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Day 03 [2100 hrs.] Professionalism

Lt Jg Salem Martin | USS Allegiant | Mess Hall] @SilverShadow
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Salem sat at a table in the allegiant's mess hall legs partly crossed as his body rested against the back of the chair. In front of him was a half touched meal. He had poked at his salad for a moment as he read an actual book. The replicated pages of paper ruffled slightly as he looked at the pages of the book half lidded. His other hand rested on the table touching a cup full of a dark fizzy liquid.

Salem sat reading, but his eyes were starting to get a little tired. the mission had launched four hours ago, they were at warp, somewhere in klingon space, and this was a modestly late dinner. Though he was trying to pay attention to his book his mind kept scrolling over events three days prior to this, his reunion with his sister, the aftermath of the Borg attack. And the medical lab exam.

He had his medication back in full force, and it helped, his hands more steady than it had been in days prior. His temper was more even, he felt more like himself, or at the least more comfortable in his own skin knowing that the medicine would do it's part in keeping his mind intact.

There was also the meeting with Vivian, and the cute doctor. It was Vivian who left the stronger impression on him though her words about thinking about the future. Salem didn't have much of one, seven years till he was dead, it meant he wasn't likely to reach the rank of captain, perhaps if he was lucky he could hit full commander before his mental health deteriorated to the point whee he would have to retire.

And they say wearing red was the fast promotional track.

That would be his career path if he hadn't signed up for the sucide mission of a century. Vivian had told him that if he couldn't envision a better future than perhaps he shouldn't be fighting at all, just go home and retire early.

He reached out and took a sip of his drink sitting back for a moment pulling his eyes away from the page, taking note of the small mess hall. Looking around there was only one face he immediately recognized.

He paused for a moment, his sister told him that he was stuck in the past, and he felt the bile rise in his throat just by looking at her grey skin. He hated the fact that Ensign Dumral was in Starfleet, and yet that was the very reason he raised a hand.

"Ensign Dumral, come have a seat." It was at that moment he realized he didn't even know Dumral's first name, and that was part of he called her over to sit with him. He closed his book and set it down for a moment. "Do you have a moment? I'd like to talk with you."

Re: Day 03 [2100] Professionalism

Reply #1 –
Ensign Mektari Dumral | Mess Hall | USS Allegiant ] Attn: @Masorin
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Having just finished her shift and handed over the helm to Lieutenant Petterson, Mektari had made her way to the mess hall, getting herself a nice warm beverage and made her way over to a table, taking a seat.

Taking a sip, she immediately pulled out a PADD and started studying their flight path, the star charts of the area and the most recent sensor scans they had taken, wanting to know exactly what it was they were flying into, near or through. She hadn't really been paying much attention to who else might have been in the mess hall. If anybody had been in there with her though, they certainly hadn't said anything to her.

Sitting by herself, she tapped out a few notes for herself on the PADD, luckily there didn't seem to be anything on the sensors or star charts that would indicate any hazards during their journey, however that didn't mean there wouldn't be any. The star charts were a little old and stellar debris, solar storms and so on could come out of nowhere and their sensors could only scan so far ahead to warn them of any danger.

Still it should, barring any unexpected surprises be a relatively straight forward mission, at least as far as flying was concerned, which didn't bother Meki one bit. She was always happy to log in some more flight hours not to mention it got her off the ship and doing what she loved. There was very little for a helmsman to do when your ship was in drydock, not to mention the opportunity to go on a mission with the Captain, that was also  a positive.

Hearing a noise she glanced up and noticed that Salem was sitting at one of the tables across from her and glanced back down at her PADD. She'd already known that he was going on the mission, but that didn't mean she had to like it. The Tactical officer had made his feelings about her people well known and while the two had served together on the Cayuga somewhat professionally there was still some tension between the two of them. One a Cardassian and person who hated Cardassians. She didn't know his reasons nor did she particularly care. The two had pretty much adopted a you stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours relationship, whenever they weren't serving on the Bridge together and had so far managed to remain professional when both were on duty but there was always tension there.

Which was why she found it rather surprising when she heard him call her name and invite her over. Looking up from her PADD she looked over at the Human and arched an eyebrow at him, curious. Still he did outrank her and this could have been a professional request so she stood up and made her way over to his table, sitting down opposite him. Well this should be interesting she thought.

