The Yellow Rider Rides Again?! (Part 2)

Posted on Wed May 8th, 2024 @ 4:33am by Captain Takami Karibuchi & Commander Hikari Karibuchi & Yulena Shastakar & Lieutenant Naoe Kanno & Chief Petty Officer Nikka Katajainen
Edited on on Wed May 15th, 2024 @ 2:50am

1,116 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Season 1, Episode 0: "A Time To Heal"
Location: Holodeck Two, Deck 5
Timeline: After 'The Yellow Rider Rides Again?! (Part 1)'

Previously, on Star Trek: Yorktown:

Naoe sighed.

"I can see you're unconvinced by words." She said, holding up the keys to the Trueno. "Perhaps what we need is a live demonstration!"

And now, the continuation:

Once the three other women had piled in, Naoe, had turned the Trueno around and was now heading back down Mount Akina, with Naoe holding a steady 70 km/h.

"So... Which move do you ladies want to see first?" Naoe asked, knowing that the first corner was coming up.

"Move?" Hikari repeated, a look of confusion evident in her expression. "Uhh..."

"Why don't we start out with something simple, Naoe?" Takami recommended. "We can gradually work our way up to more complex maneuvers as we go."

"Okay." Naoe responded. "Well, hold onto your horses!"

Naoe then put her foot down. The RPMs increased as the 4A-GE engine roared up, and the speedometer went from 70 to 100 km/h. A slight dinging sound began in the cabin as a result of this excess speed.

"Wait, you mean right now?" Takami asked, panic entering her voice.

Takami's question, however, went unanswered. as Naoe was now rapidly approaching the first corner. As the Trueno flew past the point to safely turn the corner at the speed it was going, Naoe put on the brakes, rotating her foot to the accelerator as she put in the clutch and downshifted, guiding the Trueno into a braking drift.

"JESUS CHRIST!" Hikari exclaimed as both she and Takami were squashed up against the C Pillar.

"Slow down, you maniac!" Yulena scolded. "If you were caught driving like this back on Annexar, you'd be pulled over for reckless endangerment!"

"Funny you mention that, because reckless endangerment is what I was jailed for!" Naoe yelled, throwing the Trueno into a higher gear and accelerating out of the corner.

"My case went to court, and I was found guilty on multiple counts!" Naoe ranted as she chucked the Trueno around the next corner sideways. "One year in jail I was sentenced to: One year for reckless endangerment! Some bitch cut my cheek open in a goddamn prison riot and I still have the scar! I went through the hell on earth that was a halfway house, and you have the nerve to tell me I don't know hardship? Perhaps you don't know who the fuck you're talking to!"

"You call that a hardship?!" Yulena chastised. "You weren't born into a military caste system where your very identity amounted to little more than a glorified government asset! You weren't the one who was forced to carry out your government's dirty work! You weren't the one shielding her platoon commander from an I.E.D. blast! And I can guarantee that you never had the displeasure of being forced to watch as your comrades mercilessly gunned down innocent children! I've seen more in this fucking miserable span of existence than you could ever hope to see in yours, so don't you dare accuse me of not knowing "hardship"!"

"That's it!" Naoe declared, taking off her seatbelt and lunging for Yulena's throat. "I'm going to crush your god damn windpipes!"

"Naoe, hands on the WHEEEEEEEEEL!!!!!" Takami shrieked.

But it was too late; before Naoe had the chance to correct herself, the Trueno bounced off the inside guardrail, careened across the road somewhere north of 50 miles an hour, tore straight through the outside guardrail, and tumbled down the side of the mountain, bursting into a brilliant ball of flame and killing the four of them instantly.

Fortunately, Naoe had had the insight to have the safety protocols enabled for such an occasion, and the program immediately reset them at the top of the mountain.

Having spent what felt like an eternity tumbling about the cabin, when Naoe was reset to the driver's position she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Get out of the car, please..." Naoe said in a low, threatening tone.

"With pleasure!" Yulena huffed, all too keen on putting as much distance between Naoe and herself as possible.

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Hikari muttered as she all but bailed out of the Trueno and stumbled over to a nearby bush where she could lose her breakfast with dignity.

Naoe breathed a sigh of relief; for a moment, she thought she was going to have to literally push her passengers out of the car.

Suddenly, she felt a hand resting gently upon her shoulders.

"It wasn't your fault, Naoe," Takami assured her. "General Shastakar just has different expectations of how the Galaxy works; she'll come around to our way of doing things soon enough."

Naoe turned around when she realized that Takami was still in the backseat: Evidently, she hadn't made her orders clear:

"Get out means you too, Takami:" She responded, motioning towards the passenger side door with her thumb. "Everybody out:"

Takami didn't need to be told twice, and proceeded to climb out without so much as a word.

Once Takami had gotten out, the 4A-GE engine started back up, and Naoe peeled off back down the mountain, leaving only a small puff of tire smoke in her wake.

"Well," Hikari began, poking her head up from the bushes. "That went badly, as expected..."

"Lieutenant Kanno has a lot of... Bitterness that she keeps bottled up." Takami explained. "She wasn't in the best of places when I found her, but I've seen how far she's come, and how great of a pilot she is. First impressions were never her strong suit, so I'd advise you stick with her and give her a chance before you sack her."

Hikari stood up and emerged from the bushes, pausing momentarily to brush off the twigs and chunks of vomit that were still clinging to her uniform.

"While in any other situation, I would be hard-pressed to agree..." she began, "If it's you that's vouching for her, Takami, then that's a decision I'm willing to honor; but I'll reserve judgement in regards to her piloting skills until I see them for myself."

"And that's all I can ask for:" Takami smiled. "Now, where we we with the tour?"

Posting by

Commander Hikari Karibuchi
Commanding Officer, USS Yorktown

Lieutenant Naoe Kanno
Chief Flight Control Officer, USS Yorktown

Chief Petty Officer Nikka Katajainen
Quartermaster, USS Yorktown

Captain Takami Karibuchi
Commanding Officer, USS Hornet

General Yulena Shastakar
Annexari Special Representative

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