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DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

[ Commander Carrigan Trent | Corridor outside Below Decks | USS Theurgy | Deck 28 ] Attn: Auctor Lucan

"What do you mean, you're putting him in command of a vector?  Just after you've promoted a phaser room supervisor and given him a commission?  Without OCS?  Without going to the Academy?  What makes you think he's worth it?  And then you appoint him over me?  Do you know how much seniority I have over that little punk?"  The gravelly voice was angry, and belonged to an older man with a fringe of gray hair about his head, a Lieutenant.  And who he was effectively yelling at was a the tall, gaunt Executive Officer.  And while his face was as impassive as ever, Carrigan Trent's eyes were flashing with exasperation bordering on anger. 

"Mister Carson," replied the Commander, his tone ever low and cool, "who is this ship's Chief Tactical Officer?"  The Lieutenant's eyes showed no more respect than they did a moment before.  If anything they were displaying even more indignation and disrespect than before.  "We both know it should be me in that role.  I've been in the Tactical track for almost thirty years, I've served on half a dozen classes of ships and no one knows torpedoes like I do."  And this was when the Commander stopped and turned to face his subordinate.  "Lieutenant, that was the Captain's decision.  And I am the CTO, and the XO.  And last I heard it means that I decide the disposition of the Tactical department, and of every other department on this ship.  And if I decide Mr. Arisaka is ready for a commission, it is a call beyond you.  Furthermore, if I want him as my A/CTO over you, that is also my call.  As for putting him over you, do you really want to know why I did so?"

The look he gathered was one of pure loathing.  "Now listen here, Sir."  The last word was all but spat out in anger.  "I've been in rank for eighteen years.  Almost thirty as a Tactical officer, most of them on starships, real ships and not science vessels or some asshole of nowhere listening post.  And I sure never lost a ship I was on!" 

"Mister Carson," Trent's voice had grown cold, and if it actually held physical property the sudden temperature differential would have cracked the ship's main structural frames.  "First of all, I know where you were during the Dominion War.  You were a third relief tactical officer on an Excelsior-class starship assigned to the other end of Federation space and you never saw action before you were sent to the Copernicus Fleet Yards weapons design facility.  Second, if you ever mention the Harrier and her loss again in that tone of voice, we are going to have a serious problem.  And third, I appointed him over you because, Lieutenant, the only reason you are still in Starfleet at all is because of your expertise in torpedo systems and you are a leading expert with the pod system.  And the reason you aren't in a command position in this department is because you, Mister Carson, are as incompetent a leader as I've ever seen and your Bridge Certification is grossly out of date and you've got the tactical instincts of a particularly dense rock; furthermore you are a petty tyrant within your section and the only reason you haven't suffered some kind of a tragic accident is because Chief Hirrentz is doing a better job as keeping things running smoothly than you ever could and he's the one person running interference between you and your utter lack of anything resembling proper leadership aptitude and torpedomen who are as proficient as anyone could hope for in spite of your gross inadequacy."

"Now, Lieutenant, I expect I will not have to repeat myself on this matter.  I am the Executive Officer.  I am the one who made this decision for reasons you know damn well.  And the next time you want to challenge me in any capacity, Lieutenant, you will do so formally and in writing, and address it directly to the Captain.  And if I hear a whisper you're trying to undermine me or Mister Arisaka, I will see to it you are removed from your position despite our current situation and I will find you a place more suited to your abilities or lack thereof.  Am I making myself absolutely crystal clear?  The answer I expect from you is 'yes, Sir'."

"Yes, Sir," the older man responded.  To which he was given a curt 'dismissed' and only then did Trent resume his walk.  He was supposed to be meeting with the Captain, and the recent conversation had severely soured his mood.  However, when coming around the corner, he did steel his features as he saw his commanding officer and closed the distance.  "Good afternoon Captain.  My apologies for being a little late.  Some matters I had to put to rest took up more of my time than I had expected."

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #1 –
[ Captain Ives | Deck 28 > Deck 19 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: CanadianVet

Standing with her arms folded behind her back, Jien raised a hand and brushed a wing of dark hair back behind her ear. Thoughts upon all the events that had led up to the upcoming battle lingered in her mind, as well as the morrow - everything they had been fighting for was on the line. She heard Commander Trent as he approached, and pushed her thoughts aside. She raised her eyes and turned to him, offering a faint smile of greeting. "Don't they always?" she commented and gestured for the nearby turbolifts. "We will visit Lieutenant Commander Dewitt and the Allegiant first. I already contacted her, and she is waiting for us in the docking bay together with her small crew."

Jien led the way and stepped inside the turbolift. "Deck 19," she said, moving to the side so that her tall First Officer fit inside the lift. "What was the issue this time? Anything of consequence?"

