Tanks For Helping Me De-Stress

Posted on Fri Nov 10th, 2023 @ 6:49am by Lieutenant Ami Rori & Lieutenant JG Jane Sinclair

1,825 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Operation Tokyo Return

Ami had left the bridge and was just starting to calm down, but she knew it would take far more time than just a few minutes and walking around. As yet, she still hadn't met all that many people on board and fewer had made an impression. She couldn't go to the XO, she was too close to the command structure, but... She stopped at a console and looked up a location, then changed her course to the quarters section and to a particular door. She first knocked, then pressed the chime and knocked again, "Miss Sinclair? Are you there?" There was some desperation in her voice, she really needed to talk to someone.

Jane was indeed in her quarters, doing some paperwork at her table ahead of dinner alone from the replicator. Hearing the knock and the voice made her lift her head from her PADD. And stood and greeted her guest at the door. "Ami? What's wrong?"

The face of the half-Trill brightened slightly from its downcast look before she launched herself and wrapped her arms around Jane tightly, "I've been having a REALLY bad day and I just need to destress a fair bit, and you're the only non-engineer I've really gotten to meet so far. And I have a big question for you."

"Hey, it's alright," Jane replied, returning Ami's hug (if more gently) and gently patting her back. "What's going on? What do you need?"

Releasing Jane, Ami took a step back and met the taller woman's eyes, "I was wondering... How are you as a tank gunner? I've got a Bat-Chat 25T that I modified into a 2-person tank for the holodeck, put in a gun stabilizer and some specialized tracks and engine, but it's really hard to drive and shoot at the same time and I really need someone to go with me because I need to release some stress and driving REALLY does it for me. But driving alone can get... lonely."

"I...I've never tried being a tank gunner," Jane said. "But I'm pretty good with most vehicles. I'll give it a try. Sounds fun, actually!" She grinned and held up a hand. "On one condition. I need a picture of us in this thing, this 'Bat-Chat 25T', with a note from you that I didn't drive it and didn't try to make you let me drive it. Because Alisha would never believe me otherwise."

Ami giggled at the last, "If you're really good, I'll let you try it out! In fact, at some point I'll let you. You see, I LOVE driving tanks, they just... Fascinate me. But if a signed and sealed document is needed, I'll make sure you get it."

"Do I need do change?" Jane asked.

"Shouldn't need to, I've got it set up with most of the comforts of home. Cushioned seats, even improved most of the suspension so we bounce around a bit less." Ami grabbed Jane's hand and tugged her towards the door, "I already marked Holodeck 2 as offline for maintenance, so we'll have no problem getting in right now. But while we're on the way, let me tell you what happened, Senpai." To Ami, rank mattered less than the fact that Jane was older than her and well... She looked up to her in multiple ways. So she began in a rush and by the time they reached the holodeck had gotten most of the story out

The expression made Jane smile. It wasn't long ago that she called Karen Senpai. Karen was younger than her, but she was the more experienced when it came to car racing. Respect mattered, even among friends.

"Damn," Jane said after the events had been recounted. "You were so in the zone when I spoke with you on the bridge that you didn't even hear me when I asked how you were doing. I'm sorry to hear it ended the way it did. If charges do come up, let me know." She paused a moment. "Honestly I almost wonder if it's a phrasing thing. The last chief says something is at one hundred percent. On some definition, it is, the minimum thresholds for launch are all met, and the ship is indeed one hundred percent ready to go. You come in with the same data but don't see 'ready to launch' and 'one hundred percent' as equivalent."

"Which is why I had no problem with getting investigated by the JAG, because my report does show that there are different standards!" Ami said in an exasperated manner, "I just... I don't lie! I do my best to avoid lying by omission, in fact I went into detail on what was wrong and my current plans for remedying it. Gonna have to kick this Pratt in the balls if I ever see him, HE got me into this."

Jane shrugged. "Pratt could be a bit of a prick anyway sometimes. Now, this program! Show me!" she said excitedly.

The program had already been loaded as a 'test load' for the 'maintenance' on the holodeck, so they walked in right away to find a gleaming clean sleek-looking camouflage painted tank with the red ball on white flag of Japan painted on the side. "The BatChat is a French tank from the 20th Century, but Japan really never did have a properly designed tank in history." Ami basically skipped up to the side of it and began to climb up the hand and footholds to the top of the hull, "Terrain on the Home Islands never really was conducive to maneuver warfare, but the plains of France? They got a bad name despite just being in the wrong place at the wrong time for basically ever." She reached down to give Jane a hand up onto the machine.

