Alyana Ryat
Commodore
Registered: Sept 5, 2007 16:34:56 GMT
Posts: 347
|
Post by Alyana Ryat on Jul 11, 2013 21:07:25 GMT
OOC: I've left the shore leave thread open, thank you all for continuing to post.
Aly was several days out of sickbay and safely back in her quarters in discussion with Admiral McCelland via subspace. She had known that there might well be some fall out from her actions but she hadn't expected this.
"I know this isn't what you wanted but the Asada government has specifically asked that you and the Excalibur be present at their inauguration of the new government. They want to apologise and convince you that the Klingon influence has been rationalised"
Aly could not bring herself to say anything. This was all too much. She didn't want to go anywhere near the planet and Starfleet didn't particularly want to send her (as the Admiral had made that clear) however equally they not want to risk offending a new potential ally and so she and the Excal were going.
"I understand, sir." He nodded and the screen blanked to the starfleet logo.
She sighed, the Admiral's office had dispatched a large dossier on everything that had been discovered about the Asadan people. Much of it as a result of what had happened to her people.
Aly sent out the all crew notification that the EXcalibur would be leaving dock in twelve hours.
She then sent a notification to the senior staff asking them to meet her in the briefing room in one hour.
Tag: All senior staff
When everyone was present Aly looked round the table, all the faces some of which she knew well and some of which she didn't yet.
"I know this is going to come as a shock to you after what happened but we are going to the Asada system. There has been a bloodless coup and the Klingon supported president has been over thrown. The new President wants the Federation present at his inauguration and specifically asked for the Excalibur."
Tag: Any / All
"The Asadans, and particular President Gelan have made it clear that they want to make their own way in the galaxy at least for a while. They want to get to know the federation properly."
Tag: Any / All
"No representative of the Klingon Empire has been invited and all of them are supposed to be planetside but we can't discount a covert influence, they won't want to give up the system easily."
Tag: Any / All
|
|
Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
|
Post by Daniel Schirra on Jul 12, 2013 23:46:14 GMT
"Commander ..... Message from the Excalibur ..... All Senior Staff are to transport back to the ship and report to the Commodore at sixteen hundred hours."
"Thank you Ensign." Schirra said.
"There's a shuttle leaving in approximately forty five minutes if you want to go up on that Sir ?"
"Yes, thank you Ensign, I'll head back to Headquarters now." Daniel said, heading back the way he had come.
~~~~~~~~~~
Even having seen the plans for the refit of the Constitution Class Excalibur, he couldn't believe how the ship looked. Sleek, streamlined, elegant, and every bit a Star Ship ! .... But he didn't have time to admire the ship in detail as the shuttle headed straight to the dorsal section connecting the Saucer with Engineering Section, and docked smoothly. He and several others exited and stepped onto the Excalibur ...
"Welcome aboard Commander." a Lieutenant said as he stepped onto the ship, "We were told to expect you. Quarters have been assigned to you."
"If you could see to my bag, I think I'll head straight to the Bridge." Daniel informed the woman, then turned back to face her, "Do I assume my Access Codes have been programmed into the computer ?" the woman checked her paperwork then nodded, informing him they had.
~~~~~
Several people were already seated when he reached the Briefing Room. He looked at the oval-shaped table and picked a chair, no-one seemed to disagree with his choice, but they all noticed his rank insignia ... Commodore Ryat entered and took her seat. She looked around the table. Some familiar faces, some new, and one she had been in close contact with over the last few days.
She began her briefing ......
"You think it unusual that the President requested you personally Commodore ?" Dan asked.
"It was, unexpected, to say the least." she replied before continuing, "The Asadans, and particular President Gelan have made it clear that they want to make their own way in the galaxy at least for a while. They want to get to know the federation properly. No representative of the Klingon Empire has been invited, and all of them are supposed to be planet-side, but we can't discount a covert influence, they won't want to give up the system easily. Thus Commander Schirra's presence."
The assembled group turned to face him in unison.
"I'm here on behalf of Star Fleet Command and 'indirectly' the Security Council. I'm fully versed on the workings of the refit, so I'll be open to assisting wherever possible ..." he began, noticing the Captain studying the table, "I'm here to offer the Commodore 'alternates' should anything to amiss, another 'Point of View' if you like ... We all know the Klingon's won't be sitting back and shrugging, that's a given. So we all need to be aware of their disapproval." He finished speaking and sat back, ceding the floor to Alyana ..........
|
|
Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
|
Post by Karka Psonoir on Jul 14, 2013 1:06:11 GMT
Karka was shown the Excalibur's engineering at last. He found it vaguely amusing he hadn't yet laid eyes on it. His first few days officially assigned to the ship had been glib, officially strange at least in terms of who he'd been interacting with and where.
His thoughts had turned back to the matrix difficulties he'd become preoccupied with briefly before returning to the surface of Earth. The Evokes were devillish things, that could ruin a mind before it had a chance to blossom, to where it might begin to realise, at least in concept, its full potential and usefulness to its archive, and to Hybrudean society as a whole.
Those logical stopgaps had subsided now, retreating into their alcoves in the depths of Karka's primary matrix. Such language... If he spoke it to one of his new crewmates they may think he was an android, or some other form of robotic being, but no. He was flesh and blood. But a Hybrudean's understanding of their consciousness, of the essence of their mind had reached such a deep level of comprehension that speaking of it involved a certain computational terminology.
Engineering was as expected, not a little different from the Yorktown's engineering. Although, he reminded himself yet again, he'd never stepped aboard that vessel. The memory of his maintenance role on the Yorktown was a false one installed in his head so he could better play his role.
The briefing was already underway when he arrived. The Hybrudean vigilante apologised and slotted into his seat. He peered behind him twice, to see the glimpses of starlight between the struts of the drydock the Excalibur was attached to. In approximately 11 hours the ship would be making headway to the stars.
Karka was only mildly caught off guard by the details of the Excalibur's mission. History dictated that the Klingon-supported president had only been deposed when the Excalibur reached the system. The understanding was that the future (or now current) president had requested the Federation's support in his bid to seize power. The Excalibur had been sent as a presence to counteract the Klingon influence on the other side, the same as here, but the record books wrote quite explicitly that the presence of the Excalibur had inadvertantly catalysed the overthrow of the Klingon-favoured president. It seemed that events in this version of the past had been unfolding in a rather different manner. Karka jotted notes on his padd. It would take some work to uncover the reasons for this difference. The worst case scenario: had his very arrival affected the state of play in such a manner?
"Do we know whether the new president is himself keen on the Federation? Was his coming to power instigated in some way, direct or otherwise, by the influence of the Federation?" Karka sat forward, linking his fingers before him. He was keen to show his worth, standing in as he was for the Chief Engineer.
<Tag Alyana, All>
|
|
Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
|
Post by Karka Psonoir on Jul 28, 2013 10:39:48 GMT
The white room fell away before him as he rotated on the gimballed support mechanism. Layers in the wide shaft opened, revealing the chasm that made up the majority of the spine of the archive. His semi-corporeal form - dashing between subspace and real space, several centuries future and several centuries past - surveyed the pan-relativistic mainframe of his sub-unit.
His bionically installed eyes - marring his otherwise wholly natural humanoid face - resolved on a point of chronitonic inconsistency. He resolved it with a flick at his avatars arrayed at strategic locii throughout the past. Causality worked with little deviation outside expected error and the misbehaving chronitons were corrected. Time - future, past, and present - were interacting as expected again, at least for this archive.
A spindly figure floated into sight before him, pushing itself off the pearlescent wall - almost glowing with its own wispy energy - to propel itself towards the Hybrudean patiently reclining in the gimballed mechanism. "Lirwa," the new arrival whispered. The instruments here were sensitive; untold causal issues could be caused by vocalisations of too great a volume. Past, future, planes above corporeal comprehension; all were susceptible to base humanoid perturbation. "Lirwa, you're looking too far back..."
