Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,163
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Post by Carl Torek on Jan 3, 2016 19:39:18 GMT
~~~~~ AFTERMATH ~~~~~ The USS Raven-B .... Galaxy Class Star Ship .... Had been in Space-dock for only two days. It was estimated that repairs and scheduled maintenance would take approximately two weeks. Not that it was too much a concern at the present time given all of the Senior Staff had or will be at some point called in to give their account of what had happened on their last mission, and the circumstances surrounding the detonation and loss of life at the Mojave Desert Facility. After leaving the ship on docking, Carl had gone directly to his home to see Chloe and his two Children. For him, it was essential that he speak to Chloe before the rumor-mongers began their meddling. The next morning he reported to Star Fleet Command across the bay from his home as requested. Entering the Main building, he couldn't help notice the side-on glances he received as he passed through the mezzanine and entered the turbo-lift. Rising to the upper floor he stepped out, a young Adjutant was waiting: "Fleet Admiral Torek, Section Admiral Quint and Admiral Tetsutaro are waiting for you, if you would follow me please." the woman said, turning and crossing the large open area to where the offices were situated. He fell into step by habit and pondered why Quint was going to be present, he wasn't Torek's direct Senior Officer, that was the newly-appointed Section Admiral Gheskori. It didn't matter in the long run, they had the Raven's logs, 'ALL' of them, apparently, and had no doubt attained corroborating testimony, 'though that could be the wrong word' he thought, from other members of his Staff. The Adjutant opened one of the ornate doors and stepped aside allowing him to pass. "Ahh, Carl ... Good to see you. You look rested." Sato said, coming forward to embrace his unofficial Stepson before turning to the other person in the room, "This is Section Admiral Quint, she has been asked to 'sit in' on proceedings, just to give an outside opinion if you will." "Admiral." Carl said, nodding to the woman before turning to Tetsutaro, "I wasn't aware we 'needed' an outside opinion." he said, realizing he was getting annoyed unnecessarily. "I am sure my presence is, lets say, puzzling, but let me assure you Admiral, I'm just here as an observer on behalf of the President, nothing more. I have no standing in the upcoming proceedings, and am in no position to render my opinion on what occurred. So please, I hope you can get past my being present, it may well help in the long run." before he could reply the door opened and the Adjutant entered, informing them that the remainder of the Senior Staff were in the adjoining room, the Department deputies were due at fourteen hundred hours as arranged. Torek looked at Quint, then Sato: "Deputy Chief's ?" "Just a formality Son, you know the proceedings as well as anyone, but there has been a considerable loss of life, and it is only right and fitting that every iota of information be digested so we can justify the actions of the Raven-B." "My actions Admiral, not the ships." Carl said neutrally. "Indeed ..... my apologies." Sato said, bowing. "OK, I think it may be best to collect Admiral Torek's Staff and go take a look at the, Facility ?" Quint said, making sure to make her comment in question form ...... Mojave Desert ::For the duration of the duration of the eight hundred and twenty kilometer journey, almost nothing was said, apart from the concise answers supplied by the crew to any questions asked ... They were at a height of two kilometers as they approached the site from the west. The description of crater, and the devastation left by the explosion of the mine they sent through the wormhole, along with the detonation of almost three hundred of the sub-relay's, simply didn't do the real thing justice ... The crater, almost thirty kilometers in diameter and in the region of twelve kilometers deep was something to behold ! ... The crater itself was a sight to be seen, but unfortunately, it didn't end there ... As the shuttle climbed, obviously on someone's prearranged course, they could see the ruin caused by the shock-wave. What trees were there formally had vanished, highlands and ridges had had the tops completely sheered away, leaving almost flat plateau's behind. The sand, once a golden yellow tinged with the odd fleck of greenery was now almost completely blackened. The fact that numerous other facilities and even private homes had disappeared without trace remained unspoken as the shuttle made yet another circumnavigation of the massive crater before finally beginning it's descent toward the surface ..... A temporary center had been established on the northern edge of the crater. The shuttle landed and those present filed into the morning sun ... They entered the building and were met by one of the investigators, he took them to the main building and showed them a three-dimensional view of the area. he pointed out, somewhat unnecessarily in Torek's point of view, that while the diameter of the crater is thirty kilometers in diameter, the outer edge of the damage caused was actually closer to one hundred and seventy four kilometers, thus an area approaching twenty four 'thousand' square kilometers was effected, and would be effectively inhabitable until terra-forming could regenerate the area, which would take something in the region of four years. To say the Senior Staff of the Raven were astonished would be an understatement of some magnitude. "There was practically nothing left of what caused all this." one of the Scientific Team began, obviously getting their attention. "How many were lost ?" Carl asked. "At this point ..." Doctor Proca, head of the research team said, glancing at Admiral Quint for a fraction of a second before continuing, "There are one hundred ninety seven people unaccounted for ...." seeing Torek raise his eyebrows obviously waiting for more information. "By 'unaccounted for' I assume you mean ...." "I am sure I don't need to educate you on thermo-nuclear dynamics Admiral." Proca interrupted him, "but not counting the initial detonation temperature, we're looking at the following: Two pulses of thermal radiation emerge from the fireball. The first pulse, which lasts about a tenth of a second, consists of radiation in the ultraviolet region. The second pulse which may last for several seconds, carries about 99 percent of the total thermal radiation energy. It was the former that physically incinerated anyone caught in the blast area !" Carl didn't appreciate the physic's lesson, and it was obvious that no-one else on his crew did either. "Shall we take a break. There is a lot to digest, and this isn't the time or place for a show of one-upmanship Gentlemen." Section Admiral Quint said stepping forward, "Doctor, we could do with some refreshments ..." Doctor Proca, stepped aside and allowed the visitors to leave. His contempt of those that had cause this devastation was blatantly obvious .......... OOC ::
OK Everyone, feel free to post on here until I get our next outing up and running.
Regards,
Steve.
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Andae Blakus
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Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Jan 4, 2016 2:40:14 GMT
The dinner on the promenade cut short, Blakus had made his way to the upper levels of Spacedock where he'd received his orders that he was to report to Starfleet Command in Frisco. Of course, he should've known - and had actually been made aware of the fact - that he wouldn't be able to survey the wreckage of the site of the disaster for himself - and assist in any way he could - but that he'd to do so as part of the senior staff, officially under scrutiny for the veritable genocide they'd committed here.
He waited legs crossed, maintaining an aura of calm in the lobby to the room where Carl was being questioned by Tetsutaro and Quint - sat on a bench waiting for his deputy to arrive. He was five minutes overdue, but as soon as he started worrying that the man may be getting drunk somewhere on Spacedock's promenade, he appeared at the far end of the hall, hailing Blakus from afar.
"Milyanov," he greeted, "About time," he glanced at the door to the briefing room - the Federation seal, that of the highest office, emblazoned across its set of double doors - and collapsed back to his seat with a sigh, "They've been in there a long time. I've been starting to wonder if they intend to court martial us after all."
"Let's wait to see the Mojave site before we start making assumptions," his assistant encouraged him.
The crater rose out of the haze of the horizon, the rising sun breaking through the wispy cloud layers and falling over the desert in a dull lustre of brightening red. The destruction wasn't however limited simply to the crater as they'd hoped. There were signs the devastation spread out in fairly uniform pattern from the site of the explosion, into inhabited regions, where the growth of the towns of southern California had spread into the desert itself - those parts affected being residential areas housing citizens who worked at the site and, in some of the more luxurious suburbs, veritable mansions providing homes for retired officers and private businessmen - the latter of which operated outside of Earth's economy. Many of the residences had been destroyed, nothing to signify their former presence and thus, they weren't commented on by the shuttle's occupants.
"And the portal was opened with the explicit purpose of using the mines to destroy the Xallac fleet, Lieutenant?" He heard the start of Milyanov's response. He was in the seat behind him answering the questions of the investigator, Blakus having time to peer out the side portal as the shuttle circled over the crater heading towards its landing site on the northern side.
