The Air Show

Posted on Sat Jun 22nd, 2019 @ 3:17pm by Lieutenant Commander Shaille Levine & Captain Michelle Bartlett & Commander Rostra Tang & Major Hailey Weston

Mission: Shore Leave
Location: Local Dalacar Airfield

The time was growing closer, and the seats were starting to pack. Plenty of seating for single instance lifeforms, though, as was the case. Guests got better seating, but there was still tons of room for all at the stands set up by the airfield. Various designs of shuttle and personal ship were here on display, but none of these struck anyone with a military mindset as a 'Fighter' per say.

Bipedal drones roamed the stands, offering concessions and banners and even silly hats. All the standard fare for a show. Tfhe majority of the audience in attendance, aside from the guests to Dalacar, seemed to be children. Their age group could almost be gauged by how they addressed the drones to buy souvenirs or food.

There was plenty of time to find a good seat.

Shaille glanced around at the gathering crowd. The excitement in the air was near palpable, something that told her these kinds of air shows were not something that happened regularly. She linked one arm through Koh's before resting her head on his shoulder as she smiled, unable to help but feel happy at the prospect of just being one of the crowd instead of being one of those on display.

In the crowd gathering below their seating she could see Dalacari children, excited and talking animatedly about the show they were about to see, something that made her think of the story Koh had told her about being a child and watching the blink pilots. Reaching across with her free hand, she squeezed his hand gently, still keeping her head against his shoulder. "Are you at least a little bit excited?" she asked with a smile as she tipped her head back to look up at him. "I mean, drones aside, I think the air show will be incredible."

Koh gave her a smile as they found a good pair of seats. "I'm always excited." he admitted as he glanced over towards her. "As a pilot, some downtime never hurts. As a person, though, I love seeing all these excited faces. It... it kinda reminds me of when I was a kid. Watching the shows and the demos, seeing the fighters on patrols." he trailed off, but with a smile still on his face. "These kids can't grow up to be drone pilots, but just to see the smile on their faces. Makes me a kid again."

"I know I know, goofy." he chuckled gently, not wanting to dislodge her.

"Nah, not goofy at all," Shaille replied with a smile. "I was actually just thinking about you watching the blink fighters as a kid, I think it's sweet."

Cordale and company arrived at the scene, and already the place was starting to fill. "Good thing we reserved. Things are getting packed." as the Thux found his way to a bunch of seats. He spied Koh and Shaille, and was about to wave, then he NOTICED Koh *AND* Shaille, and observed the sacred bro code of silence, and let the two enjoy their moment. If they waved, he'd wave. Until then, the bro code demanded silence.

Seeing more of the crew arriving, Shaille waved, acknowledging their presence before turning her attention back to Koh, smiling.

Renee delicately chewed the corn-dog-type thing she'd snagged on the way to the airfield even as she surreptitiously fiddled with the tricorder in her hands. She was looking forward to trying to get some sensor data on the drones to continue her passive research of the Dalacari tech she'd been able to see so far. But the seriousness of the moment couldn't have been less obvious as she chewed, the remainder of the snack still held between her lips.

"What on earth is that thing?" Michelle asked. "Looks like a corn dog...."

Rostra gave a giggle, enjoying one each of her own. "Two problems. One, this isn't Earth. Two, we don't actually HAVE corn." she corrected with a wide pair of smiles.

"But, they're cooked meat on a stick, surrounded by fried dough. Try one?" she offered a third that she was holding onto for when she ran out of the first one.

Siobahn made sure that she stuck close to Cordale as they made their way to the seating for the air show. Whether it was his size, his color or simply that he was a 'guest' to the planet, he seemed to possess a remarkable ability to part the way for them to follow through. Besides, there was so many people there for the show if she got lost she might never find her way back to the food again!

T'Krya had wound slowly through the throngs of people finally finding seats and sat. She was hoping to see her boss but it was a gamble.

(entry space)

Things started to settle as it got closer to show time. Drones were starting to get the field ready for the demonstration as they carried circular tables to the field. Were they setting up for a picnic? Five in total, gleaming and shimmering metal with an intricate pattern almost etched onto their surface. Two and a half meters in diameter, and about one meter thick. And about a meter hovering off the ground.

Tables weren't a meter thick. And they didn't float above the tarmac either.

