The squadron had recovered to the fantastical sub-carrier with (thankfully!) no casualties or incidents. Now, their aircraft had been maneuvered carefully into parking and maintenance spots, their wings and other extremities folded for storage, and ground-crews swarming them for post-flight maintenance and down-loading of remaining munitions. Ariella saw her pilots deplaning and waved to gather them to her side. As she did so, she congratulated them all in person and individually on a job well done, smiling as she did.
"Colonel Yosef?" enquired a male voice behind her, and she turned to face the speaker. A youngish man dressed in a UN Navy uniform stood patiently behind her, the perfect caricature of poise and bearing. He offered a salute - British fashion, open handed - to her, and she returned the gesture.
"Welcome aboard, M'am. Captain Halifax will be with you shortly, he's just securing the ship from flight operations and setting us about our latest orders. My name is Gates, I'm the captains XO. He asked me to show you around, and answer any of your immediate questions. If you please?" he gestured toward the rear of the hangar, and lead them on, explaining as he went.
"The ships' history is available on the internal network, which you'll all get access keys to shortly. She was originally designed by the Russians, but now belongs to Avalon and the UN Navy. Ah, here we are-" he gestured to a door to their left. "Here's the equipment and survival equipment shop for flight ops. You'll find a ready room next door for your flight suits, and some showers and changing facilities. I'll meet you out here".
Some few minutes later, Ariella rejoined him in the ready room, and he explained further once the squadron were reunited.
"Yes, as I was saying - we can support up to fifteen aircraft for flight operations, as well as having limited surface and sub-surface combat capabilities. Since we can support fixed and rotary-wing ops, we can also deploy Special Operations forces to shore, and boarding forces to other vessels. So, we're quite flexible, if unconventional. And the ship requires a lot of maintenance. We are, quite admittedly, making it up as we go. However, at the moment, we're something the UNWO won't expect, and we're ready to go."
He gestured to the door, and led them along a cramped passageway, and up a ladder to another deck. stepping through a door into a small room, he was met with another crewman who stood up to attention, before being waved at ease. Nodding to the pilots hesitantly, he looked to Gates, who explained.
"This is Yates. He's part of the ships' complement looking after requisitions and equipment. Particularly, he's currently looking after personal equipment and electronics, and he's reconditioned and prepared a number of personal computers for you".
Gates handed a stack of small tablet-like PC's to Ariella, who distributed them to the others.
"The ships' wired for data everywhere, so we use the network to update standing orders, schedules, notices and other information. It's much easier and more efficient than paperwork, and can be done instantaneously. There's not much of a link with the outside world when we're submerged, but we use databursts for updates through a mast-mounted antenna when necessary, and have a SATCOM link when surfaced. The ship has a huge electronic library though, including all the documents for bringing yourselves up to speed on the ships' rules, regulations and operations."
"Sounds very concise," said Ariella, powering hers up briefly, and flicking through a few pages. "And much easier than endless briefings"
"That's the idea," Gates conceded. "Though don't worry, we still do those too".
She gave a slight grin and chuckled, and Gates followed suit. "So, what next? Where will we be based? Are there bunks?"
"Yes, please follow me".
He lead them a little further along the corridor, and into a relatively larger room. Space was still limited, but double-stacked bunks lined the walls. Comparatively, they were small compared to the quarters back on base, but they were spacious for a submarine. Each was capable of being completely enclosed with a folding sound-proof partition for privacy and comfort, and had storage lockers alongside, larger than a regular submarine and more like a high-school locker. Additionally, there were two bathroom/showers off of the main room. Each of the bunks also had a built-in smaller storage compartment, and an overhead larger screen and headphones.
With the aviators present, eight in total, there were a surplus of bunks. Four more looked in use, she reasoned for the crews of the Osprey and Helicopter she'd seen secured on the deck. That still left a number free, presumably for additional aircraft.
"Okay," she said with a nod. "Everyone, pick out a bunk. It's not as cushy as land-side, but it's not as miserable as an aircraft carrier. It's your own little piece of home; get used to it for now."
She turned back to Gates, who was still picture-perfect. He gave that slight smile again and nodded. "I'll leave you to get settled for now. Your pad - that's what we call the tablets - has a map on it, as well as a listing of normal operations. my contact details are on there as well, if you have any further questions, and Captain Halifax will contact you shortly too".
Gates excused himself, and Ariella turned back to the others.
"Okay, let's get ourselves sorted and, uh, 'shipshape'? When the captain comes looking, I want to make a good impression. This compartment looks good, but let's see if we can't make it a little more 'ours' over the time we're here, huh? And," she rapped the little computer against her knuckles. "Maybe we ought to go over these things together, and see what else we can find out about this ship." she smiled at the others. "Any other questions, please ask me - I'm sure we've got plenty of getting to know each other to do. We've only flown together once, and while we did well, we can always get better. I'd like to get to know you all, and I'm sure you've got questions for me. Or at least, I hope so. And maybe I'll have some more answers once I read this thing".
The Israeli pilot slung her bag onto one of the bunks and quickly unpacked the meager possessions within - most of her stuff had been in the quarters at RAF Lossiemouth, and would hopefully catch her up - before she sat down at the small table in the center of the room, and began to read. Within a few minutes she'd caught up on the latest development of the situation and their current orders for deployment, and felt confident that she could answer any questions regarding that fact. Next, she moved onto learning about the ship - the Nimue - and its' layout.
"Well, getting somewhere," she murmured to herself. "Now I don't feel quite so lost..."
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