They were shown into a covered area - adjacent to a temporary installation designed for collecting data on potential radioactive fallout from the initial fission stages of the mine's warhead's detonation, which apparently doubled as a refreshments counter. The canvas cover of this open area was supported by eight titanium poles and flapped in the wind; now taut, now slack as the wind blew through the place, catching grit and sand in his hair as he took to a table of which a dozen were arranged about the place.
He'd taken an immediate dislike to Proca, the scientist now stalking off to a larger temporary building closer to the northern edge of the crater. Deciding he'd speak to the man later, he nursed his coffee as he sat with Milyanov and Wedlerson. The chief investigator under Tetsutaro and Quint sat with them.
"No questions for now, Commander, don't worry," she grinned at Blakus, drinking her own coffee.
He smiled briefly before sipping at his drink. A sound to his left made him aware of the XO's presence, "Ah, Will, have a seat?"
<Tag All>
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 18, 2024 2:31:03 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2016 1:33:14 GMT
"Ah, Will, have a seat?"
"Thank you, Commander." Will replied as he took a seat. He had only been out of Sickbay for about three days and wasn't exactly sure what he was doing here. In fact, he had spent the entire last mission there. He had somehow contracted a virus that caused him to slip into a coma and the Doctor had decided it was best to let him come out of it on his own. He had passed all the requirements when he woke and was released as soon as possible only to find himself being called to what he could only consider an inquiry board. It should be interesting. He turned to Blakus. "Anything I need to know to tell these guys?" He may not have been there but he'd damn sure whatever he needed to in order to help the crew.
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Jan 9, 2016 13:18:28 GMT
Blakus waited until the chief investigator left the table (who had laughed lightly when Jamison had asked what to say so brazenly in her presence) then responded earnestly, "We're the reason the crater exists, though in creating it we saved -"
"It's what you need to know not to tell them," Wedlerson interrupted jokingly.
"I had no choice, the ship had no choice, sir," Blakus cut back in over the acting Operations Chief, "It was either send one of the mines to destroy the dig site here, or allow the Xallac army to be transported on to the planet's surface. In taking the lives of several thousand people we probably saved thirty billion."
<Tag Jamison>
"I think we'll get off lightly," Milyanov said, "They know that we did the right thing, that without our intervention Earth's population could've been destroyed, and that many more planets in the heart of the Federation could've been heavily affected. This is all in the name of officialdom, something for JAG and Security to show Command that we've been looked into."
Blakus sipped at his coffee, raising an eyebrow - he could only hope his assistant was right, though it did seem to be the case. The probable real reason they were here was to help with the relief effort - perhaps as a means of gaining redemption - and/or to advise the researchers in their study of the crater, and to see what remnants of the facility might be found, evidence of the machinery the Xallac had constructed to effect the transportation of their invasion army through the portal in the Orion Arm to Earth and the Mojave desert, staging point for a massacre of the citizens of the Federation. He and the Raven's science officer were probably to work with the scientists studying the crater and the strange extra impression in its base - it was as if a powerful explosive had been detonated after the main explosion of the mine above the dig, and had dug something extra out of the ground.
As the chief investigator came back to sit with Jamison and Wedlerson, with the XO now put in a position of answering difficult questions regarding something for which he wasn't present - hopefully Harry would be able to help him out, Andae thought - the CEO and his assistant were drawn away by a group of scientists - signalling to them from around the corner of the refreshments corner (with the main bulk of the temporary building and its tritanium walls sealing it from the radiation out at the dig (levels of which the instruments inside the building were also in the process of measuring)).
He, Milyanov and three of the scientists led by Dr Proca headed into the crater, feet crunching in the blasted grey matter of the irradiated surface as they passed over the lip that marked the limit of the mine's destruction, down towards the epicentre.
"Something, in between time measurements 0.0248 and 0.0253 after the mine's materialisation and subsequent detonation, saturated our display screens," Proca was saying, trudging down towards the epicentre some miles away. A repulsor lift came along, operated by a Starfleet engineer, and the quintet boarded it so they may be taken to the centre more swiftly. Proca turned to Andae and Milyanov, now with the sound of air rushing by, "The flash after the mine had exploded was at the middle of the crater, and was responsible for some of the highest-in-energy EM radiation, some of it in the medium gamma range. Anyone at that centre point would've been vapourised without any hope of reconstitution, not even by the innovations of Jetrel of the Haakonians, for example."
Blakus felt the heat from the crater around him; everywhere, every surface, pattern of relief in the giant, sun-obscuring circumferential morass seemed to spell annihilation. He looked on places where homes might've once stood, temporary lodgings for the archaeologists sticking out of the desert, the 400 year old dig itself and the rumoured spokes along which would've flowed lava that was to have pushed subsidiary stations above the surface to... He shook his head as he and Milyanov stepped off the repulsor vehicle - Proca and the two scientists going along to the crater's southern edge; the Raven crew had never been sure of the exact nature of the mechanism that the Xallac had designed to bring their army here.
He looked at deep gashes in the bedrock, shards of glass etched into the uncovered earth extending deep into the mournful arms and sides of the crater; where the energy hadn't been purely destructive, other energy in the form of instantaneous and dazzling electric storms had lacerated the desert's surface, transforming the sand's phase. He frowned and looked ahead to the epicentre of the blast as he and Milyanov crunched through the gravel and grit, reading off a tricorder, "I thought Proca said mid-range gamma rays... Going by the rate of decay in frequency, the current radiation would indicate the secondary blast was in the high-end gamma."
Milyanov shrugged, "Put it down to a failure in the Proca's area."
Blakus groaned. "That aside, perhaps this extra explosion was caused by some advanced machinery of the Xallac, perhaps the very tool, the nucleus of their structure that powered everything else, made this end of the wormhole possible. It's no wonder the explosive potential was so great..." He looked to the ashen skies, pondering, "Perhaps our own mine wasn't responsible for all the deaths after all."
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,163
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Post by Carl Torek on Jan 10, 2016 0:17:56 GMT
Blakus, Milyanov, Wedlerson, and his Executive Officer Will Jamison had been in with Proka and his 'team' for some time ... Carl had sat patiently after his questioning, but he was beginning to wonder, albeit vaguely, why 'he' had been taken in alone, while four of his most senior staff had been in there en-masse so to speak. Two hours past and he was deciding on whether to head back to San Francisco for the rest of the day or stagnate in the seriously uncomfortable seating Proka had supplied.
Coming to a decision he stood, heading for the door. A young lieutenant, obviously fresh from the Academy, and drafted in as part of the Security and Science teams, spoke:
"Admiral. I'm sorry but you are expected to remain here." he said, managing not to stutter his words.
"If anyone asks Lieutenant, I'm stretching my legs .... Don't worry, my leaving won't reflect on your order to keep me here." Carl said, grinning as he put a hand on the door.
"Leaving Sir ?" Wedlerson said, making him turn around, the four of them were leaving the interoga, then he corrected himself, interview room. Carl returned to the table and dropped into on of the seats, "Seems they may not have finished with us apparently. While doctor Proka didn't say it outright, the implication was plain enough, we're not to leave town." he grinned at his use of the old term.
"Where have you been ?" Carl asked.
"They took us out over the crater, then down ...." Andae informed him, looking around conspiratorially before continuing , "Proka is either less than thorough with his examination, or he is deliberately keeping something from us."
"We would need to do our own checks, sub-strata rock formation for a start, but ...." Milyanov commented, "From what he says, and what we can see with our own eyes alone, simply don't tally. I don't believe the mines we sent through the portal could be responsible for the devastation we're seeing here Admiral." he looked up at his Chief, who nodded for him to continue as Andae got refreshments from the replicator close by, "Commander Blakus and I both think there must have been some form of device already here, buried, awaiting a signal to activate the sub-relay's ... Maybe something that could raise the transmitters to allow the full portal to be established ?"
Carl nodded, taking all the information in.
