Bags and PADDs

Posted on 28 Oct 2016 @ 9:08pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Langdale Wiggins & Lieutenant JG Rayze & Lieutenant Amaranai Franklin & Lieutenant JG K’yerak Nikolaev & Ensign Mimi & Ambassador M'rayr Eisovo

3,893 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: Episode 12 - Recluse
Location: USS Galileo - Transporter Room 1
Timeline: MD -06 - 1440 hrs

[ON]

The swell of personnel in Galileo's primary transporter room had slowly died down over the past several minutes, much to Lirha's relief. The sudden arrival of so many new crew members all at once had taxed both her as well as her Operations personnel who were now busy scurrying about to provide accommodations for the new officers and NCOs. Such was the way of Starfleet life, however, and apparently even the most mundane of operations such as onboarding crew transfer personnel could quickly spiral out of control if not checked.

The Orion rear admiral slowly walked back towards the transporter console now that the bay was almost empty -- an audible sigh of relief accompanied her query. "Is that everyone?" she asked the yellow-collared feline woman.

Mimi checked the manifest. "Nearly, there are three more to come onboard, from the Oceana."

Saalm straightened up and took a deep breath to recollect her thoughts and composure. "Very well. Energize when ready," she replied, now facing the transporter pad to see who the second batch of new Galileans included.

Amanranai stood on the transporter pad waiting to be sent across space to the Galileo. She could see the lights brighten and feel her molecules begin to scatter. It was an instantaneous trip, of course, but she had always been fascinated by the concept. So much so that when she was younger, she would complain to her parents when they wanted to use traditional transportation instead of transporters.

Locking onto the new crew and their baggage Mimi activated the transporter beaming the whole group over.

As the molecules began to reform into Amaranai Franklin, her mind began to think of the new adventure she was about to embark on. She was ready to focus. She was ready to be better than she had been in the past and she was ready to start all over again. Amaranai wouldn't forget the friends that she had made on the Gemini but she also knew that she wouldn't allow herself to think about them too much either, or else it could distract her too much. And this was not someplace she needed distractions.

Amaranai looked across the transporter room and saw an Orion woman - she was beautiful, as all Orions were - and saw her rank and immediately changed her posture slightly.

"Lieutenant junior grade Amaranai Franklin reporting for duty."

Standing with her hands clasped lightly behind her back, Lirha peered at the first arrival who spoke. The gold-collared officer looked Human by all intents and purposes, and possessed a brown-hair/blue-eye combination which was rather striking. "Welcome aboard Galileo, Miss Franklin," the Orion began as she stepped forward. "I am Rear Admiral Saalm, commanding officer." She then motioned to her recently arrived new executive. And this is Commander Wiggins, our first officer. How was your trip?"

She nodded at the Admiral and commander at the introduction.

"A pleasure to meet you, Admiral," Amaranai said. "My trip on the Oceana was uneventful, but I was glad to have some rest before taking my post here."

Wiggins returned the nod, but then also stepped forward to offer her his hand to shake. "Rest is good. From what I've seen so far from the short time I've been aboard, this is quite the active ship."

Amaranai took the hand that was offered and shook it. She nodded as the commander spoke.

"I'm glad to hear it, sir," she said. "Not that my previous post was not active but I think I'm looking for more excitement."

"Excitement aboard a science vessel?" Lirha raised her eyebrows and cast Wiggins a small, private smile. "I suppose we do have our fair share of light night bar fights and squabbles over holodeck time privileges..."

She had to offer a smile at the comment seeing as she had gone from a Galaxy class exploring vessel to a science vessel, but she knew what she was getting herself into.

"The excitement for me is in the adventure, ma'am," she said.

Lirha could agree with that sentiment and smiled in acknowledgement and respect for the junior officer's ambitions. "In that case, do you have your orders with you?" she asked, hoping Franklin could provide a PADD with her official transfer details.

Amaranai was glad that the answer she had given was enough for the admiral. It wasn't that she was running away from anything, she really did enjoy the adventure of being on a starship looking for everything and anything. She also liked being away from her family and that made the adventure worth it as well.

"Yes, ma'am," she said as she handed a PADD to the admiral that held her transfer orders.

The rear admiral grasped the PADD and gave it a quick once-over. Her green thumb manipulated the touchpad's scroll bar allowing her to quickly look through its contents and take note of anything pertinent. The young lieutenant's medical history appeared to be in order and Lirha took note of her three prior starship postings as well as an extended stay aboard Deep Space Six. Certainly she was quite experienced and indoctrinated into the shipboard lifestyle, which was a welcome relief compared to some of the new Academy graduates who occasionally found their way on board Galileo.

"Thank you," Lirha added after a short minute. She handed the PADD back to Amaranai and gave her a small grin. "I see you have requested assignment aboard this vessel. I hope we will not disappoint you."

