driftfleet | [video]

Who: This fighty princess
Broadcast: Video
Action: S.S. Bishop for interested parties
When: Earlier today (morning)

[Looma not being terribly social wasn't news in itself- if anything, many people probably considered her keeping to her own affairs to be a good thing- but what might have raised a few eyebrows was her ship. Over the past few weeks, the S.S. Bishop had been steadily been adding new weapon emplacements one after the other, until it was just bristling with weaponry. Everything from point-defense weapons to a variety of heavier artillery pieces. Several of which might look familiar to anyone who'd been involved in any of the fighting back in the Lato’li system a year ago.

Though there was certainly a more unfamiliar addition, in the form of a much larger cannon mounted to the underside of the hull. And while that single turreted cannon wasn't enough to turn the ship into a proper warship ~~or let the captain glass a planet~~, it definitely looked as though the ship was turning into something far more capable of holding its own in a scrap.]

I require assistance. The Bishop has recently completed a large-scale refit, and I would like to conduct a series of tests on the new weapons systems. And for that, I require a pilot.

[She's making that request with her usual enthusiasm, which of course means none at all. And if anyone thought that meant she'd been pressured into asking for assistance from someone else, well, they'd be right. And any lingering doubts an outside observer might have had would likely be cleared up by her continued grumbling.]

To be clear these tests do not require a pilot, but it has been stressed that there might be concerns if I began test-firing everything while in such close proximity to the rest of the fleet. To say nothing of the settlements below.

So, see it as performing a kindness for everyone else. Because I will conduct these tests before we leave the system, one way or another. I will not allow this ship to leave before first ensuring this project was completed to my satisfaction.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[He seems way too excited about this.] Can I fire one of the guns?

[Congratulations Sora you are definitely now on her list of favorite people. Not even just humans.]

Well, I suppose it would be terribly unwise to allow any member of the ship's security to remain unfamiliar with the new weaponry.

[She's not even trying all that hard to sound even the slightest bit reluctant about granting that request. She's only putting in just enough energy to trying to sound like she might be on the fence about it to just let that enthusiasm keep growing.]

But I am absolutely going first.

Oh totally. I wouldn't expect to go before you. But second? I can go second right?

You are aware you are the only other member of the crew with the appropriate augment to fire them, yes?

[Not that he really needs to know he has that exclusive level of destructive power at his fingertips, but hey. She's a sharer when it comes to deadly weaponry.]

Of course you may fire them after. If the tests are successful, we may even begin devising ways to properly coordinate our efforts. In the event we ever need to employ all the ship's defenses simultaneously.

Ohh. Can we test that next then? That sounds fun.

If we have enough time. But if not, it can be done at any other time.

[And, knowing Looma, would be.]

I have heard the fleet has come under attack more than once. We would do well to be prepared for it to happen again, even if it seems to be a comparatively rare event.

Exactly. Back home, there were Heartless vessels all over the place when we traveled. We had to make sure our ship stayed up to speed. Otherwise, we'd be toast.

[Mantis is in his office having a well deserved recline in the chair at his desk, but he's never not about to support his captain in her endeavors.]

Maybe I could put in a request to have my augment changed if need be. Unless you think we would be better off with someone with the requisite background knowledge?

I would hope that is not necessary. Especially as I do not know how long it would take for the request to be granted.

[And frankly, they'd been in the system for quite some time already- while departure might not have been imminent, it was no doubt fast approaching. The Fleet never seemed to stay in one place for too long.]

I do admire that we are a more armed ship. Less likely to get shot out of the sky again if the planet turns out to be more hostile than most.

[His feet slide one by one to the floor and he sits up.]

I wonder if Atroma would consider it if we petitioned for a pilot.

At the very least, I expect we will take far more of our foes with us if it ever does.

[An alternative outcome she's clearly comfortable with, judging from the grin she's sporting at the thought of it.]

I have no reason to believe they would. When have they ever made anything more convenient for any of us during our time here?

[ ... ... ... Yeah, you know what? Fuck it, she needs some more excitement in her life right now. ]

I'm a pilot. SS Goldstone. Don't mind flying you around while you conduct your tests.

I doubt you would need to fly us far. Away from the planet should suffice.

Normally I would be content to conduct these exercises over some unoccupied region of the planet, but determining which mountains of garbage aren't occupied is proving tedious.

[And she's like 90% sure that blowing up someone's house would cause a few problems, really.]

Though if you grow too restless, I do not see how taking a shuttle elsewhere until we are finished would be a problem.

Geeze, don't fire somewhere you might start a panic. I'm a pilot, I can drive your ship for you. Just tell me where.

I have already found another volunteer. However, if you are still interested, I could call on you for a second exercise.

I have no intention of paying for the assistance and it will likely be boring. Limiting any volunteers to just one flight may be the best option.

[Vash can see why Nami hired her to be a bouncer at the Space Bar.]

It certainly sounds less violent. Can I have an idea on what I'm volunteering to do before I say yes?

.......You're actually asking for help. Is there a hidden agenda with this?

I am offering a compromise. I will not hesitate to test the ship's weapons in the center of the fleet if I must- I am simply giving everyone else a chance to make doing so unnecessary.

[By now, he should probably be well aware that's not an empty threat.]

And as you can see, it worked. Now I can properly test our upgraded defenses, and the rest of the Fleet can spend their time doing anything other than panicking.

I suppose that's better.

I do agree that it's best to get the weapons checked and up and running. I am glad that our ship will be more prepared to fight.

You don't have a pilot on your crew?

[Keith was not okay with this. Everyone needed a pilot... in his opinion... probably because he was a pilot. But he saw two offer already, so... no point in adding to it unless she needed it, right?]

I'm one, but I see you got two offers.

[Just be careful with his teammate there. Pidge may be small and mighty, but she wasn't a pilot.]

No. Somehow, it is the position we have the most difficulty filling. Or keeping filled.

[Followed closely by lab support / "that person who keeps everyone patched up" but Keith doesn't need to know that.]

The worst part is, were it not for the augments and their restrictions, I doubt we would even have this problem.

I know for a fact you wouldn't. Pidge could probably pilot the ship if it wasn't for the augments needed to figure it out.

I mean, she might be able to on a basic level, but there's stuff I'm pretty sure I should know around here that I just can't get a handle of. Pidge is a genius, so I'm sure she could eventually make the ship work, but yeah. I feel like there's always going to be a learning curve when it comes to that.

[And good idea to omit the idea that there wasn't a medic on board with his teammate... especially one he was protective of.]

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