"I expect we won't be assigned a new mission while the investigations are going on." Harry said.
"Well, the Raven is undergoing some major refurbishments, the upgrades will take time." Andae said by way of an answer, glancing at Carl who gave a barely visible nod.
"Then, with all due respect to 'Doctor Proka' and his personnel, let's do some proverbial 'digging' of our own !" Wedlerson said defiantly, "If he, or someone else is looking to crucify the Raven for their actions, then they'll damn-well be forced to see 'ALL' the evidence and information available."
"They won't be crucifying anyone but me Harry." Carl reassured his Acting Operations Officer, "I'll make sure of that." he finished as Calli Valente walked into the room, a nervous-looking Ensign close behind her:
"Ensign ...... I swear ! ......" she said darkly, causing the young woman to shudder back out the room. Satisfied she had scared the life out of another young hopeful, she helped herself to a coffee from the replicator and sat down, "Soooo. Has anyone else gone through the third degree questioning, or was I the lucky winner ?" They brought the Intelligence Officer, currently Carl's Mission Advisor, up to speed with what they were thinking.
"Makes my questioning make sense." she said, telling everyone that she had been proverbially 'snatched' by Intelligence, who seemed totally disinterested in the facts, and more that we may, or may not, I might add, have deliberately decided to attack Earth of our own accord. I obviously became a little too vocal on the matter and was shown to a small, quiet, room to calm down. During all this none of the Intel' Senior Staff were present, which in itself perked my curiosity. I asked to see whoever was in charge, and given 'I' am the Deputy Chief of Intelligence for the Sector, there was only one person above me, but it seems he was 'otherwise indisposed' ......" Carl took the comment in. To think Admiral Tetsutaro, Head of Starfleet Security, was unwilling to see his Adoptive Daughter, was somewhat of a shock, and he realized, as had Calli, that other forces were at play here. Sato would never refuse to see either of them, so someone was ordering him to do so. That in itself was worrying.
"Something else too ...." she said, eyeing the room to make sure they wasn't going to be overheard, "Two vessels entered the Sector around the time of the explosion. It's not in the records, which obviously perked my curiousness, It seems two ships from the Ueegl Quorum suddenly needed assistance, warp drive issues following a trade disagreement, so they say. They were both assigned berths in one of the auxiliary Docks and quarantined, told that under no circumstances were they to attempt to board the Space-Station. As far as I'm aware, though I can't get any information, despite my obvious talents. both ships are still there."
"Hold on !" Harry said, drink half way to his mouth, "The Ueegl are supposedly from the Delta Quadrant, right ... They were first encountered in our Quadrant some thirty years ago, and have since been suspected of countless 'suicide missions' to get their dubious point across. What the hell are they doing on the Sol System at the same time we were going to be invaded !"
Carl listened, thinking hard. Was it possible that the Ueegl were in alliance with the Halanan, the Xallac, or both, and had been persuaded to send vessels into the Sol System ?. But to what end, diversion ? ... He couldn't imagine any reason the Ueegl would align themselves with anyone. They were singularly the most self-driven race the Federation had come across. They had never applied for membership, and it was a given that if the should it would be denied unconditionally, so why now he mused, as the others continued to talk about their situation. He glanced at the ceiling, wondering what the Ueegl were doing up there.
"Sir .... Admiral ?" Will repeated, finally pulling him from his thoughts, "We were saying that the consensus is we go do a little 'digging' of our own .... So to speak ?" Carl looked at each of them in turn before speaking:
"Forget it .... You, we, are on 'Shore Leave' status. These inquiries will die down once they realize we did what we had to do to save Earth, and the Federation ... No biggie I know." Carl said, receiving a gaggle of nervous laughs from those around the table, "Let them ask their questions, file their reports, and submit their recommendations. I told you before, none of you will be affected career-wise from our actions."
"You said 'our' Admiral." Will said, grinning, quickly interrupting Carl as he began to correct himself, "Sorry Admiral, statement holds." he said, shrugging.
"We're done here." Torek said, "Get home, visit friends, Disneyland, go swimming. We'll be assigned a mission when the ship is space-worthy, and not before. Enjoy your leave, stay in touch." he said, getting up from the chair and leaving the room. The others watched him leave in silence then turned to each other ..........
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Jan 11, 2016 6:38:37 GMT
Andae collected his padds from the table while drinking the rest of his cold coffee. It was possible that the Ueegl were involved somehow, though on reflection it did seem quite a leap - the Ueegl were similar to the Sheliak, secretive and single-minded, haughty and superior... he doubted they would accept membership into the Federation even if it was offered.
He returned to the Starbase with Milyanov and Tinsley in tow, both officers claiming they were heading to the Raven to watch over the maintenance staff in their work on the engines and shattered impulse drive (it'd turned out that the Halanan portal had an adverse effect on impulse propulsion of ships when they passed through its EM field). Really though, he knew they were here to spy on himself and Christina. Milyanov had already stolen one potentiality away from him, he wouldn't let the Russian do the same this time. Not that it was possible; Andae had served with Christina Taylor since his USS Victory-C days, along with the then Lieutenant Holland and Lieutenant William Bligh - who reappeared, popping out of the mysteries of his career to impose himself on his old Chief at frequent and unexpected intervals, most inconspicuously during shore leave...
He found the cafe they'd booked - the same one they'd left in a hurry to be present for the interrogations at Starfleet Command and the Mojave desert's crater - and took an unoccupied table, the same one they had been sitting at waiting for their order. He hailed a nearby waiter, waving his menu at the man, and made a new order along with drinks. Wine was brought; he drank half the glass, was now tapping impatiently at the table and casting his eyes about the promenade - his table was situated outside - searching for any sign of his engineer Christina Taylor.
"Another, sir?" the waiter was behind him, wine bottle in hand. He shook his head, waving the waiter away with a flick of his wrist and feeling more and more desolate inside. Then a body stepped around the table, his or her grey fatigues coming into sight before him as he/she sat in the chair opposite: it was one of the interrogators under Admirals Tetsutaro and Quint.
Blakus sighed, drinking the rest of his wine, shaking his head violently - his eyes swelling - and slamming the glass to the white-clothed table. "What?!" he snapped, "I've told all of you everything I know, every detail of everything we did pertaining to our usage of the mines... how I modified them, our method of deployment and how they were situated at the front of the network such that when the Halanan opened the portal they would drop straight through and redirect the wormhole to Earth for, those two mines, to enter and cut off the wormhole behind them immediately once they'd reached the Earth's surface above the Mojave dig. Now, what else do you want?"
The woman smiled, and he realised she was the chief investigator who'd been sitting with him, Jamison, Milyanov and Wedlerson at the Mojave interrogation site. "If you'll excuse the intrusion, Commander Blakus, we just wanted to know where you would be spending the rest of your shore leave."
"Is that any business of yours?" he glared at her, playing with his cutlery and wishing rather morbidly that he had a steak knife. He discarded the stupid thought.
"Just so we may keep tabs on you, you understand. We may want to question you further, in case of any updates in the case, anything official that we'd need to append to the official report on you and your engineering team."
"I'm going... I don't..." he leant forward in his chair, losing patience, "I'm going to Rome. To see my family." It'd taken the incessant probings of an Intelligence officer, or someone of that type, to make him realise what he wanted to do with his shore leave, he thought, smiling at the farce of his indecision. He sighed, thanking the woman and telling her not to visit anytime soon, at least not within the next three days, then once she was departed, wondered where Christina was. He would let her know his plans once she finally - or if she ever - arrived; he would be doing as she'd suggested in the first instance, going to that old mansion on the edge of Rome, the home of his latin family and forebears of Roman blood, to seek out the majesty of those pallid white halls that draped their ghostly visages over the grand, dilapidated hallway.
