Shipping Out (Part 1 of 2)

Posted on 20 Feb 2015 @ 5:05pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Prudence Devin Ph.D. & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Lieutenant JG Tulkas Eido & Commander Norvi Stace & Commander Andreus Kohl & Lieutenant Commander Amynta Markos & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Commander Scarlet Blake & Lieutenant Asahi Kita & Lieutenant Commander Dea Mialin & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Petty Officer 1st Class Rebecca Williams & Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy & Lieutenant Oren Idris Ph.D. & Lieutenant JG Grayson Jones & Lieutenant Benice Gyce Ph.D. & Chief Petty Officer Pax Inyo & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Petty Officer 1st Class Gabriel Stark & Lieutenant JG Wakeham Paul Alasia Ph.D. & Lieutenant Olsam Mott

3,138 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 3, Cargo Bay 1
Timeline: MD 44 - 1100 hrs

[ON]

The ship-wide inspection tour had just concluded and now Lirha found herself ready to proceed with the most prudent of matters. Galileo seemed to be in good working order and her deflector installation refit had gone as smoothly as could have been expected, and now it was time for the entire crew to receive the details of their upcoming deployment. It was a most unusual set of orders for the small Nova-class and they would test the little ship beyond her designed mission profile -- but Lirha was confident that with such an experienced crew, there was no obstacle they couldn't overcome. Or in this case, no Klingon starship they couldn't conquer.

With the crew now assembled in Cargo Bay 1 on Deck 3, Lirha stepped through the large double doors of the storage bay with a loud hiss of the entrance's mechanic servos. Inside was the entire crew of Galileo still dressed in the formal attire and neatly organized in columns according to their department. Various cargo containers stacks littered the area but thankfully there was enough room for all of the ship's 70+ personnel to fit, albeit somewhat tightly.

Prudence frowned as she looked around, taking a moment to take it all in. Well. Here they were. She thought for a brief moment that if anyone wanted to assassinate the crew, this was the place to throw in an explosive. It made her smile in a morbid sense.

Rice hummed to herself as she rocked on her heels, looking around the people. She waved at West, smiling warmly. This was good. Maybe they'd throw a party. A nice, big party.

Standing patiently, Tulkas was looking forward to getting his new orders, travelling across the quadrant to expand his horizons. He suspected he wasn't the only one looking forward to getting away from the Starbase.

Stace stood near to the back with a data padd in-hand, still working through the small power fluctuation during the activation of the deflector. It righted itself within tolerant parameters - with a little help from the Gally's crew - and the Trill was no engineer, but she wanted to just make sure it was as she had reported: a success.

To Stace's right, Andreus Kohl was standing and staring at her, and there was a grimace on his lips. Despite his flippant manner with his peers, and the science staff, and strangers, and patients, Kohl was plenty fearful in the presence of flag officers. The Admiralty made him feel observed and judged, even if he wasn't in their direct line of sight. And so he worried that Stace's distracted manner would draw the Admiral's judgey eyes in his own direction. And so Kohl grimaced at Stace, but he didn't care so much that he said anything to her. He just stared and grimaced. And, in the end, Kohl started reading from Stace's PADD too.

Markos frowned as she stood by the door, watching the people arrive. She wasn't exactly feeling it right now. She wasn't sure why. She was starting to feel a bit...disillusioned. Perhaps it was the way her department was, coming back from shoreleave. Maybe it was holiday blues. She shook he head, arching an eyebrow. Regardless. She would suppress it in her own fashion, as always.

Wherever Asahi was, it was close enough to either his staff or the senior officers, he couldn't quite tell which. He had a hankering for breakfast burritos stronger than that of decorum or awareness of his surroundings. In fact, like the amazing Chief Engineer that he was, he forgot there was a meeting. He had to be reminded. He grinned and waved at the nearest person staring at him, mouth full of burrito.