"What can I do for you sir?" she asked, while she hated calling a man such as he sir, he had at least sounded professional so far and so would she, no reason to approach this situation with hostility, that wouldn't accomplish anything, nor would she give the racist the satisfaction of getting one over on her, especially when they would be stuck on this ship with the Captain for the next four days.

Re: Day 03 [2100] Professionalism

Reply #2 –
Lt Jg Salem Martin | USS Allegiant | Mess Hall] @SilverShadow
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Almost as soon as Salem had called her over, he realized he had made a mistake. Not just because he had called her a cardassian but because he had leaned on his rank, this came off as a more proffessional conversation when the both of them were off duty, though in uniform none the less. he paused for a moment, trying to think of how to approach this.

If Salem were to despence with formalities of rank this would get ugly quickly, so perhaps keeping this as a conversation between CONN and Tactical officers serving aboard the same ship would be better. He straightened himself out, for a moment, and gestured for the Spoon head Ensign Dumral to take a seat.

"I want your opinion on a few things." It wasn't exactly untrue, the entire reason he had called her over was to see if he could even hold a civil conversation with her.

"First off, how do you find the Allegiant? Personally I don't like serving on any ship that has phaser cannons instead of an array, mounted weapons that only shoot forward put less control on my side of the bridge, they depend more on where the helm is pointed at the moment, the turning ratio of the ship, and the reaction of the CONN officer." Which was of course the Cardassian in front of him. Maybe he favored larger slower ships, his service records had galaxy classes, and other more cumbersome ships, where the Allegiant felt cramped, tight cornered and forced conversations like this.

As he spoke he kept his eyes averted from the woman, mostly cause her grey skin made him feel uncomfortable, it was difficult to sit across from a Cardassian and hold any amount of conversation felt kinda surreal. "This is my second time working aboard this ship. Though really it's more an over glorified shuttle." The first time he had a conversation with a former Borg, what was with this ship, and having him talk to enemies of the Federation.

Re: Day 03 [2100] Professionalism

Reply #3 –
Ensign Mektari Dumral | Mess Hall | USS Allegiant ] Attn: @Masorin
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Meki wondered just what the hell was going on here. Did they travel through a subspace fissure into an alternate reality or something? There was most definitely an awkwardness in the air between the two of them and she wondered briefly if he had regretted calling her over. Eventually the Human spoke, wanting her opinion on a few things and gave him a nod. "Of course." she replied, taking a seat opposite him when he gestured to the chair on the other side of the table.

Listening to him as he asked her opinion on the Allegiant he mentioned the ships weapons and that they had phaser cannons and not beams and how they were not a preference for him, which was understandable, there were a few tactical officers who preferred the wider range and firing arcs of beam arrays not to mention the less requirement on vessel position and as he had said the pilot. Whether or not this was the intended conversation junior lieuentant had planned to have with her or not Meki didn't know, but it at least was one that the two should have just in case they did run into trouble.

"Well this is my first time flying her but based on both her specs and how she feels to fly, she's fast, agile and quick to respond. Against any larger ships she should be able to dance around them with no problems. When it comes to vessels of a similar size she should be able to hold her own against them. As for the weapons systems you would know more about them than I would sir but if we do run into trouble, I'll make sure you have a clear shot at them." she replied, keeping her tone neutral.

Unlike Salem who it seemed couldn't even look at her while they spoke, she kept her eyes on him the whole time, she knew the man didn't like her people for whatever his reasons but did he find them that repulsive that he couldn't even look at them up close? Especially when he was the one who had invited her over to talk. "I think "Over glorified shuttle" is a bit of an understatement sir. For a mission such as this she's perfect. Even if the Theurgy wasn't damaged bringing her or even one of her vectors here would be too obvious and if were were to be attacked a shuttle could easily be overwhelmed in an ambush. At the very least the lack of heavy duty weapons and armour would make it easy pickings. The Allegiant has some teeth and can hold her own in a fight, if anything she's somewhere between a shuttle and a small fighter. Granted she's certainly nowhere near a Valkyrie or Valravn but she's at least a step above a shuttle in my opinion."