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Andae Blakus
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Post by Andae Blakus on Jan 17, 2016 22:08:46 GMT
Before returning to his family in Rome, Blakus stopped by the Starbase in the area of the station where they had first been questioned by Tetsutaro and Quint's people. He was hoping to meet some of his engineers there, Tinsley, Zavial and others, to have one or all of them watch over the maintenance work being carried out on the Raven by the usually incompetent Spacedock maintenance techs.
"Commander." He nodded to the aide who'd greeted him and had handed him a padd, recognising him as being part of the support team to the investigators at the Mojave dig crater. He read through the padd: final acquittal of the Raven crew from any possible charges that may have been brought against them in connection with the Mojave dig disaster, especially given recent developments that seem to indicate the explosion was amplified by - or maybe even preempted the mine's explosion over the dig - the core unit that'd been buried deep in the facility, its form and exact nature uncertain.
The padd also had something to say about the Ueegl Quorum and their problems with their warp drives - their two ships were under quarantine in an auxiliary dock low down in Spacedock, and Blakus had been co-opted during his supposed shore leave as a possible candidate for assisting the Ueegl in their drive difficulties.
He'd rather keep tabs on the Raven, and spend time with his family - in their washed-out mansion; the deserted grounds, and cold leaf-covered pool; the literary works on old paper by his brother Lucius, his father's increasing stoicism in a mansion of hollow bones. Perhaps he would wait to talk with Christina before heading down there.
Approaching the end of the hallway where the door to the interrogation room lay - in which Carl had first been questioned by Tetsutaro and Quint - he found one of his engineers, who he promptly sent off to the ship to watch over repairs, before greeting the XO and Commander Marionette who also happened to still be in the vicinity.
He nodded to the both of them, "Sir. And Commander. It seems we got off lightly after all. It was either the Mojave dig to be destroyed or the whole of Earth, even the whole of the Federation." The three of them walked towards the promenade, "So, do you have any plans for shore leave, outside of the... sleeping? thing you do," he looked at Marionette, then to Jamison, "And Will, wherever you spend it, in your apartment in San Francisco?"
<Tag Jamison, Marionette>
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Marionette
Commander
Dr. Soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end.
Registered: Mar 2, 2012 3:26:33 GMT
Posts: 285
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Post by Marionette on Jan 18, 2016 2:49:44 GMT
"So, do you have any plans for shore leave, outside of the.... sleeping?.... thing you do." Andae asked her. "I have planned to attempt a first draft construction of either of two upgrades, which i have been designing in my spare time." she said, and then she smiled that almost-smile. She had two large Padds with her, one having technical readouts of the understructure of her own face, and the other having what looked like a techno-abstraction equivalent of female reproductive organs and external features.
It all depended on whether or not she could obtain a pair of Borg implants which could be modified into an olfactory node, and could be made small enough to not significantly change her present facial features. The latter upgrade, according to the computer simulations, had problems with inconsistent spontaneous activation and nerve-impulse interface problems, and was also quite messy....Still, She was constant in her intention of installing both of these upgrades, in due time.
Marionette wondered if the PRIL they had encountered, would be willing to give any helpful information on cybernetic upgrades.... Then again, maybe not, as their real identities were questionable and dubious at best. It was also unlikely that they could be easily contacted, as they were restricted from technology which could enable their shenanigans to start up again. Her positronic mind continued to process the problems and possible solutions of more-perfect upgrades.
".... And Will, wherever you spend it, in your apartment in San Francisco ?"
<Tag Jamison and Blakus>
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,163
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Post by Carl Torek on Jan 18, 2016 11:14:16 GMT
Having finally convinced Starfleet Intelligence that neither he, nor the Raven, was interested in assisting in whatever project they had, Carl was spending much of his free time at his home across the bay from Starfleet Command Headquarters ... He went up to the ship, which had been moved to one of the orbital service gantries to have her new nacelles fitted, for a couple of hours a day only. He would walk the ship, sign-off on various work orders and hold a daily update briefing with the Engineers carrying out the work on the Galaxy Class Raven. He could see changes in the vessel now, most of which would go unnoticed by those living and working on her, but he could spot small fluctuations in bulkhead panels, places where the carpeting was no longer flush, doors taking a second longer to open than they did when new. It was to expected given the vessel was eight years old now, hardly scrapheap material, but acquiring her own idiosyncrasies. He wondered momenterily if one day he would be stepping onto a new USS Raven ...... ooooo000ooooo It was only eight thirty in the warm summer evening, he was sat beside the pool watching Bethan and Vanessa. He didn't have the heart to get them out, let them enjoy their time. Besides, it was a warm night, the pool was heated, and it was highly unlikely that they would catch something as mundane as a common cold after all. He smiled as Gemma leaned over and kissed him gently. "Penny for them ?" she asked, holing onto his hand. Carl smiled and sipped his drink, not really wanting to put into words what had been going through his mind of late ..... For the second time in as many years he found himself questioning his vocation, his role within a continually evolving Federation. It was plain to anyone who wanted to look that there were factions, races, out there that wanted nothing more than to see the demise of the 'all powerful' Federation, and some have gone to extreme lengths in their attempt to hasten that demise. lives had been lost, that, unfortunately, was part and parcel of what they did, but the losses took their toll, not only on the people responsible, but for the countess innocent people that have perished. He wondered what life would be like as a civilian, a lecturer, engineer, or even winemaker. "Just pondering the likelihood of picking you out of that chair and dropping you in the pool." he said, grinning like an old movie villain. "Oh I would say highly unlikely." she replied, refreshing his drink. He accepted the glass, grateful that she hadn't pressed him on her request for his thoughts. Gemma was very intelligent, she knew when to ask, and knew when not to push for answers. They would come when Carl decided he wanted to share ... He could hear a beeping and glanced towards the house before reluctantly getting up and answering the persistent Comm signal: =^= Admiral Torek .. Captain Lea Leemond .. Admiral Tetsutaro's Adjutant .. The Admiral asks if you could attend a meeting at zero nine hundred hours tomorrow at Command Headquarters =^= =^= I'll be there tell him =^= =^= Thank you Admiral =^= the woman said, closing the Comm from her end. He looked out to the garden wondering what they wanted of him now, then decided to wait and see. He returned to his seat and told Gemma about the meeting, shrugging when she asked if he knew what it may be about. She reached over and took his hand for a second before returning her gaze to the girls ...... ooooo000ooooo "There are certain Diplomats that are asking for further investigations to be carried out pertaining to the destruction and loss of life in the Mojave Incident." Sato Tetsutaro informed him. "Is that what they're calling it now 'The Mojave Incident' ?" he asked as he glanced at the other two Flag Officers in the room, "They 'DO' realize what the likely result of our not destroying the portal I suppose ?" "You know how these things work Carl." Admiral Clemence, Head of Starfleet's Public Relations division said, "They always want a scapegoat, I'm pretty sure if we hung you from the flag pole they would want it done a second time. I wouldn't let these doom-sayers worry you, we'll weather their complaints like we always do, and once the Raven is assigned a new mission it wall be forgotten as the rebuilding begins." "It is no good hiding the fact that they are calling for prosecutions Admiral." Sato said, shaking his head, "They are trying to get a vote of no confidence on the members of the original inquiry, citing the fact that the panel consisted of Humans only, and non of the Federation's other races were represented. We have insisted that it was fair and above board, but ...." Carl got up. "They can have my immediate resignation if that's what they want, but no member of my Staff will answer a single question regarding what happened. I made the decision as Commanding Officer, the responsibility is mine, and mine alone." "There's no need for that Carl ...." Sato said, rising and coming around his desk to take Torek's arm fatherly, "No-one is resigning, no-one is going to face questioning ... Go back to your home, enjoy your Leave. We just wanted to make you aware that certain 'dissatisfied' parties are trying to cause the President trouble. If they want to remove their Diplomats from Earth in protest, then they are welcome to do so. You did what was necessary to prevent an invasion that would certainly have overrun Earth, and eventually, each of the Federation Home-worlds in turn. Your data shows we could not have defeated the combined efforts of the Xallac and the Halanan. Rest easy, go home." Sato finished. Carl could see the other two Admiral's nodding in silent agreement. feeling anything but reassured he left the office of the Head of Starfleet Security ..........