Karka broke himself from his moment of recollection, garnered from approximately 600 years in the future. He blinked away the images of his friend, cocooned in the harness of the gimbal, concocting his plans for pan-temporal incursion.
It being some hours past the staff briefing, Karka had decided it was high time to head to engineering. This era's technology, whilst antiquated in the extreme, was of some interest to him. The duotronic nature of their computers would be of use to the archive, and this incidentally, was the primary motivation behind his visit. He felt engineering was the best place to learn more of their operation within the environment of a starship.
"Ah..." a voice caught his ear, "You must be the new assistant chief. Good news, the chief has a task for you already."
"Interesting." Karka replied to the young female, who he noticed was no more than petty officer grade.
"There's an issue with one of the EPS relay junctions. Deck 11, sir." She handed him the bulky PADD.
The junction in the conduit left little room to manoeuvre, and was dim until he'd pulled the flimsy cover off the maintenance port. Light spilled into the tunnel in a diffusing glow. He noticed then at the end of the the tube there was an external viewing port. Karka watched the rapidly shrinking speck of the Earth. Its light diminished in intensity til it was no more noticeable than the stars beyond it, the Excalibur a stroke through the void as it passed the barrier to reach superluminal speed.
He felt an unexpected pang of sadness as the ship departed the Earth's vicinity. Just people, he told himself as he had many times before, people he'd been planted amongst. One's experience of reality was transient, the concept always permissible to change.
He clambered from the maintenance port and was immediately confronted. He looked up until he'd drawn himself to his full height, and found himself face to face with a vulcan. He feigned ignorance at first. "I know you, yes? I met you and your husband on the Starbase, in the officer's lounge. I didn't know we were letting families on board."
<Tag Savin's wife>
|
|
Alyana Ryat
Commodore
Registered: Sept 5, 2007 16:34:56 GMT
Posts: 347
|
Post by Alyana Ryat on Jul 28, 2013 10:56:24 GMT
Alyana was pleased that Dan had taken the initiative to introduce himself to the assembled members of staff. He was a good person to have around. She had only just had it confirmed that Thalin definitely would not be returning, personnel transfer information could be so slow. She made a mental note to ask Dan whether he would be interested in expanding his list of duties.
"Do we know whether the new president is himself keen on the Federation? Was his coming to power instigated in some way, direct or otherwise, by the influence of the Federation?" Karka sat forward, linking his fingers before him.
"The official line is that President Gelan is keeping an open mind about future alliances. He was apparently the most vocal opponent of the alliance with the Klingon Empire but obviously the information available is limited and the source is the new government so obviously there is a high chance of bias"
Any further questions?
Tag: All.
When the questions had finished. Aly leaned forward slightly. "Thank you all. I expect departmental reports before we leave dock." She looked over at the engineering officer. "If there are any problems on the final checks let me know as soon as the issue is discovered."
Tag: Karka
"Ephrem, I want you to go through everything we have received about the Asadans for a full briefing as soon as you can."
Tag: Ephrem
"Dan can you wait behind, we need to have a discussion before we leave dock."
Tag: Dan
After everyone else had left Aly looked over at Dan. "How has your move on board been? All settled?"
Tag: Dan
"I have finally received notification that my last first officer is no longer part of the Excal's company and I am to select a new one as soon as I can. They sent me a list of potential FOs, and well, obviously I have to offer the position to the best candidate. Do you want the job?"
Tag: Dan
|
|
Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
|
Post by Daniel Schirra on Jul 28, 2013 16:04:26 GMT
Given his activities for Intelligence, not to mention his extensive experience, Dan knew that nothing ever went smoothly. 'Otherwise we'd all be playing Happy Families' he thought, as the Commodore continued her briefing ... It was a little un-nerving that the President himself was seemingly reluctant to get off the proverbial fence on the matter, but in reality it was the Excalibur that was going to be out there, and not him.
"Ephrem, I want you to go through everything we have received about the Asadan's for a full briefing as soon as you can ... Dan. Can you wait behind. We need to have a discussion before we leave dock."
Once the room was clear, the Commodore got up from her seat and moved around the table to sit closer to Dan. She put his file up on the small view-screen in the middle of the table and read as she chatted ... It was obvious that Dan had been involved in what she would call extra-curricular activities during his career, which accounted for the blanks in his file. Dan had the feeling all the small-talk was leading somewhere, and finally Alyana broached the topic on her mind ... He was expecting the usual 'Do not interfere in the running' yadda yadda. So what she finally came out with was a little surprising:
"I have finally received notification that my First Officer is no longer part of the Excal's company. Therefore, I am to select a new one as soon as I can. They sent me a list of potential's, and well, obviously I have to offer the position to the best candidate ... Do you want the job ?" ..... Schirra looked at the Woman for a long moment, wondering if she was serious. But seeing the Commodore's eyebrows raise as if emphasizing her question, and subsequent need for a reply, Dan realized she was unaccustomed to waiting for answers:
"You don't have anyone else aboard who could fill the role ?" he asked, receiving a shake of her head as reply, "Then in that case I would be honored to take on the position." he finished, hoping Alyana knew just 'who' she was appointing.
"Good !" the Commodore said, rising to her feet and shaking his hand ....
~~~~~
Dan followed suit and returned the gesture before the two stepped onto the Bridge itself ... Even though Dan had seen the layout in the training complex at Star Fleet Command, having undergone Command training to compliment his Senior Intelligence position, it still almost took your breath away the first time you first step onto the real thing ! ... Everything was immaculate, pristine, almost sanitary. The large view-screen dominated seventy percent of the forward bulkhead, while white metallic consoles and plexi-glass upright monitoring stations were placed around the massive Command Center of the Excalibur behind the fabled 'Center Seat' .... He actually envied Alyana for a moment as he took in the room.
The Commodore had apparently made the announcement of his appointment while he was daydreaming. He realized she had already took her seat and ordered the Helm Officer to ease the massive ship out of the construction gantry, and into orbit, and was seemingly waiting his attention ... He suddenly realized she, along with others on the Bridge were looking directly at him, and it dawned on him he had apparently already begun his new role:
"Helm ..... Set course for the Asada System." he waiting until the Helm Officer confirmed his Command, then glanced at the Captain, who sat impassively, like an instructor ready to mark his performance, "Take us out of orbit and engage warp four on leaving the Sol System." .....
The Excalibur darted away from her home and was soon passing Pluto ... Dan watched the screen as the gleaming Star Ship pushed through the light-speed barrier with ease and jumped to warp.
"Thank you Commander." the Commodore said, an almost amused grin on her face ... Dan looked at her then nodded:
"Piece of cake." he said, turning to face the screen once more ..........
|
|
Ephrem Santos
Diplomatic Corps
Registered: Jul 21, 2005 16:39:54 GMT
Posts: 206
|
Post by Ephrem Santos on Jul 30, 2013 16:36:48 GMT
The call had been made and Ephrem was indeed very pleased with the decision of his superiors. Until further notice, Ephrem Santos would serve the Federation Diplomatic Corp from the USS Excalibur and at the pleasure of the newly minted Commodore Alyana Ryat. All the good news was almost perplexing, but Ephrem believed that sometimes good things happened to good people.
Making his way towards his quarters, he could already hear the rummaging of his belongings. His long time girlfriend and soon to be wife, Barbara, had arrived from her post. She had served on the Excalibur when Ephrem had been a Lieutenant and since that fateful day, he had thought about her every single day.
"I leave for a year and you live like an animal," Barbara said as she kissed and hugged Ephrem," I've missed you by the way."
"Me too, though I'm surprised you got in already," Ephrem mused as he took off his uniform and got into something more comfortable. While not customary, Ephrem had just decided that he would take the night off. The Excalibur would not be receiving her orders until tomorrow and this would be the perfect time to catch up.
"I've become friends with Mark Davis, we are not going to let you embarrass the Federation or Starfleet," Barbara said with a smile," Commodore Ryat has a full plate on her already, so we'll take care of you."
