Day 01 [0730 hrs.] Aldean Dawn

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Day 01 [0730 hrs.] Aldean Dawn

April 30, 2019, 12:52:43 AM

"ALDEAN DAWN"

STARDATE 57558.47
MARCH 11, 2381
0730 HRS.

[ Captain Ives | CO's Quarters | Deck 10 | Vector 02 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: All
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Thea woke her up, which in itself was sign of normalcy that made Jien linger where she laid - her female form splayed on top of twisted sheets. Three hours she'd had available, far less of actual sleep.

Eyes opened, she turned her head and looked towards the deckhead - still brightly lit. She had not dampened the lighting in her quarters when she'd finally found her way there in the middle of the night, the preparations post-docking having kept her up. Her dreams... they fed on the dark, reminding her of the Scion's Nest. No, she was not prepared to dampen the light. She had not even blinked much since she was liberated, and that she didn't need to had nothing to do with it. The reason was simple. Because behind her eyelids, it waited.

The Scion. Gleaming chitin, claws and mandibles shimmering with lights of distant screens. The echo of clicking sounds as it moved, her tormentor beyond the stasis field. Worse was the reminder of pain and shame, though the former was nothing compared to what a solid might suffer. Perhaps it was the sole reason she felt functional still - able to compartmentalise it all? She raised her hand towards the light... and she saw deep gouges of claw-marks in her flesh.

Eyes wide, she swallowed, and stifled the scream that rose in her throat. She got up from her bed, and looked down her body, seeing the marks of the Scion still upon her. Her imitation of a heart was raging, and she breathed through her teeth. Focus! she told herself, and with trained rationality, she realised there was no pain. What she saw was merely her dreams made flesh through her morphogenic matrix. She had not shifted in her sleep since her adolescence, but rationality soon won over panic, and she closed her eyes - regretting it immediately. Yet as she exhaled, she made her body resume its normal female form. The injuries closed, and the representation of coagulated blood upon her was absorbed, leaving unblemished skin.

Alone, where no one could see, she sank down on the deck next to her bed, and covered her mouth with her hand - fingers trembling. Her human body, honed for decades in imitation, made her want to cry, and she felt her tear-ducts produce the salty wetness that blurred her vision. Right then, she cursed her inborn senses, that enabled such close biological emulation. With a force of will, she stopped her form's tears to come, and wiped her eyes. With a shuddering breath, she put what happened behind her, and rose to her feet.

"Thea, what's the time?" she said, her voice yet steady, slowly walking into the main room of her quarters. She narrowed her eyes against the garish light of dawn. The sun was shining upon the Klingon shipyards far above the atmosphere and the planet surface alike. Thea was in MVAM mode for repair of all hull surfaces. The three Vectors, all severely damaged, separated and taking up the majority of the drydock capacity of the Aldea Prime Shipyards. Thea's port, for the foreseeable future.

[0733 hrs.] came the reply, the sound of the A.I. voice yet again a reassurance.

"Please have the Senior Staff gathered in the conference lounge on Vector 01 at 0800 hrs." Jien headed for her bathroom, meaning to wash off the sweat of her night terrors. If only she could wash off her memories. Still, new times came with this dawn, and she sought solace in the knowledge that her crew was safe, and the Klingon Empire was their ally.

The Aldeans? Well, it was time to learn what they sought in compensation for this favour to High Chancellor Martok.

>> Click For Full Resolution

[ Later | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]

After his shower, Jien had changed to his male form, and stepped into the Main Bridge's adjacent conference room. Those who had yet to gather were soon due, and Jien gave those present a faint smile. Outside the panorama viewport, one could see how the Helmet was facing away from the shipyards, only a distant Klingon ship seen as it was docking with an orbital defence station. Blinking navigation lights flashed lazily from it, far above the planet surface of Aldea - golden and in sharp contrast to the star-strewn void beyond.

"Good morning," he said to the present officers when it was time, the last stragglers finding their way inside the room. He nodded for them to seat themselves while he remained standing, hands folded behind his back. "Some of you may have been asleep, but as you are aware by now, Thea is split up for repairs. All reports indicate that our approach to Aldea went by undetected by any other factions than the Klingons and the Aldeans themselves. We may not see it from inside the field, but these shipyards are cloaked from outside detection - the technology Aldean and foreign to most. Access to these shipyards are strictly permitted to us, selected Klingons, and the Aldeans with a high enough security clearance. Consider this a safe port, and we need it. Thea, would you join us please?"

With a shimmer of light, the Ship A.I. materialised beside the conference room table. "Yes, Captain?"

"The Klingon General and the Aldean representative, when will they be available?"

"Commander Dewitt informed me that both are available at 0815 hrs., Captain. They are ready to link up for communication with you here. If she may attend, Dewitt will be available shortly as well, having made the last arrangements with the Aldean officers running the shipyard's operations this early morning. Liaison Zyrao Natauna also spoke with the Klingons here in the same capacity, but I am unaware of her availability. She did inform me that High Chancellor Martok will be available via subspace link from his ship later today. I have yet to receive a specific time, unfortunately."

"Thank you, Thea, and yes, have Dewitt join us," said Jien and looked around the room and the mix of new and old faces with a quiet smile. Lieutenants Cross and Akoni were due to take the Bridge Officer test at noon, so before then, Deputy zh'Wann and Lieutenant T'Less represented Security and Tactical respectively, and might do so still if the two Endeavour officers didn't pass. Closest to Jien's side sat Commander Ducote.

"That gives us fifteen minutes for introductions. Name, rank, brief summary of your service record," said Jien and seated himself at last, "and please, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to voice them as well. Will you begin, Number One?"

OOC: This marks the beginning of the first week in the Aldea Prime Anthology (between March 11 and 18, 2381). This thread is for the new Senior Staff, and as for the introductions made in the thread, please pass the proverbial talking stick to the officer seated next in line around the table (writer's pick). The seating arrangement is thus determined by tagging the next Senior Staff writer. Once all characters have introduced themselves, Ives will answer all the questions that haven't been answered by others already, and the talk with their hosts will begin. Here are those present in the room, in no particular order:

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Because of the Battle of the Apertures, the Klingons diminished forces have created gaps in the planetary defence of Aldea and the whole of the Epsilon Mynos System. The Aldeans may have agreed to repair Thea, an accord struck with Martok in that regard, but they still want the Theurgy to aid in protecting their people from pirates and marauders. They are willing to abide that the Theurgy officers conduct this protection by Starfleet protocol, which means non-lethal force unless there are no other options. What will be learned in this IC scene in the conference lounge will be the following, presented by Department, for your inspiration:

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TACTICAL
Here, the focus is combat readiness evaluation, in the event that the Theurgy is discovered at Aldea and the ship has to scramble and escape. Besides readiness and priority of tactical system repairs for the engineers on and off ship, there is also inventory for restocking of torpedo magazines. Research should also be done in regard to Aldean upgrades of weapon systems. Viable technologies to be found? The cooperation with the Aldean Defence Committee yet to be determined. Are there any unmanned Starfleet depots close to the Epsilon Mynos System? Can the Theurgy restock using the Allegiant/Other shuttle without being detected at said depots? Assess opportunities and risks, present options.

CONN
While the Theurgy might be in drydock for repairs, the activity will be higher than ever for the CONN officers. Like running a taxi company, shuttle pilots need to be spread over numerous tasks, ranging from repairs to resupply missions. Like the Theurgy warp fighters (see below for Tac CONN), the shuttles needs to have their transponders switched out to Aldean ones to avoid sensor signatures telling the shuttles belong to the Theurgy. Moreover, they will all get light Aldean visibility cloaks to mask their telltale Starfleet fuselages. To the naked eye, their profiles will be obscured. The cloaks will not hide the presence of the shuttles, but their identities, and the shuttles will be ready for use on the 12th of March (the day after the scene in this thread). Once these shuttle refits are done, they may be used to visit the Aldean wilderness off or on duty (as long as the officers get the Security briefing about how they should conduct themselves planet-side). To visit Aldea Prime - just the city - standard protocol is to use the Transporter facilities on Thea or the Shipyards, not the shuttles.

SECURITY
Security officers are to attend away missions, with a minimum of one security guard for each endeavour. Furthermore, the Aldeans will be requesting that reconnaissance is made on some of the Ghost Cities around Aldea Prime, which are believed to host pirates and thieves. Gathering of intel will then lead to non-lethal efforts to neutralise the threat of these pirate bands. Security officers may also be doing duties where they protect planet-side facilities or trade efforts since there are not enough Klingons present to do it after the Battle of the Apertures. All officers leaving the Shipyards needs to use Aldean clothing, and if armament is required, they must use Aldean phasers and rifles (tech based on Federation standard armament with different appearance). Such armament can be collected in the Shipyards.

TACTICAL CONN
All warp fighters are to be fitted with Aldean transponders, and they will also be fitted with light visibility cloaks to hide their trade-mark prototype profiles (see above in the CONN section or shuttles, same thing). First patrols will commence after fighter repairs and refits at 1000 hrs. on March 12 (day after this scene). Patrols will be done with 4 fighters (by Flight) for 6 hours at the time. This means 18 hours of downtime and 6 hours of Epsilon Mynos System patrols per day. Shoot to disable and bring pirates to Aldea for questioning, or report to Aldean authorities where they may find disabled pirate ships so that they may be towed to the planet for their hearings.

MEDICAL
For the time being, focus should be held on treatment of injured crew. Medical personnel may also attend some away missions as needed, or get called in to aid in planet-side Security efforts. V-Nine will be preforming surgeries on the Savi abductees to revert them to their original bodies starting this day (March 11). PM me about this!

ENGINEERING & OPS
Duct-tape Thea. Do this together with the Klingon dock workers. Plenty of work to go around here. Need I say more? There will be missions and planetside plots as well, of course, in due time.

SCIENCE
Plenty of scientific fields to explore, only one of them being the research into transphasic light and the connection to the Infested. Doctor Nicander is freely available for further questioning and scans as needed. Over time, Aldean-related Science missions and plot will come up too!

Lone Wolves Squadron exempt (see above), all Departments will have 8 hour shifts, alpha/beta/gamma (0800-1700 hrs./1700 hrs to 0000 hrs./0000 hrs. to 0800 hrs.). You decide which shift your characters do their duties on (most will likely write alpha shift). Next step for me is to set up OOC plot discussion threads and a Aldea Calendar page on the wiki, where this first week (March 11 to 18, 2381) will be fleshed out with events as we progress in writing this Anthology. Away Missions will be created now and again, but I will personally not be moderating as diligently as I might an Episode - or at all - allowing for greater freedom and ability to host your own stories together with your fellow Theurgists during the anthology. I would love to see an equal split between on-duty missions of your own making and off-duty shenanigans with proper shoreleave threads. The General Rules still apply: 7 Days Posting Deadline. Also, No Loose Ends. If a thread is started, it's expected to be posted in actively, and also finished somehow. Hope this suffice to let you set up your first IC threads!

