the hanger bay like the opening beats of some annoying song that gets stuck in the brain. A few working mechanics turned to see who was bothering to make all the noise.

He was lithe and lean and carried himself with the swagger of someone whose abilities were only outmatched by his ego. An athletic frame was wrapped in the gray-green flight suit of a viper jock. He was a short man, with an almost elfin sparkle in his dark brown eyes. The thin, well trimmed facial hair an loose cascade of brown hair only added to his mischievous aura. A duffel bag was held loosely in his right hand while an old fashioned guitar case was slung over his shoulder. Both were beaten and patched in several places.

He nodded to the few who made eye contact with him. His air of cool arrogance gave those who saw him the impression that this rogue believed himself to be perfectly at home in spite of the fact that everyone of the crew on duty at the moment regarded him as a complete stranger. Finally, he turned and made his way towards a seemingly random wrench turner.

"How goes it?" His tone was light and casual, as if he knew this man.

The mechanic didn't look up from his work, regarding the strange pilot with only a grunt of recognition.

The pilot raised an eyebrow and paused for a moment. "Right," he said with a sigh. "Well, if you'll direct me to the Captain of the Black Hydras or the poor bloke charged with running this bucket I'll be out of your way."

The mechanic glanced at him for only the briefest of moments before jerking his head towards the aft of the hanger, where the exits were visible.

"Right," the pilot said with a nod. He turned away from the fellow and began to walk away. "Let it never be said that the crew of the Avalon weren't a friendly bunch."

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[info]colton_west
2008-04-20 02:44 am UTC (link)
Relying on his knowledge of the Pacifica, Cole made his way through the exits of the hangers and into the hallways of the Avalon. His eyes drifted across the beaten, aged bulkhead of the ship and took note of the tiny dents and scratches that showed both the age and mileage on these rugged Battlestars.

After snaking through several more halls he came to the doorway he assumed to be the office of his new commanding officer. He paused for a moment and wondered what kind of officers he'd find here on Avalon among the Black Hydras. While his initial thoughts were dreams of a relaxed CO who gave their stick jocks room to move as he reflected for a moment he came to a dark conclusion: He really only hoped that they'd live longer than the stream of faceless dead he remembered from the Pacifica.

With a sigh he cast the thoughts aside and knocked.

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[info]jake_mackenzie
2008-04-20 03:05 am UTC (link)
Jake didn't bother looking up from the report he was reading at the sound of knuckles rapping against the hatch to his office. The readiness drills the Admiral had instituted both on Avalon and Pacifica seemed to be paying off, just in time for the upcoming combat mission.

"Enter!" He called out, and continued reading until the other person made their way into his office. Whoever it was, it was either a stranger or a very junior subordinate judging from the way they knocked instead of opening the hatch the rest of the way and sticking thier head in to see if he were free.

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[info]colton_west
2008-04-20 03:09 am UTC (link)
Great, Cole thought. Another stiff-neck.

He opened the door and stepped into the office, his guitar case banging clumsily against the door frame. He paused for a moment to assess the man before him. After a second he came to the conclusion that if this guy couldn't be bothered to look up, he couldn't be bothered to salute.

The words slipped casually from his lips, as if he were ordering a drink, "Cole West, reportin' for duty."

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[info]jake_mackenzie
2008-04-20 03:21 am UTC (link)
Jake wasn't intentionally rude, it was simply a byproduct of wearing two hats, both of which represented full time jobs in peacetime.

When Cole announced himself, Jake put down the report and looked up. "Vagabond," he greeted the other man, "Welcome aboard the Avalon." He'd never flown with the man directly, but he'd had several conversations with the man's old CO about him recently.

Jake and Cole were opposite sides of the same coin. Barely a year apart in age and starting out in the same career, they'd taken completely different paths. Where Jake had progressed steadily through the ranks until the war and then suddenly been promoted well beyond the level of his peers, Cole was a perennial discipline problem always getting in trouble and never being able to hold a rank above junior lieutenant for long.

"I wasn't expecting to see you yet, but I'm glad you found your way in here. Have a seat." An outstretched hand indicated one of the two chairs in front of the desk.

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[info]colton_west
2008-04-20 03:29 am UTC (link)
Cole blinked in surprise, taken aback by the man's casual demeanor. He offered an impish smile and dropped his duffel bag by the door.

Two steps later he unslung the guitar from his back and plopped into the offered chair. "Well that confirms my initial suspicion that you are, in fact, not Captain Tarix."

He stretched, reaching into the inner pocket of his flight suit and removing a small steel box. He popped the box open and gingerly removed a single hand-rolled cigarette before producing a lighter from his pocket.

"That," he said as he clenched the cigarette in his teeth, "and you've not got her soulful baby brown eyes, sir. But, I digress."

