Pilots Catch Up

Log Title: Pilots Catch Up

Characters: Ace, Slipstream

Location: Airfield - Offutt AFB

Date: March 02, 2014

Summary: Ace and Slipstream converse on the Offutt AFB airfield.

As Logged by Ace - Sunday, March 02, 2014, 6:42 PM

Airfield - Offutt AFB

 * The Offutt airfield consists of runway, control tower, operations building, and two fire stations.

Ace is in the airfield, looking over the jets appreciatively. Right now he stands just below a Skystriker.

A snowball flies through the air, landing a few feet from Aces' own... feet.

Ace looks over at the errant snowball, and then for who threw it.

Slipstream is not at all trying to hide. But he was stuffing his now-wet hands into his pockets as he walked towards Ace, grinning "Hey man. How you doing today? " h e asked, perhaps anxious about his friends' health.

Ace smiles with his fresh new face. "I'm doing well, Slipstream. How are you?"

Slipstream stares at Aces' face a long moment though, but then shakes it off and looks away, perhaps trying NOT to stare "Eh, cold and bored. Havent had any excuses to go flying in a while. Needless to say everyone is watching me suspiciously when I'm indoors. What about yourself? Any fun?"

Ace says, "Nothing exciting. Still trying to get the regular poker games going again."

Slipstream chuckles with a grin "Nobody brave enough or just lost interest while our best player and teacher were out?"

Ace snirks. "I think they fear my new plastic face makes bluffing too easy now," he jests.

Slipstream laughs a little bit "If it wasnt too easy you wouldnt have done it so easily before though!" he notes, kicking at the snowballs' remains. "I'm up game for a game at some point though if you want. Only for pennies. Most of my money goes into pranks after all."

Ace laughs. "It's an important expense!"

Slipstream nods "Definitely. That and video games too obviously." he noted, not afraid to poke fun at himself. "Did you hear what LIfeline did around christmas? He swapped our Xbox or a fake one and made it eject a sandwich."

Ace laughs. "Lifeline did that? I think you're having a bad influence on him."

Slipstream shrugs "Its not ME, blame his girlfriend." he remarks "I didnt know he had the tech ability to do that."

Ace smirks. "He probably had help. It's not like you don't have a host of former prank victims probably lining up to help him out." Ace smiles.

Slipstream states "And I never complain when I get got-backed." he notes, and fishes in his pocket "... dont mind if I have a smoke do you?"

Ace frowns. "You really should quit," he admonishes.

Slipstream frowns as he pulls out a half finished cig "Dont get started on me." he grumbles "I have ONE cig a week. I probably have a better chance of crashing on the tarmac. Anyways, how old are we now and we havent gotten alzheimers or cancer or anything? " he points out as he steps away politely, moving downwind to light up "If you get to play poker, I get to do this."

Ace frowns. "I don't think Lifeline would agree that it's the same kind of vice..."

Slipstream remarks "They've decided addiction to video games can be as unhealthy as smoking when uncontrolled you know. Anyways, I /have/ been doing better than in the past few years. I just... need SOMEthing. Does that make sense? What do you think of Nightingale?"

Ace raises his eyebrows at Slipstream's stead stream of consciousness. Leaping onto the last bit, he says, "I don't know her very well, yet, but she seems pretty nice. And competent, which is most important."

Slipstream nods "Being nice is always a bonus in a doctor. Makes visiting them much easier eh? " he grinned "She was helping out with you when you uh, got hurt a while back too. Really has a kind heart. I just hope she doesnt get too attached you know?"

Ace says, "To Lifeline? Or injured Joes?"

Slipstream says, "The second. I think they're well and truly a couple at this point. Which could be good... or bad." admits Slipstream "I hear its stressful doubly so when both are in the forces."

Ace nods. "I guess it's lucky I've been mostly able to avoid romantic entanglements with other pilots."

Slipstream snickers a little bit "Considering I think we're all guys well, you couldnt have anyways till a few years ago."

Ace smirks. "That HAS helped," he admits.

"I think we only have Wisp who's a pilot actually." admits Slipstream thoughtfully "All the other girls are grounded."

Ace says, "Yeah, we have lost a lot of our female pilots. It's a shame."

Slipstream shrugs "I dont know, at least this way I know my girlfriend can never outfly me." he notes.

Ace smirks. "If you were a better pilot, you won't have to worry that," he teases.