"The change of scenery is exactly what I need, admiral," she said. "I assure you, I won't be disappointed."

Lirha motioned behind her towards the group of Operations officers who were standing near the transporter console. "Very good. In that case, please check in to get your quarters assignment. I am sure our personnel can assist you with whatever logistical needs you may have during your transfer."

"Thank you ma'am," she said and stepped away to speak with the Ops officer to get sorted out.

The very moment that the transporter's confinement beam released him, a tall, solidly-built blonde man burst into a grin and hurried down off of the pad. His enthusiastic smile touched everyone briefly, so genuinely happy to be there it seemed, but finally settled on the one with the most fancy rank pips in the room. It was the woman whose face he had admired in her personnel record as soon as he'd gotten his orders that had placed him on her crew, with a presence even more lovely than he'd imagined. The one whose rank he promptly forgot as he stopped before her and beamed.

Rayze's words were Orion, and though the Universal Translators people in the room wore dutifully provided a translation, it wouldn't be a wonder if any of them thought their devices were malfunctioning or that the man was possibly suicidal, "Lirha Saalm! Sex and love. I am Rayze, of a family worth two-hundred thousand Risian Lira."

Amaranai watched as one of the people that had been transported to the Galileo rushed off the pad almost as soon as his legs appeared. He seemed intent on something and as he bolted for the Admiral, Amaranai's training kicked into gear and she burst off the pad in an attempt to stop the man from assaulting the Admiral. Unfortunately, he had a head start and he stopped in front of her and spoke.

It took a moment for the universal translator to inform Amaranai what he was saying and she almost broke into a laugh. Instead, she remembered her role and placed a hand gently on the man's shoulder.

"Would you like me to subdue him, Admiral?" she asked. "Please?"

Lirha had watched the man arrive and almost gleefully make his way from his position on the transporter pad to within handshake range in less than a few seconds. The pleasant nature of his demeanor, facial feature, and smile were not the strangest occurrence -- no, that was reserved for the traditional Orion greeting which he'd just given her. Eyebrows raised with curiosity and a tiny dose of appreciation, Lirha gently held out a hand to Franklin and shook her head to dismiss the notion. "It is okay, lieutenant."

Amaranai stepped back slightly to let the admiral continue speaking with the lieutenant. It was obvious that the guy knew the admiral's language - literally - and for the moment, the admiral was willing to listen.

The expression of the rear admiral's face soon turned to an inquisitive frown while the inspected the male junior lieutenant. "I believe the words you meant to say are 'reporting for duty'? Where...did you learn to speak Yrevish family greetings?" She couldn't help but investigate further.

Rayze grinned guilelessly at Amaranai over his shoulder, as if he hadn't even understood her intentions, but turned his attention back to the admiral after a couple of seconds. "Oh. Yes, of course, that too," he answered the first part of the woman's words, and had switched back to Standard. The frown went completely unnoticed. As if that settled the official business, Rayze chatted comfortably, like he and Lirha were old buddies, "A lot of Orions came to my homeworld, Risa by the way, so I picked it up by age ten or so. It's a really interesting language, for a really interesting people. I gotta say, it's totally exciting to be able to work for you, Lirha, absolutely nova." Rayze hardly paused to take a breath before he smiled even wider, having taken in the woman's full form now, in particular her belly, and offered once again in her people's tongue, "Congratulations on your forthcoming commodity. May he or she bring many riches to you!"

Lirha rolled her eyes and chewed the bottom of her lip for a brief moment. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the cultural exchange, but rather that the revelation of his Risian heritage meant she knew what was probably in store for her and the ship's crew in the coming months. Ever-pleasant and hedonistic, they were a race of people perfectly suited for the hospitality industry but not necessarily so for Starfleet. But, he was an officer who had graduated from the Academy and earned his rank, so she tried her best to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Spirits praise you," she initially answered in her native tongue before switching back to Federation Standard. "And I prefer the title of 'captain', Mister Rayze. We are all officers aboard a Federation starship, afterall. Do you have your orders with you?" she asked, hoping he could produce his PADD containing the necessary administrative orders.

"No problem, Captain Lirha," Rayze replied, though that might be the first and last time she ever heard such from him. Ranks and titles were just so impersonal! "Here it is, one handy little PADD compete with official sounding words placing me under your command," he offered the device after retrieving it from a pocket. Then, hesitantly added, "It's hard to tell, but my last CO was totally joking in there where she mentions the bit about Denebian Slime Devils. Haha, such a kidder. Where could I have even gotten them hundreds of light years from Deneb anyways?"