Once the five 'tables' were set up, four of the attendant drones left to resume their original duties while one stayed behind. At about two minutes to go, a voice over discreet loudspeakers informed the guests and attendants of such. Then, two minutes later, it was showtime. A Dalacari female in what looked like a military uniform of sorts came out and greeted the crowd, waving to the children as she made her way to the front of the stands. Each of her forms wore a headset to access the audio system, so that she wouldn't have to yell over the nice breeze that was forming. "Good afternoon everyone. I'm Dalia Teema, and this is my assistant Gamma Fourteen. Now, Gamma Fourteen I asked you to set up the aerodrones for our..."

"... demo, but I don't see them anywhere." she looked around, specifically looking up. She put her hand to her eyes like a visor, looking though the stands. She spotted one of the children wearing one of the 'drone hats' and smiled. "Oh, there's one. Wait... no. That's not one."

Two of the 'tables' behind ther switched positions. That caught the attention of the children.

"Gamma Fourteen, if there's no aerodrones for our aerodrone demonstration then all these guests are going to be disappointed. Hey..." she turned from her drone attendant to the audience. "Has *anyone* seen any aerodrones around here?"

Shaille smiled at the reactions of the children as the aerodrones moved. Clearly this whole experience was geared toward the younger audience but their excitement was contagious to say the least.

T'Kyra looked on with interest as the so called tables moved and she laughed right along with the Dalacari children. It was ingenious to see these table tops shift places.

The children pointed, and cheered, "Behind you!" and Dalia turned and gave a gasp of mock surprise. "Oh they were here the whole time! But they're still in sleep mode. We gotta wake them up before the show. So on the count of three, we all have to yell..."

"... Aerodrone Squad Four, Wake Up. Ready?" she paused. This wasn't her first show, that was for sure. "One... Two... Three!"

"Aerodrone Squad Four, Wake Up!" Siobahn shouted before casting a sheepish smile at the small gathering of the crew she was sitting with and offering a shrug. "I'm a child at heart and not afraid to admit it," she said with a giggle. "Besides, it's fun!"

Hearing Siobahn's voice just a little louder than any others in the area, Shaille cast a glance in their direction, raising an eyebrow slightly before laughing. "Well, it looks like someone's having fun," she said to Koh with a smile.

"Holy shit!", T'Kyra exclaimed as she watched spellbound as the tables began to move.

The 'tables' rose up off the ground further. Two meters, three, four, all with an eerie silence as they moved before they turned ninety degrees and went from flat tables to vertical orientation... tables.

The silvery chrome surface of each side split along the lines that were originally possibly decorative, and started to move. The whole of each one of the aerodrones started to just literally unfold as they stretched themselves awake. Components moved into place, shining with light as they received power from the central core. The transition too about forty five seconds, and in the end five aerodrones hung in the air. Central bodies flanked by rings on both sides, with each ring having the familiar blue glow of a warp nacelle. Silent figures hung in the air, before in turn each of them dipped their nosecone at the audience in a nod of sorts.

"Everyone, let's give a round of applause for the audience, for waking up Aerodrone Squad Four." and Dalia gave the audience some applause, along with the drone Gamma Fourteen. "Okay, now for the stars of the show. Ess Four Alpha One, flash your lights."

One of the drones flashed their indicator lights.

"Ess Four Alpha One is going to be the squad leader for this demo so let's give them a workout. First things first, though. They just woke up, so give us a lap around..."

"... the airfield Alpha One." she made a 'roundabout' motion with her hand, and the aerodrones complied. They backed off a few meters before turning to head out, in linear fashion, around the airfield. The sound they made each was faint but eerie, like the sound paper made when rubbed together. Once a safe distance from the group, they picked up speed quickly. Dalia turned to address the audience.

"Aerodrones fly through means of a combination Impulse / Counter-Impulse drive. The drive first counteracts the drone's own weight, and then nudges it forward..."

"... to produce thrust. If the aerodrone needs to breach atmosphere and travel through space, the system disengages the counter-impulse system and devotes total..."

"... power to thrust and maneuverability. In space it's difficult to stop but on a planet, the aerodrones can stop on a bit." she walked out to the center of the airfield strip, with the drones coming back from their lap. There was a whine, as the drones increased their thrust, zooming down the strip. Closer. Closer. Closer. They were almost right on top of her. A hush filled the crowd as the aerodrones got closer, closer... they were gonna--

"Stop." a single word spoken by the show's hostess, and the drones came to a sudden halt. Hanging in mid-air, silent and patient. A maneuver that would have obliterated any unprotected organic pilot, and possibly still rattled one with the benefit of intertial compensation.

Data scrolled across the tricorder's screen, then Renee's glance down ended and her eyes sparkled as she watched the demonstration. With luck, no one would confiscate the data or even notice she was getting it.