Slipstream oys! and stares at Ace, but he started to guffaw loudly and lifts a hand to smack Aces' shoulder "Says the man who I fly CIRCLES around!" he noted aloud.

Ace says, "I knew some good pilots in Alaska... I cna't claim I never got involved with any of them, but those weren't fellow combat pilots." He smirks at Slipstream's claims. "Only when you're supposed to be flying straight, Slipstream," he grins.

Slipstream shakes his head a little bit "Oh, Herc pilots? Those guys are nice... know an entirely different set of tricks. I was bored and tried the Herc in our simulators... not as easy as you'd think!

Ace smiles. "I had to fly a Herc recently, myself. It was quite a different experience!"

Slipstream says, "Did you try to find the afterburner button?"

Ace laughs. "No, I resisted the urge."

Slipstream nods "What about the ejector lever?" he asked, grinning still.

Ace says, "No, but when we ran into a Decepticon I suddenly felt very very vulnerable."

Slipstream grimaces "Yeah. Those Herks are giant targets, but they can take a beating before going down at least."

Ace nods. "Luckily the crazy Decepticon didn't seem to want a fight -- she just wanted Cobra to get credit for our humanitarian efforts. I'll admit I can't understand how the Transformers think."

Slipstream shrugs "No clue myself. Considering that we were 'controlling' news reports, I really doubt that was gonna happen. I dont know why they keep trying to look like good guys 'yeah, we stepped on a bunch of people and stole some energy, but we're the GOOD GUYS, really!"

Ace shakes his head. "I can't claim to understand any of them."

Slipstream says, "Its baffling when Cobra tries the same thing to be honest "We once tried to use Nuclear War to get everyone to surrender to us, but we're not all that bad."

Ace chuckles. "The public seems to have a really short attention span."

Slipstream nods "Yeah. I just keep wanting to hijack the news stations and play a 'list of Cobra's past crimes that show that they're full of shit' music video or something." he looked unhappy.

Ace grins. "Well, it sounds like even their own people aren't fooled. I heard there were protests in the main square of Crown City in Cobra Unity."

Slipstream blinks "Didnt know THAT. Good to hear though. I find I get too irritated when I see most of their newscasts, so I avoid it." he admits, flicking some ash away.

Ace says, "Yeah... If I was one of the more aggressive Joes, I'd have probably shot out my TV by now."

Slipstream nods "I find a suction cup dart helps a bit with both." he notes, and drops the cig, steps on it, then reaches down to pick up the remains for proper disposal.

Ace says, "Maybe I should get a Nerf gun or something."

Slipstream oos "We can do shootouts then in the rec room. That would be fun!

Ace chuckles. "My aim does need a little practice"

Slipstream grins "Nerf is TERRIBLE for practicing your aim. Very inaccurate to begin with." he remarks "At least that's what I keep telling myself!"

Ace says, "I'm surprised you haven't had our weaponsmiths create new high-tech Nerf guns for you."

Slipstream notes "Nerf does that already. They have SNIPER RIFLES for goodness' sake!"

Ace raises his eyebrows. "Really? I guess I'm behind the times."

Slipstream nods "yeah. I just got a belt-fed one myself." he grinned.

Ace smiles. "Nice!"

As the wind picked up a bit, Slipstream shivered "Want to head into the hangar before we both freeze to pilotsicles? " he asked the taller man.

Ace nods. "Excellent idea!" He takes off, to leads them back into the hangar and the promise of slightly-warmer heat.

Slipstream turns to jog alongside Ace that way as well "So they finally caught the guy who spiked the punch!

Ace looks over at Slipstream. "Oh? It must be nice ti have your name cleared. Anyone we know?"

Slipstream states distastefully "One of the new greenshirts. He's out already and probably going to get kicked out o the regular military too."

Ace nods, frowning. "That's a shame."

Slipstream nods "Yeah, but serious business. That /I/ got blamed for it doesnt make me happy either. I dont mind getting yelled at when its not me when its harmless, but this goes too far. I'm told he tried to do the 'they should have been responsible' stuff too." he grimaced.

Ace nods, grimacing as well. "I did a lot of stupid shit when I was young. I hope this stunt doesn't ruin their careers."

Slipstream remarks "Even if it doesnt officially, word is going to get around and he's going to get hurt... well, not LITERALLY obviously."