The ride on the lift was short, and they soon stepped off on the right deck. Jien listened to Trent as he described the issues he had been dealing with as they walked down the corridor towards the Captain's Yacht. The Manta-class scoutship had seen a lot of action since they fled Earth, both in terms of reconnaissance and action. She knew that Nathaniel Isley had boarded the Allegiant during the Niga Incident, stopping infected crewmembers from leaving the ship and becoming vectors for the virus. The yacht had also been the means in which Captain Vasser had meant to flee the Theurgy, only to be ambushed by Wenn Cinn and Dyan Cardamone when he was about to step aboard. After the mutiny, Natalie Stark had been chosen to lead the SAR mission that brought the majority of the Harbinger's survivors back on board the Theurgy.

When then reached Starbase 84, the Allegiant would augment their sensors and provide any asisstance it might during the mission, and Dewitt had been picked for the responsibility. Dewitt hand-picked her own crew, all of them being from the Black Opal since she could trust them to work together seamlessly, and the only way Ives had permitted that had been possible was because she'd had a very good CONN pilot on the base. Petty Officer Jaya Thorne had truly been an ace pilot, and only after a few simulations, it had been clear that she was more than capable of piloting the Allegiant even if she'd never seen the insides of the Manta-class scoutship before. The pressure was on, however, and it was now up to Trent and Ives to determine if the results from their drills, simulations and patrols on board the Allegiant were good enough to permit them to fly it during the mission. If not, they would simply pick officers from the Theurgy that were more familiar with the Allegiant, and and rotate other people into the positions that they were supposed to hold.

The initial results had been promising, but now, the final verdict would come. Hopefully, Dewitt and her chosen crew would live up to Trent's and Ives' expectations.

OOC: Feel free to end the post with them arriving in the docking bay, setting the scene, and please include Jaya Thorne and Sithick to be present along with Dewitt, Edgar Rogers, T'Sebl Felr, Morwen Angharad, George Hernandez and the two Cadets Zhong Wu and Vitaly Stanimir. (See NPC list on the Black Opal page on the Wiki)

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #2 –
[ Commander Trent | Deck 19 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: Auctor Lucan, personnel assigned to the Allegiant

When the Captain stated the first stop along their tour of the ship, the Executive Officer only inclined his head and raised a hand, obviously making it clear he expected her to lead the way.  It was odd how he'd grown closer to Jien Ives since his arrival.  At first he regarded the Chameloid as something of an enigma, an individual he could not quite wrap his head around, but he'd grown quite comfortable with his shape-shifting CO.  In fact, they had developed in a week the kind of command relationship that often took months if not years to create.  But then again, both were veterans of wartime starship command, and knew exactly what sort of performance one required of the other.  "Of course, Captain," he softly replied as their first destination was announced. 

In the privacy of the turbolift, he was asked what the issue was.  Of course, he could downplay it but there were no secrets between them.  At least now when it came to this ship and its operations.  "Lieutenant Carson again.  He was more than a little displeased that I commissioned Arisaka and appointed him as A/CTO and gave him a vector to command during the strike.  I explained to him in no uncertain words why I made that decision and warned him that any attempt to undermine Jonas or me was a fight he would not win.  Oh, and that if he had any more concerns about decisions above his pay grade he was free to address them to you in writing; which is to say I don't expect we'll hear from him in the immediate.  But we might want to consider finding ourselves a new Torpedo Section officer.  Hirrentz isn't officer material per se, but he's got the respect of the entire section and I think he could do the job in a pinch, so we could consider giving him his Warrant if it comes down to it."  These were conversations they needed to hold once in a while.  And given the turnover rate of Theurgy's tactical department, it was something they needed to keep discussing.

Upon reaching the Yacht, Trent walked alongside Ives as they reached the support vessel they boarded, and Trent had to take an unusually long step to avoid tripping on a pair of legs sticking out from a bulkhead panel.  But as he did so, he heard a voice calling for him.

Deep within the bulkhead, Cadet Stanimir was working on an EPS relay that just wouldn't stay aligned and he'd realized he needed one particular tool.  And while he was used to working alone, he did not particularly want to waste time extricating himself from the conduit only to crawl back in.  His salvation came when he saw a pair of boots going over his legs and he called out, his voice heavy with his Polish accent.  "Hey, buddy, pass me the isomagnetic coupler, will ya?" 

From the hallway, Trent softly chuckled as he was so addressed.  He was not accustomed to being talked to this way, particularly not by one so far beneath him in the chain of command.  However, he did not berate and instead he reached for the requested tool and handed it into the panel, using his synthetic hand.  "Here you go, Mister Stanimir." 

At first, Vitaly saw the coupler coming his way... in a synthetic hand.  A synthetic left hand.  And he knew that low, nearly whispering voice.  It was...  "Oh shit, Sir!  I'm.. OW!"  In his hurry to make amends for his less than ideal mode of address, the Cadet sought to extricate himself and in the process struck his head on a structural frame.