Cole glanced again at the man, taking note of his uniform, "Jester, right?"

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[info]jake_mackenzie
2008-04-20 03:38 am UTC (link)
"Dagger does look somewhat different than me, yes. You guess correct, I am Jester." Jake drawled, amused at the other man's casual attitude on reporting in.

"I'd appreciate it if you waited until you were out of my office before you light that," he gestured toward the still unlit cigarette, his smirk turning into a mild frown. While he wasn't going to tell Cole what he could and couldn't do in terms of ingesting poisons into his body, Jake wasn't interested in having the smoke stink up his office.

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[info]colton_west
2008-04-20 03:42 am UTC (link)
Cole paused just short of putting the flame to the paper, "Oh, right." He quickly returned both cigarette and lighter to their proper places and offered an apologetic smile. "Your office, Colonel. Long as you let me strike one up if things get hairy behind the stick, right?"

He laughed softly at his own joke, "But enough fracking around. What's the deal here on Avalon? My transfer seemed kind of sudden. Not that they weren't anxious to show me the deep dark void, but transfers don't go that smooth unless something," he paused and searched for the right word, "special is going on."

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[info]jake_mackenzie
2008-04-20 04:08 am UTC (link)
Jake nodded, he'd been expecting this conversation ever since he'd agreed to transfer Vagabond from Pacifica to Avalon.

"There are several reasons for your transfer." Jake started off, leaning back in his seat but keeping his eyes fixed on the other pilot. He noted with approval the cigarette going back in its package.

"First." he raised his index finger. "Commander Narbo wouldn't tell me why, but he explicitly requested through Major Cuthbert that you be transferred off his ship. I don't know what you did and I don't want to know, as far as I'm concerned this is a chance for you to have a fresh start on a new ship."

"Second," his middle finger went up. "The Hydras are down a pilot, as I'm sure you're aware. You won't be able to miss Lt. Kypros if you see her, she looks as if she's carrying an entire pyramid team and isn't due for another six weeks or so. The Hydras have managed without her but I want them back at full strength for what's coming up."

"I can't discuss details at this point, but assuming we get the go ahead from Command Authority we could be in for a hairy situation and it isn't the sort of mission I'd be comfortable breaking in nuggets on."

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[info]colton_west
2008-04-20 04:18 am UTC (link)
Cole chuckled to himself as he remembered Narbo's face. "Narbo just wishes that the smile of a satisfied woman was admissible as evidence at a Court Martial."

Realizing there wasn't much more he was going to get from this surprisingly casual Colonel, Colton rose to his feet. "Right, so here's how it all seems to be to me."

He slung the guitar case over his shoulder as he spoke, "The admiral here on Avalon has some big to-do coming up; real crisis of the first degree. You've got a knocked up stick vixen in desperate need of a replacement. Narbo saw his chance to off load the one man on the Pacifica who kept blowing past all the records he used to hold." He raise his hands, "So, here I am. Now I just sit pretty and wait for orders, right?"

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[info]jake_mackenzie
2008-04-20 04:37 am UTC (link)
Jake's eyes narrowed somewhat and his smile disappeared. He was definitely seeing some of the things Cole's old squadron CO was referring to, and he'd have to have a talk with Vosca about how to try and work the man's skills out of the cockpit.

"Let's get one thing straight, Lieutenant. In here I'm willing to let your attitude toward Narbo slide, out in public I'll expect you to toe the line and be respectful toward superior officers whether you think they deserve it or not. This is the flagship, not Pacifica, and I expect a lot out of all the officers in the airgroup here, even those with thicker personnel jackets than average."

"Where you go from here is you report to Captain Tarix and get a spot in the Black Hydras bunkroom, get integrated into the squadron. Dagger will take it from there, and a word to the wise she isn't as easy going on formalities as I am."

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[info]colton_west
2008-04-20 04:47 am UTC (link)
Cole felt the mood shift instantly and reacted with a chilled anger. "With all due respect Colonel, I'm here to fly a viper not kiss ass."

Without a single word he turned, scooped up his duffel and slammed the door behind him.

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[info]jake_mackenzie
2008-04-20 05:22 pm UTC (link)
Jake's jaw dropped at both the words and the way the man simply walked out and slammed the hatch behind him. He'd had disrespectful pilots before, but nothing quite like this.

It took him five seconds before he was up out of his chair and flinging open the hatch. He stepped out into the causeway and spotted Lt. West's retreating form. "Lieutenant West, get your ass back here right frakking now!" Jake roared, using a command voice he rarely needed to invoke. He ignored startled looks from passers by and waited to see what the man in question would do.

If present trends continued, Vosca would be introduced to her new pilot at the Brig.

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[info]colton_west
2008-04-20 09:21 pm UTC (link)
With a heavy, almost annoyed sigh Cole turned around and casually made his way back into the Colonel's office. He'd been through this routine enough that he could practically hear MacKenzie's speech in his mind already.