So, thread naming convention for posting threads in the Aldea Prime Anthology? Here is how it is done:

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Most importantly: This is a sandbox time for writing instead of a strict linear progression of major events. Do not expect to be catered threads and mission on a regular basis. Make your own stories for your characters, and remember to have fun!

Re: SD 57558.47: Aldean Dawn

Reply #1 – April 30, 2019, 09:06:02 PM

[ Ens. Cameron Henshaw | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @Auctor Lucan
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When she woke up, Cam took a moment to process and wind down from a panic attack that she might have passed out in the midst of a ship battle. But there was no battle going on. There was no disaster unfolding, and for once, they were not racing to a desperate mission of vain hope. It was so hard to believe that at last, there was a respite. She slowly sat up, taking the time to examine her surroundings. There was a blinking alert on her PADD. The familiar slate grey walls surrounding her was cool and serene as ever, her whole mind however, was at war with itself. She kept wanting to leap into action, and everytime she told herself to relax, she would tense up, expecting the proverbial other shoe to drop.

Stop it, Cam, you're going to drive yourself insane.

She checked her messages. The medical care she'd gotten fixed her up completely, and a night's proper rest saw her refreshed and ready to face whatever the day may bring. The PADD lit up as she ran her hand over it, and soon, she was dressed and ready, sitting near Jien. She smiled at those who were already present, giving a customary murmur of greeting and kept her hand ready to input data into the PADD, and her ears alert and listening.

When the captain entered, she looked up at him. She privately wondered how well he slept, and if he would have time to look after himself before continuing to run himself ragged. The man looked fresh enough, but it could be a facade of his Chameloid abilities. For all she knew, he could still be full of injuries...well, there were limits to what a Chameloid could hide, right? She kept her eyes on him a little longer than was necessary, and then turned back to her PADD, recording and making notes, while she kept a separate tab open to alert her of any messages coming in for the relevant command staff. She made sure her presence was as unintrusive as possible.

The Vectors were split up again, but this time they weren't in a state of high alert. What a welcome change. And at Aldea no less. She longed to take a walk on solid ground once more. Perhaps, when the captain was going down, she'd go with him.

OOC: Reference of the Conference Room
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Re: SD 57558.47: Aldean Dawn

Reply #2 – May 04, 2019, 10:00:31 PM

[ Cmdr Ranaan Ducote | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] @BZ

Ducote had slept clear through the arrival to Aldea; between the long day and having Blue back there wasn't a lot that could rouse him. Coupled with a do-not-disturb order for the both of them on their borrowed quarters, and the gentle heaving-to had failed to wake either of them before his habitual 0600. As the orbital station had rounded the planet, he was treated to a (slightly occluded) view of sunrise over the dusty ochre world. The yellow hues were a salve for his eyes after so many days of sapphire clouds and warp tunnels. Just after half past seven, the ship's AI informed them of the meeting at 0800. They were both expected to attend.

Getting to the conference room had been a small trial. He hadn't checked whether the ship was still whole (not having had to worry about it before) so his first turbolift command to take him to 'deck one' were met with a gentle response from Thea informing him that the turbolifts were regrettably not yet spaceworthy, and she diverted them to a nearby transporter room instead.

Still, they arrived only a short time later and were among the first to arrive. He found out from Ives (after the usual good-mornings and so on) that the meeting was mostly intended to be a status check and strategy discussion, and so he decided to introduce an Endeavour tradition to the Theurgy. He replicated a tall cafetière of coffee, a stout pot of gao shan tea, and the assorted additives and receptacles one would expect with these things so people could adjust them to their preference, and left them standing on a side table near the door. The rich smell of the coffee soon permeated the space, competing with the subtler aroma of the tea, and Ducote helped himself to the black life-giving liquid immediately, and took a seat next to the Captain. Blue, true to current form, sat in the chair next to Ducote.

As the officers filed in, he greeted them all and invited them to grab some refreshment if they wanted any, but he kept it short as he guessed they'd be introducing themselves properly in a short while anyway. He took the opportunity to 'feel them out' with his empathy insofar as he was able and their species allowed, because it was always easier to get a head start on this sort of thing and avoid misinterpretation later. In some cases, he found himself re-learning his mental glossary with members of those species with which he'd had little recent contact; no one felt the same emotion the same way.

True enough, once everyone was present and at the end of Ives' preamble, came the call for introductions. "... Will you begin, Number One?"

He nodded and stood. "Of course. For those I have yet to meet, I am Commander Ranaan Ducote, and your new First Officer. I graduated the Academy in '63 on the Security track, mostly focused on investigation and interrogations. Truthfully, I had a rather boring career at first, assigned to a reserve vessel and eventually transferred to its home base, Starbase One-Forty-Seven. I spent some time tackling a few crime rings there, courtesy of the transient trader population travelling through, and spent the early part of the Dominion War aboard it searching for potential Changeling infiltrators." Tell them? Tell them. They'd find out from his record either way.

"After a terrorist attack on the station, in which I was a first-responder, I had to take a sabbatical and retrained into the Science division upon returning to the Fleet. From there I signed on to the USS Endeavour, and became her XO." He took a breath, releasing it heavily. "She was destroyed a week ago with... at least hundreds of hands still aboard her. The rest, you all know."

The hybrid could think of little else to add. He looked down at Blue next to him and nodded. "Commander, you're up," he said, taking his seat again.

As everyone else introduced themselves one by one, he took a few notes on his PADD in order to get an idea for later for who he would want to speak to as a priority to make sure all the relevant balls started rolling where they had to. Erstwhile Endeavour personnel not included, of course. Those he already knew perfectly well.

Once they were all done, he stood again. "If there are any pressing concerns that your departments have that aren't covered in this meeting, please bring them to me personally afterwards. I'm fairly useless at being pinned down in my office, as any of of the officers from the Endeavour can tell you, because I prefer to walk the decks and address concerns as they come up," he said, raising his PADD to indicate how he usually worked. "For an empath, it's also an easy way to 'poll' the crew and see how everyone's feeling at any given moment. Frankly, even if I didn't know this crew had undergone a recent mutiny and had been declared personae non grata, it would be obvious that this ship had a morale problem.

"I am relaxing the regulations regarding crew interaction, effective immediately. The holodecks are to be opened to the crew once more, on a lottery basis if necessary, and as long as no one is harmed nor hindered, and everyone shows up on time and able to work, I don't care what people get up to in the name of blowing off steam. In the short term, I think a memorial service for lost friends is also in order. The Borg, the Versant, the latest encounter with Task Force Archeron.. this crew deserves a chance to grieve." It was still a conscious effort to refer to the Theurgy as anything but 'your' crew, as if he was still apart from them. He had to now represent them and look out for their interests, and his language would likely be scrutinised until they decided whether they could trust him. He was sure it would become second-nature eventually.

"And speaking of 'recent mutiny'..." Ducote tapped a couple of buttons on his PADD and forwarded a report^[1] to every chair around the table. "A lot of the contents of this are necessarily going to have to be covered by Security-" he looked at the stern Andorian deputy, "- but I'm sure there are people all over the ship who would fall under the purview of this preliminary analysis. Frankly, the Federation has had its eye off Aldea for too long a time - especially since the Klingons stepped in - and so our picture of the surface situation is necessarily out of date. Keeping the Theurgy a secret is priority one, and anything we can do to ensure that the Aldeans are of a mind to help us keep it that way naturally follows behind.

"I'm going to meet with Mister Trent in order to ascertain what resources he will need to progress, but in the meantime, please forward any names you think might be suitable for the tasks he describes in this report."

Ducote sat back down, ceding the table to the next person to report their department's situation, and switched his PADD screen back to his note-taking scratch pad.

ooc:
[1] Report quoted below from this thread :
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Quote

Operational recommendations:

Access to traffic control and monitoring:

Between being in shipyard hands and the limitations of passive sensors, access to Aldean and Klingon communications, tracking and traffic control systems is required to maintain situational awareness within the system; this should be considered a high priority.

Spacegoing assets:

The shipyard lays in geostationary orbit above Aldea Prime, and our requirement for discretion would preclude the use of any of our currently embarked small craft for any surveillance from orbit save within line of sight by passive sensors. We will require locally-sourced, deniable, small craft with sensor packages sufficient for our purposes. Operation of these flights will require careful coordination and cover stories to ensure deniability when overflying sites of interest. Access to the planetary communications and/or surveillance infrastructure may mitigate the need for manned flights, but not entirely eliminate them. Furthermore, having spacegoing assets would allow us to maintain independent situational awareness when the ship's sensors will be unavailable due to maintenance and repairs.

Ground assets:

Recommend all department heads provide lists of personnel who would be suitable as eyes on the ground; no intelligence training is required, simply good memory and observation skills, and the ability to remain discreet and sufficient common sense to not appear to be intelligence assets.

Furthermore, Security should provide a list of candidates well-suited for rapid reaction on the surface, including the ability to quickly search a location and report on any irregularities, and accompany liaison personnel to identify possible intelligence assets or threats.

Liaison staff reporting:

Recommend all liaison personnel file clear, concise and detailed reports, preferably accompanied by audio recordings, of all interactions with Aldean and Klingon points of contact, and such reports be forward to me as a default

Counterintelligence concerns:

ALL personnel should be briefed on the need to maintain a low profile, and common indicators they are being pumped for information. A common cover story, as well as individual ones, should be crafted accordingly. Secure communications need to be established, staying away from known Starfleet and Federation frequencies, and encryption should be made available. Exclusive access to a set of Aldean transporter facilities in the shipyard, and/or locally sourced small craft for personnel transportation, is imperative.

Personal suitability:

Exposure to several aspects of the Intelligence spectrum of operation was only cursory introduction during the Basic Intelligence Officer's Course, and my knowledge base makes me unsuitable for a number of tasks. I am not trained as a spy, commercial, political or social analyst, counterintelligence agent, source handler or covert operative; employing me in such roles would result at best in inaccurate or incomplete analysis, at worst in tainting our relations with the Aldeans and the Klingons and seeing them turn hostile to us.

Further recommendations will be made as the situation develops.

Re: SD 57558.47: Aldean Dawn

Reply #3 – May 06, 2019, 08:12:58 PM

[LCdr Blue Tiran | Chief of the Shit-Hole | Duct Tape Supplies Are Low | Klingon Duct Tape is a Viscious Bitch | I Need A Palette to Hold this Ship Together]
@Auctor Lucan @Top Hat @Nolan

It smelled like Ranaan.

