| Losing Faces |
| Summary: | Novella talks to Sloane about losing his section lead in combat and how to get past it. |
| Date: | 80 ACH |
| Related Logs: | Wing Side of the recent event. |
| Players: |
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Gold Squadron Berthings Genesis - Deck 12
80 ACH 23817 Souls
Gold Squadron is the viper squadron 'Fighting 58th' on board the battlestar. The room consists of double bunks along the walls with lockers in between each area. An oblong table sits in the center with chairs around it and there is a shower and changing area off the far end that is shared with the Raptor squadron.
----< Condition Three - Duty Area >----—-
Contents: Novella Gold Bunks Triad Deck Wireless 1251
Exits: [O] Corridor
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When Sloane gets back, Novella looks to be skipping the shower for now. She's already changed into her sweats and is sitting at the table in the middle of the room with her back to the hatch. She's eying the bunks that were full the night before but now have no owners. No drink. No smoke. She's just leaned forward in the chair with her arms splayed out in front of her.
There's a quiet creaking of the door as Sloane steps inside. closing the door behind himself, he looks to see Novella and pauses. Making quiet steps, he moves to the chair across from her and sits down. Folding his arms before him, he lays his head down on them and simply looks to her. "Did you review the footage?" He asks the major question. "Is it my fault?"
Novella's eyes turn up as he makes his way to the chair, even when he sits. "Nope. Haven't seen the tapes yet. But is it your fault?" Cav shrugs and sits back heavily. "Seems you think it is. Would it matter if the footage showed otherwise?" She quirks a brow with the question. There's no spite or hidden daggers being thrown. Its a genuine question for the guy.
"Yeah…it would." Sloane replies, letting his jaw lift his head off of the table as he talks quietly to her. Closing his eyes and then opening them slowly, he sighs. "I came back without a scratch, and I kept trying to keep them off of him, and I didn't get hit once. I had a sparrow on me and he took it out." He pauses. "I should have known, you know? My regular bird was still in repair…"
Novella nods a few times, seeming to accept his answer at face value. Whether or not she does is another matter. "Well look, I'll lay it out.." She leans back forward on the table, stabbing a finger lightly into the top. "You frakked-up because you lost your wingman. But? You know that. You've probably been second-guessing yourself since you dropped your Viper back on the deck so there's no point in saying it more than once." She pauses, looking at him. "But Sloane? Don't rack yourself over this. Why don't you ask yourself why he didn't eject? He couldn't have missed three of us rolling in on that Heavy. Archer very well could have been tired and missed his family. It could have happened to any one of us on his wing." Her voice is quiet and soft. Compassionate. "Do you see what I'm getting at?"
"Yeah…I do." Sloane says. "I avoided other targets to continue covering him even when they were in my sights. I did my frakking job, Cav. I gave him the best I could, but he gave me better than I did him apparently." He blinks again slowly. "He didn't eject because he was dead. I saw it happen. His cockpit got shredded and he wasn't responding to comms. I just thought…the least I could do is help bury the body."
"Damned right you did your job," she breathes. "But don't go thinking he paid more than you did. If anyone here thought you weren't trucking your weight, we'd have dumped you a long time ago. See, Tony.. You've gotta remember that a wingman team is still a frakking team. You have to have that balance and cooperation. I won't blame him for getting himself killed.. not completely. But he should have known when to back down and retire." To the last, she sighs. Her tone is confident with what she's saying, but the last gets her to glance away. "You did everything a solid Viper stick should have done. I have every confidence in you and your efforts." She looks back to him.
Sloane sits up, leaning back in his chair. Staring at Novella as she speaks, he folds his arms across his chest as if they're some sort of a shield. Squaring his jaw, a tear manages to trail down his cheek before he quickly brushes it away with his forearm with an annoyed look on his face. Blinking hard, he furrows his brow and corrects himself. Looking to the table, he nods, finding his composure. A large amount of weight has been lifted off of his shoulders in a very short amount of time. "Thank you." He says distantly, taking a deep breath and releasing it.
Cav nods her head once with his thanks. "You're welcome, but its not needed. Not as long as you can remember what I'm telling you." She watches him for another long moment. "Remember, Archer would be pissed if you didn't learn something from this. And I will be, too. Just.. like I said.. don't dwell, my friend. If you have to focus on it, fine. Like I told Flask.. If you want to do that? Focus on the causes and be fair with laying blame so you can fix them in the future. Other than that, put your focus elsewhere. The anger and frustration? Channel it to something else. And please.. Sloane? One favor?" She ventures a smile. "Don't lose your sense of humor. Your levity is important to this group. More than you probably think."
Sloane smiles quietly, almost managing a chuckle. It's a sure sign of improvement. Letting the smile fade away, he looks to her. "I'll remember this. I've seen guys burn too hard in one direction that they lose their sway. I'm just…pissed. I don't break things. I'll…be fine. In a little while. Just haven't really said goodbye yet." He looks back to her. That small hint of a grin returns. "…please, like I'd lose my special sauce…"
Cav nods once more. "Learn from the mistakes of others. This is one of the hardest environments for it, but to lose a good pilot without taking something a way is to insult them. I know you can render Armedes the honor, Ensign. But take your time. Losing a section lead is probably the worst thing that can happen to a wingman. But if you can step back from it? Admit that it'll take time.. You're good. Nobody can ask you to resolve this in a night. We lost four pilots today. We'll be feeling it for a long time - all of us will." To the last, she laughs and rises from the chair. "Lose that sauce and we'll have to find ourselves a new Sloane. Only other one I know is Saint Germain's lady and I don't think she's much of a smart-ass. Certainly not a pilot." She grins and moves towards her bunk. "Talk to anyone about this stuff, Cornbread. We'll all be there at one point or another. Just allow everyone to mutually support you." She sketches him a rough two-finger salute before climbing up to her bunk.
Sloane watches her get in her bunk with a slow nod of recognition. "I will…" he replies simply. It's far from the staredown and yes sir that she received earlier. Standing, he takes in a deep breath to cool himself down before turning to his bunk. Looking it over, clean as always, he slides onto it and prepares to get some sleep. Stowing his off-duty slacks in his locker, he lays down and pulls the blankets over him. Pulling his curtains closed, he closes his eyes, finally able to get some sleep. "Gnight Cav…you're the best." He says blinking a few times, already sounding sleepy.