"At ease, Cadet," replied the XO with a rather uncustomary smile as he extended his good hand towards the young man to assist him out.  "So, what are you working on?  Is the Allegiant going to be mission-ready in time?"

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #3 –
While they walked, Ives listen to Trent as as he spoke of Carson and his potential replacement, Hirrentz. Hopefully, the ageing Carson would know his place well enough not to cause any trouble. "Keep me posted, but hopefully, the issue has come to rest," she said quietly as they approached the Allegiant, or rather the top half of the Manta-class scoutship since the bottom was actually visible from outside the ship. Once inside, one of he Cadets from the Black Opal ended up asking for a tool when they stepped past him, and Jien could not help a lopsided, faint smile when she heard the Cadet scrambling in reaction to Trent being there. She continued further inside the yacht and looked around while she heard Stanimir answering Trent behind her.

"Aye, sir! I mean, I don't really know, sir. You will have to ask Lieutenant Commander Dewitt for the full report, sir. I just know that this relay here will have to be switched out since its not reliable, but besides that, this ship has been well tended to since her last mission. Cadet Zhong and Petty Officer Sithick will be serving down in the engineering room, and Ensign Felr will be on the bridge with Dewitt and the rest. Dewitt is on the bridge now, sir, with the rest."

Hearing this, Jien turned her head, which let Stanimir see the profile of her face and recognise her. "Thank you, Cadet. You can tend to that relay, we were just passing through."

"Yes, ma'am!" Came the retort, and Jien continued along the corridor until they had reached the bridge. The sliding doors opened, and the conversation on the bridge could be heard. Words about the tactical controls, Jien thought, and some feature that Ensign Rogers couldn't see the purpose of. Yet when Jien and Carrigan stepped unto the small bridge, the people present shuffled to their feet. Dewitt had risen smoothly from the centre chair, and turned to face the two superior officers that had arrived.

"Captain on the bridge," said Dewitt, and folded her hands behind her back. Present, beside Rogers and Dewitt, were also Petty Officer Thorne, Junior Lieutenant Angharad and Ensign Felr. Jien knew that Dr. Hernandez would also be on the Allegiant during the mission, and the two missing engineers were likely down in the warp core room - one of them being the Gorn that Jien had seen on the day the Black Opal staff beamed aboard the Theurgy.

"As you were," said Jien and inclined her head to the five people they'd come to visit. "Mister Trent and I have come to verify that everything is in order for tomorrow. This scoutship was unfamiliar to you just a few days ago, and while we know you all have done little else than acquainting yourselves with her, we need to know that you are ready to fly her into battle on the morrow."

Having said this, Jien turned her eyes to the Allegiant's new dedicated pilot - CONN Officer Jaya Thorne. Jien smiled to her faintly, to take the edge of her words. "What say you, Petty Officer Throne? Do you feel confident you can handle this ship, or would you rather that someone else, who has more experience flying her, takes your seat? We are not lacking in tasks to be seen to. So fear not, there are a lot of other duties that you can tend to instead."

OOC: Next poster; Even Angels Cry. Then, Kaligos can post with Sithick arriving to the bridge as well if he wants to, otherwise, its Canadianvet's turn.

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #4 –
[Jaya Thorne |  USS Allegiant Bridge | USS Theurgy] Attn: Auctor, Kaligos, CanadianVet

In her younger days before joining Starfleet, Jaya had been a pilot for Earth Cargo Service.  She had flown nearly every size, shape and class of freighter that ECS had to offer, and she had loved them all.  Her record of piloting excellence was a matter of pride for her, especially since Starfleet had taken notice of it (granted, it was during an interrogation, but still).  She felt at home among the stars, in the ever-changing blackness that was outerspace.  She reckoned a therapist would say it held some kind of psychological meaning tied to her lack of real family back home on Deneva, but for Jaya there didn't need to be a why.  It called to her and she had answered back.

Despite Starfleet's promise to make her a pilot, however, she didn't fly at all until she was sent to the Black Opal.  She knew it was supposed to be some kind of punishment for having a bad attitude or acting out, but the crew there really clicked with her.  Well, all except for one member.  And it was on the Opal that she finally got to fly something, even if it was only around the cargo and docking areas.  Her attitude had improved tenfold while on the Opal, so much so that she'd even advanced in her NCO ranks up to PO1 and found herself eager for the next promotion.

It was strange to feel this excited over something as trivial as a rank promotion, but if it meant she got to fly more ships like the beauty she was standing on, the USS Allegiant, then she was ready to study for the next rank.  Hell, even if it meant she would only be the Allegiant's pilot until she retired, she still wanted that promotion.  Anything to keep her in the skies and flying.  All she had done thus far was familiarize herself with the ship and run flight and battle simulations, but she was already in love with it.  The Allegiant was by far the most advanced ship she'd ever flown and among the nicest to look at. 