"Y'all make me sound like an overgrown child!" Ephrem exclaimed as he took a seat on his armchair.
"Not a child, more like a teenager!" Barbara retorted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Captain, senior staff will be meeting within the hour, I recommend we make our way," Mark said as he walked through the door. Ephrem had only been awake for twenty minutes, and was in little mood for Mark's cheerful deposition.
"You could have let me enjoyed my breakfast, you know Tuesday's they serve the French Toast," Ephrem said as he downed the last of toast and beverage. "Where are we going?"
"We are going to Asada, our reports that a coup was imminent turned out to be correct," Mark replied as he read the file carefully," they have asked the Federation to be part of the new head of government inauguration. They specifically asked for the Excalibur."
Ephrem was surprised to hear that the Excalibur had been requested, but then again stranger things had happened. As he walked into the conference room, Ephrem excused his attaché and waited until the Commodore began her briefing.
"Ephrem, I want you to go through everything we have received about the Asadans for a full briefing as soon as you can."
"Yes ma'am, I'll have all the relevant information within three hours," Ephrem said glad that Alyana had found something useful for him to do already. Ephrem would work diligently to have the staff and crew prepared for anything that may happen in the Asada system.
Tag ALL
|
|
Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
|
Post by Daniel Schirra on Aug 4, 2013 21:04:33 GMT
It was going to take the ship almost three days to reach the Asada System, and in that time it was hoped the Commodore would give them everything she had ... Daniel decided to use his 'off duty' time to take a better look at the Excalibur ... To say the ship had undergone a refit, was far from the truth. It had essentially been re-built from stem to stern ... Almost two hundred meters longer than the original, the Excalibur was the most sophisticated vessel in the Fleet. He had pretty much walked every inch of deck-plate before he decided he knew what he needed. Checking one of the chronometers situated on every corridor, he realized he was due on duty ... "Captain." he said as he entered the Bridge. "How's the tour going .... Can i take it you know where everything is now ?" Dan grinned and took the vacated center seat, not allowing the Commodore to rib him about his 'sight-seeing' tour of the ship, "We're on course, nothing to report Commander. Enjoy." the Captain said, leaving the Bridge ..... ~~~~~ As he looked at the stars, it still amazed him that a single piece of plexi-glass was all that was holding the vacuum of space at bay ...... The six by two point five meter 'window' doubled as the view-screen, allowing a myriad of detailed information to be accessed. It was in fact six pieces of glass sandwiched together invisibly. In theory, three of the 'plates' could be shattered before it would cause an issue. "Sir." the duty Helm Officer said, turning to face Dan and bringing him out of his daydream, "I'm not sure, but I think there could be another vessel out there." Dan got up and went to the Helm Station ... He looked at the readings and frowned. "You sure Ensign ?" he asked. "Well ... No." the Ensign admitted, "But I increased sensor range briefly and 'something' was there. Running a parallel course. But when I tried it again, I couldn't pick up anything." "Let's have a look." Schirra said, "Put it on screen." A tactical layout of the surrounding space was superimposed on the 'window' and Dan watched the reading for the selected time-frame ... He could see nothing at first, but then the Helm Officer magnified one section and replayed the data ... There ! ... For less than a second, the Excalibur clearly picked up another vessel. "Any idea's Ensign ?" Dan asked. "At this range it could have been a freighter that entered our sensor range on a tangential course, thus us only picking it up for a second or two." the Ensign said. Dan checked the chronometer above the screen: ... 02:37:41 ... "OK ... Remain on our present course until we reach the hour. Then scan again. If you get nothing, alter course thirty degrees to two two zero mark zero and scan again, maximum range ... Then return to our original heading." "Aye Sir." the Helm Officer confirmed, inputting the necessary commands. Dan sat back down and waited. There was no point in getting the Commodore back up here unless he had something to show her ..........
|
|
Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
|
Post by Karka Psonoir on Aug 7, 2013 16:47:58 GMT
After his englightening discussion with the spouse of Commander Savin, Psonoir settled into his quarters. Stripped to the waist, he allowed his mind's stratified relays to relax, to lay into each other so he could recuperate. His mind darted through temporal dimensions, each one partitoned to allow him clarity for his thought processes in the present moment. His present spacetime coordinates could be likened to a district in a city, while the temporal partitions were like the highways that ran over it. He could connect to them and temporarily displace himself to where or rather when he wanted; or he could remain in the district and limit himself to the local spacetime geometry, with all its Euclidean restrictions.
He found himself visualising the future; distant epochs, reeling them in towards the events that should be taking place over the next few days. History as he knew it, as he'd reminded himself before, was not unfolding as it’d been expected to. He flicked through mental screens like he'd flick through an Archive terminal; the experience was immersive enough that you could lose yourself in your own mind, believe it to be the sum of reality. That did happed sometimes. He'd open his eyes to find himself staring into blank space, and realise that all he’d experienced for the last few hours of his existence had been in his mind's eye.
The comm siren sounded by his door; he reached out and pressed the button to open the channel. "Ensign Warner to Ensign Psonoir, report to engineering immediately, please."
"On my way, Ensign." Psonoir donned his red shirt, slipping it over the almost anaemic grey skin of his torso. Two ports in either flank, just below the ribcage, provided ports that would connect him to his archive - should he suffer a sudden seismic shift in his spacetime coords and find himself entombed within the striated layers of the Archive's megacity-sized storage system. He'd rather not find himself in those sepulchral depths, not just yet; he had work to do to save his portion of the future.
"We're making a course change, sir,” Warner informed him, “The Chief needs you to monitor structural stresses as we make the turn at warp speed." Karka nodded primly, passing his fellow Ensign and the window showing the view down the engine complex, to climb the scarlet ladder leading to the gantry at engineering's edge.
He checked the comm logs and saw that Commander Schirra had put in a request for a series of course corrections, in pursuit of some hidden vessel. It was all too well known that Schirra's XO tenure wasn't mentioned in the history banks, but it wasn’t discounted either. The intel officer, and the causal effect he may have in this coming period was unknown. Schirra, to Karka, was a vast shadow in the collective mind of the Archive. He didn't know how he would handle the officer. And then it came to his personality; it was hard to decipher Schirra’s motives. He seemed ambitious, having snapped up the XO position without hesitation, although the vessel had been in dire need of one. That Schirra was representing Starfleet Intelligence gave an entirely new aspect to this mission; what would be his personal motives, if any, once they came to meet the incumbent Asadan president?
600 years future, continued
The Hybrudean in the gimballed construct ignored the newcomer. Eventually he swivelled towards him. "As is my way," Lirwa blinked once.
The newcomer came to float before him, rectifying his position so he rotated in the same frame as his colleague, and friend. His bright green eyes glared into those of the seated Lirwa. "Remember. In the past lie things beyond our comprehension. In that time, they were regarded as magic, and are beyond even our advanced intellect now. Lirwa, advances made within the localised time of our nominal present give us explanations, but one cannot predict with... certainty, the possible outcome, given all the irksome permutations... of the past." Karka's sparkling green eyes floated before him.
|
|
Alyana Ryat
Commodore
Registered: Sept 5, 2007 16:34:56 GMT
Posts: 347
|
Post by Alyana Ryat on Aug 8, 2013 21:31:21 GMT
Three days was plenty of time for a new first officer to find his feet. Aly knew she had pushed Dan in to his new role quicker than he had planned on but it was clear that he was a good officer and he had the capabilities to keep her on her toes. She knew there were things about him that she didn't know. It was interesting but it didn't particularly concern her as she knew how much she was hiding from him.
She was expecting the briefing from Ephrem (OOC: I'll let you run riot with ideas for the Asadans)
***************************************
Aly had left Dan in charge on the bridge she was pleased that he had devoted himself to learning about the ship. She considered the Excal as home but the refit had changed things quite a lot.
