The Coy Method - SAR in the Badlands I

Posted on Mon Sep 15th, 2025 @ 5:44pm by Commander Rosa Coy

446 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: Character Development
Location: Badlands

Section I – The Briefing

The shuttlebay hummed with the familiar rhythm of warp-capable machinery in slumber, a chorus of readiness just waiting for command. Seven Type-11 shuttles gleamed under the overhead lights, their larger frames promising resilience even in the maelstrom of the Badlands. Commander Rosa Prilen Coy walked in with a deliberate stride—small of stature but radiating the kind of sharp authority that came less from height and more from sheer presence.

Her black eyes swept over the cadets lined up in front of the craft. Six in all, fresh from the Academy’s upper program. They had simulator hours, yes, but little in the way of scar tissue earned from real flying. And Rosa was here to change that.

She didn’t speak at first. She liked to watch them squirm, to measure the weight of their own silence. Coy, the ever-lewd passenger in her mind, purred at the sight of the nervous Bajoran cadet’s shifting stance, or the way the Andorian cadet squared her shoulders in defiance. ”Mmm, strong legs, fiery stance. She’ll buck you. You’ll love every minute of breaking her in.”

Rosa smoothed a strand of black hair behind her ear, ignoring the heat Coy’s words lit along her spine. ”Not today.” Out loud, her voice cut the silence like a clean knife.

“You’re not here to impress me. Today, you’re here to prove you can keep people alive. In the Badlands, that difference is the only one that matters.”

A few cadets shifted at the gravity in her tone. Rosa paced before them, her boots clicking smartly against the duranium deck. “Forget the simulators. Forget your perfect scores. The plasma storms out there don’t give a damn how well you know your textbook maneuvers. They’ll chew you up and spit you out.”

She stopped, arms folded, eyes piercing each of them. “So here are my ground rules.
One: Discipline saves lives. You follow orders, no exceptions.
Two: You respect your shuttle, she’s the only skin you have out there.
Three: Teamwork. Lone heroes become body bags.
And four…” she leaned in slightly, her voice dropping to a near-whisper, “…don’t ever forget the people waiting on the other end of your mission. They are why we fly.”

Coy chuckled in her skull, twisting her words with carnal undertones. ”Discipline. Respect. Teamwork. You sound like you’re setting the rules for a different sort of game.”

Her jaw tightened. She let the moment of silence stretch, then nodded to the lineup. “Pair assignments will come later. For now—mount up. We’re going hunting.”

TBC

 

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