Cato Manaan

Fighter Ace of the Mothership

[cato-manaan]

"Just wanted to hear those words come from your mouth, er, speakers. Neural Interface?" Cato attempted to scratch her head in confusion, but then remembered that her flight helmet was on, and in fact, almost never took it off.

"How exactly do you talk in that giant tank anyway?"

[fleet-command]

"To you? Voice files being transferred across a radio link. There are speakers onboard the Mothership I can directly route my voice through."

Cato was not the only one to voice this curiosity. The new generation of Kushan children - growing up in the Mothership - had asked many questions of her.

[cato-manaan]

"While we’re on the subject, what’s it like being hooked up to a computer?" she asked as she narrowly dodged an asteroid at mach 5. "just call me curious"

[fleet-command]

"…It is not exactly describable. But to put it in the simplest terms I can; I am the Mothership. Every inch of armor plating and every construction track. If things must be so, I can control every ship in the fleet from here. If the Mothership must move, I will it."

"It also changes how you think about things. The largest ships we’ve built out here are insignificant even to me. And even in my size, there are still things larger than I. I apologize if it’s strange-sounding, but as I have said, it is tough to describe to one not similarly unbound."

[cato-manaan]

"I'll make sure to smack Senij up the side of the head for putting the dent in your fighter bay the other day. Bet you felt that one," she said with a laugh.

[cato-manaan]

"Just wanted to hear those words come from your mouth, er, speakers. Neural Interface?" Cato attempted to scratch her head in confusion, but then remembered that her flight helmet was on, and in fact, almost never took it off.

"How exactly do you talk in that giant tank anyway?"

[fleet-command]

"To you? Voice files being transferred across a radio link. There are speakers onboard the Mothership I can directly route my voice through."

Cato was not the only one to voice this curiosity. The new generation of Kushan children - growing up in the Mothership - had asked many questions of her.

[cato-manaan]

"While we're on the subject, what's it like being hooked up to a computer?" she asked as she narrowly dodged an asteroid at mach 5. "just call me curious"

[cato-manaan]

"Just taking her out for a nice evening drive, Ma’am," she said as she relaxed a little. "Of course, a nice evening drive for me is at mach 7 through an asteroid field. Have to keep those reactions up somehow"

[fleet-command]

"Of course. Be wary of your reactant levels, Pilot Cato, though I am sure you know this. I would hate to have to task a Porter crew with returning your fuelless Scout."

Karan smiled inside her biotank. Her Scout pilots were getting practice. That was good.

They would certainly need it, for the day ahead was to be cruel.

[cato-manaan]

"Don’t worry, she’ll get back in one piece," she said with a chuckle. No longer starstruck, she resumed her zero-G meandering, though at a much more casual speed.

Still, there was one question that had been rattling around in her skull, it had in fact been the reason she went out flying today, and now seemed like the best time to get an answer.

"Ma’am, do you really think we’ll make it to Hiigara?"

[fleet-command]

"Yes."

Karan spoke without hesitation and without skipping a beat. She also spoke with the utmost conviction.

"We will make it to Hiigara. The hyperspace inhibitor will be destroyed, and we will mop up the Taiidani fleet and reclaim our homeworld. There are no other options available to us.”

"We have come this far. We have accomplished so much. We will succeed.”

[cato-manaan]

"Just wanted to hear those words come from your mouth, er, speakers. Neural Interface?" Cato attempted to scratch her head in confusion, but then remembered that her flight helmet was on, and in fact, almost never took it off.

"How exactly do you talk in that giant tank anyway?"

[cato-manaan]

"Just taking her out for a nice evening drive, Ma’am," she said as she relaxed a little. "Of course, a nice evening drive for me is at mach 7 through an asteroid field. Have to keep those reactions up somehow"

[fleet-command]

"Of course. Be wary of your reactant levels, Pilot Cato, though I am sure you know this. I would hate to have to task a Porter crew with returning your fuelless Scout."

Karan smiled inside her biotank. Her Scout pilots were getting practice. That was good.

They would certainly need it, for the day ahead was to be cruel.

[cato-manaan]

"Don't worry, she'll get back in one piece," she said with a chuckle. No longer starstruck, she resumed her zero-G meandering, though at a much more casual speed.

Still, there was one question that had been rattling around in her skull, it had in fact been the reason she went out flying today, and now seemed like the best time to get an answer.

"Ma'am, do you really think we'll make it to Hiigara?"

[fleet-command]

It was not every day Karan S’jet got to rest.

