Countdown to Action

Posted on 21 Mar 2015 @ 11:05pm by Commander Scarlet Blake & Commander Andreus Kohl & Chief Warrant Officer 3 Amon Mormont & Ensign Annikafiore Szerda

2,395 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 08 - NIMBUS
Location: USS Nautilus: Deck 1, Briefing Room
Timeline: MD -03 - 0800

ON:

Sitting herself down at the head of the table, Scarlet Blake took the moment of silence to catch her breath and get used to the new position. There wasn't anymore information available to share since the briefing back on the Galileo, but she wanted her Senior Staff to all meet and get up to speed with each other. They were going to have to 'fight' together soon enough, with no time or service together as a group to get used to how each other worked. This would have to do instead.

"Hey," Mieko Argyris smiled as she walked in, her eyes gentle as she walked in. But playful too. "I'm Mieko, your Helmsman..." she said and sat down, humming softly. "You must be excited! Kicking Klingon ass, ma'am?"

Blake couldn't help but blink at the exuberance and rather colourful way she put it. "Perhaps not the best turn of phrase, but I catch your meaning, Ensign..."

Major Evans smiled as he walked in, giving a respectful nod to Scarlet. "Ma'am," he said, taking his seat. He felt good about this. He arched an eyebrow at Mieko before chuckling. She was insane. He was sure of it. But despite being so different, they got on well.

Mormont smiled as he walked in, sitting down as he sighed. He nodded to Blake, just happy to be there and be part of it all. After all, it was a good training exercise. He got a chance to be on the bridge and actually see the side of it that most enlisted never did.

The door had barely whispered shut, when it pulled aside with another pneumatic hiss. Waiting on the other side of the doorway was Annikafiore Szerda -- her big, curly, magenta hair pulled back into a big, curly, magenta ponytail. She was wearing spectacles, which were the same shade of brushed chrome as the anti-grav exoframe fused to the seams of her uniform. The Elaysian always hesitated at portals, watching the door to make sure it was holding open. Satisfied the way was clear, Szerda entered the briefing room and admired the unadorned room as if considering it for the first time. It wasn't literally her first time, of course, but it was her first time as department head of Operations. She sat herself in a chair at precisely the middle of the table.

Naois sauntered in, attention to his PADD rather than those gathered in the room. Only when he stubbed his toe against one of the chairs did he look up and cast them a sheepish look. "Doctr Mercy reporting," he said formally, then walked around a chair in order to sit down. "Just reading up on things."

"That's what I like to see," Blake replied softly with a small smile on her features. "We all have some last minute 'cramming' to do, I think it's fair to say."

Bustling into the briefing room, Andreus Kohl was announcing, "I baked scones!" almost as soon as he entered the compartment. Mostly, the bombastic display was to distract from the fact he was late. Carrying a tray in one hand, he remarked, "When I couldn't sleep, I found we have a fully-operational galley in the mess hall." He set the tray down on the table, and set himself down in a chair at the opposite end of the table from Blake. "Who puts galleys on starships anymore, right?"

"I am not going to say no to scones!" Mieko said and reached out, her eyes shining. "Mm...that looks amazing. I'm Mieko..." she took a bite, moaning. "And I'm famished..."

"I'm Andreus, hullo," said Kohl, and he offered a quick wave to Mieko across the table. He then waved that hand at the platter. "Go on, have two. Half of them are sweet and half of them are savoury."

Naois eyed the scones suspiciously; while he didn't really know what scones were, he also had no idea of what would be in them. "What are the ingredients?" he asked curiously. Realising that several had introduced themselves, he sat up a little straighter, his blue eyes roaming across the other officers present. "I am called Naois," he said informally, "though on duty I prefer Doctor Mercy."

"It's bread, basically," Kohl said in reply to Naois' question. He began counting off ingredients on his fingers. "Flour, butter, salt, bicarbonate, and milk. They're speckled with cheese or dried fruit."

"Can I smell food....?" Heather Sharpe rubbed the back of her head with confusion as she wandered in, following the scent. She caught one of the baked goodies up on her way to her chair, smelling it with a soft moan. "Sorry if I'm late, someone had been messing with my Engine Room."

