Orbital Academy VII

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"Sir, can I speak freely?" Captain Jane Appet spoke through clenched teeth, staring across the desk at the commander of Orbital Academy.
"Permission denied," Major Auspus replied cooly. His fingers flicked across the screen he held, comparing it to a page of notes on his desk, the picture of distracted business.
"Yes sir," Jane turned and walked toward the door, fuming, mind spinning.
"This is why I like you Captain Appet," the Major's voice stopped her at the door, "any other person to ask that question would give me a piece of their mind regardless of my answer. Of course that means, ironically, that I am far more willing to listen to your rants than theirs. Yes you may speak freely."
"This is stupid, dangerous, reckless and entirely ill-advised," the Major's compliment barely registered in Jane's mind as she turned back to him, "my squad is an excellent rookie team, but there's no way it's responsible to send them on a full planetary run!"
"I must admit I'm surprised to hear you say that," the Major smiled wryly at his screen as he spoke, "you spoke so adamantly at the last meeting. About the abilities of your rookies, about the need for the orbital to stop coddling first years, about how we faced a threat that would need a strong crop of pilots."
"That was when they were going to be fighting a flamer Drake, this is entirely different!"
"I see it simply as a natural progression Captain Appet. Your team is the model by which other rookie squads are measured, but right now everyone else is catching up. After the excellent way they handled the exothermic Drake, the next step is to get them experience with a planetary run."
"Two of my squad almost died handling that Drake!"

"Captain Appet," the Major set aside his screen and turned to Jane for the first time. Even after a decade serving under him Jane wasn't used to the look of utter control in Major Auspus' face. The age and wisdom of seventy years stared at her from a face that didn't look a day past twenty. He was usually so level-headed that it was easy to forget he could stare her down in a heartbeat.
"Orbital Academy's pilots 'almost die' on every single mission they undertake," he continued, his attention fully on her, "we have an incredibly dangerous occupation, without question the most dangerous of any of the orbitals. The brave men and women who are here on this orbital have volunteered their lives towards the goal of keeping the entire orbit safe, and they have done so with the full knowledge that they place their lives at risk. To prevent the exceptional rookies in your squad from engaging in a mission because they might get hurt is a disrespect I refuse to show them. That is all, you are dismissed."
Jane stared at the Major. His words left her feeling cowed and immature, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was somehow…wrong.
"You're putting these kids in way more danger than they can handle Major Auspus…how can you not see that?"
"Captain Appet, I said you are dismissed."
She left the room in a daze, head spinning, wondering how she would break it to her squad.

"This is so awesome!"
"I knew we impressed them with the Drake"
"I wonder if they'll let us substitute this mission for our Pilot-level test?"
"Does this make us the first Rookie-level squad to go on a planetary?"
Jane stared at her nine rookies. Their reactions were doing nothing to help the feeling of disorientation that had been following her since her meeting with the Major. This is not how any of it was supposed to happen, she thought vaguely, watching them chatter excitedly at the news.
"You don't seem very excited Captain," Jackson noted perceptively. The others slowly settled as Jane tried to collect her thoughts.
"It's…it's just a somewhat dangerous and difficult task, that's all…" she stammered. No, that's no good, I can't slip back into the weakling captain I used to be. Before this year Jane had spent a good portion of her time hating herself; with this squad things had been different. Better. She was proud of her rookies, proud of herself, and she would be damned if she changed back, even if the world felt as if it were turning upside-down.

What would the other Captain Appet say, the one that keeps them respectful and skillful and amazing?
"…and it's about time we have you Rooks exposed to some real challenge. So, first things' first, you all probably have some incorrect ideas about what's involved in a planetary run. We should clear up some misconceptions. Meet me in the lower ring conference room in ten minutes, and I'll give our first briefing as a squad." The ten minutes would give her time to collect her thoughts, and she could tell from the bright faces that most of them were excited about the prospect of a real mission briefing. Preston and Missy didn't seem as enthusiastic, but Jane didn't let herself dwell on the fact, instead turning and leaving the barracks with head high.

The room was dark, and Jane sat at one end of the table, head resting on her arms. Why would the Major send these rookies on a planetary? He was nervous about letting them deal with the Drake, what changed his mind? She snapped into an upright position as the rookies began filing in, thumbing the lights up to an acceptable level.
"Alright Rooks, best to go ahead and lay it on me. What insane rumors are people spreading about planetary runs that I need to correct?" Jane had a pit in her stomach as she spoke, letting her gaze travel across the squad as they sat. She felt strangely guilty, as if she had no business talking to them and pretending nothing was wrong.
Julia raised her hand, and Jane stopped herself from rolling her eyes. "For the last time, Julia, you're not in Pre-Academy anymore. Stop raising your hand."
"I've heard that the atmosphere on the planet is so thick that you can't breath or fly a cruiser through it," Julia lowered her hand and spoke in a rush.
"Partially true. The fog that you see surrounding the planet is toxic, but it only goes down to within a hundred or so feet of the planet's surface. Some of the higher hills can be dangerous, but you can breath on most of the ground. If a cruiser couldn't take off how do you think people would get back from planetaries?"
"Just what I've heard," Julia mumbled, face falling. Jane softened. "It's alright. Back in my rookie year there was a rumor that the fog would eat away at our suits like acid…" Of course we would have years to learn the truth about the planet before we were sent down there "…but anyways. We should probably go over this from the beginning."

The screens blinked to life, and Jane forced the doubts and reservations down into a hard pit in her stomach, pulling the image of the strict Captain around her like a protective shield.
"A planetary run consists of two teams. The first team will be in a satellite recon skiff, a 'satflyer', about ninety feet above the surface, just below the fog. The second team will be on the ground, set up in a temporary bunker. The satflyer team will be relaying information, giving forward warning of dangers, and general topological data. More importantly, they'll provide relay extenders for the ground team, boosting their range. The ground team will be controlling a squadron of drones; the same drones you've been training with for the last three months. The drones will navigate to coordinates provided by the air team, collect resources, and destroy the nests."

Even through the worry in her chest, Jane felt a bit of pride. Her students were all bent over, focusing on the diagrams in front of them. Focused, attentive, alert.
"Who's on the different teams?" Jackson asked, leaning back and folding his arms.
"Li, Aimee, Missy, and Jackson, you'll all be on the ground since you've got the best handle on drone control." Jane was grateful for Jackson's nudging; she was finding it hard to focus on the briefing, "I'll be with you on the ground. Marcus, Julia, and Tess will be up in the satflyer, due mostly to their tech, nav, and diagnostic scores. Preston, Alex, you'll also be up there, manning the satflyer's weapons."
A chill ran through the room at the mention of weapons. Jane could see them all thinking the question, but it took a moment before one of them actually spoke it.
"Captain Appet…" Aimee's voice was quiet, somber, "why will we need weapons? Everyone says planetaries are dangerous, but…I've never heard anyone talk about why. This seems…really simple. Just in and out with drones. I don't see what makes it so tricky, is that just me?" She looked up and down the table, but her squadmates were also shaking their head.

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Source: reddit.com/r/Erotica/comments/1tijqh/orbital_academy_vii