The bed, his shirt, his chest, his breath. Blue had always been the one to burrito herself up in fuzzy blankets and sleep on her side of the bed. However, since the Versant she had taken to sleeping quite on top of him. Her head was always right in that special spot on his chest by his shoulder. Her face firmly planted into his neck and her arm and leg laying over the top of him. The nightmares only happened when he was gone, when she fell asleep and he wasnt yet home, or she was so exhausted she passed out while he was in the shower. Even though she would stand to the other side of the door jam and just listen to the sounds of him being alive, she would sit down and fall asleep beside the door. Only to wake up nearly screaming when anything in the area changed. When she was with him, when she was on top of him, intertwined with him, she slept peacefully.

The alarm was a evil mother fucker and she wished she could throw it across the mother fucking room for rousing her from her Ranaan-induced sleep. “Fuuuuuck.” she groaned into his chest not quite ready to wake up. The furry blanket was pushed off of her shoulders, letting the cool air of their borrowed quarters to brush against her slightly clad form. She had always been comfortable in shorts and a tank top for sleeping unless she was nude because their late night activities induced sleep before she gave enough fucks to get up and get dressed. “You fucker.” she grimaced and blindly felt for the blanket behind her. But, his reach was longer and she heard the heavy thud of the blanket falling off the bed and onto the floor.

A lost cause. Out in the black void of nothingness, or it might as well been because she sure as fuck wasn't moving.

“We have a meeting, Blue.”

“Fuck the meeting! They probably eat kale and veggie dip up there.” she groaned and snuggled more firmly into the muscular chest that had become her pillow lately.

“They made you Chief Engineer.” he reminded.

“That's not new, I was already Chief!” she reminded him pouting in her childish ways.

“Blue.” he said with that warning tone.

“Ugh! Fine! Be an asshole! You're always saying 'Blue you shouldn't work so much, take time for yourself Blue, but noooo now this morning it's.. we have a meeting Blue. Eat your Kale and Veggie Dip Blue!” she rolled over in a huff and brushed her mass of curls out of her face as Ranaan got out of the bed making it shift slightly without his weight.

She knew that she could grab the blanket off the floor and huddle up in a Blue pile and the fight could continue. But, she also knew that if she fell asleep the screams wouldn't be pretty and she was tired of seeing that worried look on Ranaan's face every time he woke her up from one. So, she sat up and stood up in the center of bed. Walking across it she stepped down off of it and her bare feet slapped sleepily at the deck plating as she rose her arms over her head and stretched out her muscles and body while she trudged to the replicator for a fresh uniform. Half zombified she dressed herself and placed her pips on her collar.

Grabbing herself an energy drink she downed the fucker in three seconds flat before she headed over to the door with Ranaan. They headed through the corridors and onto the Bridge. Blue walking beside her fiance with Albert on her shoulder. He sat clipped into his metal pad on her shoulder. He had been silent this morning, an odd gift, but she knew that when he had something to say he would. She was still getting used to the fact that the fucker actually had a personality and opinions of his own.

The Bridge was bright, fuck it was bright, and it likely had something to do with the fucking orange ass planet in the fucking view screen. Don't they have a fucking dim function? She gave his hand a quick squeeze as they closed in on the door, feeling his thumb brush across the back of her hand briefly before she let go. She tried not to be super clingy while they were on duty but she still felt like she needed to check in with him when she could. She wanted to be close to him, to make sure he was alive, and still breathing, still here, she constantly had Albert checking on the tracking device. At least, right now, she didn't have to worry about him being out of her sight. The door opened and they stepped inside to the male version of the Captain.

Ducote went to the replicator to get coffee and tea with all their shit sitting it beside the door. Blue helped herself to a healthy (meaning unhealthy level) of coffee and filled it with enough sugar it wasn't pretty and dark any more. Sitting the cup next to Ranaan's seat she replicated a slew of pastries and donuts. Putting the plates of them with the coffee and the tea -Who drinks that shit in the morning?!- and piled her late with six donuts and pastries before sitting down beside Ranaan and taking her seat.

The others filtered into the room one by one. She was too busy munching on a strawberry jelly filled donut to really pay much attention. Finally, with everyone getting their drinks of choice and their pastries brought to you by Blue 'The Bitch' Tiran everything began. With the captain asking that everyone introduce themselves and give a brief history of themselves.

Holy fuck it's like a first day of school all over again.

Blue turned to look at Ranaan as he stood up. She was proud of him, always, he had never done anything to make her feel less proud of him. He stood by her through out everything. When she was a bitch, when she was Brig'd, when she was in full on Blue Alert. She knew that her being gone had likely weighed on him and she often wondered if he would ever talk about it. She knew him, he worked himself to the bone so that he didn't have to think, and she understood it even though initially the thought of it hurt. He set the mark when describing himself of being thorough and putting it all out there. When he sat down, she figured it was her fucking turn, and squeezed his hand before she put her donut down on the plate, just a last bite of the fourth one by this point, and swallowed the bit she was chewing on before she began.

Blue thought about what to say. Most of the people here didn't know her and didn't understand her brand of brutal honesty.

“Lieutenant Commander Blue Tiran, yes, Blue is my name.” she stated before anyone could ask, because there was always one. “I popped into the academy at 17 years old and never looked the fuck back. I graduated in '74 and did some work on the Intrepid, the Yeager, the Gettysburg, and then later the Endeavour. I'm reckless, honest as shit, and I don't take any shit. I don't like liars, tell me how it is and we'll get along just fine. I curse a lot, consider it seasoning on my otherwise stellar personality. I was the Chief Engineer on the Endeavour since I stepped foot on it and I keep a tight well oiled deck with highly intelligent people that I expect to do their fucking jobs. I was..” she paused a moment. “..on the Versant with some of you and .. so some of you understand how I work. I'm a genius, I'm a hacker, computer programmer, and inventor. The owl you see sitting on my shoulder is Albert. Initially a PADD interface system that I created myself he has been fuckified by the Savi and now has an advanced AI system that is comparable to Thea.”

[Greetings.] The owl said from her shoulder, blue eyes alight.

“He holds as many punches as I do, so get used to seeing and hearing him, he'll be around where I am.” she gave a shrug of her non-Albert shoulder.

[Miss Blue I regret to, once again, inform you that without the necessary appendages I cannot hold nor release punches.]

Blue gave a grin. “And in his own fucked up way he has proven my point.” she took another breath. “I work hard, I have a thing for sugar, mostly twinkies, I probably drink and eat my way through my weight in sugar in a day and I have a hard time going off shift. Personal life, I am engaged to the man sitting to my left for a while now. And before you rumor mills get started, I was Chief before I was his fiance, so we can skip past the awkward back biting and rumors. I will prove myself to you people, or I won't, regardless, my engineering deck will be kick ass.”

She hoped that she had done well, she was never good when public speaking but she had managed well enough, she hoped anyway. Ranaan wasn't under the table so; she felt that was a success in itself. She looked over to her right. “You're turn for abject mortification in front of the class.” her crystalline blue eyes shimmered with humor as she said this to the person at her right.

Once everyone was done doing their big report on life Ranaan stood up again.

Blue sighed as Ran sat down again she didn't stand this time, she was tired, and her plate was void of donuts now. “Well Engineering is a shit hole. I'm not lying, the fucking place is lucky it hasn't suffered cataclysmic set backs and was actually able to haul the massive size of this ship as far as it had. We have a long fucking road until we're space worthy in the way I would like to be. Nothing down there is stable, shit has been pieced together for so fucking long I'm surprised that it still stands and hasn't just fucking given Ives the middle finger at this point and told him to get the fuck out. However, me and my crew plan to tackle it heavily during our time during Aldea and I've heard the Klingon might have some what adequately trained people that can assist. I plan to reach out to them and see who I need to get in a fist fight with to find some fuckers to help.”

=======Nolan you're up!=============

Re: SD 57558.47: Aldean Dawn

Reply #4 – May 07, 2019, 01:33:30 PM

[ Lt Cmdr Thomas Ravon | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] @BZ @fiendfall @Auctor Lucan @Top Hat

If anything else the conference room was filled with more unfamiliar faces then Thomas remembered. It felt odd to be on a senior staff meeting whilst not knowing nearly half of the present attendees. It felt like he had transferred to a new ship of sorts. One of the new faces was seemingly enjoying her breakfast and drinking a cup of coffee. Pastries and donuts were sugary delights that normally never made it to a senior staff meeting and Thomas took the opportunity to grab a donut and a pastry for himself. He filled a mug with coffee himself and applied milk and sugar to it until he was satisfied with the result. He took his place next to a woman with an owl and sat down in his chair as he looked them over. The owl was a rather big distraction and he was grateful that he could break his eyes away from it as other people came in.

Ives informed the gathered department heads of the latest developments and asked for a short introduction. Not a bad plan perhaps to get to know the new people. He stopped eating when Ducote stood up and he studied the man. This was the genius who threatened to blow up his fighter bay. Not a great start, though he couldn't hold the man responsible given the circumstances.

Next up was the woman with the mechanical owl on her shoulder. She introduced herself as Blue Tiran and Ravon gave a nod as she would take over the responsibilities of Billy Bob. Her choice of words contained a lot of swearing and Thomas couldn't help but smile at the rawness of the person. She seemed like a straight forward person with no filter when it came to social interaction. It was a surprise to hear that the woman and the number one were a couple, fiancees even. It made the pilot smile a bit broader before he looked back at his PADD as he took some notes on the new people. Not that he'd actually read them over, he believed that interaction with the new people would be a good way to figure out who he'd get along with and whom he could trust.

The owl spoke and it still remained a mystery to Thomas why it as actually there. He refrained from going further into it and when he got passed the bucket to speak up, he nodded and murmured "Thanks." before he got up and straightened his uniform. The blue eyes of the woman were shimmering with humor and perhaps even amusement. It made Thomas smile to see her carefree as it was seemingly.

His eyes looked over those gathered in the room "Some of you might already know me, for the others, my name is Lieutenant Commander Thomas Ravon, I'm the current SCO for the Lone Wolves squadron. We currently have fifteen functional fighters and pilots to man them. Flight operations will commence at 10.00 and each shift will last 4 hours. For more information you can contact me. Each squadron will consist out of a fixed roster, though changes might occur if pilots swap shifts." he stated "I graduated from the academy in 69 and was trained additionally for TACC CONN academy the next year. After that I served aboard the Thunderchild and the Kusanagi. After that, I was hand picked to work for the Valkyrie program and transferred to this ship." he swallowed and made sure he had made eye contact with everyone "Furthermore... If you need anything from me don't be afraid to drop me a message. I like to work on the fighters myself, though I wouldn't call myself a full fledged engineer. If there's anything else, like I said before... Just ask me." he concluded as he didn't want to talk too long for the audience.