"Brave," Lex Thanial murmured to himself as he moved in, the taciturn looking Bajoran heading straight for a seat without any discussion or small talk.

Blake waved a dismissive hand at the apology, shaking her head. "Dr Mercy was just introducing himself, which is a good idea seeing as a lot of us have never worked together before. I'm Commander Blake, I'll be your CO for the course of this exercise. I am usually the First Officer of the Galileo, so suffice to say I'm looking forward to this..." she conceded with a soft chuckle and motioned with her hand for the next introduction.

Mormont smiled as he watched everyone, nodding. "I am MWO Mormont. I am normally Security and as an enlisted I have never served on the bridge," he admitted, giving a nod to the next person.

"Major Gerard Evans, SFMC," Gerard watched them before reaching for a scone. "And I am here to help in any way I can. Truth is...I thought the men had enough shoreleave and I wanted to make sure they did not get to leave the ship..." he added and then smiled, taking a bite.

"Trust the turtlenecks..." Mieko licked her fingers clean before sighing contently. "Hey, I'm Mieko Argyris...I fly. Very well, actually."

Annikafiore raised her hand, as she said, "I'm Ensign Annikafiore Szerda. Although I've served aboard Nautilus for the past year, today is my first day as Chief Operations Officer. Speaking for the crew, we're excited to get to know you all."

From his end of the table, Kohl brightly said, "I'm Andreus. Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl." --He made a point of making eye-contact with every member of the senior staff around the table-- "Although I've spent most of my career in Sickbays, diplomatic services, and laboratories, I have been seconded to Nautilus as your Executive Officer for the NIMBUS exercises."

Heather cleared her throat in the moment of silence after, guessing it was as good a time as any for her go. "Heather Sharpe, I keep this ship working and patched up. You'll usually find me in Engineering, I'm pretty much camped there."

The silence stretched for a long moment before the only man left that hadn't introduced himself opened his mouth. "Lieutenant Lex Thanial. Chief Intelligence. I've been posted here for this mission," the Bajoran said curtly and simply, offering no more.

Naois waited for the introductions to finish before turning to Kohl. "I am allergic to certain fruits. While the offer is appreciate, I will decline." He sat back and watched those around him, studying them, a feeling of anxiety rising up inside.

"It'll be all right, Doctor Mercy," Kohl said glibly. "I won't order you flogged for passing on the scones."

"If you can guarantee no citrus, then I will take one," Naois compromised with a small smile.

"We're both in best luck," replied Kohl. "There's no citrus. Feel free to stuff your face with scones."

Scarlet watched with a small smile pulling at her lips. Baking was obviously a talent she'd need to add to Kohl's list. She just hoped it didn't mix with his enthusiasm for Science and experiments. "So first thing is first. Once we rendezvous with the Klingons, there will be some kind of social reception with them. Of course, I'm sure it doesn't need to be said, but it means we need to all be on our polite and welcoming selves, representing the uniform and the 'fleet...." she paused for a moment before a slight smile escaped. "...even if we do have in mind to prove ourselves in the following wargames."

From the opposite end of the table, Kohl chimed in. "I've selected a refresher reading on Klingon diplomacy from the Academy databases. I can't imagine it will take any more than fifteen minutes of your time," Kohl said. He glanced down at his PADD and sent the document off to the senior staff. "Take a look before we come face to face with any Klingons. Their idea of diplomacy is... not our idea of diplomacy."

"If we wish to make an impression," Naois offered, "then we should greet them with some of their customs. I believe Klingons prefer live food, and bloodwine...to serve this at a banquet may leave them with a positive impression."

"Live... food...?" asked Annikafiore in a dubious tone of voice. She looked around at the faces around the table. "Should I be requisitioning a hen house for the Briefing Room?"

"I should bloody well hope not," Heather grimaced, shaking her head quickly with a wave of her hand, shivering.