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Deleted
Registered: Apr 18, 2024 2:31:03 GMT
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2016 4:35:07 GMT
Will listened as Marionette described her down time plans. "Sounds fun." he teased before answering Andae's question. "I'll be at the apartment for a day or two. Then, time permitting, I'm off to Germany to visit an old friend I haven't seen in a few years." he replied. "Her divorce is final and now that her ex has moved out, we can start spending some more time together again. What about you? Where are you headed to?" he asked the Engineer.
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Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Jan 21, 2016 0:42:14 GMT
Interesting, interesting... Blakus was thinking as they marched across the promenade - for it felt like a march, for Blakus alone, he imagined. As they rounded a corner into sight of a cafe with outdoor seating he was about to make the suggestion when it occurred to him that he had a question to answer.
"Where are you headed to?" Jamison emphasised this time.
"Oh, nowhere big, nothing too special, Rome to see my family. The mansion has fallen into disrepair. No one seems to take notice of such things in this age when the extent of your property is no longer considered an important social or economic advantage, something to be looked after. New World Economics, yes, but what about tradition?"
"Tradition's important," Will offered.
"Yes, exactly..." he nodded, pointing and shaking his index finger in approval. "Oh, that's excellent news about your friend. Not about her divorce, obviously," he hastily added, "But being able to spend more time with her. Commander, considering I'll only be the other side of the alps, how would you like a trip to Italy, or me to Germany? Or meet halfway? Have either of you two ever been skiing."
<Tag Jamison, Marionette>
It was an unusually engaged and maybe slightly hyperactive Blakus that'd chosen to reside in his person on this occasion; usually during downtime - and especially considering the depressing ordeal they'd had to go through at the Mojave dig site crater, where once had stood some fine old ruins of what'd been an invasion army deliverance system, constructed by a megalomaniacal quadrupedal race and their changeling allies bent on galactic domination - he would turn to morose states of mind, setting himself up in quarters on the Spacedock and spend his time musing, or reflecting upon recent events and how they had bearing on the next assignment while trying to keep thoughts of his family firmly away, locked away in a tritanium box and consigned metaphorically to the metaphorical antimatter storage pod area on the Raven.
"Shall we take a seat or do either of you have more pressing matters to attend to? If you do I take no offence; nor did I intend to word it in such self-centred terms." He'd pulled back a seat for himself outside the cafe, and was now looking to it, to them, and back again, a torturous and pitiable exercise that he repeated a few too many times, before finally taking the chair. "I'm going to have a coffee. Please, don't hinder yourselves by keeping me company."
He busied himself about padds, looking once more at the satellite map of Rome and the off-white mansion that lay at its outer limits near the district of Monte Sacro.
<Tag All>
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Calli Valente
Starfleet Intelligence
"Don't get in my way."
Registered: Aug 4, 2010 21:19:10 GMT
Posts: 534
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Post by Calli Valente on Jan 22, 2016 22:56:46 GMT
Following the docking of the Raven at Earth Space Station, she had taken the time to get her reports, and personal log, up to date ... She had no doubts that both Starfleet Intelligence, and Command, would both want to hear her version of events leading up the the ships eventual return. She wasn't blind, or deaf, the rumors already spreading throughout the ship courtesy of the countless maintenance personnel meandering throughout the massive ship, were rife. Not that she gave credit to rumors of course, having the facts was always preferable in her opinion .....
Over the coming days she had politely sat through the 'interviews' giving concise and truthful answers to each question in turn. It was what happened after she and the other Command Staff of the Raven had been cleared of any apparent wrongdoing, that things began to annoy her !
She had taken a couple of days to visit a friend in Bali and by pure chance had overheard a conversation about one of the Raven. Taking a shuttle back to San Francisco she began to ask questions of her own, after all, secracy was the name of the proverbial game, as she always said, but her own people keeping the fact that they were trying to persuade Torek and the crew to undertake one of their 'covert' missions and keeping their intentions from her, was stepping over that invisible line she liked to keep track of ... She had gone to Command Headquarters and to the offices of the Intelligence Division, marching past two of the Officers there to prevent people from simply 'walking in' she headed to the one person's office that would have answers.
"He isn't in Calli." She turned at the voice, eyeing Captain Nia Lemond, Sato Tetsutaro's Adjutant, "Let's go to my office, we'll have a coffee while we wait."
"Where is he ?"
"Out." was the curt reply as Nia motioned towards her office door, her eyes making more 'order' than request. Calli couldn't help notice how quiet it had suddenly got as she walked ahead.
"What's going on Nia ?" she said as she sat herself down on the large sofa accepting the offered coffee, "You know Admiral Torek is being pressured to undertake one of our assignments, it's not right Nia, after what that ship has gone thr ...."
"We've dropped the idea Calli, so you can relax OK." Captain Lemond assured Calli as she sat down next to her, "We did want the Raven, purely as a means to an end. We've done it on countless occasions Calli, it just happens that this time it was a ship you were directly involved with, and the fact that Admiral Torek is your half brother didn't sway our initial resolve ... You do know we could have put whatever pressure we needed to to ensure Torek's, compliance, right ?" Calli smiled at this comment. Nia wasn't that naive surely, unless they thought they actually did have some hold over the Admi .... Then it occurred to her, Gemma and the Children, but Nia was ahead of her there too !
"..... and no, we wouldn't use his new girlfriend, or the girls to influence his decision."
"He's going to marry her."
"Oh, he's told you that, interesting." Nia said, filing the information away in her head.
"No, he's not said a word, but I know him, and he isn't going to let Gemma get away. He loves her, that's obvious, and as for the girls, well, they are his world. He would throw his Command in the trash in a heartbeat if he thought anything could happen to them, and quicker if he thought they were being used as leverage." Nia smiled, she admired Calli, and her unwavering loyalty.
"Admiral Tetsutaro is at his home, in Geneva ....." she said, getting up and taking Calli's empty coffee cup, "I'm sure he wouldn't mind you turning up. In fact, if you want to give me an hour or so, I'll jump on the shuttle with you. You can wait here if you like, I'll have someone bring you a sandwich if you're hungry."
"I'll be fine, I'll help myself to another coffee while I wait." Calli said, smiling as the Captain left the office and entered her own through the adjoining door. The second Lemond left Calli moved to Sato's desk .... Glancing at the closed door between the two offices she sat and activated the small screen ..... Five minutes later she had what she was looking for. Shutting down the monitor she got herself another coffee and smiled at the young Lieutenant who entered after knocking. She was carrying a tray of assorted sandwiches. Calli told her to put them on the small table next to the settee and she couldn't help notice the clandestine glance at the Admiral's desk as she was leaving. Calli grinned, glancing at Lemond's door as she took one of the sandwiches.
'If the good Captain isn't sat watching my every movement, then she isn't half the woman Sato needs as his personal assistant' Calli thought ..........
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Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Jan 27, 2016 1:02:49 GMT
Blakus stood in the cockpit of the shuttlecraft as it sped through the cloud layers up the Tiber en route to Rome. Dropping through the clouds, he saw that they were just passing Fiumicino, the town that'd nearly been absorbed by Rome during the rapid expansion just before World War III, and whose coastline had absorbed the sea and made new flatlands extending out some two hundred metres from the shore.
Rome came up before them, a mass of wriggling capillaries that were the suburbs, the connecting arteries of which led to the heart and the still-standing colosseum of Roman antiquity besides the numerous other old or ancient buildings. He sat in the co-pilot's chair, wondering what he might say to Lucius and the rest of his family when he touched down in Monte Sacro.
There was a Starfleet installation at Monte Sacro; the shuttlecraft lowered itself onto a platform on the roof of the main building and - with a hiss of hydraulics from the shuttle's hatch - Blakus disembarked. From there he took the installation's land transport to the gates of the mansion - degraded they were, ivy coiling up the pillars either side, the masonry cracked and parched an off-white, one of the set of double gates was loose by a hinge, such that it was off-kilter with the other gate; both were rusting. They creaked as Andae entered through them, rust coming loose and littering the ground.