He nodded to the Vulcan woman besides him who presumably took over from Zelosa Ejek. He assumed this was the counselor called Hathev from the Bellerophon "The stage is yours." he smiled friendly at her before he sat down once more. Ravon made a few more notes on his PADD and listened to the others who were present. Yet he was keen on returning to the lower decks to overlook the fighters and deck work.

Re: SD 57558.47: Aldean Dawn

Reply #5 – May 07, 2019, 05:32:08 PM

[ Lt Cmdr Hathev | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @The Ostrich

Hathev had slept only briefly, preferring to spend the majority of the journey preparing for her new assignment. She had also performed no small amount of research into the officers she would be joining on Captain Ives’ senior staff. The Theurgy’s system was woefully in need of an update, boasting no information more recent than January; however she had gleaned enough of an insight so as not to be at so great a disadvantage entering into this morning’s meeting.

She had arrived precisely on time, although had she been aware refreshments were to be provided she might have attended early enough to make use of them. As it was she preferred to spend the time before the meeting began sat straight-backed, regarding her new compatriots across the table, and connecting each with their respective files in her mind.

With Captain Ives and Commander Stark she was, of course, already acquainted; similarly, she had seen Lieutenant Kobol around Sickbay, even if she had yet to have the pleasure. She recognised Commander Ducote with ease as his was the first file she had studied, a file which told a mixed tale of a man somewhat undecided in his specialisation but capable in his leadership. His file had led on to that of the Lieutenant Commander seated accordingly to his right. Commander Tiran’s record had been somewhat colourful, to put it lightly; how such an individual had been raised to her rank was either testament to her personal skill or to the failings of her superiors. From what she had read, Hathev did not believe it was the latter.

By a process of elimination, the sole Trill at the table must be Lieutenant JG Veradin, an alum of the USS Resolve and by all accounts a talented helmsman; Lieutenant zh’Wann the only Andorian, a stern-faced woman who had served aboard the Theurgy since before the ship went rogue; and Lieutenant T'Less a fellow Vulcan, if apparently not so dedicated a follower of Surak. The final three attendees were human: Lieutenant Commander Ravon, a distinguished fighter pilot with an appropriately-corresponding psychological profile; Lieutenant Commander Martin, a war veteran whose academic reputation Hathev could gladly respect; and a young Engisn whose file Hathev had not considered necessary to study at this juncture.

With each of the surrounding faces catalogued, Hathev attended to her new captain -- appearing as the man she had previously met -- as he began to speak. She was surprised introductions were to be required: she would have hoped she was not alone in researching her new colleagues before such a meeting, especially considering the comparative length of time the others had been afforded to do so. From her own perspective, however, it was welcome; there was little more telling than hearing an officer’s assessment of their own career.

She listened politely to those who spoke before her, even when, in the case of Commander Tiran, their words were as unorthodox as their files had predicted. When it came her turn to speak, she stood gracefully, thanking Commander Ravon for the floor.

‘My name is Hathev, Lieutenant Commander and your new Chief Counsellor. You must forgive me my tardiness in introducing myself: I have been aboard this vessel barely 24 hours, but I look forward to acquainting myself with each of you properly in the coming days.’ She had spent no small amount of those first few hours on board in confinement, but considered it imprudent to remind her new colleagues of such a fact. Nevertheless, her previous affiliation would need addressing.

‘As no doubt you are all aware, I came to the Theurgy way of the USS Bellerophon; I realise this ship has had a rather antagonistic relationship with my previous vessel, to put it lightly. Allow me to offer my reassurances: I would not have accepted this position had I not come to believe that the information I was provided by Starfleet Command was at the very least lacking, if not entirely incorrect.’

With that laid to rest, she turned to her own record. ‘I graduated Starfleet Academy in 2304, and have served as Chief Counsellor on the USS Damascus and Starbase 313. I was also a professor of psychology at Starfleet Academy for nearly 25 years, with a specialisation in brain injury.’ There was little need to list every vessel on which she had served, some of them nearly 80 years ago as they had been. For an overview such as this she would rather prioritise brevity and relevance over fastidious detail.

‘As for the Counselling department, I have appointed Lieutenants Ejek and Williams as Assistant Chiefs. The department is under-staffed, though from my understanding that is a chronic condition suffered by the ship as a whole. At this juncture I am primarily concerned with the unification of the various crews who have recently been integrated into that of the Theurgy, and with arranging appointments for all who require them.’

She regarded those around the table, taking care to engage them each in turn without lingering on any one individual unduly. ‘Preference will be given to any who were aboard the Versant, however it is my professional recommendation that every officer meet with a counsellor at least once.’ She hoped this suggestion would be taken in the spirit it was intended: as an expression of care. It would be all too easy for them to perceive her, a stranger from an enemy ship, as passing judgement on the mental faculties of their crew; not unduly, considering that this had so recently been her very approach.

‘I do not wish to mandate sessions, and so I urge both yourselves and your subordinates to reach out.’ Mandated therapy was significantly less successful than voluntary appointments; however in some cases it could not be avoided. Hathev was highly aware of the need to tread lightly here, and spoke with careful deliberation. ‘High-risk persons who are reticent may need to be mandated on a case-by-case basis, although I am loathe to do so unless absolutely necessary. Therefore if you are able to encourage them to seek appointments of their own accord I would be grateful.

‘If any of you would like to discuss treatment for yourselves or any under your command, you may consider me at your disposal.’

She very muched hoped she would be taken up on that offer. There was little more to be said, however, and so she was seated once more. She nodded to Commander Martin on her right to continue round the table, and returned to her previous attitude of polite attention and cursory evaluation for the remainder of the introductions.

Re: SD 57558.47: Aldean Dawn

Reply #6 – May 09, 2019, 09:59:12 AM

[ LtCmdr Vivian Martin | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]Attn: @TWilkins

[Show/Hide]

After meeting with her new assistant department heads last night, Vivian had returned to her quarters and slept. Deep and long had been her rest, with her alarm rousing her only a short 15 minutes ago. Her hair still untidy from her sleep, Vivian entered the conference lounge. Faces new and old were already there, however from a quick head count Vivian knew she was not the last to arrive. Just like the last time she had been in the conference lounge, Vivian’s first stop was the replicator mounted in the wall.

”Coffee, hot and black” The familiar shower of light, and there was her drink. She picked up the mug and inhaled the bitter aroma of the drink, she could almost live off the smell alone. She took a seat at the table and took a quick sip of coffee, then placed the mug on the table and leaned back in her seat, getting comfortable as people started to introduce themselves. First off was one Commander Ducote, their new XO, followed by Lieutenant Commander Blue Tiran their new Chief Engineer, both people Vivian did not know. Ravon was up next, the leader of the Lone Wolves fighter squadron. Vivian was grateful to those daring pilots. She was sure they had saved the ship from certain defeat on more than one occasion. The fourth to introduce herself was Hathev, a counselor from the Bellerophon. They had destroyed her last ship, while it hadn’t directly been her doing it, Vivian still felt a bit guilty about that.

It was only when Hathev sat, and all eyes turned to Vivian that she realised she was next. She took a quick sip of her coffee then stood. ”Lieutenant Commander Vivian Martin, Chief of Science. Some of you already know me, others don’t, so a quick recap on me. Uhh...I graduated the academy in 2369, and was promptly assigned to the USS Telesto. I served aboard her until Chin’toka. While on the Telesto I published a paper on viruses and interstellar warfare as a vector of transmission, honestly, the details would probably bore most of you.”

”I've also published a few more papers in the areas of bioterrorism and viral warfare, again, details would probably bore most of you. After Chin’toka I was assigned to Starbase 79, where I did a fair amount of research on terraforming and mycology...that's fungi for those that are wondering. Jump forward to 2378, I was assigned to the USS Resolve as her Chief of Science for a deep space exploration mission. Some of you already know the details of the her journey through Hell Sector, and back to Starbase 84, where we encountered Theurgy. I would rather not repeat the details of that experience.”

Vivian shivered slightly as memories climbed unbidden to the surface. ”In other news, I have a strong love of Coffee, and will never say no to enjoying a cup with anybody willing to sit and chat for half an hour with me.” She smiled at the table and retook her seat. She looked now to her right, and the next person to introduce themselves, the third teal collared officer present, Lieutenant Elro Kobol , the CMO.

Re: SD 57558.47: Aldean Dawn

Reply #7 – May 13, 2019, 02:29:10 PM

[ Lieutenant Elro Kobol | Conference Lounge | Deck 1 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] @Argyros

The Betazoid had already began his shift in sickbay when his summons from the Captain had come through, the Doctor having opted out of a lay-in in favour of getting down to sickbay before 0700 hours, to better review the patients who’d been kept in overnight whom he’d been working on the day prior. He’d managed to catch the night shift lead for a quick review before they ended their shift, and had been pleasantly surprised that the vast majority of clients outside of intensive care had remained stable through the night. Inside intensive care had been largely under the control of Doctors Rez and Maya, and Elro didn’t feel the need to pry. In truth, given that he’d spent most of the battle outside of sickbay, he’d elected to leave that area in their capable hands; they’d dealt with the assimilated crewmen from the start and he saw no reason to interrupt their doing so.

After getting lost several times across the ship, Elro finally made himself present in the conference lounge just a few minutes before they were due to start, ready for the proceedings to begin. He was only shortly ahead of a Vulcan female whom he’d been made aware of, Lieutenant Commander Hathev, who would be picking up the mantle of Chief Counselor aboard the Theurgy. He’d been made aware that she’d been serving aboard the Bellerophon, which made the Betazoid curious. It took a very particular person who could agree to a posting, such as the one she had, apparently so easily… He was truthfully looking forward to getting to know her better. He found Vulcans especially easy to work alongside.

Elro selected a seat at the table without really noting where, more focussed on the Captain and making sure that there were no untoward feelings, empathically speaking, along with a furtive eyeing of the six or so pastries and doughnuts on Blue’s plate… Elro had a sweet tooth, perhaps not so much as Blue, but certainly enough that he tended to find excuse to indulge himself where he could. However, knowing that the tastes Blue favoured differed somewhat compared to the tastes that he favoured, Elro was perhaps a little hesitant to take one of the treats, concerned that it could be flooded with the same polymer-tasting insides that Blue seemed to favour so much, given her obsession with the abominations that were ‘Twinkies’.