So she had taken her reservations about the Theurgy and her crew and shoved them to the back of her mind.  She was still new to the Starfleet mindset of 'trusting your team', but she was doing everything she could to keep an open mind for Dewitt's sake.  And thus far, the crew hadn't been bad to her.  In fact, many of them had even been friendly with her.  The Captain still set her a bit on edge, but that was possibly because she had never met a Chameloid before and the two faces of Captain Ives were very different.  Even so, when questioned about her willingness and ability to perform, Jaya couldn't help but respond with confidence.

"Are you kidding, Sir?  I was born to fly this baby.  Commander Dewitt picked me for a reason and I'll prove to you, just like I have to her, that this is where I belong, Captain."  It occurred to Jaya as she was speaking, that perhaps being so blunt and informal with the Captain was a mistake, so after clearing her voice and turning her excitement down a notch, she spoke again.  "What I mean to say, Captain, is that the USS Allegiant is in good hands.  I trust my ability to fly her and I trust the crew we're taking with us.  We've been training nonstop since arriving here and I am confident in our skills to get the job done, Sir."
"Relationships are not my strong suit; I deal in evenings."
 - Jaya Thorne, Asst. Chief CONN Officer, Ensign [Show/Hide]

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #5 –
[Po 2 Sithick|  USS Allegiant Bridge | USS Theurgy] Attn: Auctor, EAC , CanadianVet

Oil hadn't actually been used on a starships engines for over three or four centuries. Yet Sithick always seemed to have stains running along his golden shirt. Mixtures of bio-gell and a dozen other lubrication agents and dirt from the amount of times the lizard had to crawl around opening up a panel to replace something on this ship was already starting to make his day feel longer than it should. The problem with smaller ships was that there was nowhere for power to go if it ever spiked. Every time the shields took a hit in the simulation he found six places that suffered burn out. More than that however he wanted this ship to be able to fly properly without giving them a problem of sudden explosions.

The Manta's ship design was like a lot of Federation ships that he had seen and worked with, built on old GNDN Piping and he felt that if he was actually working in a port he could build something better. That said this was far from the pit of a bird of prey. It was clean, and sterile in colors and as always Sithick felt most at home on a Federation ship. 

At the moment Sithick was actually near the back of the ship. There was an embalance in one of the ships rear plasma vents. He was working his way up to getting that problem fully fixed. There were only going to be four engineers when they fly out, and the TMP was important, but getting the ship to fly in a strait line was perhaps more important. Especially when he considered who their pilot would be, and with one of their engines imbalanced the ship wouldn't be going as fast as possible. It was potential speed he wanted to have encase of emergencies.

Sithick growled as he ran a check and watched the display on his PADD telling him that the embalance had yet to be fixed. He needed to address this one closer to the source, find what was causing the clogging and flush it out. Slowly he clawed his way back to his feet, and started towards the bridge. Getting from the back of the ship to the front of the ship was not hard when the manta was a smaller vessel and as he arrived he could tell he was interupting something of some importance.

Jaya was talking to the captain, and the commander, His yellow eyes darted from one to the other, and he almost felt like he needed to be somewhere else. For once the larger monsterous predator was at a bit of a loss for words. He swallowed and tried to think of the proper thing to do when presented with three commanding officers all in one room that you just happened to walk into.

The only answer that came to the crocodile like beast was to raise his right hand and place himself at attention. So he stood there, head craned in such a way that he was trying not too look stupid as he his massive frame blocked the door standing dumbstruck for a moment. His massive jaw closed tight trying to hide his sharp teeth as if they were somehow going to insult the captain even though they had already seen him before.

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #6 –
"As the Captain, said, carry on," finished Trent as he followed Ives deeper into the bowels of the Allegiant.  She was not a large ship, so the walk from the access port to the Bridge had been quite short.  The command deck was cramped by starship standards, but for vessel this size?  It was definitely good-sized.  But not so much when most of the stations were being manned and two more people were deciding to stand around. 

As questions were asked, Trent went to stand over at Tactical and, over Ensign Rogers' shoulder, he punched up a quick diagnostic.  Dewitt had warned him that the Ensign was not as diligent as he ought to have been during the drills and work-ups, so both the XO and his adjutant had agreed to introduce a deliberate fault into the tactical systems.  It was not the most noticeable, but it was not blatant either.  It was something that would be easy enough to overlook, if one was not paying full attention to his workload.  And to his pleasure, he found it corrected. 