She was settled in her quarters, off duty and ready to relax. She had had a shower, changed into to her civvies and settled down to a nice quiet supper. Then the Excal shivered and her communicator beeped. Aly grabbed it up off the table wondering what was happening and who had drawn the short straw of letting her know exactly what had happened to her ship. Normally they would let her call the bridge or engineering to inquire was the situation was, that there was time to call her was a good thing but it did make her curious.
"Commodore Ryat here."
Tag: Whoever wants to interrupt Aly
|
|
Ephrem Santos
Diplomatic Corps
Registered: Jul 21, 2005 16:39:54 GMT
Posts: 206
|
Post by Ephrem Santos on Aug 8, 2013 22:05:29 GMT
Ephrem was hesitant to recommend an alliance with the Asadan government or their people. While many people believed that their actions were directly controlled by outside influences, mainly the Klingons, Ephrem had his doubts. As he finished the dossiers for the senior staff, Ephrem took a moment to go through all the relevant information that he had been able to acquire. Admittingly it wasn't much, but it would have to do until the Excalibur was in orbit of their planet.
"Mark please advice the Commodore and senior staff that the briefing will begin at 1600 hours," Ephrem said as he stretched his legs."
"At the end of their shifts?" Mark asked knowingly. Ephrem was a notorious workaholic and he expected that from everyone, "well it seems that some things never change."
"Well I would rather be a workhorse than a sloth," Ephrem said wishing that he could have a cold drink at the moment. The mess was to far away for him to get something now. Knowing that he would go get a drink after the briefing, Ephrem headed towards the briefing room. He hoped that he would be able to introduce the Asadans to the crew effectively and prepare them for any eventuality.
OOC: Well it seems I have been given free range to make the Asadan's as bad [word deleted] as I wish. Please feel free to add things, I think we can collectively come up with some really cool people
|
|
Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
|
Post by Daniel Schirra on Aug 14, 2013 19:45:19 GMT
Over the next six hours Daniel had the Helmsman change course abruptly every hour, on the hour. Just to double-check, he made the last change fifteen minutes early, with the same result ... He tapped the Comm link:
=^= Bridge to Captain =^=
=^= Commodore Ryat here =^=
=^= Captain .. I have been making small course changes over the last hours as we may have acquired a shadow .. Unfortunately every change we made was duplicated by the unknown vessel .. What data we do have leads me to believe it could be a Klingon ship but I couldn't swear to that =^=
=^= Time to Asada System ? =^=
=^= Eight hours forty three minutes =^=
=^= Keep me informed .. Ryat out =^=
The Comm closed and Daniel looked at the 'window' wishing he could 'see' the ship that was following them, but understandably, he was out of luck. He was about to finish his shift when the Excalibur shook ... Nothing excessive, but enough to get noticed.
"What was that ?" he asked no-one in particular.
"Checking Commander." the duty Engineer said quickly, "All my readings show nominal. Checking for shield fluctua ....."
The ship shook once again, this time more violently. Dan got up and went to the Engineering Station. Everything, as far as he could tell was as the junior Engineer stated. But something was causing the problem, and he needed to know what !
"Drop us out of warp .. Now." he ordered, and watched as the ship emerged into normal space. He suddenly felt light-headed, as if he'd stepped off a diving board. Turning he was about to ask what was going on when the artificial gravity gave out completely ... Motion sickness had never bothered him, but for a second he actually thought he would vomit. Inwardly laughing the sensation off, he pulled himself to the Helm, "We're rolling ... Try to correct that please." he said, watching the stars lazily rotate anti-clockwise.
"Sorry Sir ... I have negative Helm. Inertial dampers have also failed ... We are drifting. Sir, I've disengaged impulse drive, without the dampers we'd be tumbling end over end due to the nacelles positioning."
"Very well." Dan said, turning and pushing off to the Command seat. He opened the Comm once more:
=^= Commodore Ryat to the Bridge =^=
He didn't wait for a reply as Ensign Psonoir emerged from the port Jeffries tube and pushed himself to the Engineering Station, the Duty Officer making way quickly.
< tag : Karka >
"Sir." the Duty Security Officer said quickly getting Dan's attention, "It looks like we're experiencing a cascade failure of all systems, with notable exceptions ... Life support, lighting, heating, Shields but at minimum and dropping."
"So much for teething troubles." someone said quietly.
"OK ... Can we work on getting gravity back, at least then we'll be able to move around without bumping into everything, and possibly breaking bones in the process ?" he asked as Alyana popped her head out of the Jeffries tube and made her way to him, "Then shields ... If we get hit out here while adrift ......" he let the sentence hang.
"Am I going to regret appointing you my Exec' Commander ?" Alyana said, a wry grin forming as she turned to Karka ....
The turbo-lift doors inched open as someone forced them apart. Captain Santos looked onto the Bridge from the partially descended elevator. Two Security Officers took a hand each and pulled the Diplomat onto the deck.
"Ensign Psonoir ... Progress ?" Dan asked as the Excalibur helplessly corkscrewed through space. He didn't want to think about what would happen if one, or more, of those boulder-sized chunks of rock impacted with the ship while the shields were down, or as good as ... But more than that, he didn't want to entertain the possibility that whoever had done this to them, was still aboard ..........
< tag : All >
|
|
Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
|
Post by Karka Psonoir on Aug 15, 2013 2:12:40 GMT
Karka absorbed Captain Santos's briefing in an attentive manner. He knew most of the facts about the Asadans already, and had refreshed his knowledge in the last half hour before the briefing. He'd consulted the Archive's ready-access partitions, as well as used the old-fashioned duotronic systems of the Excalibur.
"I have one matter to raise," he voiced. His quick cognitive processes informed him he'd spoken out of turn, a little too short into Santos's briefing, and rather unannounced. He'd need to get used to the professional practices of this time and culture. In Hybrudean 'time' - commonly agreed to be about 600 years in the future - such etiquette was far more relaxed - at least, to the extent that Hybrudean culture had a professional sector.
"My understanding is there's a large moon around Asada, Captain, approximately half the volume of its parent planet. I've... done some research, and it's my understanding that this astrophysical arrangement, combined with the Asadan world's proximity to its star, means about half of the planet is uninhabitable to humanoids. Most of the populace lives in secluded domes. Some live exposed to the atmosphere, but only in locations near the domed settlements."
<Tag Ephrem, Alyana>
* * * * *
Some time later, the Excalibur was caught in a black spin in space, barely keeping itself from rotating end over end.
Karka no longer knew which way was up. Zero-gravity. He cracked his shoulder into the bulky master console in engineering. The lights had dimmed. He moved his hands, trying to grasp for something to right himself, and came into contact with something soft. He heard a small yelp. Psonoir's embarrassment was slight, but not too great, as he realised in the dark he'd brushed his hands against a female crewman's breasts.
"I must apologise."
"Quite alright, sir," although she sounded far from happy. The lights came back on, temporarily blinding them all as illumination flooded engineering.
Karka emerged from the cramped Jeffery's Tube on to the bridge. He refrained from murmuring, 'Ridiculous design', and brought himself to his full height, before Schirra. He peered into the man's bright eyes briefly, biological algorithms filtering through his brain in fiery contemplation. Eventually the shining stare-off was broken, by Karka. "So we have some issues with the engines," he said nonchalantly, twisting on the spot to check the engineering station.
At that point, virtually the whole ship suffered primary systems' failure. If Karka wasn't so focussed, so determined to repair the future, he'd have laughed at this sheer unreliability. He knew from his work at the Engineering Corps that what was installed here was the best available, but... well, did even that bode well? His hands blurred across the console. To a human eye it would be one smooth motion; to Psonoir it was a jittering series of snapshots of his digits compressing the appropriate buttons. He wasn't listening to the dialogue on the bridge, and was hoping they weren't watching him.
"Am I going to regret appointing you my Exec' Commander ?" Alyana said, a wry grin forming as she turned to Karka ....