Yet, the Doctor’s willpower gave out and he fetched a small pastry square filled with a filling reminiscent of custard, topped with hazelnuts and a perfect drizzle pattern of white icing. With the pastry within his reach, he paid a little more attention to his surroundings, and realised that for better or for worse, he knew at least half of whom was at the table with him. On one side was Commander Martin, whom he’d become somewhat familiar with within the confines of their chat within Sickbay. Following from her were, Commanders Hathev, a Human he did not recognise, Ducote and Tiran, the latter two he knew especially well, followed by their Captain whom he had met the previous evening. On the other side were faces less familiar, a Human, a Vulcan and an Andorian whom he’d not before encountered, to the best of his knowledge, followed by Commander Stark and… Derik…

He perhaps knew the Trill the best of them all. They’d met, perhaps five years ago? Back at the Academy, they’d dated for a short while, perhaps weeks, maybe a few months, Elro couldn’t quite recall in the moment, given that he was desperately trying to fight off a flush over the realisation he’d gone and sat himself down next to his ex boyfriend…

As far as the Betazoid knew, there were no particularly hard feelings residing between them. It had been a bit too much for the Betazoid; he’d moved forward with something far too soon after he’d lost his fiance. He knew that to others, being so hung up over a fiance whom Elro had never met was something of a difficult concept to grasp, but for Elro, and he hoped, most Betazoids, the affection was as real as it got. Dealing with the conflicting emotions became difficult, and in the end, they’d amicably ended things.

Derik had always been understanding. Perhaps not the first time they met, back in the holodeck, but they’d grown to be more compatible. They’d kept in touch for a little while, before Elro had been deployed, but following that…

Elro swallowed whatever myriad of emotion that was brewing in the pit of his gut at seeing Derik again, listening politely to the introductions of the rest of the senior staff and keeping his thoughts trained purely on work. With perhaps a slight digression of trying not to wince at Blue’s abrasive language. He’d been with her for so long, yet still couldn’t quite stomach some of her more colourful terminology…

“For those of you whom I’ve not yet interacted with…” The Betazoid began, as it became his turn to speak. “I am Lieutenant Elro Kobol , the new Chief Medical Officer.” Elro mentally debated making a light-hearted comment about endeavouring to be more reliable than the last one, however, he refrained. To him, Doctor Nicander was just a broken man, no longer a threat. To others at the table, he could have committed atrocities that Elro would never know. In place of a comment, he elected to take lead from the others and establish his educational background. “I spent my three years at Starfleet Academy and then went on to study at Starfleet Medical for the better part of two years. My specialities were focussed in Toxicology and Kinesiology and I also took an advanced course in interspecies ethics. Following that, I served aboard the USS Artemis, a border patrol vessel, before I was reassigned to the Endeavour and then ended up here.”

Elro’s introduction was fairly bland in comparison to some of the others. He’d never been party to any extraordinary events outside of the ones which had occurred in the past few days, nor had he written any great papers. He’d once synthesised a cure to a biological contaminant hallucinogen which had infected a colony with great devastation… But he imagined that nobody in the room with him would appreciate that tale, and instead, settled to establishing things that were more suited to the conference room in his new station.

“To briefly address your earlier concern, Commander…” Elro turned himself towards Commander Hathev on the other side of Vivian. “I’ve been reviewing the stasis logs and we do have a few people who’ve been in stasis due to severe injury, whom may be of benefit to the counseling team. Now that we’re docked, I can look at resuscitating some of them, I believe there is an Ensign Seren whom would be qualified.” Elro delivered a small smile at the Vulcan woman, before turning towards where Commander Ducote was sat.

“And in turn, I might need some help with some of the wounded crewmen from the Bellerophon, some of whom are still considerably agitated at our status… I do have sympathy, but it’s beginning to impede our ability to keep sickbay well managed.” Elro realised he’d descended into a one-on-one chat with the Councilor, and dismissed himself.

“If we could catch up later, I would appreciate it, we have a stab victim whom could do with some assurance that i’m not going to kill him…” He attempted the comment as a joke, though it was largely true. “Apologies for taking up so much time. Der…” The Betazoid caught himself before he lost some professionality in inviting the next occupant at the table, instead referring to the pips on the Trill’s shoulder whilst trying hard not to look him in the eye.

“Lieutenant?”

OCC @fiendfall As Elro adresses Hathev directly a few times.

Re: SD 57558.47: Aldean Dawn

Reply #8 – May 22, 2019, 02:50:03 AM

[ Lt JG Derik Veradin | Conference Lounge | Deck 1 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] @Top Hat
[Show/Hide]

Derik awoke atop his sheets, goosebumps covering the entirety of his bare skin. The room was cool, and despite the temperature, he felt hot. Perhaps it was the restlessness of his sleep? His head rolled to look left, where his hand had been laying extended across the bed. Deep breath. This had been going on for a few days now. He would lay his head down to sleep and wake up, hand grasping at the extra space as if there should be something, no…. someone, there. It had been years since someone had shared his bed in any sort of long-term arrangement.

“Being alone sucks.” he said to no one in particular. A slight breeze of warm air struck his body as the room switched to “awake” temperature settings from his “sleep” settings. Groans passed his lips as he got up and shambled into the bathroom. A morning person Derik was not. A hot shower helped to alleviate the staleness of sleep. He dried off and made a quick breakfast of fruits. As he ate, he reviewed the work that had started in their shuttle bays.

Dressed finally, with replicated cup of coffee in hand, he left for the meeting. The journey was short, filled with polite greetings. When he arrived, there were a few familiar faces, though he kept his nose mostly on his PADD. There was a lot to go over. As each of his colleges filed in, he took a moment to glance up, not really seeing then, but the motion was intended to show he was at least partly paying attention. As each spoke in turn, he gave them their time, watching, observing, but not speaking. How could he? He was the youngest among them, an acting chief at that. Someone sat next to him while his eyes were running over his PADD again, the smell of pastries reaching his nose. He looked up slightly. There was something…… familiar about that hand. And then there was a voice to go with it as the man stood.

“I am Lieutenant Elro Kobol , the new Chief Medical Officer.”

Oh hell.

"I spent my three years at Starfleet Academy and then went on to study at Starfleet Medical for the better part of two years. My specialties were focused in Toxicology and Kinesiology and I also took an advanced course in interspecies ethics. Following that, I served aboard the USS Artemis, a border patrol vessel, before I was reassigned to the Endeavour and then ended up here."

Oh fucking hell. This can not be happening. Like a tsunami crashing down on him, memories and emotions came flooding back. He fought to keep it down, keep it under control. Elro Kobol , the first man he’d ever had a true relationship with, in the flesh, after years of being separated, years of not talking, here he was. This is so awkward.

"Apologies for taking up so much time. Der...” The Betazoid stopped himself, realizing the familiarity with which he was addressing Derik. “Lieutenant?”

Derik took a deep breath, nodding to his ex, mostly because he was trying to keep from making the same slip up. As Kobol sat down, Derik couldn’t help but fall back to an old taunt he’d used years ago as he himself stood up. It was like hopping back on a hoverbike, it just came so naturally. He took advantage of the Betazoid’s telepathy. So he thought. Really. Really. Loudly. Loud enough for Elro to pick it up as more than a passing thought. Loud enough that there was no way he could miss it.

“Still eating sweets huh? Twinkies were your favorite right?”

He did his best to hide the smirk, even though he perhaps felt a little guiltily at using Elro's weakness.

“Greetings everyone, I’m Acting Chief CONN officer Derik Veradin. Academy Class of 2378. My first assignment was Assistant Chief CONN Officer aboard the USS Resolve. As you are all no doubt aware by now, The USS Resolve was thrown from Federation territory into an uncharted special rim beyond Romulan space.” His eyes drifted, meeting with everyone’s as he spoke, some familiar, some not. “We spent the next three years trying to get back. Ultimately, we made it to Starbase 84 and the rest is our history.” A smile crossed his mouth. He really was acclimating to his extended family. “I know many of you, and those in your departments, are eager to take advantage of the opportunity for leave. Believe me, I’m one of them. At this time, we are currently switching out Shuttle transponders for Aldean one in order to avoid them being recognized by any passing Federation ship. Additionally, we are also equipping the Aldean light visibility cloaks on every shuttle. While this is a relatively safe harbor, precautions are necessary. Standard protocol for visiting Aldea Prime’s Capital will remain in effect. Please utilize the transporters whenever possible. Shuttles will be in high demand and finding time for everyone to use one will be next to impossible. I ask that you inform your people to be considerate. If you do require a shuttle, please submit a request and we will make them available to you as they come online."

“Next?” Content that he’s hit the high points, the Trill nodded and sat down, his eyes finally settling on his ex, watching his face, his reactions. Of all the people in the room he’d come to know over the years, Elro still caught his attention like a shining diamond on a slab of black marble. How weird was that?

Re: SD 57558.47: Aldean Dawn

Reply #9 – May 23, 2019, 11:52:21 PM

[ Lt T'Less | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy | Face To The Sun ] attn: @Brutus

She was not unused to changing her rest schedules depending on what her ship was doing on any particular day - as it was, T'Less had been awake for the ship coming into dock over Aldea and had been a point of contact for her department since. As was already becoming a habit, the number of reports she received and the number she should have expected differed by too wide a margin. Too many in the sickbay or the morgue, their logs submitted by others in their stead.

And now, another meeting. This one with her superiors rather than juniors and peers, and conducted in a more formal environment than the various small offices and workspaces that she'd mostly been in for the early hours. The pungent smell of strong coffee filled her nose as she entered the lounge, undercut with a more subtle, floral scent of a Terran tea. T'Less paused, considering whether she would like it; it smelled unfamiliar to her.

Only one way to find out.

Settling into a free seat (a couple down from where Ida sat) and placing her teacup on the table, T'Less scrolled through a last few notes on her PADD to prepare before the meeting began. She knew the details by rote already, but it never hurt to check. If there was time... though she needn't have worried. Ives made sure there would be by having everyone introduce themselves, and the order meant she would be one of the last. T'Less was forcibly reminded of a seminar class at the Academy wherein everyone had had to give an account of themselves and how they arrived at their current positions. In that handful of cadets, being drawn at random rather than by origin, she had been the only one attaining a commission from the enlisted ranks. Her introduction had been an order of magnitude longer than her immediate predecessor.

This time, she wouldn't make the same mistake. Summary only.

Tiresome as the ritual tended to be, it remained useful; the new additions to the staff would only suffer the longer people didn't share the same level of knowledge about one another, and this crew could not afford any wasted time in achieving proper cohesion. It was literally a matter of life and death.

"Next?" the helmsman signed off. She stood as he sat.

"I am T'Less, and Acting Chief Tactical Officer. I finished my initial training in 2340, assigned to the First fleet before spending several years as an Academy instructor for the firing ranges in the outer edges of the Sol system." Not the only Vulcan in the room to take up a teaching position, she noted. There were certain stereotypes that seemed to hold true. "Then came Neutral Zone patrol, aboard the Excalibur, at a time when the Romulan Empire were keen to test our borders. After that tour, I returned to Earth to be commissioned as an officer. From there I was assigned to the officer cadre of the Repulse, and it was aboard that ship that I fought in the Dominion War."