Holliday approached the gathering from the same side as Lirha, following her into the Cargo Bay as she prepared to make her address as she had done in previous missions. Remaining silent he took a position off to one side of her, and waited for his XO to join them.

Blake nodded gently to Holliday as she approached, coming to a standstill at his side, hands clasped behind her back and her body held in a taut, military posture. The nod conveyed a simple message. They'd got through the inspection, and no harm was done. Always a nice feeling. A very faint smile pulled at her lips at the thought, but she cleared her throat softly to cover it.

As immiculate in uniform as ever and keeping a number of steps behind command, Rebecca kept her PADD hugged against her chest as she remained, as always, ready to take notes on any questions which may arise. She had already seen the contents of the briefing but needed to keep note of anything extra which may have come up. She also couldn't help scanning the crowds for a certain female Doctor.

Dea had arrived for the briefing looking around to see who else from Flight Control was present. The inspection had been completed and that was a good feeling. Now she could focus on other matters.

Hopefully, Allyndra thought, this was going to be the final bit of madness before she could just find a drink. She had felt like a juggler trying to balance the various personalities in the medical staff. Finally it appeared the whole ordeal was about to come to and end with this one final appearance in the Cargo hold. Deck three which meant her room was not far away and she was going to retreat there as soon as possible.

So many people here! T'Vanna looked around, so many faces of who she had no name to attach to. And so many that she actually did. She spotted Markos as she passed her coming into the bay and smiled at her superior officer.

Dru stepped into an already crowded room as she kept near to the back wall. This wasn't as formal as the inspection thankfully, it was easier to stay hidden out of sight.

The scientists were by far the most numerous on the ship so Oren felt like, surrounded by them, there was always someone brushing against him. It wasn't that he disliked contact, but being surrounded by relative strangers, getting touched randomly by them after inspection was starting to make him incredibly uncomfortable and he was looking forward to wrapping all this up to go back to his quarters and de-stress.

Grayson rocked up looking his best as usual, pulled up beside a group of his fellow engineers and waited around, smiling and nodding to those he knew as they came passed.

Gyce has made herself comfortable in the ship's lounge. If only for a comfortable chair and a place to do her job.

Pax had been one of the first to arrive in the cargo bay, although she hadn't said much or known enough of the rest of the crew to share in their conversations. The Cargo bay transformed from the empty impersonal space into a throbbing animated collection of, well, everyone. She wondered if that somehow upset the balance of a ship and imagined the whole thing tilting off to one side, even though she knew that was ridiculous. Everyone was more or less lining up now and making themselves presentable and she did likewise.

Lirha stepped up to the makeshift podium as Holliday and Blake assumed their positions next to her.

"Crew of Galileo," she began while casting her light green eyes across the crowd, "I thank you for returning from shore leave so promptly. We have new orders for our next deployment which will begin tomorrow evening. Galileo will depart Starbase 84 at approximately 2000 hours along with a escort of four other starships. We have been detached from TF 72 and reassigned to TF 21 as the task force's new flagship, and we will be setting course for the Chi'Dan sector to participate in the annual NIMBUS training exercises." She paused for a brief moment to unclip her PADD from her belt and read off more of the specifics.

"For those of you unfamiliar with NIMBUS, it is both the infamous neutral planet along the Klingon-Romulan neutral zones as well as the codename for Starfleet's covert joint-military training exercises with the Klingon Defense Force. The existence of these exercises are a closely-guarded secret by both governments, and all knowledge of our current mission is hereby classified."

"Along with the rest of our task group, we will proceed to the Chi'Dan sector where we will rendezvous with our partenered KDF task group. General JataQ will be the Klingon group commander and will greet us when we arrive at our destination. Our orders are simple; to engage in simulated military training exercises with the KDF and to gather as much intelligence as possible on their warships, strategy, tactics, and technology. There is no doubt the Klingons will be doing the same to us, and I expect each of you to remain diligent throughout the operation. We will most likely engage in diplomatic functions once we arrive prior to the start of our simulations, so please make sure we have secured all sensitive areas of the starship and keep our security tight in case we have any visitors. I will also remind you to be on your best behavior when dealing with our cranial-ridged friends."