Re: Day 03 [2100] Professionalism

Reply #4 –
Lt Jg Salem Martin | USS Allegiant | Mess Hall] @SilverShadow
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Salem hadn't been expecting her to actually think out her reply or even really to humor this conversation between them. She was giving her full attention to him and he was for his part actually listening to her replies and appreciated some of her tactical input on the matter. Her assessment was far more favorable than his own, but that was to be expected. "Understood, I suppose its just my favoritism. In the war i served on mostly galaxy class and larger ships. Being on one this small makes me feel a bit claustrophobic."

At this point he took some of his food and looked closer at her. He kept his eyes on hers though it was not a difficult task it was troubling in the way it made his stomach clench slightly. He tried his best to make sure it didn't show. "How did you come to serve on the theurgy? Or rather why?"

"I have my sister on the larger ship so I felt I had to join up, but I didn't expect anyone else from the cayuga to hop ship as well." Let alone someone he had never spoken too or of her scaled complexion.

Re: Day 03 [2100] Professionalism

Reply #5 –
Ensign Mektari Dumral | Mess Hall | USS Allegiant ] Attn: @Masorin
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Well this certainly wasn't how Meki had expected the conversation to go it was almost as if Salem was...trying to get to know her? That couldn't be right surely? The first question could surely have been described as the security officer getting the pilot's opinion on their ship but then going on to explain his preference to larger ships having served on them and now asking how and why she came to serve on the Theurgy and explaining his own familial reasons for doing so, that was indeed more personal. Perhaps his sister had tried to convince him that not all Cardassians deserved the hatred he gave them all? Or perhaps he was simply making an effort since they would be stuck on the same ship and serving the same bridge again for what could be a considerable amount of time.

"I suppose I can understand that, I've flown a varity of ships over the ships, so the size isn't really an issue for me personally. Never flown a Galaxy Class however, I've always wondered if they fly and feel as slow and sluggish as they look for their size of if they're a little bit on the agile side of things for their size." she answered. If he was being civil then so would she. Of course this could always be some kind of trick to lure her into a false sense of comfort, so she'd keep her guard up...then again most Cardassians were suspicious my nature so it could have just been that. It certainly seemed like he was making an effort, in which case she would give him credit for that.

"Having family aboard would certainly justify staying around, especially considering the circumstances surrounding the ship. If I had family on board and they were in the situation the Theurgy was in I'd stay in a heartbeat too. As for me, the Captain brought me over since I was the Chief CONN Officer at the time, which you know and stuck around to help their pilots out. Honestly part of the reason I'm here is because the Cayuga left before I could get back to it, a few of the others are hear for the same reason. On the other hand though, it's hard to argue with the evidence Captain Ives provided about those parasites."

She paused and took a breath, turning to look out of the window at the stars flying by. "While I had my own reasons for enlisting at the Academy and joining Starfleet, I take my position here very seriously, it feels like the place I belong." she said, turning to look back at Salem "The Cardassians and the Federation never really saw eye to eye before the war but some of us knew how important the Federation was to the safety of the Quadrant even if we didn't always agree with their ideals. These parasites are a threat to not just the Federation but the galaxy as a whole."

Pausing a moment, she considered whether to tell Salem the next but since he had mentioned his sister she figured it was only fair, especially if he was indeed trying to get to know her a little better, it was a risk but one she would take. "My brothers are back on Cardassia, at least they were the last time I saw them. The odds are I won't ever see them again but while my duty as a Starfleet officer means fighting those things to protect the Federation, it also means if we do manage to beat the odds and stop them that I helped protect them too."

Re: Day 03 [2100] Professionalism

Reply #6 –
Lt Jg Salem Martin | USS Allegiant | Mess Hall] @SilverShadow
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"The galaxy class ship was... more a luxury apartment in space, and handles about as well as that sounds." He thought about his experiances, there was a bit of a clash in them. "I served on two galaxy classes, one just when the war was about to get started, and the other came at the tail end of the war. The refits and changes were made over a long period of time so most never saw the clash in culture but I had been elsewhere during the majority of the conflict it was like a night and day transformation. Gone was the spaces for families, and civilian populations making way for more labs and experimental technology, the bars had strict hours of operation, cultural festivities had a complete halt. Security personal were stationed at every major corridor and junction. Even the lights were dimmed slightly."