As he did so, he heard the coxswain speak, in less than deferential terms, about her preference of assignment.  Yes, Petty Officer Thorne, whom Dewitt had warned him was energetic and enthusiastic enough, but not particularly long on what one might call proper Starfleet decorum.  But he had seen the recording of the initial meeting with Ives, and he was pleased to see she'd integrated well enough with the crew and was taking to her new duties with gusto.  "Miss Thorne, if Captain Ives, Commander Dewitt or myself doubted your abilities you wouldn't have been picked for this assignment.  We know she's in good hands, we just wanted to be sure you felt up to the mission.  And looks like you are."

But then, the doors hissed open again and what stood there was something the XO couldn't have credited a few days ago: a Gorn in Starfleet.  "Ah, Petty Officer Sithick.  How are things with engineering?"

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #7 –
[Jaya Thorne |  USS Allegiant Bridge | USS Theurgy] Attn: Auctor, Kaligos, CanadianVet

Jaya hitched a half-smile as she thought of an appropriate response to the XO addressing her.  "Uh, yes Sir.  Thank you, Sir.."    A question popped into her mind at that moment, and there was an awkward pause and an uptick to her vocal tone  as she replied, but she stopped herself before asking anything.  The question still circled her mind though: How dangerous was this upcoming mission and after it was over, would she be able to fly again?  Or would she be dead?  She knew the mission was a calculated risk, that much was clear, but the details had not been shared. 

Not that she had needed them before.  The 'pickups' that she used to do while piloting for ECS kept her in a similar degree of ignorance.  She would be given a date and a time, nothing more.  Her only job was to make sure she was in place at that moment so that someone else could do the packing or removing of things from her cargo ship.  She never even knew what she smuggled.  Plausible deniability, they called it, meaning she couldn't get in trouble for doing things she was unaware of and had never done.

But this felt different.  She'd never been on the Theurgy before being 'capture-rescued' from the Black Opal, but there was an air of finality aboard the vessel.  She didn't like the way it smelled, like victory in death or some similar horseshit.  Her nose wiggled as the thoughts came and went freely through her head.  It could just be nerves, though, she rationalized.  Lots of people live on a starship like this, lots of people who could see almost every mission as a sentence to certain death.  That seemed to make some sense to her and her eyes now focused on the green shape that had appeared on the other side of the bridge.

The scaly figure materialized into view and she registered his presence with a grimace before pulling her expression into check.  Sithick.  Her own Syndicate Assassin, and the worst one in the history of assassin's.  What was he doing on her bridge??  More importantly, what was that ridiculous pose he was striking?  He was clearly too tall to comfortably fit through the doorway and the way he was standing, with his neck craned and arm raised made him look absolutely laughable.  Jaya felt the edge of her mouth upturning in a smirk as she watched her reptilian roommate like a hawk.  He was going to sabotage something, she knew he would, it was just a matter of time.

'Ask the Question.'

"I.."

The thought came unbidden and Jaya pushed it away.  Now was not the time.  After the mission, after they had some hard data to go off of, then she would ask if she could be the Allegiant's primary pilot.  After.  She had to prove it to them, and part of her wanted to prove it to herself as well.  But she'd already begun to speak and stopped.  So, she thought of something else to ask.

"I was curious if perhaps I could speak with any of your crew that have flown this craft before.  Or similar crafts.  I find that once I've familiarized myself with the ship, the next best thing is to familiarize myself with others who have been on the ship.  Sir."
"Relationships are not my strong suit; I deal in evenings."
 - Jaya Thorne, Asst. Chief CONN Officer, Ensign [Show/Hide]

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #8 –
[Po 2 Sithick|  USS Allegiant Bridge | USS Theurgy] Attn: Auctor, EAC , CanadianVet

When the commander walked up to him Sithick felt a small amount of unease, but still dropped frankly over-compensating salute. He had to admit that while he was more comfortable aboard a Federation vessel than that of the old slave ships or Klingon Vessels he also found the chain of command much more intimidating here then he had back when he had just been a slave.

Back then he had just hoped to blend into the background a good day was one where the Gorn would go unnoticed and unwanted. Now he stuck out like a sore thumb to even the least important passerby and he felt like he constantly wanted to impress the leaders. To showcase what he was capable of. So when it came for a report on engineering he had to grumble a little. He didn't like bringing bad news to those in command, it was something of an old habbit, but the messengers of bad news on klingon ships often ended up in the infirmary.

"Zir, Ensign Felr has taken zhe tranzpotter room as his personal task, we should find some manageable work aroundz to get it operational. Cadet Wu is checking for stress fractures along zhe hull. I am trying to fix an imbalanse in the engine output. Zhere ish vent that causes a light pull to starbord limiting impulce speeds, I was hoping to take a look at the navigation conzol to try and find the root of the problem."