Lirha took a short moment to reach down and grab a bottle of water and take a long sip before continuing with the specifics. "As mentioned, there will be four starships accompanying us to Chi'Dan. USS Chronos, USS Atlas, USS Aventia, and USS Nautilus. These starships all require experienced senior staff, and as such, I have reassigned several of our personnel to new commands for the duration of this mission."

"Captain Holliday, Chief Quinn, and Lieutenant Voutilainen. You are being transferred to USS Chronos, Defiant-class, Dock 4," said Lirha as she read off the new transfer assignments. "Lieutenant Commander Kohl, Commander Blake, and Lieutenant Mercy; USS Nautilus, Miranda-class, Dock 30. Lieutenant Commander Markos, Lieutenant Commander Mialin, Ensign Murray, and Lieutenant Rice; USS Aventia, Akira-class, Dock 15. And I will be transferring my flag to USS Atlas along with Lieutenants Kita, Wyatt, Zhao, and West; Dock 21. The rest of you will remain here on Galileo under the command of Lieutenant Commanders Stace and Warraquim. For those of you departing for other starships, please arrive at your new postings by 1900 tomorrow evening."

Rice's eyes widened and she looked over at the Chief Intelligence Officer. Oh, rubbish. Markos had a reputation of being one hardarse woman. In fact, Aria was pretty sure the Cardassian modelled their intelligence officers on Markos. And interrogation technique. And possibly everything else evil. So...she was going to be on relatively small ship being barked orders at by a woman who frankly should audition for the next holo-horror. Great. Just... "I'm screwed," she breathed to herself, looking down. She was actually going to get herself killed during a game of glorified Battleship. Sometimes, she really, really, really hated her life. Like in this moment. Haaaate.

Gabriel Stark looked across to Aria with a small smile and playful gleam in his eyes at her reaction. He licked his lips, nudging her subtly with his arm. As close as he could get to going 'ha ha ha ha ha ha!' in silence. He'd let her have it later though.

Tulkas narrowly avoided letting the disappointment show on his face. A training exercise with the Klingons was hardly the best use of his abilities, or anyone else for that matter. Still, orders were orders.

Back in charge of a vessel, Stace thought, flicking her brows up in eager anticipation. And the Gally too. She nodded to the Admiral and silently smiled her gratitude in the Orion's faith in her command abilities. She then found Commander Warraquim's face in the crowd, dealing her a generous and knowing smile. She hadn't had much to do with the Chief Medical Officer in their previous postings and was looking forward to changing that reality.

Now, there was only a beaming grin on Kohl's lips. His eyes looked lost --bemused, really-- but the rest of his face was smiling. "Congratulations, Captain," Kohl said to Stace. "I thought you looked awfully comfortable in that simulated centre-seat."

"You should have seen me in the Kobayashi Maru, Commander!" Stace replied with a wistful smile. "Epic!" She drew her open hand across the front of her like a rainbow and punctuated it with a wink.

Now that is weird, Markos frowned slightly, tilting her head. An Akira wasn't a bad class. They were fighting ships. But what surprised Amynta was that she had been appointed to command a ship. Because she had spoken to the Captain alone...maybe once? Maybe not even that. And Saalm...well, she was smart and she had gotten a beautiful wife. In fact, she got better on with Blake; that was a woman worthy of respect. So because she wasn't best buddies with the Command staff, Markos felt more than a bit surprised that she had gotten this...appointment. However brief. It will be an experience. And maybe it will clear my head as well.

"Wait, what?" Asahi had been paying the closest attention he possibly could, really he had been. He heard his name, and the ship he was being transferred off to-wait, transferred of to? His name was towards the top of the list too-what did that mean? Oh boy, he hoped that meant he was going to be digging deep into a bigger ship! Swallowing hard, mostly to finish off the evidence of his burrito, he merely smiled wide and nodded as if he absolutely knew exactly what was going on.