"I've been told that at some point during the war earth was infiltrated by shapeshifters from the dominion. When I got back to earth, it was completely different from the first few times i had seen it. The Federation, and Starfleet were not exactly the groups I remembered. At the height of the war blood tests and sensor sweeps were mandatory and after the war a lot of that security was dropped, but not forgotten, civilians still can't go on a galaxy class ship anymore. The only difference between the shapeshifters from then, and the parasites from now is that the Federation knew they were at war with the Dominion. These creatures seem to have managed a truly invisible take over and that bugs the hell out of me." The war changed so much, and that was only one thing that bugged Salem about the way the Federation had changed. Hearing that Dumral had been more or less left behind was a bit amusing, and her insights on the Federation and cardassian mistrust was a bit of an understatement even now he didn't trust Dumral even if he found himself enjoying this one conversation a bit as he got to reflect on this past he still kinda wanted her to get thrown into the brig for the rest of the mission along with all the other Cardassian's that Ives had allowed to serve.

Still the fact that she opened up about her family was a bit of an interesting factoid.

"That's something that bugs me a bit actually. The evidence they have presented... I don't really think of myself as smart, my sister has that more in spades, but I do like to think of myself as a good judge of character. I have no doubts about Ives they are clearly telling their version of the truth, and I've been skeptical of the Federation for years." Ever since they told him he couldn't go back to rescue Starfleet personel, and civilians from a cardassian labor camp cause it wasn't in a war plan. "I met slankove once, he pinned a medal to my chest and told me I had done good, it was even one of my more proud memories, the man carried himself like every other officer I served with."

"Which begs the question of when these people got infested, when did the parasites start to make changes? They claim to have always been around, so why is it only now that we can really see the effects or feel that something is off? And we know that they have been in the klingon empire, and the Federation, but while the admiralty of the Federation was infested, the klingon high chancellor was not. If they have been around as long as they say they have why doesn't any of this just feel like the day to day grind that has always been there, and why not every key figure in the conflict?"
 

Re: Day 03 [2100] Professionalism

Reply #7 –
Ensign Mektari Dumral | Mess Hall | USS Allegiant ] Attn: @Masorin
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Meki listened as Salem described his experiences aboard Galaxy classes and wasn't really surprised by the description, she had after all figured it would be a slower moving ship but the description of it being a luxury apartment in space, as the Human had described it was certainly an accurate one, although the refit they got during the war certianly made sense. In a lot of way the Galaxy class was rather unusual in design for Starfleet, it was more a cruise ship than anything else yet was clearly also built for standard Starfleet operations too, as evidenced by the fact the Enterprise used to be a Galaxy Class. The pilot did notice however when Salem said he was "elsewhere" during most of the war and not on the ship. A key detail for sure, but the man had brushed over it so she would not question him on it, but it was something of note she was sure.

"I'd heard about the infiltration of Earth during the war, hard to believe in the grand scheme of things, then again if anybody could do so it would be a shapeshifter...or a parasite. Although with the Changelings you can't really blame them for the blood tests and security sweeps, I imagine if we're able to convince others about this new parasite threat and find a way to screen for them that similar actions will be taken again." she replied . The war had changed a lot of things for a lot of people on both sides it seemed. It seemed that a lot of the man's hatred of her kind had come during the War, perhaps he had lost family during it? She did not know, but even now it was clear that he didn't trust her, which amused her, mistrust and suspicion was something of a positive trait to her people, he'd make a pretty good Cardassian. A fact that she was sure he would absolutely hate. On the other hand, she could say the same about him, while their conversation was pleasant and she was enjoying it there was some history that couldn't be easily swept away.

One thing she could relate to however was how unrecognisable Earth was for him in comparison to the last time he had been there. "It has been quite a while since the last time I was on Cardassia and I imagine I will more than likely ever go back there, but I suspect that things have changed greatly there as well and would be unrecognisable to me as well, even more so now that the war is over."