She paused, briefly remembering the smell of smoke and blood.

"I decided then was a good opportunity to spend some of my thirty-five years' worth of accrued shore leave," she deadpanned, quite unclear if that was supposed to be a joke or not. "Afterwards, I forwarded my name to the pool for potential crew for the Theurgy project, and was accepted. My specialities are ship-scale ordnance and fleet actions, and I have been afforded an unfortunate amount of practise of late."

The Vulcan picked up her PADD. "Our broadside torpedo pod launchers are expended completely, our primary magazines are down to twenty percent, and at last count nearly a quarter of our phaser emitters are suffering some degree of focusing crystal lattice degradation - either through direct damage or radiation fatigue. Fighter munitions are in a better state, proportionally, but that is offset by the fact that our complement of auxiliary craft has been somewhat depleted.

"A priority should be to negotiate a supply of antimatter for warhead production. Having a foreign power - friendly or not - build our torpedoes for us is too high a risk. Local space is rife with piracy; there are plenty of engine signatures in the system that have ignored the general moratorium imposed by the KDF even if they have mostly kept their distance. One stolen shipment would be a disaster for more than just us."

T'Less tossed a gamble around in her head for an instant - whether to push for more or stick to restoring their old functionality alone. Daring won out; if she didn't ask, she definitely would not receive. "I would also ask that we consider upgrading the tactical systems - additional phaser arrays and torpedo launchers, and modifications to the shield grid. Starfleet knows what this ship is capable of; we will need to surprise them."

She nodded to Stark next to her, then sat down. "Commander," she passed the buck as she reached for her tea. She sipped it. It was adequate.

Re: SD 57558.47: Aldean Dawn

Reply #10 – May 29, 2019, 04:03:43 AM

[Lt. Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Observation Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]Attn:
[Show/Hide]

Unlike most everyone else in the room, Natalie Stark had turned in earlier the evening prior, in order to be up in time for the arrival at Aldea. While she had seen the Captain off to bed after hours of coordinating with local authorities, Natalie had stayed awake, and in essence, in command of the Theurgy for the remainder of the Gamma shift. She would be pushing herself for a few more hours yet, and her sleep schedule would be muddled over the next day or so until she was back on a normal watch shift (subject, of course to change based entirely on her newer duties).

As a result, Natalie only entered the observation lounge after handing off deck watch to another officer, and which had happened after she had given a small report to Captain Ives (whom had been in their Female form when the two women met privately, though now was in his male aspect for the meeting with the new staff). She was not the last to enter, but she was not the first either. She'd given a nod to Commander Ducote, whom she was still adjusting to, and a genuine smile of gratitude soon followed when the younger Martian's eyes settled in on a carafe of coffee. It was just as easy to replicate a cup, but the gesture was appreciated.

The donuts were a hit as well.

She took two.

Trying to pretend she was not tired, Natalie settled into a chair near the head of the table, on the opposite side from Commander Ducote and the woman with black and blue hair whom she had been informed was their new Chief Engineer, the commanders fiance, Blue Tiran. Ives had spoken briefly of the woman, saying that she had been essential in keeping the abductees alive and overthrowing the Savi aboard the Versant. That was more than enough to allow the Ops Chief to give the woman a decent amount of leeway, though she had serious doubts as to why 'Blue' should be allowed to carry about a mechanical bird on her shoulder. Considering some of her own pet projects had been shot down over the years, there was an uncharacteristic spat of irritation at the sight. Attributing it to lack of sleep and what was going to amount to pulling a double shift, Natalie shoved her initial concerns aside.

For better or worse Blue Tiran was replacing their existing Chief Engineer, and given that Engineering fell hand in hand with Operations, she would have to interact with the woman quite a bit. Knowing too that Billy Bob O'Connell would be much happier handing the reins to someone else helped, of course.

Have to sit and have a chat with her at some point, Natalie decided. It should be fun.

In short order, she would regret that opinion. Almost from the moment Blue opened her mouth, Natalie found herself sitting up straight in her seat and doing everything in her power not to frown. It taxed her already low energy reserves, and she hid her disdain behind the coffee mug, sipping from it, eyes locked onto the woman who now ran the Theurgy's engineering department.

Seasoning my ass, she thought, missing the irony of her word choice in relation to the profanity dripping out of the engineer. It was language enough to make Nat's ears turn red, at least in such a setting as this. Far more appropriate for Below Decks, off shift, than the conference room with the whole senior staff. She forced herself to look down and make some notes on her PADD to follow up with Captain Ives about decorum befitting an officer when the owl on Blue's shoulder spoke.

Eyes as blue as Tiran's name snapped right back up, wide at this. She back tracked through half heard words and put two and two together. The owl was sentient. bloody hell. Any vague notion of taking the thing apart and seeing what made it tick when right out the window. She could no more do that than open up Vanya (without permission, in any event). As it was she felt vaguely ill at ease whenever she had to do work on Thea's Positronic brain.

Setting her Padd and her coffee down again she leaned back into her chair and let her gaze run over the other officers as they spoke, occasionally picking the PADD back up to make notes about what the various officers said. She was compiling a list that would be reviewed by Ducote and likely as not Ives, that she in turn would be sending through to their local contacts for supplies and assistance. It would be one of her largest tasks over the next few days...weeks, if they were lucky. As Ops Chief it fell to her to ensure the ship got everything that it desperately needed - or at least as much of it as they could.

She maintained this reserved nature for most of the round of introductions, though she spared a respectful nod toward Lt. Cmdr. Hathev when it was the Vulcan's turn to speak, in deference to their meeting the day prior, and a small smile at Dr. Kobol , again because of the favorable impression the new Chief of Medicine had made over dinner, shortly before Natalie had retired for the evening the night prior, in order to rise early in the depths of the ships morning to be on hand for their arrival.

Glancing up again from her PADD - upon which she had furiously scribbled notes related to antimatter and requests for updated weapons spec's from their allies, the brunette officer gave a nod of her head to Lt. T'Less, who sat at her right. "Thank you Lieutenant. If you could get me the specifics regarding the needed antimatter I will take it up with our hosts when I meet later to deliver our shopping list," she said as she stood up from her chair, leaving the PADD on the table and letting her gaze sweep the room. She hoped that she looked as collected and put together as the Vulcan next to her, as both had been on duty for hours now.

"For those that I have not met yet, I am Lt. Commander Natalie Stark. I came aboard the Theurgy in 2380 to serve as the ships Assistant Chief of Operations following the decommissioning of the USS t'Zhan where I had served for some time as the ships Gamma Watch OPS officer.

"Prior to this I served aboard the USS Lexington during the Tzenkethi affair, and the USS Mjolnir at the tail end of the Dominion war. That was my first posting outside of the Academy, which brings us back to 2375, when I graduated." She gave a little shrug as she wrapped that up, having worked backwards from her arrival aboard the Theurgy.

"Since joining this crew I have been promoted in both rank and duties, to include the position of Chief of Operations," Natalie managed a small smile directed at Captain Ives, for the confidence he showed in her abilities. The duties added were of necessity's sake, and yet all the same the Captain had taken the time since their return to the ship to clearly state their confidence in Natalie's abilities and growth, by reaffirming her judgement while in independent command in regards to the Cayuga. Given other officers action's, even just that simple vote of confidence was a precious gift.

It was humbling, to say the least.

"I will be the lead point of contact for ensuring that we get anything and everything we need in regards to equipment, supplies, personnel and the like, and it will be through my department that the rest of you can work to set up repair schedules and the like." She flashed them all a weary smile this time, even those she wasn't sure she liked yet.

"Commander Martin is not the only officer here who appreciates a good cup of coffee," Natalie added as they branched out into the territory of 'say something personal about yourself' that these sorts of events always required. "In the event that we're blessed with some downtime you'll likely as not find me down in the Arboretum with a sketch pad and a travel mug. In any case, that's the cliff notes version of your's truly. Deputy?"

She yielded the floor to the woman on her left, Lt. Ida zh'Wann, currently holding down the fort for Security, It struck her in that moment that, should events of the day pan out as expected, neither of the women on either side of her would be in the next senior staff meeting. Both were in line to be replaced by members of the former Endeavour crew. She let her eyes sweep across the room. Martin and Veradin were from the Resolve. Hathev hailed from the Bellerophon. Ducote, Tiran and her owl, and Dr. Kobol all came from the Endeavour. She and Thomans Ravon were the only remaining senior staff that were native to the Theurgy. Well, and the Captain. It was a harrowing realization, even if she had known it intellectually, it now hit home, sitting around this table.

Missing most of what Ida had said, she composed herself as Commander Ducote took the floor again, making a few proclamations before forwarding a report from Lt. Trent. Seeing that in print was another change she was working to internalize. Natalie knew she would need to speak with the demoted officer at some point, and soon. He'd been a valued role model and now...well. He was an officer with needs for his department and she would see to it that he got what she could spare him. From what she read, he made reasonable points.

Frowning openly now at the fiancee of Ducote, Natalie folded her hands over her PADD and waited while 'Blue' gave her heated opinion on the state of the engineering section. Taking a breath, she spoke up after the tirade petered off.

"Now that we are no longer running from half of Starfleet, ships sent back from the future, the Savi, and the Borg, I would hope that all the hard working members of the Engineering and Operations departments can address some of these deficiencies you've raised, Commander. Especially with access to a full shipyard. Please do send me a full report when you have a list of what we need. Though I grant a list of what's actually still working to builders specs would likely be a shorter one." She thought she'd handled that professionally enough, though she realized after that at least two people there would pick up on her repressed ire.

I'll not feel guilty for taking umbrage that someone who's been on this ship for so short a time thinks so poorly of the people trying to keep her patched together. Natalie thought very hard. With an effort she turned her gaze to Ducote and Captain Ives and held up her PADD.

"I have a list of personnel transfers into Operations and Engineering here, and based on it, for Operations I have a few proposals. At a high level, I've named CPO Liam Herrold as Chief of the Deck, to oversee Fighter Bay Ops. I've also put in a request to buck the Chief up into officer training and make him an Ensign. He's got a talent for it, based on performance reviews I have from the Late Chief Covington," she managed not to choke up on that, though again the rooms empaths would feel the wave of grief and loss that brushed over her spirit "and the fact of the matter is, the Fighter Ops staff is already very chief heavy. Making a mustang out of Chief Herrold would be the ideal resolution there in. Other than that," she took a moment to review her notes.

"Based on past performance and with a clean bill of health from medical, I have named Junior Lt. Nator 159 as one of my two Assistant Chiefs. S/he will be working alongside one Kelleshar Shar sh'Zenne, an operations Junior Lieutenant from the Endeavour. I still need to meet with her one on one but unless i feel she is completely unfit for the role I will be giving her the position, based on the recommendation of Commander Ducote.