Koh was impressed, to say the least. "You know, I've seen them do that a dozen times. Still impresses me."

"But no living person would survive it." Renee said quietly, "Ooooobviously, that's the reason why drones make optimal platforms for these things. Wish I could get a look at that inertial tech, but I may be able to come up with ideas."

Cordale almost dropped his drink. "Holy sh...alleligh." he covered. There were kids here afterall.

"Language!" Siobahn admonished with a teasing laugh as she nudged Cordale. "But they are impressive aren't they?"

"Each aerodrone has an advanced system that counteracts inertia, feeding that energy back into special batteries to extend the amount of time they can fly. When you consider..."

"... the longest firefight in the history of our space program lasted a whole twelve minutes, every second counts. They're made of a lightweight but strong material five times..."

"... the strength of the materials transit trains and cargo trucks are made of." she paused, "But enough about that, who wants to see them in motion?" and the crowd of children cheered. Cordale among them.

"Alpha One.... did you copy that?" Dalia asked with a pair of smirks. The drone hovering in mid air made something of a negative tone, and flashed red lights. "Alpha One didn't hear you. I said.... who wants to see them in motion?" and the crowd erupted again, louder this time. Loud enough, it would seem, to push Alpha One back three meters and tilt it off axis.

"Wow, that was much better. Alpha One, tower to tower." a pause. "... As fast as you can."

The designate drone Alpha One brought the full weight of its impulse engines online as it darted down the airfield strip, faster and faster as it moved away from the audience. It made a slow, lazy turn and then punched the engines, faster and faster and faster. About midway between two tower-light structures, a cone of air formed around the drone's form. It pulled in the extremities and streamlined itself as the cone formed more and more of a shape around it.

Then the cone popped, and what followed was a thunderous boom as the fighter drone streaked past the other tower, overshooting it as it slowed to return to the show. That boom was only 'slightly' louder than the cheers+"Now, who wants to see them in some REAL action?" Dalia asked with a smirk.

T'Kyra raised her hand and nearly shouted but shut her open mouth fast.

"Right... So I think I might just put in for an order of these things with Commodore Myers..." Michelle said playfully to Rostra..

Rostra gave a pair of smiles, "Oh, you laugh, but if we could get Dalacari tech to work with Federation tech, oh all the problems it would solve." she smiled.

"The only problem THAT would cause, is... what's her name... Murphy! Fix a problem, two more take its place." a pause, "Or was that the Hydra?"

Shaille shook her head, blonde curls bouncing. "Having seen the thinking engines up close and personal this morning and seen the way they function, I can say I have no desire to have them on the ship. I'll stick with relying on plain old organic intelligence thanks just the same," she said, squeezing Koh's hand gently, knowing he would feel the same way.

"That was the Hydra" Michelle said with a laugh. "And I know... Plain old organic intelligence is probably better in some ways. But I'll be damned if a part of me doesn't wish I was an engineer. The flying is incredible. Data himself couldn't have accomplished this."

"I think it would definitely require a coordinative set of AI's that would function as a binary pairing matrix for the flight or squadron. You'd think individual AIs for each drone, but that actually would cause interference with each drone seeing optimal solutions that differ from each other." Renee shrugged, "The problem is developing that artificial intelligence, which the Dalacari have figured out. But yeah, the Hydra, but Murphy keeps letting us know he's in on it as well."

"Oh, it's not Artificial Intelligence." Rostra pointed out. "The Ts'usugi were very firm, but very polite, about us never exploring that route."

"It's actually a central directing force predicting outcomes based on presented data, adjusting the directives and strategies employed by the drones in the theater..."

"... at the time, updated as frequently as possible. I know, the name is a bit of a misnomer since they don't actually THINK, but the Thinking Engines do a remarkable..."

"... job of--" Rostra started, but was cut off by a pyrotechnic display of sorts. Targets had been brought out to the tarmac, far away from the actual audience of course. There were no targets that looked like people, or even vaguely like people, but rather vehicles and equipment. One of the drones made a quick pass and lit up one of the larger trucks with beams of blue energy that seemed to ignite the air. High intensity plasma weapons, it seemed.

Cruder than Federation phaser tech, but just as effective. Considering the smaller profile would make for a smaller power source, plasma weapons would be slightly more energy efficient.

The children of the crowd were awed by the display. Drone after drone made attack runs, lancing out blue streaks of plasma at the targets that just either exploded or melted depending on their contents. More targets were wheeled out, repurposed vehicles outfit with autonomous driving equipment. No drivers, no danger, just a demonstration.