Now he was before the mansion, and several members of his family, he now saw, had come out to greet him, "Andae," his mother wrapped her arms around him being in a sort of breathless exaltation.
"Hello, mother." To his left, Rome lay spread out beneath them, early evening sunlight casting the buildings with a tinge of orange, and shuttlecraft and civilian transports streamed across the sky in the gathering dusk. The greeting with his father was very slightly cold though cordial, and as was usual with the man, he demonstrated his ability to blow away effortlessly all ill sentiments.
They started their walk down the esplanade towards the mansion, this platform on its rise beside the tarmac path to the right and the relief caustic with thorny bushes that dropped away on their left. "So, how is Lucius, everybody else?" he asked.
"Lucius is now in the city. He's taken a post at a university. A man of letters, people call him, I don't know what that..."
"Yes, he's doing very well for himself," his mother said.
Andae was stunned; Lucius, the brother who confined himself to his room and wrote endlessly on old pieces of parchment great works that should've made him a renowned writer, but as that confinement had gone on, Lucius had drifted away and had ended his work, his correspondence with others in academia, his treatises about the culture of the Federation and the moral correctness or otherwise of it spreading its values throughout the galaxy. That was at least the dead end he'd been in the last time Andae had visited home, actual home, in the Eternal City. To know Lucius was back in the city lifted half the weight that'd been on Andae's shoulders in coming back here.
They entered the airy and - at first glance one might've thought - abandoned mansion, heading along the wide main corridor to the foyer off which lay several sizeable rooms. The other half of his uneasiness lay in the patriarchal department, and now - of this he'd been unaware - added to this he had to deal with the presence of his incorrigible cousin Dacian Peractio, on leave, apparently, from Earth's Civil Defence Corps. Last year he had been reassigned from service in the field to train new recruits at the academy in Marseille.
"Andae!" the soldier/engineer clapped him on the shoulder, rushing in from a room nearby. "This is incredible. Down to the Tiber we go," he started dancing, "Down to the Tiber we go! Or shall we say Marseille, if I can avoid any of my fellow teachers."
"Yes, we're both on leave, Dacian, though I'm in no particular hurry -"
"I am!" he bounded into the spacious living room. "Ok," he sat on a couch and raised his hand, "You're right. I'll be serious for a moment," he was starting to pour out glasses of Courvoisier on the nearby table - dusty, the odd moth here and there where they'd fallen from the lampshade - the structure so tired and ancient that even their lifespan and irksome existences were quelled and existinguished, possible through boredom.
"I'm being pressured, do you know, by your uncle, my father, to join Starfleet," Dacian said, raising the glass to Andae's - the latter disbelieving at his cousin's audacity and irrepressibility to start having a good time even in what were supposed to be stayed, solemn affairs such as these, in meeting one's family again where all the loose ties had been left just as that, loose and unrepaired, hollow bones those had who lived in the mansion, no vital life source within them during times of relatives' absences to think how they might repair things while their descendants were away.
"Really," Andae lifted the glass of Courvoisier tentatively, the aeriated mansion seeming bleak and disused around him - a draught blew through from the line of rooms that led on from here through double doors to the back of the mansion, where through a cracked window could be seen a suggestion of greenery, overgrown - the grounds out the back.
"He's been saying it for years, since before I joined the Defence Corps, and... now," Dacian said, "I have to admit, teaching engineer recruits to the Corps doesn't excite me as much as I thought it would. So... who knows?" he said, laughing again.
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Marionette
Commander
Dr. Soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end.
Registered: Mar 2, 2012 3:26:33 GMT
Posts: 285
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Post by Marionette on Jan 27, 2016 3:09:57 GMT
"Shall we take a seat or do either of you have more pressing matters to attend to? If you do I take no offence; nor did I intend to word it in such self-centred terms." He'd pulled back a seat for himself outside the cafe, and was now looking to it, to them, and back again, a torturous and pitiable exercise that he repeated a few too many times. Marionette, not understanding what he was trying to convey, echoed his movements of looking back and forth. He finally sat down in the chair "I'm going to have a coffee. Please, don't hinder yourselves by keeping me company."
"I shall see you at a subsequent juncture, then." she said, before turning and striding away to the nearest transporter bay linked with earth spacedock, to see if lieutenant Sent, a denobulan aboard the Raven, was available to assist her in progressing with self-upgrades.
Beaming up to the orbital facility, along with yet more earth-assigned technicians and spacedock engineers, she checked with the Station Postmaster to see if any particular packages had arrived for her. 'No joy', as he said. She then concluded that Olfactory upgrades would have to wait, as the borg implants to be modified, had not yet come across her attentions.
She briefly looked out an internal grand-window to see the Raven missing a Nacelle, with Worker-bee shuttles and a Danube runabout clustering around the remaining Nacelle, before she tapped her comm-badge =A="lieutenant Sent, may i inquire if you are currently preoccupied ?"=A=
=A= No i'm not, as you say, 'currently preoccupied', even though i'm in the Station Cafeterium with a slice of layered, cheese, cake ....' =A= he said, fairly amused as to why the CNO would want to talk to a line-grade Lieutenant who majored in Operations and just barely double-minored in .... Astrometrics and Basic Cybernetics. =A= "Would this happen to have something to do with my minoring in Basic Cybernetics?"=A= he said, beating her to the punch, so to speak.
=A= "Yes it does. Would you be interested in assisting me with the designing and construction of upgrades ?"=A= Marionette said.
=A= "I would be very interested, shall we meet in mechatronics lab 4 on deck 300?"=A= Sent said, picking up the half-eaten slice of cheesecake and palming it, to walk out of the cafeterium.
=A="Yes, i will meet you there."=A= Marionette said, before tapping her comm-badge off and closing the line. The Gynoid then went to go find a turbolift, the nearest of which was a large cargo elevator that could hold a small shuttle's worth of freight. She pressed the button, and momentarily, the wide semi-circle of the door slid open, revealing a station commander with two hover-carts of cargo, apparently marked as import-holding items.
"Greetings, Commander" she said, "Computer, Deck 300"
"Commander." he said, smiling and nodding politely. The effect was otherwise lost in her.
The cargo lift descended into the lower portions of the station, with no conversation, and Marionette exited the turbolift at deck 300. Walking up to the heavy doors, she spoke. "Computer, request access to Mechatronics Lab 4. Commander Marionette, Chief Navigation Officer, Uss Raven-B"
"Voiceprint confirmed. Access Granted. Enter when ready." the computer said. Marionette chose to wait for Sent, who arrived momentarily in a personnel turbolift.
"Hello Commander, nice to officially, meet you." Sent said, offering a handshake. Marionette shook hands, as per the traditional greeting protocol among most of starfleet/earth human culture. She then handed the denobulan officer the PADD with her chosen upgrade. "Ah, how interesting." He then spent several minutes looking it over, before commenting "As far as i can tell, Commander, your math projections are precise, but given that you are trying to replicate or approximate a fairly intricate reproductive system, im inclined to suggest we bring in a Gynecologist. Fortunately, i know someone with both tact, and expertise."
=A= "Doctor Samara-Vardja, this is Lieutenant Sent, from the Raven. Would you be able to meet us at Mechatronics lab 4, Commander Marionette and i have a project which is in need of your expertise." =A=
Anita Samara-Vardja, having finished up all 5 of her appointments quite early, was slowly slipping into boredom when the rest of her patients (2) cancelled. Getting a comms call, she tapped her combadge =A="i just finished up for the day, but anyway, what sort of project is it? "=A=
=A= " I seek to construct an as-functional-as-possible artificial female reproductive system apparatus." =A= Marionette said, speaking over Sent's comm-badge line.
