Re: Chapter 01: Nebula Entry | Day 01 [1900 hrs.]
Reply #15 –
[ Lieutenant Commander Leon "Striker" Marquez + Ensign Jimmy Mariner | Fighter Assault Bay | Deck 16 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: All
Jimmy smirked at O'Connell's speech, and knew they'd probably get along, clearly speaking the same language, albeit different accents. The Ensign stood at attention when the chief of security appeared, and clutched the half-melted dedication plaque of the USS Resolve, almost in a right-shoulder-arms position, while holding Sharky on his leash. The Pit Bull likewise sat at attention, seeming to listen to the speeches, even his normally-wagging tail was still. The Australian security ensign immediately respected his new chief, and would see about getting back his Bajoran phaser pistol "Kira". He bought the weapon's case from a Ferengi Bartender during a shore leave on Deep Space 9 which was shipped via independent transport to his holdings, only to learn the weapon was inert, under the Station Constable's influence. Jimmy, impressed by the weapon's design, named the gun after a Bajoran Colonel who'd broken his heart, but Jimmy thought the name was fitting for the weapon... and he wanted his fire-breathing redhead back, to say nothing of his home-made holdout variant built during his time on Resolve. Jimmy would claim they were a gift from the Bajoran people as a token of gratitude for his role in protecting them from the Dominion; he hoped Commander Cinn would see it that way, and might even ask for a similar model, and Mariner would readily comply.
The Captain's brig recording was... disturbing, and Leon Marquez still wore the scars to remind him that this threat was very real, and capable of unspeakale levels of sabotage and subterfuge; his doubts about the XO went away when he deemed him to be a fellow tough talker in the footage, if only there was a way to overlook the idle fear of other parasites aboard. Marquez wasn't particularly religious, but he did believe in a higher power, and that there had to be hells from which mankind and its allies would need to combat and contain. Marquez reviewed the footage without flinching, only hardened his regard. He had a promise to the Hawthorne neural parasite, and he preferred fried calamari to boiled, though he would enjoy the taste of revenge.
Jimmy, meanwhile was both engaged and horrified by the prisoner and her seemingly-unnatural voice and behavior. He internally scolded himself for finding Ensign Acreth attractive at first sight. Now he knew and understood why Striker was so paranoid, or at least wary about who he should trust, and why Steady Nerves and Stout Hearts were indeed needed. Ensign Mariner clung even slightly more to his Pit Bull's leash and the Resolve dedication plaque that much more. Over lunch earlier, Jimmy learned that his friend had used old-fashioned blunt trauma to incapacitate the 'head of the snake' as he called the SB84's lead parasite, and part of him looked forward to using the Resolve's plaque on the first bugger he met, like smashing an Australian scorpion with a hammer. One more reason to have his phasers' handguards handy.
The Captain was right, Resolve's surviving crew for all he knew were guilty by association anyway, and part of Marquez suspected that if anyone tried to leave, they might be subject to sequestration, arrest, or, outright elimination. After the tape ended, Marquez cast a gaze at his crew that spoke volumes, silently encouraging them to keep the status quo... Time Travel?! <...Chingada*...> Marquez held his tongue, but now was dedicating some of his strategic mind's gears toward temporal mechanics, now he was mindful of the possibility someone could go back and kill him, or others, in the past. There had to be a way to combat this nightmare.
Striker's thoughts turned from worry to awe as he regarded the future four-celled design with a barely-contained half-smile, analyzing
<Now that's more like it. It isn't an assassin's weapon from the future, it's a gift from the enemy.>
In another time, Striker was a member of the Danube-Class Runabout R&D team when he was a cadet at the academy and back then, he considered becoming a full time pilot or helmsman to be first in line to test next-generation shuttlecraft or pilots, but even in the study halls with his classmates, even he didn't think a ship like this keepsake from the Calamity was feasible. An instructor had once berated one of Striker's classmatess for designing something so impractical and outlandish. On the subject of time travel, Marquez wished he could go back and pass along scans to that classmate, who, regrettably, died during the war in a Peregrine fighter during Operation Return, the life lesson was never to try to over-impress one's superiors.
Marquez wanted to explore and scan this new vessel stem to stern and find a way to run its capabilities in a holodeck to best see how he could incorporate it into his strategies for defense and, possibly, pre-emptive attack. He'd pilot it himself if he absolutely had to, and Striker wasn't known for fighting fair when survival was at stake. All the same, he waited his turn to see where he would fit into this crew, guaging that Jimmy would be in good hands under Commander Cinn's department. LCmdr Marquez suspected Havenborn would be one of the first to explore the vessel and hoped it would respond well to the Resolve SCO's touch if given the chance. Marquez noticed Vivian Martin, who seemed particularly disturbed by what she had seen; No amount of coffee could settle the scientist's nerves, much as he wanted to reassure her in particular. When the junior officers turned to face the new ship, Marquez knew he heard a familiar voice; the same one he was hoping would keep a watchful eye on Martin. Marquez wasn't sure whether to chuckle or clear his throat.
*Wolf-whistle* "Crikey!" true to his character, Jimmy dropped a whistle intended for something he found attractive to the eye, but passed eye contact with a female junior lieutenant pilot, yet kept his smug smile fixed on the fighter.
OOC: *((Chiin-gah'dah. A variant of the 'F' word or tabarnack'))