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #9 –
[ Captain Ives | USS Allegiant Bridge > Docking Bay | USS Theurgy ] Attn: 1) CanadianVet 2) ch'Xinya

Hearing the enthusiasm from the Black Opal's CONN officer, Jien folded her arms underneath her chest and smiled faintly. Petty Officer Thorne reassured her that the Allegiant was in good hands, and Jien was inclined to believe her. Trent spoke up in reply to Thorne, and his sentiment mirrored Jien's. She looked away from the younger woman when the Gorn entered the small bridge, and Jien remembered that his name was Sithick - perhaps the first non-com Gorn in Starfleet.

Jien had just been about to say a few words to Dewitt while Trent spoke with Petty Officer Sithick, but it seemed Miss Thorne had a request for her. Jien listened to her out without interruption, and since the request was sound, she inclined her head. "The one with the most experience flying her would be your new superior officer in the CONN department, whom I believe you've met already since you came aboard. Lieutenant Aisha S'Iti flew the Allegiant on a lengthy SAR mission before we reached the Black Opal, so I suggest you ask to speak with Siti at your earliest convenience. I wish you luck on your mission, but based on what Commander Dewitt here has told me about how you fly shuttles, I hardly think you'll need it."

While she had spoken with Thorne, Sithick was giving a sitrep to Trent, so Ives turned to Dewitt instead, confident that her First Officer could weigh on on the preparations of the Allegiant. "Commander," Jien said to Dewitt, "make sure your crew is well rested in time for the mission, even if you have more drills to run. You should also inform them about the chance to record a personal message to their friends and next of kin, since they will be sent with the simulcast tomorrow."

"Aye, Captain," said Jennifer, running a hand through her red hair before returning it to the back of the chair she stood next to. "I will see to it, and thank you for stopping by. We'll be ready when we reach the starbase."

"I'm sure of it," said Jien and looked towards Trent, letting the XO reply to the Gorn before stepping towards the exit. "We must continue. Good luck with the last drills and the remaining repairs." In her peripheral vision, Jien could see Dewitt looking at Carrigan Trent with some warmth, whereas Ensign Rogers, next to her, was quite uncomfortable in the XO's presence. Likely because Trent had encountered the man in the Opal's command center, but Jien could but guess since she failed to remember the smaller details of the report.

Once Jien was alone with Trent again, walking side by side as they exited the Allegiant and crossed the small docking bay, Jien spoke up. "I think you might have made quite an impression on Miss Dewitt," she said with a faint smile, but she left no immediate opening to answer, "Next is Stellar Cartography, which is just four decks above us. Ensign ch'Xinya will be on the look-out during the battle, handling long range sensors so that we can focus on the situation at hand. Let's just pray he doesn't spot Task Force Archeron on the horizon."

OOC: You're next, CanadianVet, followed by ch'Xinya. This means that your post will have to take them into Stellar Cartography, CV. :) I will let ch'Xinya know they're coming for a visit. (Kaligos & EAC you are free to post again as well, even if the CO and XO is leaving)

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #10 –
"Keep up the good work, Jennifer," was Trent's simple response once the Captain addressed the adjutant.  The XO was known to be quite formal, and his use of her given name was a sign of trust in her competence, despite the fact that it was definitely a professional comment that could only be answered in proper professional fashion in return.  And really, that was all that needed saying at this time and once he was acknowledged, he followed the Captain first off the diminutive Bridge, and out of the Allegiant altogether. 

As they walked, she made a comment about Ives, and then regarding Stellar Cartography, and only then could he find a window to answer.  "She's good people, a good officer.  I looked her service record over, and I saw nothing about why she ought to be out there.  Nothing disciplinary, nothing about her performances.  She ought to be a second officer or XO somewhere, maybe even a minor starship command of her own.  I wonder who she pissed off, because she certainly deserved better than being sent to the ass-end of nowhere.  Mind you, I'm not going to complain because she's a fine addition to our crew."  Trent was more than a little pleased at Dewitt's change of heart about the renegade starship, and having her as his own right hand was the kind of support he definitely needed.  And now, it meant he would be able to actually have some time for himself to spend at the gym.  Or with Amelya.  Or Heather...

But his own personal complications took a back seat to the mission.  "Well, the way I disabled them, it would take them at least a week to get their systems up and running again, and that's assuming they are really on the ball and got to work on the right things at the right time in the right sequence the moment we left them in our wake..  There were plenty of explanations Trent could give about the nature of his sabotage, and how it would take physical time to flash every piece of firmware he had corrupted and reinitialize the hardware and so many other details.  But instead, he simply gave his assessment.  "Honestly, I don't think it's possible they are even all under power right now, let alone fully space-worthy or battle-ready."

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #11 –
"Let's hope you are right," said Jien as she walked next to Trent, entering the turbolift that would take them to Stellar Cartography. "Deck 15."