Ace nods, frowning. Obviously he feels a little more sympathy for the perp than some others.

Slipstream doesnt seem to have sympathy at all. But then it was his reputation on the line too! "Glad its' all over with. I know L and O had to follow procedure, so not too mad at him for taking me in for questioning." he admits.

Ace frowns. "I'm not sure they needed to do all that. Since when does G.I. Joe slavishly stick to procedure?"

Slipstream shrugs "When people's health and lives are at risk. I guess at times we DO have to, if only to make the brass happy." he admits and looks about the empty hangar. Planes were sitting, some in dust covers, but it was empty of people except for those two.

Ace stops and looks at Slipstream. "Oh, please. It was some spiked punch. Are we all six-year-olds now?"

Slipstream frowns "And what if someone was dealing with alcoholism Ace? Or had an allergy? Food is serious stuff, that's why I /dont/ mess with food. Except for mailing six hundred potatoes." he admits.

Ace says, "If the punch had that much alcohol in it, people would have noticed it sooner before drinking it. You're telling me you can't tell the difference between alcoholic and non-alcoholic punch?"

"/I/ can. But you know Wisp and several others ended up intoxicated." notes Slipstream "And I was only able to tell cause I know what I feel like when I started to get buzzed. It was smooth."

Ace shrugs. "I still think brass overreacted to a simple prank. And it surprises me that you of all people would be unsympathetic."

Slipstream sighs "Its not a prank when it could have killed someone Ace. All /my/ pranks are designed to not actually be harmful. Food pranks are out cause you dont know if someone may have an allergic reaction and DIE. I used to do food pranks you know. I put peanut butter on all the bathroom handle doors at school. Some kid turned out to be allergic to peanuts."

Ace hms. "I can see that." He doesn't seem fully convinced but doesn't look like he wants to argue the point.

Slipstream nods "Even with that in mind, I still DO toe the line a lot. I only get away with it cause nobody actually TELLS brass. Someone told, or they found out this time. I'm sure if they found out how often I pranked they'd have more words with me." he notes.

Ace smirks. "I don't think the brass is as unaware as you think they are, Slipstream. Hawk is no dummy."

Slipstream lifts a finger "Hawk doesnt count as Brass, cause he's also a Joe."

Ace scoffs. "Joe or not, Hawk's a Lieutenant General. That's about as brass as you get."

Slipstream nods "Yeah, but the Buck stops there with most stuff. He's kind of our 'firewall' to the other brass. He's also still a Joe."

Ace shrugs. "True. I'm a Colonel, and I let you get away with all kinds of shit."

Slipstream grins "Just cause you love me and you know it helps me do a good job, right?"

Ace snerks. "Mostly because they amuse the hell out of me and sometimes I need the laugh. Besides, I can't let the pongos hold the title for best pranksters."

Slipstream chuckles and reaches about to grab Ace by the shoulders "That too. I'm glad for it as well. You keep me in line, but only enough to make sure I am kept in line." he notes.

Ace smiles at the Slipstreamism.

Slipstream grins at Ace a little, then remarks "I promised I havent put a 'pinch me' sign on your back."

Ace says, "Better not. I'll strap you to the Skystriker and you can see what it's like to fly outside next time."

Slipstream whistles a little "Nothing like spending a few million dollars of Taxpayer money to teach someone a lesson right?"

Ace says, "It's the G.I. Joe way! And, besides -- I doubt it would harm the Skystriker any."

"That it is!" he notes Slipstream "They still reject my attempts to file my receipts for prank-ware as work related purchases though."

Ace says, "I can't imagine why!"

Slipstream shrugs "Neither can I." with false puzzlement "On that note, I think we're finally getting the OK to do some real time exercises tomorrow. You in?"

Ace smiles. "Sure. I could use the action!"

Slipstream chuckles "Well, we'll be playing 'million dollar aerial laser tag' but it'll be a good exercise, and you can see how your nerves stand up to the G forces in a 'Striker or Conquest." he notes.

Ace smirks. "I'm sure they can handle it, and it will be good not to be flying a desk for a change."

Slipstream nods "Still, you'll be going where no plastic surgeon case has gone before. I'm sure they'll want to poke and prod you for a bit afterwards to see how it holds up."

Ace chuckles. "Well, I guess if my new face doesn't hold it, it's best to find it out now and not in combat!"

