Trial by Fire: The Coy Method pt VIII

Posted on Wed Sep 10th, 2025 @ 5:20pm by Commander Rosa Coy
Edited on on Wed Sep 10th, 2025 @ 5:21pm

584 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Character Development
Location: Above Bajor

Bajor’s ochre plains fell away beneath them as the formation reassembled. The first encounter had left cadets shaken, muscles tight, minds racing. Rosa’s Peregrine cut a sleek path ahead, her hands steady, eyes scanning every readout, every movement.

“Listen carefully,” she said over comms, voice low but commanding, “this is not a rehearsal. Every decision counts. Drones are faster, smarter, and adaptive. I will lead, follow precisely. Mistakes will be costly. Trust your instincts, trust your wingman, but obey first.”

"I like this part," Coy murmured. "Front and center. Showing them how it’s done. Let them taste fear under your thumb. Delicious."

Rosa ignored him, keeping the Peregrine in tight formation with the V. She initiated a corkscrew climb, twisting along the shadowed edge of Luma’s cratered surface.

“Eagle Two, three hundred meters up, Immelmann climb at thirty degrees. Eagle Four, five, maintain vector alignment. Eagle Six, Seven, cover six o’clock of Eagle One.”

Threx snorted, audibly. “This is insane!”

“You survive insane,” Rosa snapped. “Or you end up like that asteroid back there.”

Coy’s voice purred, teasing: "Good, Rosa. Make them sweat. That Andorian’s spike of defiance… I want to see it crack under the weight of skill and fear. Oh yes, perfect."

The drones struck simultaneously, weaving through the asteroid belt, plasma pulses arcing past fighters’ noses, sparks glinting off hulls. Rosa executed a split-S into a high-G loop, swinging behind a rogue drone, guns targeting its weak points.

“Cover each other!” she barked, eyes scanning. “Predict your partner’s moves. Anticipate, adapt, survive!”

Arven attempted a bold intercept on a drone, misjudged distance, and veered too close to Threx. Rosa barked orders over comms, pulling the pair back into formation herself with a tight barrel roll, forcing them to correct in real-time.

Veylin and Sira, finally synchronized, swept in with a coordinated attack, disrupting a drone’s path just as Rosa rolled in from above. Sparks erupted on the simulation field, hulls flashing, adrenaline screaming through the cadets’ veins.

"This is exquisite," Coy whispered. "That split-S, that twist, that perfect apex… like curves pressed in silk. Tight, sharp, thrilling. And you, Rosa, are their center, their gravity, their reckoning. Their Dom."

A sudden vector alarm flashed: the rogue drone had executed an unprogrammed maneuver, closing in on Sira and Veylin. Rosa’s Peregrine cut in, a sharp Immelmann turn, engines screaming, positioning herself between the cadets and the plasma discharge.

“Hold tight!” she shouted. “Eagles Six and Seven, mimic my roll! Eyes forward, throttle steady!”

The cadets twisted and banked, barely evading, engines screaming, lights reflecting in their visors. Even Threx’s jaw dropped as Rosa’s small frame led the formation like a spear through chaos.

When the final drone was neutralized, the formation hung in space, breathless, trembling, engines glowing red from exertion. Bajor’s surface stretched below like a painted canvas, serene and indifferent.

Rosa’s voice, now low but commanding, cut through the comms: “Lesson learned, or die trying? That’s up to you. Return to Sunfire. Debrief in five.”

Coy chuckled, wicked and delighted: "Oh, that was delicious. Every twist, every flare, every near-miss… I’ve never been so turned on. And the Andorian? She’s begging for more discipline, isn’t she?"

Rosa exhaled, quiet now, a small smile tugging at her lips. "One step at a time. One step at a time."

TBC

 

RSS Feed