ORP: When All the Stars Align

[Ayden "Ghost" Sheppard]

JB Andrews

When Troy crossed the tarmac Ayden looked him over, smiling a little. She had always been a sucker for a man in uniform and Troy was no different. Seeing him more relaxed with the tie on his uniform caused her smile to broaden a little and when he kissed her cheek she rested her hand on his side and eased into him. It was nice to see their night together had propelled things forward a bit. To be honest, she had been a little concerned as to what would happen after he left that morning, but being here with him now quelled whatever fears had come to her mind throughout the course of the day.

She happily took Troy's hand and followed him to the helicopter once it had landed and she climbed into it, easily settling down into the seat beside Troy and she pulled her headset on. As they took off her hand moved to rest on his and she looked out the window. "From what I've heard it's basically an underground Pentagon, she stated, looking back over at Troy as she raised a brow. "Is that where you're taking me? You've been rather secretive about this whole evening."

She was excited to say the least. It had been far too long since anyone had caught her off guard, especially a man, and if Troy's actions thus far were any indication that he intended the previous night to be more than simply a hookup, his plans for tonight would prove it.

< Tag: Troy Loveridge >

[Troy Loveridge]

DC airspace

The familiar and iconic DC skyline zipped past beneath them though the windows of the VH-60. It really was a beautiful city, and any opportunity to see it like this was always welcomed. Having such lovely company certainly added to the experience. The cityscape gave way to the suburbs, and then to the farms and fields of rural Maryland. It would take around half an hour to make it to their destination.

“So there are secrets the great spymaster isn’t privy to,” Troy replied in jest. Ayden had swept into his life yesterday and had been taking the lead ever since - it was good to take back the initiative. The commander inside him was much more comfortable calling the shots.

“It was built as a mini Pentagon should anything happen to DC, but what if I was to tell you that was no longer the case, all thanks to the Wraith?” And there was the hook - if he knew Ayden like he thought he did, he doubted she’d be able to resist the story that was to follow.

“After the Wraith attack on Area 51 in 2009, Fleet Command decided it wasn’t a good idea to build, train, and house all our cruisers and F-302s in the one spot.” This much was public knowledge to pretty much every one inside the Stargate program. “As you know, we spread the 302s to bases across the globe, and began flight training off-world.” As someone at Fleet Command had pointed out, it was a lot easier to fly around on an uninhabited world than try and hide the test flights on Earth.

“But, they saw no reason to move the simulators off-world, a decision they reached around about the same time they decided to scale back operations at Raven Rock.” He left the implication hanging, enjoying the moment much more than he should have. It was very rare that he got to mess with people.

< Tag Ayden "Ghost" Sheppard >

[Ayden "Ghost" Sheppard]

DC Airspace

Ayden liked to think she knew most things that went on within the Stargate Program. From all the time she spent as part of the little community as an Air Force Officer and now her time as an NID Agent made it so she was privy to most things going on, but the mystery of Raven Rock was not something she had known about. Both her brows rose in surprise as Troy told his story and she found her gaze being torn from the beautiful view to look at him intensely, hanging on to his every word. If what he said was true then their little trip to Raven Rock would bring her back to her roots in this program and her stomach filled with butterflies; she was ecstatic. 

"So, essentially, you're telling me that I mention I miss flying last night and now you're taking me to the place that just so happens to house the simulators I logged countless hours in?" She asked, a smile pulling at her lips as she gently grasped his hand. "Do you always go all out for dates like this, Troy?"

Ayden was impressed, to say the least. She had never expected anything to come from her mentioning how much she missed flying, how she ached to be in the cockpit again. She honestly never gave a second thought to it past their conversation and now she was in a VH-60 on the way to Pennsylvania with her former Commanding Officer. For someone who's world had been turned upside down and never seemed to go the right way, it seemed as if a new part of her life was starting. Troy definitely was exceeding her expectations and their date had barely started. 

< Tag: Troy Loveridge >

[Troy Loveridge]

Raven Rock Mountain Complex
Pennsylvania

"That would be an unforgivable misuse of public funds," Troy replied, with a slight hint of sarcasm. "The public purse doesn't exist for the enjoyment of senior officials."

"This visit is part of your DC familiarisation," he explained, putting on his best official yet mocking civil service voice. "In the interests of USAF-NID relations I'm showing you around a key Fleet Command facility. There'll be a quiz afterwards."

Just past the half hour mark the VH-60 descended down from cruising altitude and touched down on a helipad adjacent to the communications annex above the bunker. Protected by a high fence, guard towers and patrolling security forces personnel, Site R was one of the most secure bases outside the Pentagon, Area 51 or Stargate Command.

The base liaison officer introduced himself, handed them base passes to clip to their attire, and led them into the annex and through the security checkpoint. A rapid elevator brought them to the underground floor of the complex dedicated to pilot training. Off the main hallway were class rooms and briefing rooms to prepare for and then debrief from training runs. The door at the end of the hallway led to the simulators, the red 'Session in progress' light above the door was dim.

"Ladies first," he said, opening the door to the simulator room.

< Tag Ayden "Ghost" Sheppard >

[Ayden "Ghost" Sheppard]

Raven Rock Mountain Complex
Pennsylvania

Ayden raised a brow, throughly amused at how Troy was playing this off. She went with it, however, and simply nodded. Two can play this game easily, and once they touched down and were escorted through the base she kept her mouth closed, simply following alongside Troy and making note of their location. She was like a kid in a candy store at this point, her blue eyes widening with excitement once they reached their destination and she bit down on her lower lip in a futile attempt to hide the wide smile that wanted to cross her features. 

"Thank you, kind sir," She replied as she stepped through the doorway, only to stop when she walked past Troy and she leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper only he could hear. "If this is simply for USAF-NID relations, I suppose what I had planned for when we're back in DC would be highly inappropriate and unprofessional," she tsk'd and shook her head. "Shame, really. I was hoping for a repeat of last night."

And with that she made her way into the room and looked around. It had been far too long since she had been in one of these simulators, far too long since she had flown. She walked over to one of the simulators and her hand grazed over the back of the seat before she looked back to Troy, smiling innocently, "Will using the simulators be part of our little familiarization program, General Loveridge?"

< Tag: Troy Loveridge >