"Oh, and before I forget, Commander, I'd like to have someone from my team give the holodecks a once over before we open them up on that lottery basis. I had some reports of issues with the ODN network in a neighboring section of the deck by Holodeck 2. I'd hate to have someone blow a conduit while trying to relax." That took care of the immediate business to cover, ahead of the arrival of the Klingon and Aldean Representatives.

Re: SD 57558.47: Aldean Dawn

Reply #11 – June 03, 2019, 03:31:34 PM

[ Captain Ives | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: All
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Seated in her chair, Jien watched as the new Senior Staff of the Theurgy - barring two more if they passed the Bridge Officer Test - introduced themselves. Ducote was open about his sabbatical, but the greatest impact of it was the mentioning of the Endeavour, and how many had likely died aboard it. A Captain and an Executive Officer had a responsibility for his or her crew, and while it might escape some of the attending, the loss of your crew was a devastating blow in a way hard to explain.

Next came the new Chief Engineer, who's colourful presentation had been noteworthy in another sense entirely. Some would judge her for her choice of words, equating vocabulary to professionalism. Others realised that since vernacular didn't actually relate to competence, but boastfulness could be frowned upon, then Blue Tiran didn't just have to be competent to get away with her vocabulary and make it to Lietuenant Commander. Of course, it still was discouraged to speak that way, but Ives said naught, just listening and observing the room. Natalie Stark, just promoted to the same rank a couple of weeks ago, subtly seemed to take the most issue with Ducote's fiance. Personally, Jien thought that if the attending owl - named Albert - was given A.I. sapience, then he would be considered a crewmember, and had no business attending a Senior Staff meeting. He held no rank for it. This was something she'd bring up with Tiran privately.

Next came Thomas Ravon, whom has been on the Senior Staff since the battle at Starbase 84, and whom she had a personal affiliation with since the visit of the Ishtar entity. Something which, of course, neither of them would ever speak of again. Even though Miles Renard had returned - the former SCO that had been presumed dead - it had been decided that Ravon would continue to lead the Lone Wolves. What was of note were the shift rotations, which Ives would ask Thomas to increase to six hour shifts instead of four, unless Ducote would do it for her.

Commander Hathev was succinct and to the the point about her presence and her appointment as Chief Counselor, and Ives had nothing further to add. She was not so much a political solution to win over the Bellerophon crewmembers as a very competent and experienced counselor, and someone that the Theurgy sorely needed given the dire turns of the mission so far. She said she would not mandate counselling sessions for everyone, but Ives had a few names of people which she wanted Hathev to schedule appointments for. Chief Science Officer Vivan Martin spoke next, and she remained in the same position that she was in before the Savi had attacked the Theurgy. Jien had heard that her brother had come aboard as well, and she hoped that it had been a reunion that would strengthen both the siblings for the voyage ahead.

The new Chief Medical Officer - Elro Kobol - succeeded an Infested that had been hiding aboard for years, and Jien couldn't help but wonder how that might affect the public opinion of the Betazoid. Mistrust? Hopefully not. Not only had he proven himself competent enough to medically prove the credibility of the parasitic threat to many doubters - Ducote included - but he also took the opportunity to coordinate tasks with Commander Hathev after his introduction. Jien nodded quietly in approval. After him came the Trill that had been appointed as Acting Chief CONN Officer, hailing from the Resolve just like Martin, and he illustrated the challenges and requirements concerning shuttle needs. It was good that he encouraged the use of the Transporter rooms instead of shuttles for the majority of the crew's needs to visit the planet and the Epsilon Mynos system.

Lieutenant T'Less - one of the original Theurgy crew - spoke up in his wake. Seeing her on her feet once more after what had befallen her during the first battle with the Calamity had been a great relief. Ives had seen her and spoken with her after the battle at the apertures, and learned that the medical officers aboard had thawed her and restored her to health. Jien had great confidence in her, and should Lieutenant Cross fail his bridge officer test, she was certain that despite medical status, T'Less would be a fine Chief Tactical Officer as well. Though if she knew T'Less well enough, she would actually enjoy the lack of the administrative duties that came with 'just' being Asst. Chief of her Department. More importantly, she brought up great points about the status and the development of the Theurgy's tactical systems, and Jien nodded, making notes of her own about the suggestions - to be addressed at a later time.

Commander Stark picked up on these requirements readily enough, being the Chief of Operations, and then proceeded with her introduction, illustrating her extensive experience from as early as her Cadet years. She'd been more than a qualified replacement for Commander Hendricks after he was killed in action over Niga, if a bit on the young side for holding the role that Ives was about to announce. Before then, it was Lietuenant zh'Wann's turn to speak.

The Andorian's brief smile to Stark was as grim as her visage, her whole appearance screaming of that of a soldier, even though she wore the same kind of uniform as the rest of the gathered officers. It was in the details, the small motions, none of which was unnecessary. At her feet, she clasped her hands behind her back, with her antennae angled forward. Her blue eyes were hinting at a certain sharpness - like a dagger draped in satin - as she looked around the table. "Before yesterday, I was Deputy zh'Wann. Before the Theurgy, I was on the Nacre, and before then, I fought in the Dominion War aboard the Kintaro. Before I joined Starfleet, I was in the Andorian Imperial Guard. Now, today, I am the Acting Chief of Security. Until otherwise assigned, I am responsible for the safety of this crew - on and off ship. Please make sure your officers read the security briefing that will be sent out in regard to off-ship conduct, so that they do not compromise the ship and alert Starfleet of where we are. We've been fleeing for five months, and while safe port calls for shore-leave... none of us wants to repeat what we've just endured. That is all."

Jien nodded and was about to speak when Ducote took his responsibility and spoke to the gathered Departmental Heads about coming to him if they had any concerns. Moreover, he made the sound call of easing regulations regarding crew interaction, opening up the holodecks now that they were no longer at the mercy of energy depletion - the shipyards providing for their needs in that sense. The mentioning of a memorial service was not amiss either, and Ives was glad that Ducote was about to arrange for that, since Jien had already been forced to organise such on too many occasions as of late. She smiled and nodded quietly in appreciation, before the new First Officer brought up Trent's report, at which point Jien's smile had waned.

"I have already scheduled a meeting with Lieutenant Trent, Commander, and I have a feeling that many of his recommendations will be accounted for in this first meeting with the Aldeans and the stationed Klingon general. After I have handled his first requests, I will notify you. He'll be all yours then." That was all that she was going to say in regard to the topic of the deposed Commander, but she had noticed the word-choice of 'mutiny' from Ducote's end, and that was something she'd have to speak of with him privately. It certainly didn't help matters to have that word thrown around so carelessly.

There was still time before the meeting would begin, and Blue Tiran brought up her concerns about the state of the ship, saying how she was surprised that the ship held together still, after having been on the run for months and being pieced together again as well as one might without breaking pace. Ives interpreted the coarse words as intended, in how Blue Tiran was impressed that the Theurgy was still operating - not being an accusation at all - and that the engineer hoped there were additional Klingons with competence to help in the effort of restoring her. The words were in no way a reflection upon the efforts of the present crew aboard Thea, rather a compliment towards the results given the circumstances, but it could be Commander Stark didn't catch Tiran's meaning. Stark's retort had been cool enough, followed by recommendations for personnel actions and efforts to make the holodecks available.

"That's all well and good, Commander Stark," said Jien, and remained in her female form as she stood up from her seat. "Before the meeting starts, I would also like to name the new Second Officer now that Wenn Cinn is no longer with us. Traditionally, it's either the Chief Tactical Officer or the Chief of Operations that hold the role, and with Commander Stark being of higher rank, that role falls to you, Stark. Should the ship have to operate under MVAM conditions once more during an extended time, the Stallion will be yours once more."

Jien just hoped she would learn to understand an officer such as Blue Tiran, or she'd have to be told how to do it. It had been one of the failings of Carrigan Trent as well, being completely inadequate in handling people without a Starfleet rank. As much had been made clear in his dealings with both the Reman named Lorad as well as the new Klingon Liaison Officer. Then again, perhaps Jien judged to harshly, having served for years mediating conflicts across the Quadrants.

Letting Stark give her reply, Jien then moved on. "I would also take the opportunity to be transparent about my own past, since few of you know of it," she said, and while she itched to switch forms, she refrained for the time being. "Given the import of the mission, and our current location, I feel that it's of merit that some of the classified details about my service record is brought to light. You may have read that I graduated from the Academy in 2357 together with others like William T. Riker, whom I later served alongside with at Romulus before all this happened. You've been able to read that I have degrees in both diplomacy and psychology, but in 2363... I was recruited by Starfleet Intelligence, and underwent training at a classified location for almost three years. The reason I am telling you this is that my first undercover posting after that was right here, on Aldea, in 2365. I spent six years on this planet, studying philosophy in one of their units, but I was also reporting on the progress of the Aldeans efforts to rebuilt their society."

Having said this, Jien paused, slowly pacing the conference room. "The public record states that I had taken a leave of absence during those years, but I never left Starfleet. My work in Starfleet Intelligence was, however, in direct opposition of my beliefs in pace and understanding, of mutual respect, so I left as soon as my assignment here on Aldea was over, and I resumed my duties as a counselor on the Imperator during the Dominion War, and later as a Diplomatic Officer and First Officer on the Vendetta. I was given the command of the Theurgy when she was commissioned because of my service in the diplomatic field. We failed, however, those who went to Romulus with such ambitions... and you know already what happened upon our return to Starfleet Headquarters."

She had not just told them she'd been a trained undercover operative of Starfleet Intelligence, something Ede- Amelya Rez knew about. Also, that she already knew the planet below the ship, just having worn a different face for all those years.

"I'm telling you this to give you faith, in how I am certain we can have a safe port here for some time. Unless something unforeseen happens, you shan't have to worry. The Aldeans may only help us now because of their accord with the Klingon Empire, but over time, I am sure we can strengthen our standing with them. We'll just have to accommodate for their needs, and they may trust us yet."

OOC: Voluntary posting in reply to this for the next 7 days, but I think @Brutus and @Top Hat should post at the very least. Then, I will start the meeting with the Aldeans and the Klingon general after the 10th of June!

Re: SD 57558.47: Aldean Dawn

Reply #12 – June 04, 2019, 03:40:41 AM

[Lt. Cmdr. Natalie Stark | Observation Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ]Attn: @Auctor Lucan @Top Hat
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There was something to be said for the succinct way in which Ida zh'Wann handled her own introductions, and Natalie found the smile she received a welcome one. The woman was rarely expressive, and Natalie judged that the gesture was not just one of simple polite interaction. For the time it left her with a small smile of her own. It would fade, but the simple, personable touch had its needed affect on the tired officer, long into her current shift, and short on sleep.