She took the PADD from him without any further comments. Instead she nodded while she looked down at the slim device to browse through his transfer orders. The first thing she noticed was his extensive history within Starfleet -- almost seven years of flight control experience serving as a fighter pilot as well as another ten years of service aboard two starships prior to his arrival in her transporter room. Impressive... she thought to herself with a slow nod of her head before handing the PADD back.

"Thank you, Mister Rayze. We are certainly happy to have you on board. Our former chief of security was called away unexpectedly during our colonial duties at Celes III more than two weeks ago. Commander Wyatt, our strategic operations officer, has been overseeing our Security department in the meantime," she explained.

The XO stepped forward as well and extended his hand towards Rayze. With the other hand he pushed it threw his hair to fix the part that had flopped down during the temporary excitement of his quick arrival. "Wiggins," he introduced himself, "Nice to meet you lieutenant."

"My pleasure, Lirha, and my honour. I'll be sure to talk to Wyatt, get the latest updates soon about the team." He cut off long enough to shake the offered hand firmly and smile. "Ship's first officer, right? Previously of the Liberty?" Apparently he'd done some homework. "It's great getting to work with you, with all of you." Rayze's hospitable smile turned to take in everyone in the room.

"I hope you still have that same feeling three months from now," Lirha teased with a sideways smirk. A few weeks of close-quarter confinement with new personnel and styles of command always tested even the most veteran of Starfleet personnel. "Is this your first time aboard a Nova-class, lieutenant?"

"It is, yes," Rayze nodded. "Not much bigger than my old Peregringe fighter, but with a lot of neat tricks up her sleeve. I'm looking forward to testing the ECM systems especially, and seeing how long it'll take to track down the local still." He referred to of course the hooch making that went on on many ships in the fleet, at least according to rumours. "And I'll make sure I draw up some interesting security drills soon. It's always fun to make people hop." He winked at both his superiors.

Ambition was always a good sign, but sometimes it had to be kept in tow. "One step at a time, yes?" Lirha replied. "Perhaps you would like to start down at the bar on Deck 7 and work your way up to the bridge?" she wondered.

"Oh, where's the fun if I make all the drills scheduled and expected?" Rayze asked with a mischievous look and tone. Despite his humour, he was serious about the idea. Running unexpected drills could keep people sharp, he felt. "I'll make sure I tell you and Wiggins what I have planned, of course, but a few surprise visits from Security could liven things up a bit."

"Yes, well..." Lirha suddenly thought of various contraband which might undesirably be found in certain crew members' quarters, "as long as you inform us ahead of time." She refrained from saying more and instead gave Wiggins a subtle flick of her eyes. "In the meantime, you can check in with Operations to receive your new housing. Anything else you might need, I believe they can assist you with."

"I'll look forward to meeting with them, almost as much as I look forward to working with you, Lirha," Rayze replied, already forgetting about ranks and titles. At least his enthusiasm was genuine, right? The Risian took a few steps to the side to clear the path up to the transporter pad, quiet now, but taking the time to smile at everyone in the room in turn.

The re-materialization effect of the USS Galileo’s transporter beam finished a few seconds earlier than former Captain M’rayr Eisovo was used to, having long gotten accustomed to the less efficient models typically found on board merchant transports or civilian star liners. Typically, he didn’t mind the delay so long as he arrived in one piece and with everything in their proper arrangement, but it was nice to come out of it not having to wonder if that was the case.

Once the Rhapsody’s Flaw’s transporter room phased out of his perspective to be replaced by that of the Galileo’s, M’rayr first took note of the transporter chief across the room, and then several people already assembled nearby.

Readjusting the grey duffel strapped over his shoulder, inside it containing all his possessions, the 40-year-old Caitian grunted a burst of air from his nostrils in greeting towards the group, succeeded by a request derived from ritualistic pomp and circumstance of naval traditions:

“Requesting permission to come aboard.”

"Granted," replied Saalm who stepped forward to greet the very large Caitian who had just materialized. His appearance was striking and there would certainly be no mistaking him for another of his kind -- his large stature was a presence in and of itself. "I am Rear Admiral Saalm, commanding officer. Welcome to Galileo," she said, then extended her small green hand for him to formally shake.

A momentary expression of recognition crossed M'rayr's face, although it vanished nearly as quick. He extended his own hand out, grasping her in his. "Thank you, Admiral. After three weeks on one civilian mode of travel or the other, it is pleasant to be on board a Starfleet vessel again. If only temporarily."

Her ears made notice of the dreaded term. Temporary... "You are not staying for long?" she proceeded to ask. "Are you ferrying with us to Starbase 234?"

M'rayr nodded. "I hope that my presence will not be too much of a burden." The Katana... his old ship, had been an Intrepid-class starship; hardly large or spacious, but far more so than the Galileo. The Caitian believed that space was no doubt a precious commodity.

