trans_9 | just a couple of fighter jocks

It's been an intense half a day for Tycho, what with arriving here, learning about the destruction of his universe, learning about the existence of other universes, and the fact that he's been dumped in the middle of a whole new war to fight. After talking to Captain Kirk, he'd spent a while reading as much as he could find on the omnicoms about the Ohm and the ship and the entire situation. He'd also messaged his new squadron, the thing he suspects will take up most of his time on this ship. What he's learned so far tells him ... it's going to be a challenge.

Now though... he could really use something familiar, something from home before his head starts to spin like an x-wing with the stabilizers blown. Stacy's hanger is certainly like no hangar he's ever been in before. The air is humid, and his boots echo strangely on the organic floor. It's also large, maybe almost as large as the main hanger on the Lusankya, filled with all kinds of craft he's never seen before, which compounds the feeling of strangeness. Tycho isn't some outer rim dweller- he's been around the galaxy a few times, seen plenty of things, and the unfamiliarity of almost everything here compounds the feeling of how far he is from home. Still though, his heart can't help but begin to soar as he takes in the sight of near two dozen x-wings parked together near one of the edges.

Tycho strides quickly up to them, noting the familiar shape of Wedge's X-Wing, kill decals bracketed by the two Death Stars, before his eyes alight on his own. He traces his fingers up the side, instantly feeling more centered, more at peace for the feel of the durasteel under his fingertips. He's going to be okay. As long as he has his X-wing and his squadron, everything will be fine.

His R5 chirps in greeting, and Tycho pulls a datapad out of one of his flightsuit's pockets. He might as well use his time well and start running some preliminary diagnostics while he waits for Wedge to arrive.

"Yep," he responds in answer to the astromech's query as the translation scrolls across the screen. "We're far from home buddy." He comfortingly pats the X-Wings side. "We still got our jobs to do though, so let's get started."

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That's not the answer he was hoping for. He's either pushed her too far, or not far enough- the distinction between the two is fine and difficult to tell, but so, so important. Tycho stares off to the side, thinking. He knows her in the hundreds of over-confidant pilots, but he doesn't know her, and that information would be critical now to telling him whether he should push harder, or lay off.

What do I do?

He rubs at his temple, feeling the beginnings of a headache forming. Wedge, I could use you now he ruefully thinks. He's made a mistake, coming into this without back-up, and now he's boxed himself into an impossible situation. Trapped between the interceptors and the interdictor cruiser. If he lets her go now, she'll feel like she's won, and that will only reinforce her problematic thinking. But if he keeps her, and pushes her too hard, or in the wrong way, she'll close herself off from him, and then getting her to listen will be impossible.

He could take her to the sims, ask her to demonstrate her piloting skills to him, but he's certain he could shoot her down every time, with ease. That's not arrogance, that's just facts. From what he's seen of her so far, that would only make her more upset, defensive and hostile, which would be completely counterproductive.

I have to get past her shields, he thinks. They're too strong, I need to take out their power source. She thinks he is treating her like a child, which he is. Time to show her he can treat her like an adult, by showing her some respect. Time to try some honesty.

"Do you want to know why I have a problem with you piloting?" Tycho asks. "It's not because I don't think you're good. Age has nothing to do with raw skill. Gavin Darklighter, who was only 16, had some of the highest scores of any of the pilots who joined Rogue Squadron at the same time as him."

Asuka actually looked surprised for a moment before her expression settled into semi-hostile suspicion. She didn't like this sudden change and she's not sure what Tycho is trying to do. The idea that he could do this to her infuriated her (although she remembered NERV and all of the stupid things she had to do there - then again, she complained about that too). She wanted to leave. She wanted to talk to Arha (because she wanted to, not because she needed to). She wanted to just fly or go loo kat her Eva or eat or do something that wasn't listening to him talk about how she needed to be more careful or something equally stupid.

"If it's not about age, then what the Hell is it?"

She was frustrated. That much was clear.

Tycho was getting frustrated as well, though he wasn't letting it show. His frustration wasn't with Asuka though, but with himself, and his own inability to get through to the girl, his own miscalculations.

Tycho considers his words very very carefully. "When you're in an actual battle," he says, "fighting, surviving, defeating your enemy- accomplishing all that is only about ... hmm." He ponders. "One fourth actual skill. It's maybe one fourth about having the proper equipment, all in proper working order- in deep space, equipment failure can kill you just as surely as an enemy laser. But, it's the other half that's the really important part. Staying alive, vaping enemies in a real actual battle? That comes down to being disciplined, and being able to trust your squadronmates. All of you have to work together. You can't be everywhere at once, you can't watch everywhere on the engagement area at once. That's what you need your squadronmates for. You have to be able to trust them, to know that they will be there and they will do their jobs and they have to be able to trust that you will do your job as well. That means if someone sees something you don't, if someone knows something you don't, they will give you an order, and you have to obey instantly. You can't question them, you can't think about it and decide for yourself. You just have to do. If you don't you will die, or worse, you'll be the cause of one of your squadronmates dying. That kind of trust, that your squadronmates will trust you with their lives, and you will trust them with yours, doesn't just happen. You have to build it up. And part of that involves proving to them that you can follow orders, that you are willing to admit that you are wrong, so that they can trust that when it really matters, if their lives are on the line, you will be willing to follow orders, that you will be willing to change what you're doing if someone else sees that you're doing something wrong. That trust needs to be absolute, you need to not have to even think about it. Because in a real battle, a seconds hesitation, a microseconds hesitation is the difference between life and death."

Tycho takes a deep breath, lets it out slowly. "That's why I don't think you should be piloting," he says. "Because from what I've seen so far, you're not disciplined. You don't seem willing to listen or make concessions or admit when you might be wrong. Each of those things are as integral to being a good pilot as the ability make tight turns or shoot your lasers accurately or any of the other technical piloting skills."

There's even more he could say, about how over-confidence makes you sloppy and careless, about how understanding what you're fighting for and how important it is can give you that needed extra edge, about how sometimes the thing that needs to be done is hanging back and letting someone else take the kill, about how working together is more important than being the best- but he's said so much already, so he stops, and waits for her reaction.

Tycho honestly has no idea if any of his words will get through to her or not. It's all the truth, but whether Asuka will be too blinded by her own frustration and anger to be willing to listen is another matter entirely.

Asuka stared at Tycho, fuming for several long moments. She hated listening to his stupid self-righteous speech. She hated hearing that she wasn't ready. She heated hearing about all of the stupid crap about teamwork and working together and overcoming. She hated it because deep down somewhere, she knew he was right and she didn't want to admit it. She didn't want to be wrong. She couldn't be wrong. She was the best. She was the pilot of Eva Unit 02. So she just sulked. If she objected, she'd be tossed out of the squadron. If she agreed, she would be admitting she was wrong.

Congratulations, Tycho, you earned yourself some sullen silence.

Tycho waited, and- nothing. Nothing. He could hope that meant that she was listening, but was unwilling to admit she was, but realistically, it was impossible for him to know.

Either way, he'd tried basically everything, and at this point his only option was a tactical retreat.

"Very well Flight Officer Soryu," he said wearily. "I suppose we're done here. You can go."

Asuka stood without a word, saluted sullenly and then stormed out of the hangar. She needed to go vent.

just a couple of fighter jocks | location: hangar [OPEN]

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