Meki continued to listen to him as he switched topics, declaring that his sister was apparently smarter than he and took notice of how he had said he had been skeptical of the Federation for years, which was interesting. However what was far more interesting was when he started talking about the infestation of all those in command, when it had happened, all good questions, yet some they might not ever have the answers too.

"That's a question, we may never know the answer too. Although if I were one of them, I would have started taking over people during the War, with most people focused on that, the less likely people would be paying attention to any changes and those that did would more than likely attribute it to the War and not anything sinister. It might also explain why some people like the Klingon High Chancellor were not being infected, while the Admiralty within Starfleet was. Klingon's aren't known for sitting on their asses during wartime when they could be out on the front lines fighting, even the High Chancellor. Whereas the Admiralty remained on Earth for the most part, much easier to gain access to in comparison."/color] she replied.

Pausing a moment, she thought on her own concerns and things that surprised her. "What surprises me is that fact that nobody seems to either notice or care at how different Starfleet or at least those in Command are acting now compared to in the past. We Cardassians are raised with duty in mind, to always follow orders for the greater good of our people, yet we also know that there's no such thing as blind loyalty and if your leaders are making questionable decisions that go against the rules you do something about it. Surely there are far more others, be it in Command like the Admiral we are on our way to communicate with but other Captains serving on ships out in the Galaxy that have noticed the unusual ship movements and actions taken by their leaders, it can't just be us? Why are they not questioning things? Or have some only to be removed from their positions and replaced? Are they trying to do so in secret and we just don't know? Or are their either too blind or to stupid to see what's going on?"

Re: Day 03 [2100] Professionalism

Reply #8 –
Lt Jg Salem Martin | USS Allegiant | Mess Hall] @SilverShadow
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Again Dumral had brought something to his attention that Salem hadn't been considering that perhaps the reason why it was easy for them to take control was the fact that admirality had stayed away from the front lines while the Klingon's had been more active in their leadership. He paused for a moment as he leaned back into his seat and thought about that, as well as the differences between Starfleet. He wouldn't say that people hadn't noticed it was just that a lot of the people who were in power now didn't have the memory for before the war.

"During the war, Starfleet made more ships than it had officers to helm. We rushed and inducted more people into the Federation and side stepped buerocrats, and that may have actually made us more vulnerable to the changes in policy. Day to day life on many colonies hasn't changed for the majority of people. Earth is still a paradise, Edea the world I grew up on is still green and vibrant, and there it's easy to ignore problems."  There were problems in the Federation and he could see that, though the thing he had the most trouble with was Dumral's comparason to Cardassia and how no Cardassian would ever question an unlawful or unreasonable order. "I think for the majority of people it's easier to burry their heads in the sand, however I find it difficult to think that Cardassians wouldn't have questioned the state if the situation was reversed."

"After all no Cardassian soldier ever carriers orders that they disagree with we know that. Certainly if there is a Cardassian who saw something objectionable from central command like the extermination of a prison colony that they had been overseeing they would object is what you are saying? That the little guy always has the authority to question his superiors is that how it is on Cardassia these days? I don't know I haven't been there since the war ended." And with that the first shot had more or less been fired, Salem knew he had stepped out of the civil range with that comment, but the comparison from the Federation to The Cardassian Union was one his mind simply couldn't make.

Re: Day 03 [2100] Professionalism

Reply #9 –
Ensign Mektari Dumral | Mess Hall | USS Allegiant ] Attn: @Masorin
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Hearing that comment, and knowing Salem's story and attitude about her people, Mektari realised that if she would indulge further conversation, it would either be her or him being reported for the fallout. She decided, with a pause and a knowing smile, that she had nothing to gain from advancing the subject of discussion any further.

"Let's not go there, Martin. We both know it will not end well for either of us," she said and slowly readied herself to leave. Of course his words were a challenge, and had she been younger she may have taken the bait. She knew better, and could live with how the human might think her leaving was a sign of 'defeat' in some fashion. "Thank you for the company, nonetheless, and take care of yourself."

Saying as much, but no more, she departed the mess hall. Her thoughts were on the present circumstances, the mission, and the next part of the voyage. Hopefully, the away mission would bear fruit, and her new crew on the Theurgy would get aid from this 'inside man' that had contacted Captain Ives.

No doubt they needed all the help they could get.

- FIN
 
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