"Oh. Well...no, I do not believe so. We offloaded several personnel at Celes III and have plenty of accommodations for you. I estimate it will only take us a handful more days to reach our destination." She stopped briefly to put a finger to her chin and think of what else to ask. "I do not suppose you want to assist us with some administrative paperwork along the way? That is, if you get bored of staring at streaking stars through the windows."

After months of little to do, paperwork sounded appealing. M'rayr bowed his neck slightly in a sign of respect. "Of course, Admiral."

K'yerak always felt disoriented after transport, he never understood completely why, at least scientifically, but he did understand why so many people feared a transporter. His eyes remained close a few moments after he finally beamed to the Galileo, if he didn't have his eyes close he feared he would have lost everything that was in his stomach.

Wiggins instinctively felt the unease from K'yerak as he materialized in front of them all. With a quick tilt of his head he eyed him carefully as he stepped forward. "Lieutenant Nikolaev, welcome to Galileo. I'm Wiggins, nice to meet you." The XO extended his hand toward him in greeting.

After a moment to settle down K'yerak opened his eyes and looked at Wiggins. "Thank you, it is a pleasure to be aboard." he replied with a smile and his right hand extended towards the XO. "I must say, I keep forgetting how unsettling on my stomach the transporter is."

Wiggins chuckled as he returned the handshake firmly. "I still hold my breath before and count my fingers after." He turned his blue eyes towards the admiral. "This is Admiral Saalm."

"Welcome aboard," said the Orion who stepped next to her new XO. She held her hand out to the Vulcan hybrid for him to shake. Privately, she assumed was part Vulcan and not Romulan, but such distinctions and multiculturalism within the last ten years had made it more difficult to detect than in the past.

"Admiral, a pleasure to meet you and to be aboard Galileo, it feels great being out of retirement." K'yerak said still showing a sincere smile.

"Retirement...?" Lirha wondered out loud. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing, but hopefully not too much dust had accumulated on the new arrival. "Will you need a..." she paused to think of the Human device which she'd grown up seeing the elderly using, "walker?"

K'yerak chuckled outloud. "I am only 90, even as a mix of Vulcan and Human I am not even middle aged. However, if I am in need of a 'walker' I will let you know." K'yerak looked around "However, I do believe I will need help with where sickbay and my quarters are."

A Vulcan hybrid who laughed. That was exciting for the Orion who had never seen such emotion before from the 'emotionless race'. She grinned before replying, "Yes, of course. Do you have your orders with you?" she then asked, holding her green palm out and awaiting his PADD which contained his transfer details.

"My apologies, Admiral." K'yerak said as he reached for a PADD that he carried in his bag. "I always was one to sometimes forget procedures when coming aboard a new ship." He handed the PADD "I believe this is what you need."

Taking the silver-edged device from him, she looked down and began to flick through the pages of his personnel file. She made a few mental notes along the way of anything she found particularly, and noted his lengthy service record which corresponded to his age. Ninety years-old was relatively tame for Vulcan and it was no wonder he had served aboard so many postings.

"USS Sutherland..." she said to herself before looking up and trying to match his service dates. "Did you serve under Captain Shelby during the war?" she asked.

"I did." K'yerak said his voice went to a lower tone. "For a while until I was transferred back to Earth." K'yerak didn't go into details on why he was transferred to Earth, he knew some vague reason was in his file.

As Lirha continued to browse his record, she took note of a brief retirement period followed by a short tenure at Starfleet Academy in San Francisco. Twelve years, to be exact. "And your time at the Academy? What did you teach?"

"I taught theoretical and astrophysics, but I had a desire to do actual research on a starship, I must say I missed it." K'yerak said.

"Astrophysics," she repeated. It was a subject she'd struggled mightily with at the Academy during her early years. For some reason, she'd always been more proficient in practical and social professions than with hard numbers and physics. She felt admiration for those she met who were gifted with the skills of math. "Impressive, Mister Nikolaev."

A short browse through the remainder of his service record revealed nothing out of the ordinary which prompted her to hand the PADD back to the man and motion over towards the transporter console. "Well, we are grateful to have you on board. You can report to Operations over there who can help you get settled before you check in with your department head."

"My sincerest thanks." K'yerak said with another smile. "Grateful to be aboard." K'yerak turned and headed to Operations, he was ecstatic to finally be assigned to a starship.

[OFF]

--

RADM Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Junior Grade Amaranai Franklin
Assistant Chief Tactical and Security
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (jg) Rayze
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

Commander Langdale Wiggins
First Officer
USS Galileo

Ensign Mimi
Operations Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG K'yerak Nikolaev
Astrophysicist/Cosmologist
USS Galileo

AMB M'rayr Eisovo
Chief Diplomatic Officer
USS Galileo

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