milliways_bar | (no subject)

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"Except I can do it."

"I don't care. Maybe that's the way things work on planet Starbuck, but the rest of the universe doesn't see it that way. It's too risky."

"For a lousy pilot."

"For any pilot that values his safety and his ass."

"Frak Safety, it loses them, doesn't it?"

"Sure, at the cost of your equilibrium and you position of reference. You might be able to do it, but anyone with an ounce of self-preservation shouldn't even try it."

The sounds of Apollo and Starbuck's good-natured arguing float down the stairs before they're seen clattering down to find some dinner. Two muns, two pups, tag one or both.

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"If you don't want the enemy to get their hands on it enough. Better to destroy it all."

Sad but true.

"We had to do that once, used the electromagnetic pulse generators to simulate an atomic blast. Knocked out the missiles they were sending at us, and got the Raiders to bug out at the same time."

Sheppard shakes his head at Starbuck. "Nah. I also believe in using plenty of C-4 and in strategic fleeing in terror sometimes."

His attention goes back to Lee as he nods. "That was the plan if Atlantis' shields didn't go up fast enough after the blast. The only gate that connected Earth and Pegasus is there, and if the Wraith got at it...well, things wouldn't really go well." He frowns thoughtfully. "So how familiar are you with the whole EMP thing? We've got this problem with Replicators-nanites-back in Pegasus..."

*She remembers being told that Lee was dead after the trick with the EMP generators and her knuckles clench briefly on the bar's surface*

They'd been as good as dead if that last-ditch effort hadn't worked. He hadn't even been sure it would.

"I know how to fire them up, I know it knocks out some circuitry for good, some not so much. Other than that, I'm just a dumb pilot."

"Join the club." He pauses, glancing back to Starbuck. "Speaking of that-you tell him about the squadron here yet?"

Just in passing. He didn't seem that interested. But then again, he's a CAG back home, maybe he doesn't want to be a lowly pilot again.

*She smirks at Lee*

"Idiot."

He elbows her in the ribs.

"Handing reckless pilots' asses to them gets old after a while."

He raises an eyebrow at Lee. "I'm guessing you're not a fan of doing any reckless flying?" It sounded like in that area, his own opinion was closer to Starbuck's-that if it was possible, reckless flying could be a damn good idea.

Used to be. Then he got old and responsible and became a dipstick.

"Reckless has it's place. I'm more a fan of getting all my pilots and their ships back in one piece."

He glares, beware the Adama glare of DOOM. Okay, Lee's needs practice, but it's getting there.

"I figure it's okay if the ship's banged up or missing some parts-or downed completely-if we get everybody back. It's a hell of a lot easier to replace a broken jumper than a pilot." Particularly when the said puddlejumpers require the ATA gene to pilot them.

Trust me, I've made that point.

"And I've conceded that one. I need all the pilots I can get, remember?"

He smiles wryly.

"Even harder to replace pilots when all that's left of humanity's fifty thousand people on less than a hundred ships, and this one's in charge of training the new recruits... without simulators."

"...I think you guys win the 'hardest time getting pilots' contest. How's the training going?"

They're useless. But he insists I train them anyway.

*She raises her eyebrows and shrugs*

"They're terrified of you, that's good."

He grins a little.

"They also idolize you, which is better, until they start trying to copy your tactics."

"So have they managed to copy the whole luck part, or are they still working on that?"

That brings us back to the argument. Which is that Captain Adama is afraid my nuggets will be stupid enough to try my tricks.

"Well... Look at Kat. She started taking handfuls of stims before she went out on CAPs, and ended up nearly killing herself on a routine landing. She couldn't handle it, didn't know how to live up to expectations. And she's the most talented pilot out of the ones so far."

"I'm guessing 'do as I say, not as I do' wouldn't work real well. How many are you trying to train, anyway?"

*She fires up over that*

I have never taken stims to get through except when you ordered me to, sir. And if I didn't do what I do, half the Fleet or more would be dead.

"I'm not saying you did take the stims, I'm saying she did to try to live up to your expectations."

He shakes his head.

"How many are in the class on the Pegasus now?"

Sheppard raises an eyebrow as he listens, but doesn't comment on the stims thing-while he can infer that they're some sort of pep pill, he's not clear on the whole situation. The mention of the Pegasus makes his shake his head a bit.

"Always weird hearing that name not refer to a galaxy."

I never expected a damn thing out of her. Hell, I flunked her out, you and your father made me put her back.

*When she had walked in a little over a month ago, she had still had a scab where Kat had punched her*

Besides, now she's better than me.

*She knows as it comes out that she shouldn't have said it, but she decides to let it lie*

"She's not better than you are, and she never will be. You didn't give any of them a chance before you flunked them out the first time.

He glances over at Sheppard.

"To be fair, it always sounds weird hearing it not refer to a ship."