Samara-Vardja couldn't help but have the feeling that they were going to completely obliterate something, without her consultation. =A=" i'll be right down, don't do anything foolish in the meantime." =A= and ended the line.
Grabbing her go-to medical emergencies gear bag, Anita rather dreadingly made her way to deck 300, having transposed imaginings of two little kids trying to play doctor, and then trying to play doctor frankenstein.
(to be continued)
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Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Jan 28, 2016 22:22:15 GMT
Blakus and Peractio took the Starfleet land transport into the centre of Rome and disembarked near the Piazza Venezia. The modernity of their surroundings didn't eliminate the feeling of ancientness in the city, especially with the famous colosseum being visible over the nearest buildings. They ended up in a cafe near the Tiber river. Fortunately he believed he'd managed to dissuade any engineer friends from joining him once they'd learnt he was here. The point in coming to Rome was to spend time with his family, and if there were going to be times when he was away from the desolation of the mansion, then they would be spent in the company of relatives.
The problem with the mansion was that it was large enough and - currently - furnished enough to accommodate nearly twenty people, and coincidentally, most of his family now seemed to be on leave, or holiday, or whatever their profession deemed to call it - therefore, most of their nearest relatives had gathered at the mansion, including noticeably the Peractio branch and the cognomenless branch of the Blakus's, that of Andae's family. It was a definite issue with Roman families, the nomen of Blakus covered a great many separate families who could all claim relation to one another - no incidental matches in surname between unrelated persons such as in the common case of two people going by the name of Smith, virtually all Blakus's were related to each other.
Fortunately, however, the known world was no longer populated largely by Romans. Blakus and his family were an exception to the rule.
"Commander. What's that in your hand?" Blakus felt an elbow rest on his shoulder and a familiar voice. He turned, experiencing a sinking sensation especially as Dacian was looking at the person over Andae's shoulder with some apprehension, even anger. It was William Bligh.
Blakus slammed his glass to the table and glared at the new arrival. "It's a martini. How did you find me?!"
"Don't concern yourself with that, Andae," another person stepped up behind Peractio's chair, who was now shifting about uncomfortably, wondering if he shouldn't be elsewhere, or in fact if he preferred to be elsewhere. Blakus looked up and saw Commander Holland, now tracking him as Holland took one of the vacant chairs and Bligh, stepping around Andae's chair, the other.
"So is this a college reunion?" Andae asked. "I had been hoping to enjoy shore leave with my family. And now what do I have but two old shipmates turning up at the same time?" It did take him back, he admitted, to the Victory-C days when he'd had Holland as his assistant and the then Ensign Bligh a member of his Vic engineering team, now growing-in-fame in the Engineer Corps' and at the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He felt slightly surpassed; Holland the XO of the USS Khufu and Bligh gaining renown as one of SCE's chief innovators.
"We wondering what you were up to, Andae," Holland said, "One doesn't go to Rome just to visit family."
"One does," he countered, pleased with himself.
"Can I help either of you two gentlemen?" Dacian asked suddenly, put off by the presence of his most-hated type of people, Starfleet officers. "Or shall I make myself scarce? Perhaps you have some mission for my cousin." He stood, making his way into the bar, and was accidentally tripped by Commander Holland and went sprawling to the floor. There was laughter and a waiter came along to help the civil defence soldier up. He shrugged off the help and squared up to Holland, "Why don't I put you in your place..."
Chairs flew and waiters' trays were smashed from their hands, Andae had his elbow rested on the table watching the scene dejectedly when the table was flipped over by the struggling officers and soldier, then he found his chair tipping over backwards perilously close to the waterfront.
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,163
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Post by Carl Torek on Jan 30, 2016 11:44:00 GMT
Having been reassured that Intelligence was no longer pursuing the Raven and her crew for whatever nefarious mission they had in mind, things began, albeit slowly, to return to some semblance of normality .... The fight Commander Blakus found himself in had been resolved, following a night in a cell for all concerned. They had also been ordered to pay compensation to the owner of the property following the damage caused. Sporting a blackened eye, Andae had reported to Carl, knowing he was about to receive a reprimand, and one justly deserved. He was and is, a Starfleet Officer, and should have acted as such. Torek tried hard to keep a stern expression on his face as his Chief engineer stood to attention before him, the ships' Executive Officer leaning casually against the bulkhead beside the ornate bar: "So, who won ?" Jamison asked, a wry grin forming. "That's debatable, given Starfleet Security crashed the party before we could erm, resolve the issue." Blakus said, eyes still locked on a section of the large plexi-glass window behind his Commanding Officer, and the gantry cocooning the Raven beyond. "Oh, sit down Andae, it's not the first fight either of us has been in, and I'm pretty sure it won't be the last." Carl said, getting up and pouring cognac into three glasses before handing one to each of his friends, "You want me to get the Doctor up here to see to that ?" he said, pointing at the blackened eye, but Andae declined, citing it would remind him to duck next time .... With the tension evaporating, the three friends could relax and enjoy the aged, expensive, drink. They discussed the progress of the extensive refit the Raven was currently undergoing: The new nacelles were in place and tested, the new warp core and no less than two replacement cores, had been fitted and stored within the ship. Countless upgrades to primary and secondary systems were drawing to completion and Blakus was confident the Raven could depart for open space within the week, 'IF' that was, they were to be given another mission at all. "Don't worry. I've been assured that despite continuing objections to our remaining at large, the Federation Council, and indeed the President herself, are not about to kowtow to those people who are simply looking for a scapegoat to mask their own misgivings regarding the possible outcome had we, I, not taken the actions we did, so you can rest easy." "..... and Intelligence ?" Will asked. "They glanced an opportunity to get hold of the Raven." Carl said, shrugging as he glanced at the chronometer above the large view-screen on the opposite wall, "OK, it's lunchtime, we can have something brought up here while we continue with the ships' status reports, then we'll look at recalling the Department Heads and Deputies. I think we can leave the majority of the crew to their own devices for the next few days, unless Command suddenly need us out there of course." he said, getting up and refreshing their glasses in turn .......... < tag : All >OOC :: Right everyone. We will shortly commence Mission 29, so feel free to close off any Shore Leave activities you were running at your leisure.
Regards,
Steve.
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Marionette
Commander
Dr. Soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end.
Registered: Mar 2, 2012 3:26:33 GMT
Posts: 285
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Post by Marionette on Jan 30, 2016 16:35:15 GMT
(some hours later) Finishing up the completion of 'upgrade F', as Sent and Samara-Vardja had agreed upon calling it, Marionette carefully inserted the complex-looking thingie into its carrying case. According to the design specifications, it would fit within her pelvic sub-frame with precisely 5 centimeters of space-area for mounting bracket and tool clearance. However, the trio of officers had still not managed to solve the nerve-impulse interface problems. She chose to delay the actual installing of it into her Pelvic frame because of the interface problems. Perhaps either Marionette or Blakus would have some insight at a later time. Samara-Vardja spoke " Now remember, Commander, this contraption you've designed, is not entirely independent, the way a biological woman's parts are. You're going to have to provide a reservoir of lubricant with an external refill port, and keep all possible parts of it clean.""and what of the Irregular spontaneous activation of the upgrade ?" Marionette asked. Samara-Vardja smiled knowingly "That's a design feature. Enjoy." patted the gynoids shoulder, and walked out of the lab. Marionette lifted her eyebrows at Sent, who merely shrugged. Picking up the shoebox-sized case, Marionette once again thanked Lt Sent for his assistance, and went to 'show off' to Ande Blakus with her newly created prototype upgrade. <Tag; Blakus, and Torek ?>
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Andae Blakus
Moderator ..
Commander 1C
Registered: Oct 17, 2007 22:48:27 GMT
Posts: 1,452
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Post by Andae Blakus on Jan 31, 2016 20:33:24 GMT
Blakus was aggravated to say the least; he'd not thrown a single punch nor tried to protect his old colleagues from the Victory, nor his cousin Dacian who'd been on the other side of the quarrel. He'd merely sat at the table watching them until it'd been flipped over - an empty brandy glass had shot into his eye - and his chair had toppled backwards, the engineer being deposited into the Tiber river.