After the turbolift doors closed, she did not wish to assume the worst and dampen the idea that they could actually be successful at Starbase 84, but she felt it was worth saying it since Trent would effectively serve as CTO along with the Mission Ops role. A worthy challenge for the XO that Jien would not have given him unless she was confident in his abilities. The battle against the Calamity had proven his merits, and that battle had't had half the preparations as the mission to Starbase 84 had. "There is risk that either of the ships in the Task Force managed to alert Command, letting them know that they made contact with us and the Harbinger above Theta Eridani IV. Even if your intel suggest otherwise, there could have been ships close enough to come to their aid, civilian or not. Then again, if we can remain undetected, our clandestine stay inside transporter range to the starbase will be short, and the message will go out before any word about our presence slips out."

Their brief ride bought them to Deck 15, and Jien led the way into Stellar Cartography, walking out along the gangway and to the Andorian that was posted there.

Because of what had happened in Stellar Cartography during the Niga Incident, as little as she could remember of it afterwards, Jien was still not entirely comfortable with visiting the place. She made no outward sign towards such an aversion, of course, instead thinking about how she had offered Nicole Howard her promotion to Chief Engineer in the same room, back when the deck above had yet to be repaired - the hole Jien had fallen through still wide open. Then again, thinking about Nicole Howard had its own share of regrets, the image of her interjecting herself between Cala's phaser fire in order to save Jien's life when they first encountered the starship from the future... Aye, there was a memory that still didn't sit well with Jien, hoping that the half-Bajoran could be restored to life from her stasis chamber one day.

"Ensign ch'Xinya," said Jien, as she came within earshot to the Andorian - seeing his mismatched antennae against the imagery upon the concave walls. "What's the status before the mission? Are all the repairs done, and are the sensors calibrated for this environment yet?"

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #12 –
Fingers tapping along the console, Ensign ch'Xinya's antenna turned to the side as the door opened behind him, almost as if it was trying to get a better sense of who was coming.  Quickly bringing himself to a good stopping point, he listened to the footsteps coming down the gangway.  "Captain!" he greeted, turning around and standing tall the moment she announced her presence.  "And Commander Trent." he quickly added.  "Things are almost ready here, all of the different sensor feeds have been routed to here, I just have some final calibrations to finish before the end of the day.  As for the repairs..." the Andorian smiled and gestured towards the screens.  "They are ready for your inspection."

Filling the top half of the center screen and spilling into the two on the sides, a large gas giant hangs in the black, blue with numerous distinct cloud bands circling the planet's diameter.  Floating around it are several moons, but one is sitting directly in the middle of the massive displays.  Larger than all of the rest, covered in ice-encased land masses surrounded by crystal oceans, this moon represents the center of Shall's universe (figuratively speaking of course.)  "The computer is filling in the fine details of course, but this is a live image of Andoria."

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #13 –
"So do I."  Trent was not one given to idle words or wishful thinking.  But he certainly did hope he had been suitably pessimistic about his assessment of Task Force Archeron's ability to deal with the nasty parting gift he had left behind.  But there had been little time to expand on the matter between the short walk and brief turbolift ride to Stellar Cartography. 

Ensign ch'Xinya was not someone Trent had met yet.  In fact, he only knew the name and species of the Stellar Cartographer.  But given that he'd only been in the role of XO for less than a week and had mostly been focused on the tactical aspects of the upcoming mission, his lack of familiarity with officers in the science department could be excused.  "At ease, Ensign," Trent interjected at the scientist's rather formal announcement. 

And while listening to the report, Trent considered the rather impressive display around him and looked at one of the console, getting a first-hand look at the sensor feeds, and how they could be adjusted.  And given what was coming up, he would be the one to break the news.  "Mister ch'Xinya,  you know what we're going to be doing.  And you know that everyone on the Bridge who'd normally be looking at long-range sensors is going to have their hands full with the mission.  How confident would you feel about being our lookout, keeping an eye out for any Starfleet or Romulan ships coming our way while we're at the Starbase?"

The eventuality was one that had been discussed between CO and XO, but so far Trent was confident in the astrophysicist's capabilities.  The question was, did he think he was up to the challenge?  Because if he didn't, they needed someone else for the job.

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #14 –
Supplementing additional information, Ives put her hands on her hips and spoke up after Trent.

"Not only will this lab have access to the long range sensors in a way that it hasn't had before, but Mister Trent has also offered to upload the Starfleet Intelligence files he brought from the USS Archeron when he came aboard. It is our belief that with the known fleet movements at hand, this lab will be even more versatile in its new purpose as a lookout station." Pausing, Ives walked up to the railing, putting her hands on it, and looked at the image of Andoria. She supposed that ch'Xinya missed home. So do we all.

"You served this crew well when we fled Starfleet, charting for worlds with deuterium deposits." It just happened to be Nathaniel Isley that found Niga when he deviated from his patrol route. Jien supposed that in retrospect, ch'Xinya was likely glad that it hadn't been him that found and suggested the planet Niga in the Mâhewa System, given what they had found there. "And it was your reports that made us chose Theta Eridani IV after the first battle with the Calamity. We managed to hide from her for a whole week before she found us, and Trent and I both believe it is time you took on a greater responsibility."