T'Kyra was not only glued to her seat, but her eyes were glued to the drones and how they flew. She made mental notes that she would use in her simulations once back on the Wellington. If she could use or adapt them to her flight routines.......it just might mean the difference between life and death.

"Each drone is armed with a bi-phase plasma cannon, equally effective against lightly armored or unarmored targets. Against something with some armor, each drone ..."

"...has a small magazine of mini torpedo chassis missiles. They can't restock on the move, so they have to make each shot count. Now, we're not allowed to ..."

"...demo the torpedoes. Not since the last time." Dalia turned to look over at her drone attendant, who just shrugged. "It was like that upon arrival." the drone responded, to the laughter of the audience.

"Well in any case, we'll be setting up for the aerobatics demonstration next so while we get the course set up, who wants to meet Alpha One up close?" Dalia asked as the lead drone came down to, essentially, ground level. All the children shot their hands up, which in and of itself was odd. Dalacari children were pairs, so one would be excused to think that that would mean two hands would shoot up. That wasn't the case here. Each child pair only raised one hand, though that didn't stop them from excitedly blurting out "Me! Me!" from both forms.

Dalia smiled, "Well, everyone who wants to meet Alpha One, come on down!" she motioned to the 'star' of the show.

The display was impressive, there was no doubt about that, but there was still that little voice in the back of Shaille's head that was constantly reminding her of how much she was starting to truly dislike the drones. The security risk, at least as far as she was concerned, was phenomenal. So many people in one place at one time, important people, visitors, locals, children... and after all, he who controlled the Drones control the Dalacari. She shivered involuntary before forcing a smile on her face and leaning forward slightly to speak to Renee. "I'm surprised you're not batting little kids out of the way for your turn to get up close and personal with the equipment," she said teasingly.

Siobahn found herself momentarily distracted by the children raising their hands in the stands in front of them. The way the Dalacari brain worked with the two physical beings was fascinating. Silently, she made a note to see if the medical information that she had received at the medical center included much in the way of neurological assessments and to maybe talk to Commander Tang about requesting more information (if it was possible) before they left.

Impressed by the demonstration T'Kyra swore she would like to go and see one of these up close up front and personal but that would have to wait for another chance to see it close.

Children lined up, with their parents permission, to meet and greet Alpha One. Each child behind the other, in what could be called the least accurate description of 'Single File' in the history of the term, but there it was. Each in turn, the Dalacari children got to walk up to Alpha One, who had lowered itself down as low as possible. Some pet the nosecone of the craft like it was a pet, others simply were content to wave. Those children got a wave back, of sorts, as the drone waggled an airflap to them. One of the children wanted to give the drone a hug, and was aided in doing so. The drone went so far as to change its external illuminators from a soft blue to a bright red at the hug.

"Awww, you got Alpha One to blush!" Dalia teased, and the children had a good giggle. "It's alright Alpha One. We still all appreciate you, don't we?" and the kids all nodded. That brought the color back from that embarrassed red back to a standard blue. Dalia turned to the guest seating, "Would any of our guests like to meet Alpha One?" she offered, to keep the guests involved.

Now was her chance and she took it...."Yes Dalia, I would love to meet Alpha One", T"Kyra said.

Dalia gave a pair of smiles, "Well then come on down." she motioned. One of the children on their way to see the drones actually stopped and offered to 'help' T'Kyra to the drone. "It's alright ma'am. He's the friendliest." the child reassured. Soon enough, T'Kyra was standing in the presence of the Dalacari Aerodrone. The mechanism was surprisingly quiet, only a soft hum of the internals and the occasional stability puff to keep it level.

"Welcome to the floor, ma'am." Dalia said with a pair of smiles, cheerful and friendly. "Are you familiar with the drone architecture here on Dalacar?"

"No but I would love dearly to learn about it", T'Kyra said as she looked intently at Alpha One. It was incredible, all you heard was a hum nothing more.

Siobahn turned to Cor and nudged him gently with her elbow. "I'm surprised you aren't down there looking at them, same with you Renee!" she said with a laugh. "Admit it, you both know you want to go check them out!"

There was a pause from the Thux, and then the pause was broken, "Save my seat!" and the Thux went down to join the other children around Alpha One. Professionalism and distant interest turned into wonder.

> tag Renee <

Shaille shook her head. "I don't feel the need to go look," she said easily, glancing at Koh. "And I'm guessing you've seen them all before? Do you think there'll be any more to see or should we sneak off now to avoid the crush when it's all done?"

