Mail Call

Posted on Wed Apr 2nd, 2014 @ 5:36pm by Lieutenant Colonel Jillian "Phoenix" Sullivan
Edited on on Wed Apr 2nd, 2014 @ 6:32pm

683 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Mission 86 - Discovery
Location: Sullivan's Quarters, Essex
Timeline: After Launch, MD1 1100hrs

Try as she might to forget about the frost-like burn from her previous leisure time, Phoenix found herself in her temporary quarters after the launching.

Mostly she wanted to shower again and wash the crusted scabs off her. Of course, she could go to Tressa easily enough for a cure (and probably would once her stubborn streak wore out), but that would mean her partner in crime would also have a lot of explain.

So there she was, in her very clean quarters bundled up in a pale-blue terrycloth robe. She sat at the small gray metal desk by the view port so she could look over SB400's recent activity report on the Triad.

Phoenix no doubt suspected most of the staff believed she slept in 'til noon (which was true some of the time) and drank a lot. The possibility the station's staff believed her XO really ran things, did not escape Phoenix's mind either. Sometimes he did, when Phoenix was too hungover to function.

However, the Wing CO spent most of her working hours going over flight recorders from the previous day's CAP runs, duty rosters, fitness reports, intelligence reports, and occasionally led the simulator sessions of live-practice drills.

Now it would seem Phoenix had to really focus and analyze the Pacter and pirate movements, no matter how much some of her healing burns itched.

"Patch a link to SB400, Wing XO's office," Phoenix immediately ordered after a deft tap of her combadge.

"Captain Banner here, Phoenix," spoke Styx, her XO, over the room's audio feed after a long wait.

"I want you to put two flights a shift in the G Sector, for the next few days of CAP," Phoenix immediately jumped to. "And I want all greenhorns in the simulators, after their CAP time. If they can't pull off the shield trio drills by the end of the week, shift them out."

"That sector has been very quiet of hostile activity, Ma'am," Styx went on to point out after an uncomfortable silence. "I doubt that we will find anything."

"The point is to not let the pirates think there is a hole in our security net. If it is not patrolled regularly, then pirates and smugglers will use that route to pass by unnoticed by us," Phoenix explained very testily. "There is a lot of cargo traffic through there. I want to spook these guys, if they are running contraband."

"Understood," Styx spoke with a hint of reluctance, but otherwise did as told.

Phoenix closed the link no long after and then she went to her bed and laid down on her back. "Computer, play audio mail. Start from the newest."

She had not read her mail yet and she was anxious to hear from her parents. So when the computer chirped and began to play the letter, Phoenix actually smiled upon hearing her father's voice.

[By the time you get this Jill, you will be very excited to learn that the parole board is setting your mother and I go....]

His deep baritone voice went on, and Phoenix missed a good deal of the details. Mostly because she was suddenly in shock. Happy. A lot of guilt seemed to wash itself off as she realized her parents no longer had to suffer for her mistakes.

[...arrive at the station soon. Aryssa will be coming with us too. So we'll be expect'n a feast.]

Phoenix wanted to give them a hero's welcome, to be honest. So much to tell them. So much better, her life was getting. She had a few friends now she wanted to tell them about... And yet Phoenix never spoke of Aryssa to any of her friends.

That thought gave her a lot of anxiety. Poor kid grew up knowing she was a bastard. And Phoenix's parents took Aryssa in as their own because of the tragic story Aryssa had. It was a personal story the Sullivan clan really did not share with outsiders though.

Still... Phoenix would see her parents soon. And that greatly changed her mood.

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