Military bearing. Discipline. The Brig. Blah. Blah. Blah. Still, he knew he had to go through the motions and he wanted to see exactly how far the Colonel could be pushed. In a twisted way, Cole was entertained by the whole affair.

He close the door behind him and stood at attention, barely concealing the twinkle in his eyes. "Sir?"

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[info]jake_mackenzie
2008-04-20 09:27 pm UTC (link)
Jake stared at the other man, wondering what his game was. That's exactly what it was to him, Jake realized, a game.

While still angry at the insolence in the other man, Jake decided to get some answers that might get to the root of the problem.

"Why are you here? I mean, seriously, why are you still in the fleet? You obviously have no love for the military life and your service commitment was up years before the attacks."

Jake turned and picked up the personnel folder that had been sitting on his desk, Cole's folder. "You see this folder? You realize that it is thicker than average for someone of your rank and experience, which indicates you've been in trouble more than once. If you don't like the life why stick with it?"

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[info]colton_west
2008-04-20 09:33 pm UTC (link)
Cole winced for a moment, as if he words struck him like a physical blow. Few he'd met were so quick to cut straight to he heart of the matter. For a few seconds his wall of bravado and ego seemed to give way. He quickly composed himself, his face going rigid.

"I don't see how that's relevant, sir. I'm here. I'm a good pilot and I can help blow a few toasters out of the sky." His words were even, almost strained.

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[info]jake_mackenzie
2008-04-20 09:45 pm UTC (link)
"It is relevant," Jake insisted, seeing that he'd gotten behind the mask if only for a moment. "There's more to being a pilot in the Colonial Fleet than being a hot stick in the cockpit. If all I was looking for was natural talent this discussion wouldn't even be happening. You can just as easily be a good pilot shuttling civilians back and forth between ships rather than take up a slot in the military that could be filled by someone who wants to play well with others."

He put the file back on his desk. "I repeat: why are you here?"

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[info]colton_west
2008-04-20 09:50 pm UTC (link)
Taking his eyes away from the thousand-yard stare of a man at attention, Cole locked his eyes on Colonel MacKenzie. His words were forced, harsh, and hard. His fists were clenched and quivering and his knuckles were white.

"Colonel," he said, "if you're going to pull me from behind the stick, then I respectfully request you get on with it. Otherwise, I'd rather you stop crawling around inside my head and let me do my job - even if it means I have to 'play nice' with others."

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[info]jake_mackenzie
2008-04-20 09:59 pm UTC (link)
"I'm trying to do my job," Jake shot back, "which includes making sure that my command runs smoothly. If you're going to mouth off and act like a twelve year old the minute someone says or does something you don't like, then I have no use for you and I will pull you from flight status and start the paperwork to have you removed from the service."

Jake held the other man's gaze for a moment to make sure the Lieutenant understood, then let his gaze soften a bit.

"I'm not asking for you to be a model officer. Given your service record I'm not sure you're capable of it. I do expect you to show the proper amount of public respect to those in the chain of command who have shown the ability to accept more responsibility than yourself, and I don't want to hear about you starting any fights. Anything else is between you and Captain Tarix."

He returned his gaze to the other man's eyes. "Are we clear?"

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[info]colton_west
2008-04-20 10:03 pm UTC (link)
"Crystal clear, sir." he said. The strain in his voice relaxed, but he no longer seemed as casual as before. There was a kind of detached respect in his tone.

"Permission to freely, sir?" he asked. It was a tiny gesture of compromise and after a moment he received the Colonel's nod.

"As far as fights go, I want to make one thing clear: I've never thrown the first punch."

His eyes twinkled for a moment, and with a single shift in posture the arrogance of his demeanor returned.

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[info]jake_mackenzie
2008-04-20 10:19 pm UTC (link)
Jake nodded. "That may be true, but that won't save you if that happens. Not without a damn better excuse than that."

He moved to sit back down behind his desk. "You're on thin ice Vagabond. Don't let it crack under you. Now go on, get out of here and report to Captain Tarix to get settled in."

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[info]colton_west
2008-04-20 10:24 pm UTC (link)
He offered a stiff salute and cracked a thin, fey smile. "Yes, sir."

Turning on his heel in an about face he made his way out of the Colonel's office without another word. His reviewed the encounter in his mind, playing it back several times. As he closed the door to MacKenzie's office he realized that the Colonel was either going to be the biggest ally he had here on Avalon or the biggest pain in the ass he'd had to deal with since his father died.

Putting it out of his mind before he thought to much about it, he made his way towards the office of Captain Tarix.

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[info]jake_mackenzie
2008-04-20 10:38 pm UTC (link)
*End Scene*

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