Run Until You Drop (Pilot Training)

[Judah Lesan]

An alarm was ringing in the background. Carten had been sleeping so hard it took a few moments before he realized it was calling him out of bed to run off to PT. He'd get a shower later, but he wasn't about to be late. The other pilots would be there, and the recently promoted [member="Daska Tess"] would not stand tardiness from her squadron. Carten was the XO, so if they were late, that was on him as well. He was going to personally make sure they were all awake.

They were to meet in one of the rooms off to the side of the recreation deck of the ISD Seiger’s Wrath. Recent promotions had them all aboard, and many of the Ren were there as well. There was one in particular who had been promoted as well. He was someone Daska behaved slightly different around.

There were fifteen minutes to spare when Carten arrived. Exercises would be first to get the blood pumping, then there would be time in the simulators. To be the best, they had to stay the best, and Carten was closing in on Tess’ latest score. He wanted to beat her in the worst way. Clearly there was a friendly rivalry going. Carten wanted to win it. For now, he was content to wait in the room which they had reserved for morning PT. He was the first to arrive, and Captain Tess would be shortly behind him.

 

[Dan Ballastar]

Alarms, Sirens, Speakerphones. They were all the same to him.

He was new on the Ship, and with that, he didn't know where to go for PT. He knew that this would be a really long day. He sighed, being pulled up by another Pilot that shortly ran out of the Barracks. He had a short start, but he was already in his jumpsuit. He grabbed his Comms Device, put it on, and turned it on. There was a ringing sound in his head, and he was dizzy. Shortly after he was ready he ran into the hallway, running after all the pilots getting ready while running. Whatever these pilots were afraid of, He or She must've been powerful. Absolutely terrifying.

He was 2 Minutes late, and he knew his Captain would be furious. He was ashamed of himself, and the next day he would wake up Early. Never to miss a PT again.He had no excuses. It was his first day and he already had a label on himself. He was running EXTRA for this. He walked into the room... and stared around. The other pilots of the Squadron and the Order didnt move. He was singled out. No one saw him.

[member="Carten Flaa"] [member="Daska Tess"]

 

[Alleycat]

Daska as usual had forgone a shower upon awakening as she was going to get sweaty during PT anyways. Instead the blonde TIE pilot dressed quickly in her PT uniform, pulled back her golden tresses into a neat ponytail, then stopped in the mess to grab a hurriedly drank stim tea on the way to the rec area on the Star Destroyer the Sabers were based upon for now. It was how the Bastionian started every morning off when on a routine training schedule, then would continue partaking of it throughout the day to keep her energy and alertness up. Yes, she was addicted to caffeine. The stimulant also helped to hide the fact the captain was not a good sleeper due to insomnia; or more so Daska was afraid to go to sleep due to horrible nightmares of a previous flight incident. A near-death experience often did that to a person. PTSD was common among not only TIE pilots, but stormtroopers too. At least she had hers under control or so Daska told herself that. So when the chrono alarm went off to get up, she was already awake.

The Commanding Officer of the 181st Saber Squadron had taken note who had arrived on time for the elite squadron's daily PT session together, and more importantly who had not. LT [member="Pitar Brounake"], a replacement for one of their recently deceased wingmates, had walked in two minutes tardy. Everyone knew that was unacceptable with the "Ice Princess". Ten pairs of eyes stared at the newest TIE pilot as he entered the workout area of the recreation room aboard the Siegar's Wraith; the eleventh missing with an excused absence to join them later. Only one pair mattered though...

"Lieutenant," Tess greeted the noob curtly; the Captain's steely blue eyes conveying her extreme displeasure at him being late. The others knew all too well what it meant.

"You will see me after we are finished here today," she stated firmly, then moved on to the task at hand.

Right now the elite squadron, part of the famed 181st TIE fighter wing known as "Kalast's Swords", needed to focus on getting physically fit so they may perform at their optimal best while flying the TIE/D Defenders Supreme Commander [member="Aram Kalast"] had so graciously outfitted them with. It wasn't that was she a tyrannical CO, but Captain Tess merely ran a tight ship with her squadron. Discipline was key to getting results. Being lazy and sloppy was not the Imperial way. Maybe it was good enough for the rebel scum that made up the ranks of the Galactic Alliance and the like, but not for the First Order. They were a well run, lean, mean, fearless fighting machine. And in time, the First Order would bring peace and order to the galaxy it was lacking.

"Two mile warmup. Go!" Tess ordered, then gave a knowing nod to her XO, CAPT [member="Carten Flaa"], and walked over to one of the treadmills lined up against the mirrored bulkhead. Before stepping onto the moving belt that was ramping up in speed and incline, she pressed a button to activate the stopwatch on her chrono wrist watch. May the games begin!

 

[Dan Ballastar]

Protocol. That would be his excuse for being late. He wasn't used to this type of Protocol. Sirens setting off at Certain times. Different layouts of the ships he'd transferred from and this one. But he was 'Elite' now. At least thats what the Propaganda said. And the definition of elite WAS the best of the best. So he nodded, going to step in line with the other Pilots of the Squadron. The words echoed in his head from his Captain, [member="Daska Tess"].

