Thanks for Everything

Posted on 20 Oct 2026 @ 10:22am by Commodore Jasmine Somers & Lieutenant Margeurite "Maggie" LeFebvre

975 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: General Sim Postings
Location: CO's office Tomcat
Timeline: Before Disembarkation

[ON]

Maggie made her way to the CO's office before disembarking for shore leave. Since she was now married and pregnant, shore leave was no longer about sleeping all day and partying all night. Now it was boring stuff, like sightseeing and buying tiny furniture.

She rang the chime and waited to be let in. She hoped she wasn't keeping the other woman from her own break time, but technically, they had a bit to wait until the Station cleared them anyway. Her pilots were grounded, debriefed, and dismissed, and she'd not do anything resembling work for a few days.

In her CRR, Jasmine was finishing her packing when her office door chimed, "Enter!" She said, and the next moment the DCAG entered; she smiled.

"Ah, Lieutenant LeFebvre, to what do I owe this honour? Please have you a seat," She said, stopping what she was doing and sitting behind her desk.

Maggie took a seat, scooting it slightly so she could fit better.

"Well, I just heard a rumour that you're moving on," the pilot started. "And so I came by to ask if that was so, and if it is, then to wish you well and say thank you," Maggie said.

"You have heard correctly, Lieutenant. I will be moving across and up, but I do have one final instruction: when the next mission starts, you are on light duties. This means you will get to fly the Tomcat; besides, you must find it difficult trying to get into a fighter when you are so far along!" Somers said. "As for the wishing well, thank you. Can I get you a glass of water?" The Captain added.

Maggie smiled. "Well, that's excellent and exciting,"' she said. "And yes, water would be nice." She made a small face at the woman's instructions, but she knew it was both protocol AND a good idea.

"I look forward to flying the ship," she said. "But I will miss the planes. And you're right; the cockpits on those things are TINY." She would get stuck, with her luck, and need to take the plane apart to get out.

Jasmine got up and walked over to the replicator "Two glasses of water, cold," she said, and a moment later the glasses appeared. She picked them up and walked over, handing Maggie the glass of water.

"Yes, it was either ground you and have you wander the ship aimlessly, or temp assign you to SB51, or have you fly the Tomcat. I chose flying the Tomcat. I will warn you, though: the ship is not as agile as a fighter, and you are going to have to think about an action before or as you are doing it," Jasmine said.

"Thank you," Maggie said, taking the glass. "Right!! I understand," she said. "More people need me to be careful and thoughtful," she said. And she didn't want the paperwork if she accidentally crashed the whole thing. "I think I can handle it," she said, sincerely. She'd need to practice on a Sim, perhaps, but she could do it.

"There is an old saying: you break it, you buy it," she said with a smile. I tried flying the Tomcat once long before its upgrade and retrofit; it was on the holodeck, but if it was not slow to move compared to a shuttle, I had to account for the extra mass. I was told that I should never fly a ship as big as an Akira again," the Captain responded with a little laugh.

Maggie chuckled lightly. "Most people think that flying is an easy thing. It's NOT; it's harder than it looks. As you said, you need to account for mass, but also wind speed, if there's any, time, any upcoming danger, such as asteroids, things like that. It's really...takes a lot of concentration," she said. "I am sure you didn't do too terribly. You're very smart and calm under pressure. That's half of the trick, really," she said.

"There is no wind in space. I did okay, but I prefer to stick to shuttles. I will leave flying the Tomcat and fighters to officers like yourself," Somers said.

Maggie chuckled. "I am aware," she said. "It was just an illustration," she said. "And thank you. I look forward to expanding my skills. Just a little. I have never wanted to be a commanding officer, so just staying on the Helm is fine with me," she said. Maggie wasn't the kind of person who sought out leadership positions. She was fine just being a crew member until she retired. Just as long as she could fly, that's all she cared about. Being a CO would make flying harder.

"So, to bring matters to a close, you may need to visit the holodeck and practice flying an Akira-class ship; the Tomcat handles a little differently from that of a stock Akira-class due to her alterations. I just hope Junior in there does not want out when you are in the middle of flying!" Jasmine said half-jokingly.

Maggie smiled, and nodded.

"Yes, ma'am, my plan is to do that after this," she said. "And we still have a bit more cooking to do in there," she said, chuckling.

"Thank you for meeting with me, and best of luck. I hope things work out for you how you wish they do," the blonde pilot said, sincerely.

"Thank you Maggie, and you" Jasmine said and bid farewell to the woman, after she had left her room she returned to what she was doing before the visit.

[OFF]

 

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