Koh gave a nod, "Oh, I've flown with them. We ran sorties, defended a border or two. Even engaged the Koldarans once or twice. They're..." he paused, and then he shook his head, "They're interesting, but yeah, nothing I haven't seen up close. Let's see if we can cut out early, beat the crowd. Besides, I can tell you all about them later, if you want to have *me* go on and on about drones." he said, knowing she'd probably rather watch hull sealant set.

Without waiting, Shaille slid her hand into Koh's. "Come on, let's get out of here. I can think of plenty of things we can do that would be much more appealing right now," she said with a cheeky grin.

Dalia gave T'Kyra a smile at her curiosity. "Well, drones don't think on their own. They're all connected to a linked system of supercomputers which we affectionately refer to as..."

One of the children raised their hand, "Ooo Ooo, I know. We call them Thinking Engines."

"Excellent! That's absolutely right. So Thinking Engines parse the data that each drone feeds them, compares it to data and operational plans that have been tried in the..."

"... past, and then sends the resulting data back to the drones. This happens so fast that before the discovery of Subspace communication, drones took a full two seconds to respond..."

"... to anything. Now, though, the updates occur so fast that it looks like actual response." Dalia gave the nosecone of Alpha One a gentle pat. "The Thinking Engines can analyze incoming data..."

"... and project outcomes based off of previous responses, then adjust accordingly. Everything from battle strategies to dessert toppings, the system predicts results and responds accordingly." Dalia seemed pleased at this.

"Everything from favorite foods, to preferences on scenery during the morning commute to work. The Drones handle so much of our lives, they're such an important..."

"... part of our day to day lives. I think they deserve another round of applause, don't you?"

And indeed, there was applause. "Technical questions alright?" Cordale asked up. Dalia gave a pair of nods, "Of course. I'm not an engineer, but whatever I can't field I'm certain Gamma Eighteen can coach me."

"What's it's power source?" and after a moment, Dalia gave a reply, "Micro matter reactor. That one I knew." and there was some laughter. "The drone carries a stock of anti-matter on board, and pulls matter in from the environment. In the event..."

"... deployment into space, they stock a matter reserve on board. If they head into space from the ground, they pack a light lunch on the way up." she smiled. Gotta keep it easy for the kids.

Kyla asked, "Our ships are warp drive so our speed is in warp, about how fast would you say the speed is of these marvelous drones?".

Dalia gave another pair of smiles, "An excellent question. I'll need Gamma Fourteen's help on this one to do the conversion. Gamma Fourteen, if you'd be so kind?" and the drone assisting Dalia gave a nod, "Of course. Adjusting for the discrepancies between Dalacari measurements of velocity and Federation measurements, estimations would put the current generation of drone aerofighter at about a high Warp 2, possibly a low Warp 3."

"Thank you Gamma Fourteen." Dalia said with a smile, to which Gamma Fourteen replied with a nod, "You are quite welcome." before Dalia continued, "Which is perfect for short range recon and exploration. We're FAR from the prospect of long range fighters." she admitted. "But for the..."

"... most part, they don't stray too far from their assigned post ship, or port." she stated, giving Alpha One a gentle pat on the hull. "Any other questions for our star attraction here?" she giggled, though Cordale raised his hand.

"Uh yeah, hi. Cor Cordale, Engineer. Got a question about the average lifespan of a drone, personal and aerodrone models, outside of combat I mean." the Thux queried. Dalia gave a nod, "Outside of a combat environment, or outside of dangerous work where reclamation is mandatory, the average drone can operate indefinitely..."

"... with regular charging of their internal batteries. One solid charge can last about twenty hours. Aerodrones on routine operations need to restock their antimatter..."

"... about every four hours, but have reserves in the event that's not possible. In combat, their stock gets gobbled up much faster, because they have to bring..."

"... every system online." she explained, and the Thux gave a nod, "That's pretty impressive. Thank you." and he turned to the drone and the aerodrone, and gave each of them a nod, "Thank you both as well." He felt they were due some thanks as well, and for the truth of it, the crowd here seemed to agree with him. Where would they be without their drones?

"Well, if that's all there is for the Q and A, let's let Alpha One and his flight get back to their patrols." and with that, the children returned to their places on the stands and waved goodbye to the aerodrones. Their internal engines started to whir to life as they rose up over the stands and turned towards the ocean. A silent moment hung in the air before they five of them shot off like a bullet each, rocketing towards the ocean, before sweeping low to kick up some rooster tails behind them. A quick rocket up to the heavens, trailing water behind them to make a bit of a splash as they shot off to the sky.

Dalacar's silent protectors.