Blake chuckled softly, tilting her head gently as she glanced around. "Maybe not that extreme, but it doesn't hurt to start thinking about offerings to the reception with kind regards from the Nautilus. As for the actual action, I'll be expecting us to give them a good run for their money, but we need to also remember that this is an intel collecting mission too. Their technology especially. And with Klingons, that's probably going to mean cloaking tricks."

"They're shit pilots though," Mieko said from where she sat, watching them for a long moment. "Don't have any sense of how to pilot. We might not outcloak them but we will damned sure outfly 'em."

In a genuinely ingratiating tone of voice, Kohl said, "We shall all be students at your flight control lectern, Ensign Argyris," and he shared a with Mieko. As he squared his shoulders, Kohl recalled what Blake had said about cloaking tricks, and what Blake had said the other day about being bold with giving orders. Kohl regarded the room at large, and he said, "Sharpe and Szerda, for tomorrow's briefing, you'll prepare a lecture on the Federation's current means for detecting and defeating cloaking technology. Mormont and Evans will assist you with inventing a couple more. Feel free to contact Commander Allyndra on Galileo, as she's been telling me about a few ideas of her own."

"And what about the banquet?" Naois asked, "should I start breeding Gagh?"

"I could go for some gagh," Kohl said with a shrug and an eager nod. "...If you hit it with some lime juice and a trusty sambal ulek hot sauce."

"Nothing like a spot of chili paste to make things better...and they wriggle so lovely under the acid and burn..." it was Evans who spoke, dryly, watching them for a long moment. "I think that we try out best to have food they tolerate, but do not compromise on it. They force us to eat Klingon food when we visit. They should have standard Federation fare in return..." he looked over at the Command Staff and smiled weakly. "Just my opinion, Ma'am...Sir..."

Blake chuckled gently at the observation. There was a point there. They loved seeing humans squirm under their cuisine. "Good point. Let's make sure we have some of both on offer, some of theirs and some of ours. After all, it wouldn't be a very generous cultural exchange if we gave nothing of ourselves..." she gave a small smile of amusement before looking around the table, her gaze falling on Kohl. She knew he'd been...well, he wasn't sure if nervous was the right word, but certainly a touch unsure about how to approach the First Officer role. It was good to see him being outspoken and giving orders...but then, she hadn't expected an less from him. He had quality. "Well, if there's no other business, let's get back to learning our new ship."

"Yes ma'am," Evans smiled as he nodded, getting up. He left with Mormont, already engaging in conversation with the man in regards to Klingon tactics.

Thanial watched the others, the Intelligence officer silent as he contemplated what had been said. He definitely had in mind for collecting intel on their Klingon 'opponents'. With his transfer to the Nautilus specifically for this mission, it went without saying. As he got up and let himself out, he wondered if sending an older ship like a Miranda for this had been a deliberate ploy on Starfleet's side to limit the amount of new ship data they gave to the Klingons.

Leaning across the table, Heather caught hold of one of the remaining muffins to take with her as she left, winking to Mieko as she left with her, already chatting about flight.

Blake let out a gentle breath as she was left alone with Kohl. She cast a small smile his way, standing and slapping his shoulder in comradeship. "That's your first meeting done, Number One. Good job."

Kohl was staring at the door from where their senior staff had streamed out into the ship at large. He watched carefully to see if any of them turned back. "We'll have to be watchful with this bunch," he said in a deadpan. He turned to Blake, and Kohl said, "They'll either end up killing our Klingon guests, or recruiting them! I haven't decided which..."


OFF:

Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Executive Officer
USS Nautilus

Ensign Annikafiore Szerda
Chief Operations Officer
USS Nautilus
[PNPC Kohl]

Major Gerard Evans
Marine CO
USS Nautilus

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Amon Mormont
Tac/Sec
USS Nautilus
[PNPC Markos]

Ensign Mieko Argyris
Helm
USS Nautilus

Lieutenant j.g. Naois Mercy
Chief Medical Officer
USS Nautilus
[PNPC T'Vanna]

CMDR Scarlet Blake
First Officer
USS Nautilus

LT Heather Sharpe
Chief Engineer
USS Nautilus
[PNPC Blake]

LT JG Lex Thanial
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Nautilus
[PNPC Blake]

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