She turned her head and looked at the Andorian with her oaken eyes - her face unreadable. She hoped he understood the gravity of his new task. "What say you?"

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #15 –
The Andorian nodded slowly as his Captain and her (at the moment) Executive Officer inquired at his readiness.  Trent was straight to the point, while Captain Ives took a moment to buoy Shall up with a reminder of his earlier work.  It was an effective combination, appealing to his pride, then promising an exciting challenge to follow, just the thing that would get an Andorian to put their blue rears into motion.  “Watching for ships wasn’t exactly what this lab was designed to do, but I’m sure we can agree that we are well past ‘designed.’  At the moment I can pick up the warp bubble of a ship larger than a runabout at approximately five light-years out, I’m also trying to adapt some of the observation techniques I’ve learned over the years to apply to ship hunting.”

While he was addressing Trent with that report, he watched the Captain out of the corner of his eye as she took in the view at the railing.  Turning towards her without turning completely away from Trent, Shall couldn’t help but smile a bit, at least until she returned the gaze.  The smile quickly disappeared, and his antenna even stood at attention.  “If the Archeron comes for us there is no way I will miss it, especially with the information the Commander brought.  I’ve also taken the liberty to plot out several possible escape routes depending on how any reinforcements deploy to counter our mission, Captain.”  She already knew that of course, but it never hurt to say it out loud.

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #16 –
The Executive Officer considered what was being said.  Approaching the astrophysicist was something they had discussed, and they both knew they needed someone to step up to that particular role of being the lookout for them.  It might not be a permanent addition to his duties in Astrometrics, but it would still be a valuable asset to the ship's intelligence functions.  And if it could help take some of the routine load off his shoulders, he would take it. 

But apparently, the Andorian had taken some initiative in the matter and he had plotted some courses based on, he assumed, standard fleet deployment patterns.  That was a good start, and a reason the Captain and he had not been mistaken in wanting to push the man out of his comfort zone.  "Good work, Ensign," replied the Commander.  Indeed, he was pleased with that information, and he certainly wanted to get more out of him. 

"But with the information at hand, I want you to find a way give us ten light-years warning.  Can you do this?"

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #17 –
Shall didn't hesitate.  "Yes sir I can.  My current techniques guarantee anything up to a runabout up to five, something the size of a Saber-class around seven, and anything larger at ten, but that does require they be cruising at warp speed."  He resisted going into the more technical details, but couldn't help but give at least a partial explanation.  "It's currently based on the size of the warp field, the larger and faster the ship the larger the field.  Known field metrics let me get an estimate on both factors, but that would be about it."

The Andorian's attention flipped from Trent over to Captain Ives, his antenna betraying the true emotions that are behind the "teaching mask" Shall had instinctively acquired as soon as he started explaining his methods.  "That's just the first step of course, as soon as the sensors pick up said warp fields I get a warning and I can start training finer sensor arrays and use some other detection methods to suss out further details.  Having a copy of the fleet ID database is a key component, if someone else came flying in to the rescue I would have a much more difficult time trying to pin down their profiles at that range."
 

Re: DAY 06: Visitations [1600 hrs.]

Reply #18 –
Captain Ives nodded when the Ensign made his reservation about what kind of ships he might identify.

"Understandable," she said and pushed away from the railing, shifting... to his male form. With his shoulders squared, he adjusted the sleeves of his uniform while he spoke.

"Given the nature of our mission, and what we will do, the simulcast will likely not draw any other factions than Starfleet. You have Thea's database to aid you in detecting all classes of Federation starships, and even most of the Klingon and Romulan ship classes as well, but with Trent's intelligence files on Task Force Archeron, I am confident you will be able to pinpoint not just what kind of warp signature that is inbound, but see the correlation in the fleet composition. Which ship classes that move in on our position will be an identifier, since we know which ships Task Force Archeron consist of."

Folding his hands behind his back, Ives raised his eyes to the Andorian Ensign. "If you are unsure, your priority is not to identify the inbound force, but to inform all Vectors about any inbound forces. We'd rather not have them right on top of us just because you tried to determine if the ships are of Task Force Archeron or not. Common sense, certainly, but you need to realise that every second count. In a situation like the one we'll face while we wait for the boarding teams to send the message and beam back aboard, whatever time you can give us, we'll use it to preserve this ship and the lives of our crew."

Having said this, Ives inclined his head in parting. "As you were, Ensign. Keep us posted with your preparations. We need to know you are ready before 1000 hrs. tomorrow."

With this comment, Ives left Stellar Cartography with Commander Trent. With the addition of the Asurian forces - which only they knew about - there might be hope for the mission to be accomplished after all.

- FIN
 
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