Capitaine de Taillepied de Bondy was the current CO of Escadrille C17. He took his job seriously and made a habit to see each newly arrived pilot in his unit personally. There were no exceptions and Gaston found himself directly in front of his office desk short while after arriving yesterday. De Bondy was a traditionalist and his lanky frame was sitting rigidly on a wooden chair behind the desk, making perfect 90 degree angles with all his body parts where possible. - “Sergent Voscadeaux, there will be no silly stunt flying in my escadrille. No loops, or barrel rolls.” Capitaine’s mouth was forming pronounced “r’s” which were rolling off his lips, making sure his aristocratic roots were well on display. - “Capitaine, I am of the same opinio...” - “There will also be no interruptions while I’m speaking. I suggest you speak with adjutant Dumas about ALL the rules and regulations pertaining to this outfit.” Capitaine’s ice-blue eyes were piercing Gaston. “Tomorrow morning you will fly 2 circuits around the aerodrome. I want to see 2 perfect circles. Not squares, not triangles. Circles. Is that understood Sergent?” De Bondy kept his gaze fixed on Gaston until the other man saluted and exited his office. He will definitely need to talk to the adjutant if he wants to stay on Capitaine’s good side. That was yesterday. Currently Gaston was sitting in the cockpit of the Caudron assigned to him with no observer in front, attempting to impress his new superior by following his orders to a tee. Two perfect doughnuts. Sounds simple enough, especially with the clouds hanging so low that the Capitaine couldn’t possibly follow his flight path. Voscadeaux completed the exercise and landed on the field. Adjutant Dumas was noting something in his notebook, but the Capitaine was nowhere in sight. Gaston was afraid that he’ll have to repeat the exercise for the Capitaine, but adjutant Dumas informed him these two are sufficient and tomorrow he will accompany the rest of the flight to the front lines. Finally some good news!
"Take the cylinder out of my kidneys, The connecting rod out of my brain, my brain, From out of my arse take the camshaft, And assemble the engine again."
