NRPG: Okay, no need to panic. It's not really another day, just a flashback, yeah, just a flashback. I just needed a little time to take it all in. Enjoy this musical montage *starts electronic music* Display the Boudicca's MSD. Shots of the Boudicca firings its phasers and starbursts, umm... torpedoes. See scenes of the Boudicca doing some fancy flying interspersed with shots of the crew. Today's compile index is brought to you by the Firm: Day -14 (Somewhere - Shuttle Bay - Ensign Gates - 0800) Day 1 (USS Boudicca - Ten Forward - Bar Manager Mei Ling - 0515) (USS Boudicca,Ten Forward - Arania - 0516) (USS Boudicca -Ten Forward - OPS Lt (jg) Donald Johnson - 0520) (USS Boudicca - Jeffries' tube - ACEO Jael al-Sharif - 10.00) (USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge - ACEO Jael al-Sharif - 11.59) (USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge-AOPS Lt. Tollian Yalix-1230) (USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge - OPS Lt (Jg) Donald Johnson - 1245) (USS Boudicca - Johnson's Office - OPS Lt (jg) Donald Johnson - 1250) (USS Boudicca - CEOs Office - aCEO Jael al-Sharif - 15.00) (USS Boudicca - Engineering - ACEO Lorimar - 1515) (USS Boudicca - Main Engineering - aCEO Jael al-Sharif - 15.20) (USS Boudicca - Bridge - Acting CO Archibald Stakes - 1525) (USS Boudicca - Bridge - OPS Lt (jg) Donald Johnson - 1526) (USS Boudicca - Ready Room - Acting CO Archibald Stakes - 1527) (USS Boudicca - Shuttle Bay - ACMO Gates - 1550 ) (USS Boudicca - Ready Room - ACMO Gates - 1700 ) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mission: The Fires of Heaven, Day -14 Stardate: 2407.06.14 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< (Somewhere - Shuttle Bay - Ensign Gates - 0800) Georgia stood to one side and watched as her belongings were loaded onto the shuttle. She couldn't help wondering if there had ever been a time she had felt as alone and frightened as she did now. Her left hand buried deep in her jacket pocket and sought out the small collection of stones she knew were there. Her fingers sifted through them, briefly touching each one before rejecting it and moving on to the next, until they closed around the one she was after. The cool black stone fit snugly in the palm of her hand and she felt herself begin to relax. There had been a time, she pondered, when she had almost felt like she did now. Only that time she hadn't been alone. It was the day of her graduation, and all around her families had been hugging their goodbyes to her classmates, while Georgia stood awkwardly with her parents, each of them struggling for something to talk about. Unka Gates had been sneaking what she thought were discreet glances at her watch, although her daughter had noticed every time. Craig Gates had stood with his hands jammed in his pockets, a look on his face that made it plainly obvious he would rather be back at work doing something constructive. Georgia had just wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. Eventually her mother had given her hand an awkward squeeze, wished her luck and then departed, with Georgia’s father in tow. No touching scenes for the Gates family. In fact when Georgia had thought about it afterwards, she realised it was the most affection her mother had shown her for a long time. This time however there were no fond farewells from family or classmates. Instead there was just Georgia, alone and off to who knew where. All she had been told was that there was a vacancy in the fleet for her, and she was to depart immediately. She hadn't even had time to say her farewells to her workmates at the Starfleet Medical Centre where she had been working since graduating. ~but then again, will anyone really miss me when I'm gone~ She turned away from the shuttle, and took a last glance at what had been her home, not really having any idea if she would see it again. Her hand formed a tight fist in her pocket, squeezing the piece of hematite so hard her palm hurt. "We're ready Ensign." She nodded to show she had heard the pilot, closed her eyes briefly, trying to lock in the last few memories she had, of here, of him, of everything, before turning and entering the shuttle. ~here goes nothing~ >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mission: The Fires of Heaven, Day 1 Stardate: 2407.06.28 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< (USS Boudicca - Ten Forward - Bar Manager Mei Ling - 0515) "My thanks, I am blessed by the Goddess, that is Her bounty to me." Arania said, her eyes on the promised meal as she nodded solemnly. "Every day, thanks I give to Her for Her wonderful gifts, and when I play and sing, they also are my thanks and prayers to Her." Mei Ling nodded politely. She herself wasn't a believer in gods or goddesses but she respected others' beliefs. "I'm sure you do her honour