"Two mile warmup! Go!"
"Two mile warmup! Go!"
"Two mile warmup! Go!"
"Two mile warmup! Go!"

Pitar had to get his mind together. So he nodded, going up to the treadmill, and started running. Furious PT. At first, the running was easy, relaxed, and actually calmed him down.

And then his legs started burning. Sweat was all over his body, and his throat started to feel... 'Cold' on the inside. Whatever the trick was with this PT, to get you exhausted or used to it, it worked. After the two mile warmup was over, Pitar fell back in line with the other pilots of the squadron. He terribly wanted to kneel over and catch his breath, but he didn't have the time to. Exhausted, panting. He was the one sitting out like a sore thumb. The other pilots? Used to this already. So he waited for the next command from his Captain while trying to catch his breath as quietly as possible. But, he still, stuck out.

[member="Daska Tess"] [member="Carten Flaa"]

 

[Judah Lesan]

"You tired Lieutenant?"

Carten came up behind the newbie. First he was late, now he looked worse for the wear. At this point he was trying to figure out where they got this guy. He eyed Daska, and just shook his head.

"Didn't they teach you to drink water and stay hydrated in your last squadron? You better not hold us up today. We've got to make up the time you were late. You're gonna need the energy for what is coming your way."

Carten came around front and faced the rest of the team. A smile was on his face. They were about to get in his favorite part of the day.

"Drop and three sets of twenty diamonds. Let's go!"

[member="Pitar Brounake"][member="Daska Tess"]

 

[Armand Temi]

Sylvia wasn't late for the training. Well, technically she hadn't shown up when it started, but she had already let Captain Tess know ahead of time that she had a routine physical in the morning and to expect her an hour after start time.

In her PT uniform, her bright, red hair swept up and pinned back, the red-haired Coruscani native made her way from the ship's medbay to the recreation deck where the training would occur. She walked in just as the rest of the team was warming up. With no fanfare whatsoever, Sylvia slipped into the formation and finished the exercise routine. Unlike Lt. Brounake, the young pilot was in extremely good physical condition. Healthy and strong was an imperial ideal. Imperial subjects should never be comfortable with passivity, her COMPNOR handbook stated.

But the 181st Saber Squadron was an elite squad, and she'd been drafted into it by the skin of her teeth and a whole lot of Daddy's persuasion. Sylvia was hard-working, devoted and clever. But her piloting skills could not be called "elite." It would be a matter of time until this was discovered, and the girl mentally prepared for how she would talk her way into staying on the squad regardless.

[member="Daska Tess"] [member="Carten Flaa"] [member="Pitar Brounake"]

 

[Natasi Fortan]

It was times like these that Pierce thought it was time to stop smoking. No matter how good his performance, he could always improve if he cut out the smoking, maybe went easy on the bourbon, and rolled back his red meat. He climbed onto a treadmill, taking a moment to straddle the belt to time it right before stepping onto it. He jogged along easily, but by the time he was about half a mile in, his throat was burning. Damned cigarettes, he silently cursed, closing his eyes as the machine inclined itself. Bloody hell.

He lifted a water bottle to his lips and squirted the liquid between his lips. He repeated this every so often, if for no other reason that it soothed his burning throat. The coordination was not easy; occasionally he found himself nearly choking on the water as he gasped at the wrong moment, but by the end of mile one he had gotten the hang of it.

When the next halfway mark rolled around, Pierce felt the fatigue set into his legs. It was a bit pathetic, he knew, but he couldn't remember the time he'd actually needed to run that far, that fast, without stopping. It seemed rather unlikely, but whatever boss lady wanted, boss lady got. When he rounded out mile two, he kept going for another few moments as a kind of cool down before stepping off the treadmill, his chest, neck, back and hair drenched in sweat, which dripped off his long and curved nose before he wiped with his sleeve.

He guzzled from his water bottle as he moved back into formation, trying to catch his breath.

[member="Daska Tess"] | [member="Carten Flaa"] | [member="Pitar Brounake"] | [member="Sylvia Nuru"]

 

[Alleycat]

Daska smirked to herself as the newer pilots seemingly had a difficult keeping up with the "no pain, no gain" PT program she and [member="Carten Flaa"] ran, but too it was a sign they weren't "elite" ready either. Now that was bothersome and would have to be changed quickly if the newbies were to remain in the 181st TIE fighter wing and more importantly in her squadron. Okay, the Captain was a hard ass, but it was for good of those of her subordinates under her command and the First Orders. The brass wanted results, and Tess gave them what they wanted. That is why Tess was in the position she was in. It had cost her in blood, sweat, and tear, but the Bastionian had achieved it all on her own; no sleeping her way up the career ladder as some of her gender had in the male-dominated ranks of the First Order military.

The CO nodded to [member="Sylvia Nuru"] as she joined the rest of the squadron in the rec area for their scheduled workout. She took the flimsi slip that accompanied the red-haired pilot, which was from the medbay giving the new Saber medical clearance.

"Well what are you waiting for, lieutenant… " the Captain motioned for Sylvia to join the others down on the mats nose to the grind doing push ups, then Daska looked over to the XO and dropped too; doing hers with well-practiced ease as she was very physically fit.

[member="Pierce Fortan III"] [member="Pitar Brounake"]