Seeking refuge in the coffee she'd poured, Natalie sipped and relaxed, picking at the pastry before her until the conversation moved on.

Having made her recommendations for Operations known to Captain Ives and Commander Ducote, Natalie found herself in for a new surprise. Barely had she finished than Captain Ives stood and took the floor, drawing the attention of the rest of the command staff. Eyes turned as she addressed the room. The last administrative task to be dealt with, it seemed, was the allocation of Wenn Cinn's other position aboard the Theurgy. Second Officer. Natalie was wide awake now, setting the coffee cup down as her head snapped up. She had hoped, of course, but had not expected. Before, when she'd been promoted, Captain Ives had explained that she was too young, to inexperienced. They'd been kind about it, and Natalie had felt no shame, no slight.

In truth, she had been grateful at the time. The idea of taking of Ops from Hendricks had been a looming task so large that she feared her abilities to do so. Ives' faith in her then had been born out. And though young, she'd done the job well. She knew that, even if she herself struggled to accept it on occasion. But that had been ....well it seemed a life time ago, though it was only months. And Natalie felt she could handle the added duties. Especially now that she would be dealing with a properly staffed Operations Department to back her up. There had been no doubt in her mind that Captain Ives would find someone else from the other crews to fill the role of First Officer. That was only logical. They had more ready officers available, and as before, it made a certain amount of sense when it came to integrating the crews. Still, she had not been sure - had not dared to assume - that she would be called upon to take the role of second officer. Despite her command of the Stallion and how rewarding that had been, she did not know for sure she would be tapped.

Captain Ives once again put her faith in Natalie, and she tried to stop the rush of color in her cheeks. She failed, and her complexion took on a rosy red tone as she ducked her head. The smile was there, plain as day, as much as she tried to remain stoic.

Managing to keep her voice from cracking, Natalie simply said, "Thank you, Captain. I won't let you down."

Re: SD 57558.47: Aldean Dawn

Reply #13 – June 06, 2019, 10:07:56 PM

[ Cmdr Ranaan Ducote | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] attn: @Brutus @Nolan

Ducote diligently took notes during the introductions, both as a way to anchor the new faces in his mind and also to pick out details he could explore with the individuals concerned later. There were more than a few interesting histories present. There had been a predictable burst of surprise and some disapproval of Blue's manner around the table, but by and large the officers seemed open-minded enough to accept that she'd got to where she had on her own merits at least.

There seemed to be a link between Elro and the Trill helmsman, and it didn't take a genius to guess why the latter might be radiating awkwardness. Thankfully, most of the time they'd be separated by their jobs (outside of emergencies, he hoped), and there might be room during the current layover for them to perhaps have a talk. That was about as much time he spent idly wondering about their private lives, and carried on taking notes around the table.

Stark's defensive rebuke to Blue seemed fair, in all. Not for the first time, Ducote considered how the Endeavour might have fared on this particular odyssey, and also not for the first time, came to the conclusion that she probably wouldn't have made it past Sol's Oort cloud. The Ops chief's reply about the holodecks was met with an acknowledging nod; in his experience, people tended to love their specialities, and seeing them done well. The perks of a volunteer service. Micromanaging people was all but a guarantee to suck that out of them, and result in a reduction in efficiency. If Ops wanted to postpone, Ops would postpone. They were the experts.

As he finished the thought, Ives cemented her as the ship's second officer. Ducote made eye contact and inclined his head - while the link between a captain and executive officer was obvious and all but a stereotype in its own right, in practise there was a sort of triumvirate. In the circumstance that one or either of the 'Top Two' were incapacitated for some reason, it would be counterproductive to have a second officer unprepared to step into the role. Given that she had been exercising the duties of acting first officer until very recently - and from what he had seen, more than competently - the appointment made perfect sense to him. She was young (and there was still some lingering background bitterness there whenever Medical was brought up which he didn't have the context for, but could safely wager that it had something to do with the erstwhile CMO), but age was rarely an absolute indicator for ability any more.

"I hope my congratulations won't ring hollow through current unfamiliarity, Ms Stark," he smiled. Forenames come later, I suppose. He'd been on first-name terms with just about all the officers (well, from his end, anyway) on the Endeavour. Switching back to surnames and ranks was just another reminder of what he'd lost.

For his own part, he wasn't sore that the Captain was ahead of him when it came to Trent. Ives would naturally be better equipped to handle that initial post-adjustment meeting than Ducote would be yet, and the first meeting between the new and old XO's promised to be awkward and/or charged no matter what.

Dismissing the train of thought until he could cross that particular bridge, he looked to the TacCONN leader. "Are your pilots willing to extend those flights to six hours, Commander?" The question was a courtesy, more than an actual inquiry. "The Aldean squadrons operate a longer shift pattern; it would help our efforts to blend in."

Re: SD 57558.47: Aldean Dawn

Reply #14 – June 11, 2019, 09:20:51 AM

[ Captain Ives | Conference Lounge | Deck 01 | Vector 01 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: All
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When Stark had thanked Ives for the announcement of her secondary role, which Jien had thought an obvious development, Ducote had congratulated her and proceeded to have the foresight to adjust the short shift rotations in Tactical CONN.

As for what Jien revealed about her own past in Starfleet Intelligence, none of the present Senior Staff had any chance to react before Commander Dewitt entered the conference lounge, standing off to the side. By turning to the newly Mission Liaison Officer, Jien chose to spare the present officers the difficulty of phrasing any reaction to what she had said. "Are they ready?"

"Aye, Captain, First Appointee Radue, representing Aldea, and General Chu'vok of the Klingon Defence Force are waiting over comms."

"Very well, I'll let you all meet our new hosts," said Ives to his seated staff and turned towards the wide, panoramic view of the Aldean planetary surface, gesturing towards it. Dewitt walked over to the closest control panel and cued the two hailing frequencies to the viewport, which had a phosphor layer that shifted with a simple energy current and allowed it to work like a viewscreen. It was split between the two feeds, one displaying a greying Aldean man in his seventies, seated behind a white desk, and the other showed an old Klingon standing in what appeared to be an audience chamber of his species' design. They were likely both down on the planet. "First Appointee Radue, General Chu'vok, this is my Senior Staff aboard the Theurgy."

[Greetings,] said Radue, inclining his furrowed brow towards the Starfleet officers. The man seemed reserved still, the bad blood from the Dominion War over the Federation's neglect to protect the Epsilon Mynos System clearly not forgotten. It had been quite evident that being hosts to the Theurgy had not been the First Apointee's choice, but merely done in agreement with High Chancellor Martok.

[vjIjatlh...] said the corpulent General Chu'vok, the closest to a Klingon greeting offered. For being a Klingon, it seemed the old warrior was amiable enough, his affiliation with Martok old and known. Again, Martok's word was in their favour, but this General had heard what had happened in the Azure Nebula, and might even enjoy the prospect of a new enemy to fight, even though his current assignment was that of protecting the Epsilon Mynos System and prmarily Aldea.

"We spoke late last night," said Jien, folding her hands behind her back, "but since then, the Theurgy has been split up in three of your drydocks. I know you spoke of requirements, to supplement High Chancellor Martok's word on us getting the aid we need. Would you please care to elaborate now that my staff is gathered? I'm carefully optimistic about our acceptance towards these tasks, but we need more information. Also, General, did you learn what the word is on the Theurgy's status. Are we believed to be destroyed as far as the Federation is concerned?"

[That would have been in your favour, Captain...] said the General and adjusted his belt, taking a deep breath, [but unfortunately, the Empire's songs about the battle with the Queen has travelled, and they mention your ship leaving though a subspace portal, off to fight new battles. As far as this parasitic enemy is concerned, they likely believe you are still out there, somewhere, if they put any credence in the lyrics.]

"I see, thank you, General. Though I suppose that also might grant the friends and kin we left behind some hope of our survival as well. Perhaps your songs may even have spread the word on how we acted in the Federation's protection, and cast doubt on the lies told about us."

[Indeed. ta'mey Dun, bommey Dun.]

Jien knew it meant 'Great deeds, great songs.' She sifted her oaken eyes to the Aldean on the other side of the screen, who seemed perfectly uninterested in the topic of the Theurgy's deeds and innocence. The First Apointee's priority was Aldea. Always.

[This battle in the Azure Nebula, it has diminished General Chu'vok's fleet here in the Epsilon Mynos system. The reason I consented High Chancellor Martok's request to repair your ship here, was the condition that Aldean protection remains. Klingon presence is but a shadow of what it once were, so I think we have a common interest in protecting this planet and system from outside forces, opportunists, pirates and the Orion Syndicate included. I trust you have already forwarded this need to these officers behind you?]

"I did," said Jien inclining her head. "Last night, before we even reached Aldea. I have just learned that our fighters have been fitted with their visibility cloaks and transponders, and the shuttles will be ready tomorrow, allowing for planetary deployment of security forces if so required. Please understand that in aiding in the protection of this system, we will not compromise who we are. We will conduct ourselves in accordance with Starfleet regulations, and not outright destroy ships unless the tactical situation forces our hand. We will shoot to disable, and then Aldean law will have to sort the fallout. I understand you have no death penalty?"

[No, few as we were seventeen years ago, we did not enforce such laws. We still don't. That being said, this will mean a change from what General Chu'vok's fleet has done. The Klingon methods of protection were more direct... and final.]

Chu'vok chuckled on the other side of the screen. [Less pirates to hide in the ghost cities if they can't reach them. The Aldean Defence Committee does not let us destroy those from orbit.]

[That's because we will one day repopulate them, the Gestalt Program already increasing our numbers by the day, and those cities are all that's left of our ancient history. We've had this conversation before.]

[DubotchughyIpummoH,] muttered the General, a phrase akin to 'If it's in your way, knock it down.'

"So I will take that as consent from the ADC to defend the system in our way?" asked Jien, wanting a final word from Radue on the matter. The First Appointee had little choice, unless he'd backpedal on his promise to Martok, and risk leaving Aldea exposed.

[Very well. I will explain it that I've enforced the change of method on Chu'vok, and take it you will say the same, General?]

[may'DaqjaHDI' SuvwI' juppu'Dajlonbe'. When a warrior goes to a battle, he does not abandon his friends. My Phantom raiders will complement your fighter squadron, Captain Ives. I will enforce this... no-kill policy, but I cannot guarantee immediate adherence, old habits and all. I can respect this method of mercy, for it sounds like the Starfleet I remember from before the Dominion War. It's like hearing an old ally speak at long last.]

"Thank you, General," said Jien and turned to look at the seated staff. "Please, ask your questions, this may be a rare chance to speak with our hosts."

- FIN