Jane accepted the hand and let herself be helped up. "I'm sure I have ancestors that fought in the French plains," she said, referring to the English half of Proxima's English/Chinese heritage. "Whether it was alongside the French in the twentieth century or against them in the nineteenth or earlier, I'll never know," she added with a giggle. "But this thing is gorgeous. How fast can she go? What about maneuverability, with these tracks even?" She had a hard time stopping the questions. This was a new vehicle and it truly was beautiful.

"I've gotten her up to about 100 kay-pee-ach, turns like a dream and I can drift her without worrying about the treads snapping." Ami brightened because she could talk about her tank and upgrades, letting her leave more of the Captain's conversation behind her, "Modern materials, tritanium filaments to prevent the tread linkages from shearing off. Steel just wouldn't work, not strong enough, titanium neither." She pointed to the top hatch on the turret, "You get to be up there, I'm going to be right down here." She stamped on the hatch that led to the drivers compartment, "We've got comms in there AND I've improved the sound dampening for the inner hull, but if you talk loud enough, I could even hear and speak to you without the comms, also..." Her eyes glinted, "I've got a dual-engine setup. Gotta have the original diesel, but I put in an EM drive as well to help with talking if we really wanted that, too!"

"This girl needs to be driven old school," Jane said, gently stroking the turret and then climbing toward the hatch. "We'll do the loud engine and comms. Can you just point the main systems out to me though?" She opened the hatch and climbed it. It was tight, but not claustrophobia-inducing. The different parts weren't that hard to distinguish. Turning the turret to aim. Loading. Firing. But a once-over by the expert before they got strapped into different compartments would be helpful.

Ami climbed up to the turret and leaned in over Jane's shoulder to point things out, "You've got your main gun controls right here, the spade-looking device. The center button is to fire, the ones on the back of the spade are for the machine gun mounted beside the main gun." She stretched to reach to point them out, "Your gunsight is right there, typical leading striches, but the electronic sight will help guide you based on distance to the target. You still have to manually aim and fire, but it's there to assist." She squirmed a bit to grab the throat comm harness and put it around Jane's delicate neck, "Press down on this to speak, it has a bone-conduction capability so you'll hear what I say. As the gunner, if you need me to turn or you see a target you want to engage, you can either tell me over the comm or use your feet to kick my shoulder in the direction you want me to go."

The half-Trill reached down to the seat controls and pulled back slightly, causing it to rise, "You can use these to raise or lower your seat so you can even ride with your head out the turret! Better visibility and you might even be able to hear an approaching tank before seeing it. The BatChat has an auto-loader, with a 5-round magazine, which helps with reloading, but after those five rounds, it takes about a minute for the auto-loader to replace the mag. What else am I missing?" She mused.

"Who are we fighting?" Jane asked, pressing on the comm piece as instructed, even if Ami wasn't wearing hers yet.

"Just some computer-generated T34s, no real threat, but this also isn't a competitive match. I wouldn't go into one of those feeling the way I do right now." Ami patted Jane on the head gently, more out of habit to make sure that things were in place properly before sliding down the front of the turret and popping her own hatch open, leaving it up as she wiggled into her own seat and getting her comm system put on, raising her own seat to bring her head just out over the hatch opening. The wind in her face, blowing her hair around just... Felt good, felt right. She smiled up at the barely visible Jane as she pushed the start button and the diesel engines roared to life, "They really feel powerful, top of the line and we won't have to worry about fuel efficiency. Oh! And if you're in a rush, that back button on the seat controls? That'll drop you back into the tank instantly, but it jolts pretty well!"

"Good to know," Jane said. "Alright, let's get started." She very quickly got the hang of aiming through the scope as she had been shown. This was fun! Who would've thought that one could have fun in a vehicle without being a driver!

To Be Continued...

***************
Post by:

Lieutenant Ami Rori
Chief Engineer

and

Lieutenant(jg) Jane Sinclair
Chief Flight Officer

USS Myogi

RSS Feed