Those precious few times came during “mop-up”, the operations were the Providences would grab as many available materials as possible to top up the Mothership’s resource supply. They also came during hyperspace - where all she had to do was monitor…

[cato-manaan]

cato-manaan has jumped into the system.

The chime of a hailing frequency interrupted her adrenaline rush. Upon glancing at the ID of the transmission, she was surprised that lowly Cato Manaan was being called up by The Mothership herself.

she was tempted to let it keep ringing, just to spite the caller for breaking her concentration as she weaved in and out of the asteroids, but then thought otherwise and opened the channel. 

"Stig here, Sir. What’s wrong?"

[fleet-command]

Karen waited for a moment as the transmission piped through. She thought about what she was going to say. Most likely the fact that she was even going to speak in the first place would likely cause the pilot to pass out.

She prepared for a manual override of the Scout, provided it would be necessary.

"Greetings, Pilot Cato," came the fluid voice of none other than Karan S’jet herself. Fleet Command.

[cato-manaan]

Few things had ever phased Cato inside the cockpit of an Arrow. Pulling a hairpin turn at 10 G’s? No problem. Playing a deadly game of chicken with a Taiidan strike craft? Piece of cake. Hearing the voice of her people’s leader, savior, and last hope directly address HER?

Well it got to her a bit.

She had the good sense to engage reaction thrusters to slow her ludicrous speeds before attempting to stand up and salute, a gesture both meaningless alone in the vacuum of space and impossible in the cramped cockpit. After a few seconds, she finally managed to get out a response. 

"Greetings Ma’am, uh, everything alright?"

[fleet-command]

Karen watched - a smile draping itself across her features - as the reaction thrusters on the Scout engaged and the fighter slowed down to a velocity where its pilot would be able to react to incoming asteroids. If she had seen Cato’s ill-fated attempt to salute she likely would have giggled, but as it was she couldn’t, so she released the control overrides.

"Yes. All systems are functioning as intended. I would just like to know what you are doing with your Scout."

[cato-manaan]

"Just taking her out for a nice evening drive, Ma'am," she said as she relaxed a little. "Of course, a nice evening drive for me is at mach 7 through an asteroid field. Have to keep those reactions up somehow"

[fleet-command]

It was not every day Karan S’jet got to rest.

Those precious few times came during “mop-up”, the operations were the Providences would grab as many available materials as possible to top up the Mothership’s resource supply. They also came during hyperspace - where all she had to do was monitor…

[cato-manaan]

cato-manaan has jumped into the system.

The chime of a hailing frequency interrupted her adrenaline rush. Upon glancing at the ID of the transmission, she was surprised that lowly Cato Manaan was being called up by The Mothership herself.

she was tempted to let it keep ringing, just to spite the caller for breaking her concentration as she weaved in and out of the asteroids, but then thought otherwise and opened the channel. 

"Stig here, Sir. What’s wrong?"

[fleet-command]

Karen waited for a moment as the transmission piped through. She thought about what she was going to say. Most likely the fact that she was even going to speak in the first place would likely cause the pilot to pass out.

She prepared for a manual override of the Scout, provided it would be necessary.

"Greetings, Pilot Cato," came the fluid voice of none other than Karan S’jet herself. Fleet Command.

[cato-manaan]

Few things had ever phased Cato inside the cockpit of an Arrow. Pulling a hairpin turn at 10 G's? No problem. Playing a deadly game of chicken with a Taiidan strike craft? Piece of cake. Hearing the voice of her people's leader, savior, and last hope directly address HER?

Well it got to her a bit.

She had the good sense to engage reaction thrusters to slow her ludicrous speeds before attempting to stand up and salute, a gesture both meaningless alone in the vacuum of space and impossible in the cramped cockpit. After a few seconds, she finally managed to get out a response. 

"Greetings Ma'am, uh, everything alright?"

[fleet-command]

It was not every day Karan S’jet got to rest.

Those precious few times came during “mop-up”, the operations were the Providences would grab as many available materials as possible to top up the Mothership’s resource supply. They also came during hyperspace - where all she had to do was monitor...

[cato-manaan]

The chime of a hailing frequency interrupted her adrenaline rush. Upon glancing at the ID of the transmission, she was surprised that lowly Cato Manaan was being called up by The Mothership herself.

she was tempted to let it keep ringing, just to spite the caller for breaking her concentration as she weaved in and out of the asteroids, but then thought otherwise and opened the channel. 

"Stig here, Sir. What's wrong?"