Karka twisted in his seat slightly, hearing his name mentioned. He smiled back, shrugging. The turbolift doors were opening, Santos admitted with two redshirts.
"Ensign Psonoir ... Progress ?"
"Good, sir. I have impulse back online, albeit with 50% functionality. Thrusters are available, too. Lighting and heating is available in most sections. Shields are still down. Warp still offline."
"Scan again for that shadowing ship," Schirra ordered someone.
Seconds passed by before the appropriate officer responded in the negative. Nothing more substantial had been gained from what they'd learnt before. Either the shadow - if it existed - had found a way to disable the Excalibur while maintaining its concealment; or it hadn't been involved at all, which meant potentially there was an internal problem. And again, Karka thought ruefully, and with a measure of anger, none of this was in the history books...
<Tag Alyana, Daniel, Ephrem>
|
|
Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
|
Post by Daniel Schirra on Aug 22, 2013 23:56:03 GMT
They had been in this condition for less than five minutes before systems slowly began to come back on-line. Daniel was impressed with how quickly the Command Staff had reacted and worked the problem through:
"Scan again for that shadowing ship," Schirra ordered someone, receiving a reply quickly that there was no sign as the Comm system burst to life.
=^= Attention all crew .. Gravity will be restored in fifteen seconds .. Brace for initialization ..... In Five .. Four .. Three .. Two ...... =^=
Everyone on the Bridge, and hopefully throughout the ship, had orientated themselves and as gravity was restored, boots began to hit the deck. The momentary motion-sickness most felt passed quickly as people got back to their assigned roles. Ensign Psonoir wiped the sweat from his brow then turned back to the Engineering console. Firing thrusters he slowed, then halted the roll of the Excalibur, before turning back ...
"Well done Ensign." the Captain said, "How soon can we get underway ?"
< tag : Karka >
Daniel approached the Captains' chair and spoke quietly:
"I don't think we can put this down to 'running in' issues Captain. My guess would be we have someone doesn't want us reaching the Asada System. It's possible this was a first attempt at sabotage ... The next could be more serious."
"We've had over sixty new crew come aboard." Alyana said, realizing the size of the problem at hand.
< tag : Alyana >
"I'd suggest we get underway as soon as Engineering can get the warp drive back on-line, worry about any possible crew problems then." Daniel replied, "My main concern, is that if there 'is' a ship out there, they could be monitoring from outside our sensor range. They see us sat here it could be an open invite to come do more damage ... Whereas if we're at warp, they will need to close to do anything, and we'll see them coming."
The Comm chirped to life once more:
=^= Engineering to Bridge .. Warp core on-line .. Ensign Psonoir can monitor from the Bridge but I would suggest we limit our speed to warp two maximum for the time being ? =^=
=^= Understood =^= Schirra said, allowing the Comm to close.
It occurred to Dan that while he had studied the records of the Senior Staff in some detail, prior to being assigned to the Excalibur, he hadn't gone through the crew itself ... He was certain Command had screened everyone in the normal way, hell, let's face it, you couldn't 'BE' a Star Fleet Officer without being scrutinized to the hilt. The same thoughts must have been going through the Diplomats' mind too:
< tag : Ephram >
"Get us underway Commander." Commodore Ryat said, mulling over the conversation.
"Helm ... Resume course for the Asada System ... Warp two."
The ship made a textbook transition from normal space and slipped into the warp-speed realm. They would be at their destination in hours. It remained to be seen what the Asada System had in store for them ..........
|
|
Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
|
Post by Karka Psonoir on Aug 25, 2013 20:40:46 GMT
"Well done Ensign." the Captain said, "How soon can we get underway ?"
"At the Captain's word, sir, at least regarding impulse," Karka said, hiding the wariness from his voice. He didn't entirely trust Commander Schirra anymore, and he couldn't tell why. Just because the man was from Starfleet Intelligence it didn't mean he had an ulterior motive. It was true, Psonoir had his own agenda. Perhaps he saw something of his own behaviour in Commander Schirra, hence why he held suspicions as to the intel officer's true intentions.
=^= Engineering to Bridge .. Warp core on-line .. Ensign Psonoir can monitor from the Bridge but I would suggest we limit our speed to warp two maximum for the time being ? =^=
=^= Understood =^= Schirra allowed the comm to close.
"It's a good idea, sir. And yes I can monitor from the bridge." Psonoir wasn't sure if Schirra needed him to confirm that, but it was best to be on the safe side. Hopefully now they had an estimate on the time to fix the warp core, Ryat, Schirra and co would leave him alone for a while. It was unlike a Hybrudean - normally extremely efficient at multitasking to the point that it became a computational matter - but he needed to devote time to this one matter for a while. Never mind the current state of the Excalibur, or even their destination in Asada: what exactly had just attacked them?
Karka called up specs of the engines, comparing their theoretical optimums with their current state given the recent 'attack', just to show he was doing something (in fact he'd already analysed and computed everything). There was no historical record of the Excalibur experiencing problems reaching the Asada system. It was part of the reason Psonoir had chosen this ship, at this point in space and time, to intercept the event at the Asadan system. It was meant to be risk free, the ship and its mission a perfect vehicle for what he wished to observe and carry out.
It wasn't just the 'attack' on the Excalibur that was different to the record books. There was also no record of a Commander Schirra being aboard her for the mission, and no record of any involvement with Halanan aliens before the beginning of the mission. When Karka had been caught up in that Halanan business he'd assumed it would remain completely disconnected from the Excalibur. But Schirra's boarding of the Excalibur necessarily made that link. Which meant Karka would need to look further back, to the events surrounding Schirra's assignment to the Excalibur in the first place.
He rose an eyebrow, seeing his face reflected in the black sheen of the console. This would take some clever detective work, considering Schirra was an intelligence officer. Schirra would recognise if someone was following his tracks - digging into his record - rather quickly if he was good at his job. But all Karka intended to do was look in the readily available public records. If he found something unusual about the Commander's transfer, perhaps he would explore further.
"Ensign Psonoir?" a yeoman had entered the bridge, looking around for the anonymous Ensign she'd been sent to find.
Karka rose from his chair and took the padd from the yeoman. It was a priority alert for the assistant CEO. Earth was contacting him. In parentheses at the bottom of the padd's screen was the word 'Personal'. "I'll take it in my quarters," he informed the yeoman.
"If I may take my leave, sir." From the turbolift door, he bowed and waved a hand outwards after the manner of the colonists of his fabricated homeworld. The senior officer trio of Ryat, Schirra and Santos barely seemed to notice. "I'll return in fifteen minutes or less."
* * * * *
"How is he?" Karka asked, sipping from his ice water and sitting back in the seat. The woman's face on the screen shifted, seeming uncertain. "Well? I hope he's alright. I've barely been gone a day."
His fake wife spoke again at last. "Your son's been admitted to hospital, Karka. The doctors aren't sure what's wrong with him."
Karka licked his lips, placing the glass of water carefully on the desk. He tried to size up his emotions. So ordered they were usually, but what he found there now when he delved beneath the engineered surface was a frenzy of chaotic thought strands, each ending in a bitter tip of pain. "I'm sorry. Ill, you say...? One of the common forms of human cold, perhaps."
"Common forms of human cold," she repeated mockingly, veritably unimpressed. "Sometimes you speak as if you're not human at all, Karka. Have you forgotten?"
He fiddled with the glass, contemplating picking it up again, as if it were a life or death decision. He knew where he'd been born. Knew which memories were false and which were real; he was assisted in that clarity by the Evokes. His human life, with this woman, was not his life.
|
|
Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
|
Post by Daniel Schirra on Aug 26, 2013 18:19:12 GMT
Daniel had been making the rounds. Visiting each department in turn for progress reports on their situation ... All in all, he was impressed with how quickly the crew had come together and got on with the tasks at hand.
Engineering was a hive of activity, no-one seemed to have time to stop and chit-chat. He allowed everyone to get on with what they were doing, and finally satisfied, he headed out for the next department ...