with your playing," she said with a smile. "There you go," she added, placing the plates in front of Arania. "If you want anything else, let me know. More coffee, either of you?" Arania placed her pipes gently on the counter beside her plate of eggs. "More caw-fee would be welcomed, and do you have hummers sweetness?" She asked, smiling brightly and pushing her cup and saucer towards the young woman. "For the black bread." "Hummer's sweetness?" Mei Ling asked, puzzled. Then it dawned on her what Arania might be referring to. "Honey?" she asked, fetching a jar so Arania could see it. (reply Arania) Mei-Ling fetched some more coffee and refilled both Arania's and Donald's cups. Arania meanwhile spoke some words over the food before she began eating, and then as she tucked in, she began making appreciative noises. Mei Ling smiled to herself as she went to see to another customer. It was good to see someone enjoying their food! (reply Arania iyw, any) (posted by Liz) (USS Boudicca,Ten Forward - Arania - 0516) "More caw-fee would be welcomed, and do you have hummers' sweetness?" Arania asked, smiling brightly and pushing her cup and saucer towards the young woman. "For the black bread." "Hummer's sweetness?" Mei Ling asked in a puzzled tone. "Honey?" she asked, fetching a jar so Arania could see it. Reaching for the jar of amber-colored stuff, Arania took off the lid. It looked like hummers' sweetness. She inhaled. It smelled like it too. She spread some on her black bread. "Yes, that is it. It is called hunnee? It should be called hummy, no?" She laughed heartily, delighted with her little joke. Mei-Ling fetched some more coffee and refilled both cups while Arania blessed the food in the name of the Goddess before she began eating. The food was delicious and she began making appreciative noises. Suddenly realizing what she was doing, Arania blushed and looked over to the man sitting close by. "My regrets Sir, it is that on my world food such as this is not so easily found unless one is of noble birth. It is better than the porridge I am used to, when there is actually something to eat, and I am enjoying it all so much, if I am not careful soon I will be as fat as a Hirdat!" (a giant wild pig). Arania puffed out her cheeks, crossed her eyes and moved her arms out as if her body had grown, made noises resembling a rutting boar and then continued eating, being careful not to make happy sounds. (reply Donald, any) (posted by Sal) (USS Boudicca -Ten Forward - OPS Lt (jg) Donald Johnson - 0520) Donald watched with amusement at the appearance of Matthew's lady. She had made herself scarce for the past few months and he was glad to see that she was venturing out on her own. As much as he was happy for them, he was saddened that it would happen during such stressful times. But it was nice that they had each other. He tried not to be too intrusive, as he ate his meal. It was quite delicious and it occupied him a good bit. One unfortunate side effect of his love for food was that he could get lost in it and forget others around him. And this particular meal was quite good. The coffee had started things of nicely and had just gotten better from there. The Iradonian had even provided some beautiful music to accompany his meal. He was just finishing off his meal when he noticed unusual sounds coming from the newcomer without the aid of instruments. She seemed to catch herself and seemed a bit embarrassed. "My regrets Sir, it is that on my world food such as this is not so easily found unless one is of noble birth. It is better than the porridge I am used to, when there is actually something to eat, and I am enjoying it all so much, if I am not careful soon I will be as fat as a Hirdat!" she said, while making motions illustrating what Donald presumed was a Hirdat. He smiled and said, "Please, don't worry about it. While I have been very fortunate to have had access to regular meals, I have had the occasion that has made me appreciate food. And Ms. Hikaru provides truly excellent fare. I would join you in making happy sounds were I not so contented. My name is Donald and you are?" (Reply Arania) "Pleased to meet you. Have you given any thought on how you will spend your days on Boudicca, now that you've had time to settle in?" asked Donald. (Reply Arania) "Perhaps you would do us the honor of playing in Ten-Forward once a week or so. I'm sure the crew would appreciate it. Don't you think, Ms. Hikaru?" suggested Donald (Reply Mei Ling, Arania) (USS Boudicca - Jeffries' tube - ACEO Jael al-Sharif - 10.00) The electrono-computer voice echoed loudly in the grating-covered Jeffries' tube. =^= All Senior Officers, report to the Observation Lounge for a briefing at 1200 hours =^= "Oh Gre'thor on a Flamin' stick!!!" Jael shouted as she shook her hand whilst removing it as quickly as possible from the place that she had just misconnected a sub-junction power relay. Sparks flew. The rest of the team looked at her. "Um... Don't you think that's what a Klingon would say?" She asked, trying to sound a little intrigued, "I mean, if they just did what I did? I'm trying to learn different cultures most interesting expressions for such moments of frustration, anger and well... Sheer stupidity" ~Sheer stupidity is right LISE ARIANNA!