Damage Report

Posted on 13 Aug 2015 @ 9:17am by Captain Jonathan Holliday & Commander Norvi Stace
Edited on on 14 Aug 2015 @ 10:28pm

1,320 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 09 - Empires
Location: USS Galileo - Captain's Ready Room, Deck One
Timeline: MD 01 0026 hours

ON:

It had been a long four hours, and Stace's uniform was anything but the visage she had had in mind for her first day's official posting as the Galileo's First Officer. Far from the clean, pressed, maroon uniform she started out with, now the Trill was clothed in blackened, ripped and disheveled garbs. Her hair represented something a bird would neglect to nest in and her face, aside from the usual smudges of Trill markings, was now as black as her temperament.

She stepped over the bulkhead and sidled through the parted doors to John's ready room. "Damage report," she said with a smile, looking about the destruction with a wistful glance. "Not that you need to see it."

Holliday looked up from the padd in his hand and pointed towards the light fitting above his desk that had chosen that exact night to fall loose from its mounting, the somewhat disrupted light casting a shadow over the rear of his ready room whilst leaving the front under a veritable spotlight.

"Thank you commander. Everything broken, not much working - that about sum it up? Your uniform belongs on that report too by the looks of it."

"I'd replicate a new one," Stace countered, opening out her arms so that Holliday could gain a proper look, "but the replicator in my quarters is fried and I think I'd end up just this way getting here." She made her way over to the desk and then casually took a seat. It was the first time that she'd taken such a liberty; without being formally asked to. But she considered that being First Officer had to come with a privilege or two and in the current circumstance she would hardly stand before her primary superior and salute. She froze a moment and then looked to him for reassurance as she laid the padd on his desk.

"The EPS network is almost shot entirely. Engineering have managed a work-around to get most of the primary systems at least somewhat functioning but we're a long way from stable. Subspace comms. are down, as are long-range sensors and Astrometics. And deck six is now completely without power." She allowed the importance of that to sink in before she continued. "But the deflector array is at least on some level working. Engineering are seeing to that. The enlisted crew have been assigned temporary quarters."

John thumped his desk with his free hand, looking down at the padd he held in the other. His ship was half blind half lame and lost, and there was little to nothing he could do about it. Usually he wouldn't have allowed his emotions to show, but having only his first officer in the room allowed for a little freedom from his usually stoic self.

"So we don't know where are, don't know where we are going, and can't see either of those two things either. Excellent. This isn't exactly how I pictured this mission going Commander."

Holliday tapped a few keys on the padd, and after realising that another half dozen pages of damage reports were all that appeared, he resigned himself to his fate and dropped the tablet onto his desk.

"Speak with Mr Grayson - the priority is sensors and warp drive, use whatever personnel needed, as long as they know which end of the hyper spanner is which, they can work. The quicker we know which way help lies the better."

Pausing for a moment to allow his order to sink in, he rubbed his temple with his left hand and leaned back in his chair.

"How's the crew holding up under the circumstances? I can't imagine we have many happy campers aboard right now."

"We've got a few serious casualty reports," she started with, handing over another data padd, "but nothing life-threatening. I've visited each one of the patients and have conferred with Doctor Warraquim about their condition and comfort. There's nothing to worry about on that front." She paused and then almost as an after-thought added, "I've already met with Lieutenant Grayson. He's been given his priorities and is already set on working them out and getting us back to some functionality." But keeping her attention more on the crew, she added, "But what of its captain, Captain? It's late, neither of us have slept, and we can't fuel ourselves with coffee for the next twenty four hours."

"Caffeine is to a captain what antimatter is to faster than light travel." John replied with a lighthearted smirk as he indicated with his eyes towards the now cold cup of coffee perched just out of his reach as if to reinforce his point.

"Am I to assume my first officer is ordering me to bed in that case Commander? A rather brave move wouldn't you say?" He raised an eyebrow as he waited for a reply from his diligent XO. It was true that between reports and attempting to muck in with the repair work, Holliday had all but forgotten where his bed actually was let alone what it was for.

"I'm not a great fan of the word 'brave', Captain," Stace replied with a wry smile that softened her tone. "Or of the word 'cautious'. But we're going to be run-ragged over the coming few days and the crew and ship will not benefit from a tired command staff. I'm a bit of a night-owl myself, and until repairs are almost completed, there's little you need to do. Get to bed, recharge and we can face this... situation with a fresh perspective."

John found it difficult to argue with her logic. It was true that if they were going to get the ship operational and be able to call for help, he would need to be on top of his game, and without some much-needed sleep, that simply wasn't going to happen. With a sigh he tapped a few commands on his desk and shut down his console, before standing up to depart.

"Very well Commander. In that case the Bridge is yours. I'll come to relieve you at 0800. Good night."

Stace scrunched up her nose in a playful manner and then smiled widely. "Make it 0900 hours, Captain, and you can meet me in the Mess Hall for breakfast. I'll arrange cover for the Bridge and I can then brief you on what's transpired over the night." She flared both eyebrows in a defiant yet playful swoop. "You'll need to eat and I'll need to hand-over. It makes perfect sense to me."

Again Holliday found himself up against logic he could not fault - his body was a machine, as much of one as the replicators and the shield grid, and as such he would need energy of his own. Whilst the extra hour he had might be spent filling his latest log entry rather than asleep, it was an hour he would be grateful for.

"Very well...0900 in the Mess. And don't be late Commander - that's an order." He replied, trying to turn the tables back in his favour, before sweeping past her and towards the exit.

"Aye, Captain," Stace countered with a twinkle in her eye and a little more forced enthusiasm than she anticipated. She moved around the desk and powered up the console as he waited by the door. "If you could... at least try to close the door on your way out, Sir, I'd much appreciate it." She smiled as she turned her gaze away from him and looked at the screen. "You're dismissed, Captain. Now, good night."

Holliday stopped in the doorway, frozen between the open doors. Without turning to face the Commander, he simply replied "Good night", before reaching to his side and tapping the panel to close the office doors behind him.

[OFF]

CAPT Jonathan Holliday
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

AND

Commander Norvi Stace
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

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