Slipstream pauses, and suddenly grimaces "... Ugh. Sorry. I had a horrible visual at that."

Ace laughs. "I'm sure most of it will stay on my flight helmet, at least," he teases.

Slipstream nods "Remind me to look away when you take the mask off though." he joked though.

Ace says, "Well, at least have a bucket ready..."

Slipstream remarks "I'll make sure to." with only a little bit of seriousness "Can I ask if it... it hurt after you got the new face?"

Ace frowns. "It took a little while for my muscles to adjust. Not really much sharp pain... more like a lot of discomfort."

Slipstream nods a little sympathetically "Glad you pulled through though."

Ace says, "Me, too. Lifeline is a genius."

Slipstream says, "His Doctor from Japan is too. That guy was the expert in this case. "

Ace nods. "Yes. I owe him my face."

Slipstream says, "Lifeline was showing off your face before it was put in. Creepy."

Ace grins. "Now that's an optimist!"

Slipstream chuckles "Well, at first we thought it was a hallowe'en mask." he admits.

Ace says, "People think that anyway."

Slipstream pauses "okay you lost me there man."

Ace raises his eyebrows. "It's a self-depreciating joke, man."

Slipstream ooohs and grins "I see. I get it now. " he notes "I guess maybe I need more soda pop, heh."

Ace says, "Watch the hard stuff, there." He starts heading inside and out of the drafty hangar.

Slipstream smirks "Hahaha. I've cut down on THAT too." he notes, following into the warmer interior

Lift - The Pit
This is a large elevator car which provides access to the various floors of the building. Beside the doors, a panel of keys allow one to direct the elevator to one's destination.

Ace steps into the lift, and hits the button for the Off Duty Level. He holds the door for Slipstream to make sure it doesn't close on him.

Elevator: Ace presses the button marked l2. The Elevator moves... The elevator stops, and the doors open on Off Duty Level - The Pit. When the doors open, Ace holds them open for Slip to exit first.

Slipstream slides sideways into the elevator, and hums elevator music as he waits for the doors to open again. Slipstream goes to Off Duty Level - The Pit. Slipstream has left.

Off Duty Level - The Pit
This expanse of rooms serves as the mess hall basewide and the off-duty lounge. Personnel can eat meals at scheduled mealtimes or use a self-preparation area for off-hours snacking and meals.

On the other side of a movable partition is the rec lounge. The lounge has a 60" plasma screen TV with DVD player and VCR and a small selection of movies. It also has overstuffed couches and chairs everywhere, and low tables for people to set their food on while they watch. There are also outlets for laptops, and a few computers, hooked to the unsecured line for people to read email and websurf. These public computers bear a notice which says not to install software randomly, and if people want video games, to get computers in their own rooms.

Slipstream heads towards the coffee and soda station, asking "HEy Ace, what do you want?"

Ace says, "Just water for now. Thanks."

Slipstream nods and pours some water, adds a bit o ice, and moves towards their table "Here we go then."

Ace smiles. "Thanks." He has a seat.

Slipstream sits as well and pulls out a suction cup dart gun and fires it at the big screen TV, getting a few shouts from some Greenshirts watching the Oscars.

Ace smirks and snickers.

Slipstream laughs as well and settles down "Gotta keep them on their toes." he notes to Ace, slurping at his coke. "So what's on the agenda tonight?

Ace says, "Not much. I have early work tomorrow, so I'm not staying up that late. The days of hard-partying Ace are over."

Slipstream tuts "Even at Christmas?"

Ace says, "Depends on who's spiking the punch."

Slipstream snorts "Not me!" Slipstream was quite amused though it seemed.

Ace grins wryly. "Sure, sure..."

Slipstream then pulls out a bouncey ball, eyes Aces' water, and tries to bounce it in.

Ace frowns as the ball splooshes into his ice water.

Slipstream blinks "... Shit. Sorry. I didnt think I would ACE it. " he stands to get his buddy another one.

Ace shakes his head at Slipstream's antics.

Slipstream comes back, with another water, and puts it down, taking the other one himself and drinking it, with the ball still in it.

Ace smiles crookedly at his fellow pilot.

Slipstream grins back "No groan for my pun?"

Ace says, "Trust me - by now, I'm used to much worse." He smiles, the small scars from his surgery wrinkling around the edge of his face. If he can survive Slipstream's puns, he can survive anything.