Dutiful to a Fault

[Allen Armstrong 0]

"Computer, run simulation Armstrong-216" The computer beeped it's acknowledgment and Allen sat back hard in his seat inside one of the Mongoose class fighters. He took a deep breath and exhaled it heavily as the results of the simulation came up. The voice of the computer echoed inside the cockpit. "Simulation complete. Warp core breach inevitable." He shook his head and sighed. Damn these simulations, he thought to himself. He knew there was a way to pull off the maneuver without tearing the small craft apart. He wasn't able to attempt it on the holodeck; the safety protocols wouldn't allow an accurate test, and taking the ship out for a test was out of the question; it would never be approved. He was sure the computer was wrong. He'd learned these fighters inside and out the past year and was sure he knew exactly what they were capable of. Granted, the maneuver he'd thought up was dangerous and would certainly overload more than one system, but he was positive that it wouldn't cause a warp core breach. Resigned to the fact that no matter how much he tweaked the simulation the results would be the same, he powered the console down and climbed out of the cockpit.

 

Allen stood beside the craft for a moment, surveying the fighter bay. It seemed so long ago now that the Athra attacked the station. He wasn't aboard when it happened, but he was going to make damn sure that this unit would be ready should it happen again, Athra or not. He wanted to be sure that not only did the pilots know the controls and the basic maneuverabilty of these fighters, they knew every little trick in the play book, and some that weren't written.

 

Satisfied, Allen left the fighter bay with a mind to have a drink on the Midway after he checked in at main security to clock out. He shared the turbolift with a pair of deckhands just coming off shift and it struck him then, as he watched them and listened to there banter, that he didn't have many friends on the station, if any at all. Since his return to Aegis, he'd been like a man possessed, obsessed with duty. Nothing mattered other than completing his tasks to perfection and finding ways to improve. He hadn't made any bonds of friendship, as Spader and Harada had.

 

As he exited the lift and walked out onto the Midway, Allen suddenly felt very alone.

Edited April 9, 2010 by Allen Armstrong