Entering Sick-bay, he was shocked to see how many people had been injured in the initial disablement of the Excalibur. Most were minor, sprains, cuts and bruises. But three of the crew were in serious condition, and the Medical Staff were working hard to stabilize them prior to operating.
"Commander. I'm sorry but I simply don ....."
Don't worry about it doctor." Dan said, looking around the injured, "I was just looking in. If you need anything contact the Bridge."
"Unless you have a neurosurgeon up there, then no, we'll cope, thank you Commander." the man said before turning back to the unconscious woman on the bio-bed ... Schirra wondered briefly if he had imagined the hostility from the Doctor as he left Sick-bay and began to make his way back up to the Bridge. Thankfully, Psonoir had stabilized the ships' artificial gravity, so no-one was bumping into bulkheads anymore ... It had taken him almost two hours to check every department. The Excalibur was almost back to optimal, they just needed the core to be one hundred percent, then whoever did this to them was going to pay !
Entering the Bridge he noticed a Lieutenant in the Command chair. She got up and moved aside as Daniel approached:
"Status Lieutenant ?" he asked without sitting.
She reported that the Commodore had gone to her ready room. Ensign Psonoir had informed them they could increase speed to warp four. Casualty reports had stopped coming in, and there was still no sign of the mysterious vessel that may have been shadowing them.
"Thank you Lieutenant ... Helm, increase speed to warp factor four."
"Warp four aye." There was an almost inaudible rise in tone throughout the Bridge as the ship arrowed forward towards her goal ...
"Lieutenant, you have the Bridge. I will be in my quarters. I will be back shortly. Contact me if needed."
"Sir." the woman confirmed before taking the Command chair once more ...
~~~~~
Daniel sat at his desk, drumming his fingers on the black plexi-glass. 'Maybe I am just being over-cautious' he thought as he opened up the ships' crew manifest ..... He was an Intelligence Officer, experience had taught him not to take things on face value as he read through the names: Most of the crew had been with the ship since the Excalibur's Commission, he discarded those names for the moment. Eighty three had come aboard in the last three months, and only four of them within the last two weeks ... He made a mental note to take a look at their files when time permitted ... He was about to close the screen when a thought occurred to him. He tapped in an instruction, and sat looking at the seven names on the screen ...
The Command Staff list ..........
|
|
Alyana Ryat
Commodore
Registered: Sept 5, 2007 16:34:56 GMT
Posts: 347
|
Post by Alyana Ryat on Aug 30, 2013 11:50:58 GMT
A shadowing ship and now this, thankfully her engineering team had managed to get things more or less running again. She agreed with Dan, it could well be some form of sabotage the systems involved were very disparate and it seemed unlikely that they would fail at the same time. Ephrem's briefing on the Asadans had given her even more to think about, the race seemed professionally paranoid about a lot of things or maybe it was professionally aggressive.... She was sitting silently in the center chair watching her crew go about the their duties. She turned to Ensign Psonoir who was back monitoring the warp core. She got to her feet and walked over to him. She knew talking to a junior officer could be a touch awkward now she had been promoted but there was nothing she could do about that. "Ensign, can you tell me where the system failure started. I assume that it wasn't completely simultaneous?" Tag: Karka *****************************
She thanked Ensign Psonoir and then retired to her ready room leaving Lieutenant Pell in charge. It was difficult to know what to do. She suspected that Dan would be looking through the personnel records of the people on the ship. Sixty new arrivals was a record within her experience, still she knew she had an advantage in that she knew those on the ship all ready. He had an advantage that he was coming at the situation with fresh eyes. hopefully they could compare notes when things were done. Unless he had decided that there was something weird about her record and came seeking answers....
|
|
Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
|
Post by Daniel Schirra on Sept 1, 2013 17:16:46 GMT
He had spent the last hour going through the Senior Staff files. Nothing stood out with bell and whistles, but then, Dan prided himself on the fact that it was the 'not so obvious' that tended to stand out for him.
He had wondered about a few minor things, but he knew he could look into those if the situation warranted it, and at this point, it didn't ... He looked through the Diplomats' file. While it was unusual for Command Grade Officers to move, but Santos had made the transition seamlessly. A Former Captain, Ephram was still addressed as Captain, in deference to his rank. One minor thing did make him smile though. Satisfied there were no real issues, and the information he had gained was secured, he left his quarters ...
~~~~~
Pressing the call button, he waited:
"Come in Commander." Alyana said as she opened the door, "Take a seat ..."
"I'm not disturbing you Commodore ?"
"No ... Did you find anything 'interesting' in the crew reports ?" she asked.
"Actually, nothing really. You have had almost seventy new personnel this rotation. Something of a record. Mainly crewman-level personnel, with sixteen junior Officers and one new Command Staff, that of course would be myself ....." he paused, waiting for her to reply, but Alyana just nodded, "I must say Commodore ......."
"Alyana ... Please." the Captain interrupted.
"I must say." Dan continued, "I am a little surprised you haven't insisted on my changing to the relevant department color since you appointed me your First Officer. I would have thought having an Intelligence Officer on board, and in plain sight, let alone as Exec' would un-nerve some people."
"I have no problem regarding uniform Daniel, and if anyone else does, then they know where my door is. Of course, if you feel uncomfortable ?" Alyana said, getting up and pouring two drinks, handing one to him. Daniel took the offered glass and raised it in tandem with his Commanding Officer, "Out of curiosity. Is 'Commander' your actual rank, or should I be saluting ?" she said, a wry grin crossing her face.
"You've been looking at my file I take it."
"Quid pro quo, Commander ... Quid pro quo." she said, finishing her drink, Daniel followed suit, "If there isn't anything else ?" Dan got up and headed for the door:
"Nothing more, Alyana." Dan replied, leaving the Commodore alone. Once in the corridor, he looked back at the door, deep in thought, before heading back to the Bridge. He would concentrate on his role as First Officer. The Excalibur would enter the Asada System within the hour ..........
< tag : Alyana / All >
|
|
Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
|
Post by Karka Psonoir on Sept 3, 2013 1:34:49 GMT
Karka was having little success in plumbing Schirra's record, at least that which was available in the public records. This was to be expected. An intelligence officer didn't often leave his most covert exploits in publicly accessible databases. Still he'd thought given his superior intellect and processing power, Karka would be able to deduce some truths from the summary of his record - to read between the lines.
His thoughts returned for an instant to his false-son and his failing health, given over to the medical lab at Starfleet Medical HQ in San Francisco. There his son had been penetrated with all sorts of tubes containing clear flowing liquid. The practice seemed almost medieval - near-prehistoric from Karka's 29th century perspective. He'd had a brief conversation with his son via subspsace. The child's voice was weak, raspy; but again, Karka felt near nothing.
The Evokes were constantly pronging him, reminding him of his true Hybrudean nature, itching his mind to the point where it became an annoyance. If he could feel just a small part of the boy's pain for one second, perhaps his scientific outlook would melt away into pure, barely-comprehended compassion with this faded child's malaise.
He was back at the bridge's engineering console, its matte black finish and antiquated control systems actually providing some comfort. Something tactile, that he could hold, and feel that he was doing something, even though - and he knew this thought to be irrational - it'd nothing to do with his false-family's beleaguerment.
"Ensign, can you tell me where the system failure started. I assume that it wasn't completely simultaneous?"
Feeling none or little trepidation at the direct address from the Commodore, Karka worked the query through the usual subroutines.. those that were of matter alike to machinery, rather than biological substance... "No, sir, it wasn't. It seems we lost thruster control and artificial gravity first, followed shortly by inertial dampeners." He curled a lip; not in any humanly familiar gesture, but as a quirk of his original species.
"There does seem to be a pattern. If I'd hazard a guess, I'd say that there's a definite conscious force behind the failures. It, or their aim could've been to disorientate our vessel and crew first, as the first stage of a fuller attack. Set the ship spinning, put the crew in freefall, cause light casualties due to lack of dampeners... But they haven't followed it up."
