As the Apsara-class fighter smoothly glided beyond the expansive walls of Starbase Bravo, Ensign Cam Solari’s hands moved deftly across the controls, his excitement palpable even amidst the hum of the ship’s engines. Turning his attention to Commander Dawa Vlček, who occupied the co-pilot seat beside him, he inquired, “Commander, do you have a preferred heading in mind? Your familiarity with this region could guide our flight.” 

The view through the cockpit’s transparent canopy stretched before them, displaying the vast expanse of space that awaited their exploration.

“Yeah, let’s head out to Mellstoxx VI. I want you to have an opportunity to pilot us through a heavy atmosphere. Plus,” Dawa leaned towards Cam and stage-whispered, “This will be training for me, too.”

While Cam recognized her slight exaggeration, he couldn’t shake the sense of being genuinely valued.

She leaned back and brought up the holographic targeting array at her console. “I’ve asked the instructors at the Stinsfor Base to set up some targets for us; I need to get some hours in at the tactical station. When we finish that, we’ll check in with the base and possibly lead some cadets there in formation training.”

Dawa leaned back, took in the view outside the canopy, and sighed in contentment. “I’ll admit, it is nice to be the passenger every once in a while.”

Camden swiftly charted a course for Mellstoxx VI, aligning the vessel precisely, engaging warp without hesitation. While most might hesitate to navigate through a dense atmosphere, Cam’s excitement outweighed any apprehension.

“I can only imagine, though I’d rather not. All I know is I’m incredibly grateful you’ve given me my wings back, Commander,” Cam responded earnestly, repressing tears of joy.

Dawa could only smile at Cam, afraid that any response from her would feel inadequate in the face of his overwhelming sincerity.

“To clear the record and avoid any déjà vu,” Cam inquired with a chuckle, “should I go with the classic ‘sir’, stick with ranks, or is ‘ma’am’ a safe bet?” He playfully added, conscious of not stepping on any conversational landmines yet again.

“Ha!” Dawa barked a laugh at his reference to his earlier verbal misstep. “‘Sir’ is just fine; I find it rolls off the tongue easiest. We don’t want you overthinking anything that’s not directly related to flying this ship,” she added with a wink.

Moments later, they emerged from warp, Mellstoxx VI in full view through the canopy. Cam deftly adjusted the control panel, guiding the bomber into a steep, controlled descent toward the designated target coordinates. 

With a playful grin, Cam quipped, “Just in case you’ve forgotten the joys of riding shotgun, now’s the perfect time to start scanning for targets.”

Dawa made a show of rubbing her hands together in anticipation, then began weaving a pattern of inputs between the console and the holographic display above it. “Let’s hope they didn’t forget to– ah ha!”

A red light started pulsing on the holo-display. “We’ve got our first bogey! Sending the coordinates to your station. It’s moving away from us, so let’s see you catch up to it!”

The Apsara-class bomber’s nose pointed downward, piercing the first atmospheric layer. Turbulence jolted the craft, intensifying by the moment. With a swift glance at the gyroscope, Cam’s hands moved in synchronized precision – left to amplify the reflector, right to align trajectory with oncoming cloud pockets. Gradually, the tremors eased, allowing Cam to accelerate and use the cloud cover both as stabilizer and camouflage, concealing the target from view. Where moments ago, breathtaking views graced the canopy, now, only a dense curtain of condensed water particles stretched out before them.

“You know, back on Earth, I flew an original—” Cam’s sentence was abruptly cut off by an incoming weather phenomenon. A brilliant flash of light illuminated the fighter’s nose. Acting swiftly, Cam tilted the craft sideways and surged forward, maneuvering to escape the storm’s clutches. 

After stabilizing, Cam picked up where he left off, “As I was saying, back on Earth, I flew an original Boeing B17 ‘Memphis Belle’ once—well, a replica, of course. I have to admit, this ride is considerably smoother.” 

“That’s amazing!” Dawa said without lifting her eyes from her display. “I’ve never flown anything that didn’t have microfusion thrusters. In some ways, I think traditional aviation is more challenging.”

Cam briefly paused as he anticipated the next obstacle. Then, with a grin, he continued, “Speaking of which, does this still sport the original setup with 2 type 9, 4 type 8, 6 torps, and 2 micros? Or have you made some modifications?”

“All weaponry is factory standard,” said Dawa, “Though based on the raider ship I ran into the last time I was in the Paulson Nebula, perhaps an upgrade wouldn’t be a bad idea…”

The beeping of sensors filled the cockpit, signaling to Cam and Dawa that the target was nearly within reach.

“Activating phaser cannons…” said Dawa. “Preparing to fire…”

She held off for a few seconds as the beeping on the proximity sensor grew more rapid, and as soon as they melted together into one continuous tone, she fired. The streak of red energy illuminated the swirling clouds that surrounded them and met its mark, and the target drone exploded in a cloud of glittering shrapnel.

“Woo hoo!” Dawa pumped her fist. “You owe me a high-five when we land! When we approach the next one, fly an evasive pattern on approach as if it were firing at us. That’ll give both of us  more of a challenge.” 

“Affirmative, initiating evasive maneuvers,” Cam promptly responded to Dawa’s comment as he caught a glimpse of something flashing on his side console.

“Commander, was a distress signal meant to be included in the exercise?” Cam inquired, seeking clarification.

“What?” Dawa asked, and the confusion in her voice was answer enough. She swiped her fingers across the console and brought up the details encoded in the signal. Her eyes darted back and forth across the message.

“Ensign, we’re making a diversion. Get us to the other side of this planet as fast as you possibly can.”