Quinn looked over towards Holliday and have a subtle thumbs up gesture. Quinn had always felt a special kinship with Holiday and Lirha. The first few to ever step foot on the Galileo. He always liked the young man, and saw a lot of himself in the then XO, granted a much younger version of himself.

Holliday smirked in response, and out of sight of the crew returned the subtle thumbs up. The ship they had been assigned to was Defiant class - a variety of starship that both Quinn and Holliday had served aboard before, and knew well. He couldn't complain about the opportunity to have that many weapons to shoot at once.

Standing at the back of the room with one shoulder propping her up against the bulkhead, Dru wasn't sure what to feel. Relief that she'd have more time to settle on the ship? Uncertainty at a crew she knew being broken up? Whichever it was she knew she'd have to accept it and move on. As she noticed Markum out of the corner of her eye it also reminded her to track him down before he left, she at least owed him that. Either way, the counsellor knew she needed to try keep her mind on the briefing at hand...she had a job to do.

A few moments after the Admiral had finished speaking, Paul Alasia meekly raised his hand. "Admiral, if I may. Is it possible that the presence of a Nova Class science ship during wargames could be perceived as a slight to the KDF? Even with the Galileo re-assigned away from flagship status, perhaps they'll feel we aren't giving them the toughest possible fight."

After listening to the diplomat's question, Lirha had to admit that she hadn't really given that angle too much thought. She supposed it could be quite possible, but then again, Galileo had proven itself as a competent fighter in previous skirmishes with the Empire. "An interesting question, lieutenant," she acknowledged. "I believe the Nova-class is quite a capable starship, even for a science vessel, and it outguns any B'Rel-class Bird-of-Prey. I would assume the KDF would treat Galileo with its due respect."

"Yes, sir." Paul responded quickly.

Blake was silent, but looked down at the question. She remembered all too well when the Gally had fought off Klingons in a real life or death battle that had left its scars on many crew members, not least the Admiral who had been tortured. This lone little ship and fought them off and seen them through what should have been a fatal blow. They'd proven they could more than match the Klingons; they could beat them.

While Dea knew about their new mission she had not been totally prepared to be reassigned to a different ship for the mission. It would be a challenge. Glancing around the room as she continued to listen. She had a feeling they were in for an interesting time.

Allyndra was surprised but then again perhaps that whole Kobayashi Maru thing had been to freshen everyone up. It was interesting that they were going to split the staff up but then that was above her rank and pay grade. She was not so sure about being an Executive officer again, well she presumed so since Stace was named first and also was senior. It would be nice to be on a bridge again though.

Olsam sidled up to Norvi and Allyndra, grinning like a fool with an odd glint in his eye. "Sooo... If you're both on the bridge, does that mean I'm in charge of Sickbay?"

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Wakeham Paul Alasia
Diplomatic Officer
USS Galileo

Petty Officer 2nd Class Rebecca Williams
Commanding Officer's Yeoman
USS Galileo

Ensign T'Vanna Murray
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer / Operations Officer
USS Galileo / USS Aventia

Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Executive Officer
USS Nautilus

Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy
Assistant Chief Counsellor
USS Gemini

Lieutenant Asahi Kita
Chief Engineering Officer / Executive Officer
USS Galileo / USS Atlas

Lieutenant Olsam Mott, M.D.
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (J.G.) Tuula Voutilainen, M.D.
Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutent Min Nicholas
Chief of Operations
USS Galileo

Ensign Jaana Voutilainen
Stellar Cartographer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Wakeham Paul Alasia
Diplomatic Officer
USS Galileo

LCmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Commander Norvi Stace
Chief Science Officer / Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Grayson Jones
Assistant Chief Engineer
USS Galileo

CPO Pax-Inyo
Master-at-Arms
USS Galileo

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