He looked about the bridge, keeping one eye on Commodore Ryat as the CO had originally addressed him. "Do we know the extent of the Asadans' warp capability, if they have any?" again he felt he'd broken etiquette; an Ensign apropos of little addressing the whole bridge and halting everyone's activities.
<Tag Alyana, Bridge>
|
|
Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
|
Post by Daniel Schirra on Sept 15, 2013 18:45:54 GMT
"Do we know the extent of the Asadans' warp capability, if they have any ?" Ensign Psnoir asked as they approached their target.
"Information is a little vague at this point." the Commodore replied, keeping her eyes on the view-screen, "Helm take us into standard orbit."
"OK, let's ensure we're at one hundred percent. We need to make sure all systems are back on-line."
"Apart from minor systems we're up and running." Karka confirmed.
Daniel had been scanning the surrounding space, still looking for the phantom vessel he was sure was tracking them, but his eyes widened when he scanned the region around the planet itself:
"Commodore ... I'm picking up numerous vessels in orbit. What makes this place so interesting." he pondered, knowing the Asadians traded frequently, then picked out one ship in particular, "There is a Klingon vessel in orbit. D7 Class ... They are not scanning us."
"Establish orbit." Alyana said confidently ..........
< tag : Alyana / All >
|
|
Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
|
Post by Karka Psonoir on Sept 19, 2013 21:26:02 GMT
The availability of cures for eliminating the pathogenesis of this particular disease was at an all time low. Karka brooded with steepled fingers: the child remained in critical condition, encased in the intensive care unit of the nearest specialised civil hospital. And he found it hard to care. Yet why did his mind forever return perpetually to it, and in such painfully technical detail?
The engine core's vibrations pulsed through his brain, as he lay his head against the wall nearby the console looking down the engine assembly. It was a welcome respite, being soothing and repetitive, from the constant demands made of him by his staff as the ship was entering in system. While the Excalibur's engineering crew - for the majority - had served aboard her for a long time - Karka was the new officer. They demanded answers of him which they already knew, but questioned him on anyway, as if testing his knowledge (which was more than sufficient). He knew they were only looking for confirmation, but as the new Acting CEO, since Commander Savin's decision to step down from his post, Karka was expected to put a firm hand on his new subordinates.
While he tried to keep his mind's processes away from the child - that he tentatively called his son - on Earth, and kept the questing eyes of the engineers off him, he turned his thought to the rumours that'd been circulating concerning Commander Schirra's investigation of the senior staff. There were mere whispers, mainly spread - alarmingly - by the junior officers - that the intel officer / first officer had been looking into the senior staff's personal records. Psonoir, far from afraid, viewed the guessed-at proceedings with a quiet interest. He didn't think Schirra would be able to uncover the fact the Hybrudean wasn't quite who he said he was. His cover was watertight, by virtue of the fact that his mission back in time had made his falsified life causally true in terms of spacetime. He'd have to be careful, but even if Daniel Schirra could find something, he couldn't possibly begin to guess at who or what Karka really was...
"Ensign Psonoir, sir," his assistant Ensign Unwin came charging from the upper deck. "The bridge have found a Klingon D7 class battlecruiser in orbit. You may wish to note her engines have received significant upgrades. They could match our speed at least, sir, if for any reason we had to leave quickly."
"Report this to the bridge, Unwin. Get yourself there in fact. They'll have need of you, considering your new position as Assistant CEO."
Unwin gulped and left engineering. Karka peered at him with an odd glint in his eye, smiling as the young human headed to bridge's engineering station.
<Tag Alyana, Daniel>
Engineering returned to its normal process of operation, and Karka relaxed into his rather... utilitarian office. He sat attentively at his desk - never one to appear to be resting on his laurels, even if he was. He finished his own skimming of the senior staff and the likelihood that Schirra might find fault with them, and then went to the wall to open a comm channel. "Ensign Psonoir to Captain Santos. Sir, would you do me the courtesy of coming to engineering?"
<Tag Ephrem>
|
|
Alyana Ryat
Commodore
Registered: Sept 5, 2007 16:34:56 GMT
Posts: 347
|
Post by Alyana Ryat on Sept 22, 2013 21:41:33 GMT
OOC: I hope I have caught all the prompts.
- At the staff briefing "My understanding is there's a large moon around Asada, Captain, approximately half the volume of its parent planet. I've... done some research, and it's my understanding that this astrophysical arrangement, combined with the Asadan world's proximity to its star, means about half of the planet is uninhabitable to humanoids. Most of the populace lives in secluded domes. Some live exposed to the atmosphere, but only in locations near the domed settlements."
"That fits with my understanding." Aly said. "There are also a selection of orbital habitats." She waited to see if Ephrem had anything further to add.
*****************************************
- In Aly's Office
"Actually, nothing really. You have had almost seventy new personnel this rotation. Something of a record. Mainly crewman-level personnel, with sixteen junior Officers and one new Command Staff, that of course would be myself ....." he paused, waiting for her to reply, but Alyana just nodded, "I must say Commodore ......."
"Alyana ... Please." the Captain interrupted.
"I must say." Dan continued, "I am a little surprised you haven't insisted on my changing to the relevant department color since you appointed me your First Officer. I would have thought having an Intelligence Officer on board, and in plain sight, let alone as Exec' would un-nerve some people."
"I have no problem regarding uniform Daniel, and if anyone else does, then they know where my door is. Of course, if you feel uncomfortable ?" Alyana said, getting up and pouring two drinks, handing one to him. Daniel took the offered glass and raised it in tandem with his Commanding Officer,
Aly smiled "None of us would be out here if we were that concerned about a little weirdness. There are only five Trill in Starfleet and I get the feeling that some of my crew think no one really knows what I am up to as a result. At least they'll think you do know. Together with my promotion I am sure that the rumour mill must have hit warp 8 all ready."
She put her glass down "Out of curiosity. Is 'Commander' your actual rank, or should I be saluting ?" she said, a wry grin crossing her face.
"You've been looking at my file I take it."
"Quid pro quo, Commander ... Quid pro quo." she said, finishing her drink, Daniel followed suit, "If there isn't anything else ?" Dan got up and headed for the door:
"Nothing more, Alyana." Dan replied, leaving the Commodore alone. She was sure he had questions. She doubted she could lie to him.
******************************************
- On the Bridge en route
"Do we know the extent of the Asadans' warp capability, if they have any?" Ensign Psonoir said to the bridge at large.
Aly was pleased and impressed that he was speaking up and asking questions. Sign of a good officer in her book.
"They have warp technology but we are unsure of how they got it. What little we know of their technology development is geared to towards mineral extraction, orbital engineering and habitat construction.
*************************************
- On the bridge in orbit
"Commodore ... I'm picking up numerous vessels in orbit. What makes this place so interesting." he pondered, knowing the Asadians traded frequently, then picked out one ship in particular, "There is a Klingon vessel in orbit. D7 Class ... They are not scanning us."
"Establish orbit." Alyana said confidently. She had expected a Klingon presence but not exactly this. "Hail the President's office let them know we're here as soon as orbit is established." Aly settled back in to her chair. "Let's stay polite people, no active scans but let's try to learn about who else is out there."
A very pale young human came out of the lift on to the bridge, it took Aly a long moment to recognise Ensign Unwin, the new ACEO, he seemed to be in quite a rush.
"Um, ma'am, the D7... They've had some significant engine upgrades. They could match our speed at least."
"Thank you Ensign Unwin." Aly said. He nodded and scuttled for his station. Aly wasn't entirely convinced he wasn't about to faint.
Tag: Karka (I hope you don't mind what I've done with Unwin)
A few minutes later Lieutenant Wilkins, Aly had to make a concerted effort not to think of her as Jenni while thy were on active duty, announced that the President was ready to speak to them.