Soaked and with a dull ache in his eye where the glass had struck him, he along with the other offenders had been shepherded into a detention cell. The night had been miserable and dull, and once the cell guards had realised he was at risk of catching pneumonia or something of the sort, they'd provided a change of clothes: Federation internment camp fatigues, which hadn't improved his mood. In the morning, released much to the chagrin of some and the amusement of others by the Starfleet Security personnel manning the cells, he'd made his way back to the Raven, donned a uniform and reported to Carl to in all likelihood be dressed down again.
The exchange passed comfortably, merrily even, and he'd afterwards loped his way back to his quarters for a few hours rest, only a few, for he knew he had soon to be in engineering to oversee the rest of the upgrades to the primary and secondary systems, currently being carried out by the base personnel. Perennially untrusting of such people, Blakus had virtually seized control of all their work and made himself master of the situation, directing their efforts and having them watched intensively by his own staff.
He'd dived back and forth between different groups of Raven engineers and maintenance personnel, resolving disputes, indicating how the work ought to be carried out and generally berated the particular maintenance tech responsible for the foul up; it was all necessary, he decided, for to allow them to carry on dismantling Raven systems - without knowledge of the nuances of the PTC's reaction to the energy coursing through it from the reaction chamber, or the delayed response of the magnetic constrictors to a sudden irregular flow of antimatter reactant, or the quicker than usual uptake of plasma by the warp coils - would've ruined the Raven's overall power and propulsive capacity faster than he could've finished the upgrades himself.
He was working at the pool table when Marionette entered with a small carry case. It was placed next to him. "Commander, I'm quite busy..." he said, rapidly tapping buttons, "What's this, another EPS relay? Take it to Lieutenant Milyanov, he's distributing them for installation." She opened the box. He looked in confused, doing a double take on the contents of the box, "What is...? You're kidding." Hiding his terror, he smirked at the gynoid, the smile fading from his face as she appeared unmoved.
"Umm..." he cleared his throat. "You needed some assistance with this?" She explained it was to do with the nerve-impulse interface. He took a close look, "Well... it is an impressive piece of kit, no doubting that. Who built this for you? I'll see if I can access the specs from this console... - if I can see what they had in mind for their interface I should be able to pick out any flaws."
<Tag Marionette, Torek>
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Marionette
Commander
Dr. Soong's penchant for whimsical names seems to have no end.
Registered: Mar 2, 2012 3:26:33 GMT
Posts: 285
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Post by Marionette on Feb 1, 2016 0:45:10 GMT
"Commander, I'm quite busy..." Blakus said, rapidly tapping buttons, "What's this, another EPS relay? Take it to Lieutenant Milyanov, he's distributing them for installation." She opened the box. He looked in confused, doing a double take on the contents of the box, "What is...? You're kidding." he said, emoting a facial expression that she read as 'amused'.
"I understand that you are quite preoccupied with The Raven's technical matters. Installation of the upgrade is not needed at this time, due to continuing technical complications."
"Umm..." he cleared his throat. "You needed some assistance with this?" She explained it was to do with the nerve-impulse interface. He took a close look, "Well.... it is an impressive piece of kit, no doubting that. Who built this for you? I'll see if I can access the specs from this console... - if I can see what they had in mind for their interface I should be able to pick out any flaws."
"It was developed according to my own initial designs, with assistance and input from Lieutenant Sent, and Doctor Anita Samara-Vardja." Marionette said, proffering the accompanying PADD with the contraptions specifications and revisions. She pressed afew buttons on the LCARS panel, and the information went from the PADD, to the 'pool table' console, and into the Raven's computer library.
Milyanov walked up "Oh good, another EPS - wait, is that what i think it is ?" he said, looking back and forth from the case to Marionette, and then to Blakus, and back again. He decided that keeping to business-at-hand would be the .... Safer, course of action. "Any more EPS relays in yet ?" the Lieutenant said flatly.
<Tag; Blakus >
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Carl Torek
Command Staff ..
Site Executive Officer Ranks Officer
Fleet Admiral
"UTRINQUE PARATUS"
Registered: Jun 17, 2006 22:34:35 GMT
Posts: 6,163
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Post by Carl Torek on Feb 1, 2016 18:59:04 GMT
With the refit of the Raven complete, the ship had been moved away from the orbital gantry and back into the dome section of the Star-base to have the final touches done ... They would be departing in hours on a routine pick-up mission so everyone had been recalled. Will, Andae, and Calli were all in the Admiral's ready room having a drink and talking about their up-coming assignment when Andae broached the subject of the Android and her, upgrades .....
"You are 'KIDDING' right !" Carl said, having almost spit his cognac over his desk in complete shock, "She wants to fit ....."
"External elements of Female gena ...." Andae began, but Carl held up a hand quickly.
"We get it Andae, we get it." he said, shaking his head, "What the hell is she thinking of for heavens sake. Where, and under what set of circumstances would it, they, ever be required ?"
"She's obviously attempting to make hersel ...." Calli began, but again Carl halted the sentence, he tapped the Comm link and ordered the Android to the ready room immediately. The others got up making ready to leave, but he wasn't letting them off that easy, "Stay where you are." he ordered, getting up and refreshing his drink while they waited. moments later the door chime activated. Carl tapped the activator and Marionette entered, eyeing the others she stood before the desk and waited while her Commanding Officer seemed to be having some difficulty in beginning.
"You requested I attend Admiral. Was there something ?" the Android said, eyebrows raised as she asked the question. Carl cleared his throat and began:
"I believe you have requested assistance in incorporating numerous 'upgrades' ....."
"Yes Admiral, I have asked Commander Blakus to assist in upgrades to my ge ....."
"No." Torek interrupted the Gynoid.
"Admiral ?"
"You have designed and constructed, gender specific, apparatus, which you now wish incorporated into your, body, am I getting this correct ?" Carl began, still unable to believe what he was dealing with as the android simply nodded, he looked at the others but they simply sat in silence offering no help at all. He looked up at Marionette, "OK, I don't profess to have the first inkling as to 'why' you would even want to have these, accouterments fitted, for the life of me It's beyond anything I've encountered, or thought to come across when I agreed to allow you on the Raven as a serving Officer."
"Admiral, if I may ?" Marionette asked.
"No, I need to deal with this now, and while I fully respect you as an Starfleet Officer and as my Chief Navigation Officer, I can't see what you would hope to achieve with these, additions to your, to, you." he said, struggling again.
"Maybe the Commander is simply attempting to define her physical features to the most approximate female form, both internally and externally ?" Calli offered, eyeing the android with honest confusion.
"If I may ?" Marionette tried again, but Torek wasn't finished.
"Look. I have to be honest here ... No-one has any point of reference regarding what you are attempting, and frankly, if you had walked in here and told me you were 'pregnant' I would have been less surprised ..... I'm not denying your need to, upgrade, for want of a better word, we all want to be the best we can be, but, that said ..." he faltered yet again, draining his glass and moving around the table to the cabinet, four pairs of eyes watching him, he retook his seat and thought for a long moment. He knew he should allow the Commander her chance to explain, and knew he was maybe being extremely prudish, even naive, but she was an Officer aboard his ship, "....... OK, if, Commander Blakus or anyone he assigns to assist, are willing to incorporate the upgrades you have designed, then I can't object, but there is one condition attached, and that is: From leaving this room your 'upgrades' will not be mentioned again unless to those I have specifically designated, do we understand each other Commander ?"
"I believe we do, Admiral, though ...." Marionette said, no hint whatsoever on her feelings regarding his instructions.
"Then that will be all Commander. We will be departing Space-dock in approximately twelve hours, please ensure your ready" Carl said, making it clear the meeting was concluded. Marionette turned and left the ready room.
Carl lifted his glass, hardly surprised to find it empty again ..........
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