"On screen." Aly said, she folded her hands in her lap. A second later the dark haired President Galen appeared.
"Greetings Commodore Ryat."
"Greetings to you Mr President."
"I would like to invite you and your senior staff to an informal dinner before the formalities get underway. I know you have had a bad experience with my people and I wish to apologise.
"We would be honoured to join you for a dinner."
He smiled revealing slight pointed teeth. "Then I shall see you in an hour"
Aly nodded. She was sure he was on the verge of saying more but didn't. "There will be six of us for dinner."
He nodded thanked her again and broke the comm link.
Aly made the announcement to her senior staff. - dress uniforms in the transporter room in fifty-five minutes.
Tag: All
OOC: I am assuming that the dinner list will be Aly (CO), Dan (FO) Ephrem, Barbara Gold (Lt Cmdr) (NPC-Ephrem) (CCO?), Karka (CEO) and T'Sen (Ensign) (NPC -me, new) CSO. We will leave our COO in charge of the ship, whoever that it. We should also have a CHO, CTNO and a CMO if anyone wants to play them at dinner. I imagine someone will insist on an escort just to be on the safe side.
|
|
Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
|
Post by Daniel Schirra on Sept 25, 2013 13:55:16 GMT
"We would be honored to join you for a dinner."
"Then I shall see you in one hour." the President said, closing the Comm.
Dan stood to the left of the Command chair during the conversation, and hadn't missed the fact that the President had totally ignored his presence on-screen. He wondered vaguely if the man was being sincere in his welcome of a Federation Star Ship.
Alyana opened the ship-wide Comm:
=^= This is the Captain .. Senior Staff .. We will be beaming to the surface .. Full dress uniforms .. Transporter room in forty five minutes =^=
~~~~~
Daniel checked his appearance in the mirror, subconsciously brushing non-existent lint off the shoulder of the all black uniform ... Following his conversation with the Commodore, he had decided on remaining dressed as per his assigned division. After all, he hadn't been assigned to the Excalibur permanently, and he was interested in seeing the reaction on the Asada officials' faces when he arrived. The sight of an Intelligence Division Officer may spook them.
Tugging at the collar, he headed for the transporter room ...
Lieutenant Commander Gold, and Ensign T'sen were already there when he entered, both eyed the uniform but neither commented. The others entered and everyone stepped up onto the pad:
"Energize." the Commodore ordered.
~~~~~
They materialized in what seemed to be an anteroom, small, but with more than enough room to accommodate everyone present ... Dan surreptitiously checked each of their hosts, almost relieved when he could see no weapons on display ... The President stepped forward, holding out his hand to the Commodore:
"I believe this is the correct ritual during a greeting among your people." he said, as Alyana took the offered hand and returned the gesture, I am President Galen, welcome to our world."
"Thank you ... Mister president." Alyana said, smiling cordially. Dam watched the man behind the President, he too had scrutinized the arrivals, and was now eyeing Daniel with interest ..........
< tag : Alyana / All Away Team personnel >
|
|
Karka Psonoir
Commander
Registered: Apr 9, 2013 19:55:13 GMT
Posts: 422
|
Post by Karka Psonoir on Sept 30, 2013 0:56:26 GMT
Unwin spent the first few minutes on the bridge in a panic, but once he'd been at the engineering console for ten minutes he began to relax into his role, his training taking hold. It's not as if we're in the middle of a firefight, for crying out loud, he scolded himself. Just relax.
He began scans on the engine systems, liaising with the helmsman, so the latter would know when to push or when to hold back. They were still testing upgrades to the engines that had been carried out at Spacedock. Nothing anomalous was reported about the impulse system; the thrusters, the impulse engines without the spacetime drive coils activated, checked out too, just as they had during the tests prior to departing from Sol. He turned his attention to the Klingon battlecruiser, starting with the engines , but afterwards spreading his scans to the whole ship. It had standard armament for a D7, but there were about twice as many Klingons aboard than normal. He propped a hand under his chin and studied his console closely, the insecurity about being on the bridge forgotten. There was something very curious about this.
* * *
Ensign Brennan had made an amusing comment. He'd thought it strange that Karka should have to wear dress uniform to what was reportedly an informal event. Psonoir explained that it was simple decorum. Starfleet officers didn't engage in diplomatic affairs with another species without showing a minimal level of presentation, even if they'd been invited on an informal basis. That was what he was assuming anyway.
"If I was invited, I'd have been tempted to go in pyjamas," Brennan had commented. Karka was about to laugh, thinking it a common human joke, but Brennan seemed serious in the uttermost. He nodded, clinking glasses with Brennan and giving the impression he understood.
He was in the anteroom with the other senior staff, surveying the room. Commodore Ryat had already greeted the President. He was being disregarded, at least for now, which was a good sign. No one suspected anything. To all present, his fellow officers included, he seemed a regular human being.
"If you'll come through to the dining area," an attendant said, once all the landing party had collected drinks and introduced themselves to the Asadan officials. Now the excitement can begin, Karka thought, sipping at his drink. He needed to be wary though. Thought suppression and the need to closely observe everything that took place here required a delicate balance of the mind's chemicals. He would need to be cautious but also gently inquisitive.
The centre of the dining table was dominated by the President and his two foremost people, with Ryat, Schirra and Santos sat opposite them. Karka was towards one end of the table. He had taken a seat opposite a faceless official of Asadan authority. She seemed disinterested, bored even by proceedings around her and was constantly scanning through an information pad on the table. The first course was served. Karka surreptitiously scanned the plate's contents with a tricorder under the table, while maintaining a part of his attention on the Asadan woman opposite.
<Tag Ryat, Schirra, Santos>
|
|
Daniel Schirra
Captain
Registered: Apr 8, 2013 21:02:47 GMT
Posts: 468
|
Post by Daniel Schirra on Oct 6, 2013 19:23:39 GMT
"If you would come through to the dining area ...." an attendant said, once all the landing party had collected drinks and introduced themselves to the Asadan officials.
Daniel followed the President and Commodore Ryat, all the time sensing the man who had been introduced as their Director of Information watching him closely. He dropped back so he was walking with the man:
"So, I don't think we have been formally introduced." he said cordially, if he was waiting for the man to reply he was out of luck, so he plodded on regardless, "You are the Information Chief, Rafen, right .... Must be an interesting job." The man stopped, making Daniel follow suit. He looked the Star Fleet Officer up and down:
"Yes." he replied, before continuing on into the dining hall. Dan followed him in 'talkative bloke' he thought as he was shown to his seat.
As they began serving, everyone indulged in 'small talk' around the table, Dan spoke with a woman who was in charge of the Arts, another who seemed to be the Finance Minister, but her could have been mistaken ... He suddenly noticed the Engineer shifting his eyes between his plate, the woman opposite, and his knees. Karka noticed him watching and shrugged, before continuing to shift between eating and making sure his legs were still there ...
"Would you mind if I made a polite inquiry ?" the woman beside him asked, pulling his attention back. Dan nodded, "You were introduced as your vessels' First Officer. I see you are wearing a different uniform to your colleagues, is it a departmental specification ?" he noticed the Commodore's side-long glance as she heard the question. Alyana nodded, giving him permission to answer.
"Yes ... I am indeed the Commodore's First Officer, though I am primarily assigned to the Federation's Intelligence Division."
"Ahh, interesting ....." the woman said, glancing at Rafen, who was watching the pair closely while trying to look as if he wasn't, before leaning closer to Daniel as if about to impart a secret, "We too have an 'Intelligence Directorate' though I do use the term loosely." she said, sneering at her own humor.
Daniel had the distinct feeling that Rafen had something on his mind. Maybe it was the fact that the Federation was here at all, or possibly because he knew Federation Intelligence was involved, or hell, he may just be annoyed that one of the ruling council had managed to have a few drinks and speak out of turn ... Either way, he would need watching during their time on Asada ! ..........
|
|