~ She scolded herself. The rest of the engineering team sort of shook their heads and continued on with their work. Lise sucked on her finger to relieve the heat. She hadn't burned herself badly, but the situation had been a little shocking, to say the least. Her communicator chirped again. ~Wow, it's a party!~ She thought sarcastically. =^=McLaren to al-Sharif. Can you join me in my office please?=^= "Understood sir, I'm right on my way" Lise said in her calmest Jael voice possible. This morning, while only 10.00 had already turned out to be somewhat of a gong show. Lise clambered her way out of the Jeffries tube and went down to the CEO's office. Hesitantly, her finger rested over the enunciator. She pressed it and waited. (Reply McLaren) (Reply McLaren, any) (Posted by Kat) (USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge - ACEO Jael al-Sharif - 11.59) Lise scooted into a seat at the back of the room at the very last minute possible. She listened intently as the newly-promoted Sevant detailed the mission that lay before them. She watched the visuals on the monitor and reflected upon the plan as a whole. Defeat the MDF, this was serious. Her eyes quickly and skillfully identified the Klingon ships that were scattered amongst the rest of the fleet. She shuddered and reminded herself that she didn't appear as Lise Arianna in this particular moment. Had she, there might have been some internal strife. Perhaps she was beginning to understand PART of the reason for her apparent banishment. PERHAPS, but that still didn't mean she liked it. The presence of LoDona's ship and Falthgood onboard did not reassure her, surely Falthgood was aware of the situation and LoDona wasn't currently one of her favourite people. Instead, she had stayed out of the way, done her duty, arrived at the meeting on time. In short, Lise Arianna was going to have Jael dot her I's and cross her t's to the best of her ability, (of course, while staying in character), in an effort to avoid any encounters with those men. Stolev was the first to speak: he elucidated the tactical issues he saw from the proposed project. Lise, however, was considering the project form another angle -- that of engineering. While the Boudicca was currently in the best shape she had been in for a while, taking part in a massive barrage into Sol, would not necessitate her staying in that same condition. She made a mental note to check in with her department, to ensure that all was in order for what they were about to encounter. Lise looked over at the new engineer, Ensign Lorimar, he was sitting rigidly in his seat. She remembered back to the first moments she was on the Boudicca as ACEO, and how she had become possessed by an evil spirit as did the rest of her crew. At the time, she had been petrified and was uncertain what to do, and how to re-act. But that situation, paled in comparison to what was going to be faced here and now. But she had confidence, the Engineering department was in good hands, there were good, capable engineers who, with the exception of herself when she was "playing" Jael, listened, followed instructions and were a delight to work with. She was brought back to the conversation by a female voice. Straton spoke "We are going to get bloody as hell" Lise nodded her head. Whilst listening to everything that Eva was saying, she thought back to the past year of her life, where she too had fought in the bloody of bloodiest battles she had experienced thus far, on Qo'noS. Perhaps, those trials and tribulations were simply preparing her for what was to come. She certainly hoped not. That had taken her to the very depths of Gre'thor, and now... Time would tell, but Lise feared she could read the stories and dangers that were to come. The details were effaced, but the framework was there, and it didn't look promising. There was more discussion and then Stakes rose to speak. "Let it be clear to everyone, that the 19th will have to do what is required so that the nineteenth can do what it is required to do, the Boudicca will have to do what she is required to do. At all costs. Keep that in mind, we will not fail. To ensure that we will not fail, there will be some changes to the crew positioning. Mister McLaren, you will work with me to introduce a few... Specialities. I have first line knowledge of the ships and situations that we will encounter and that will allow us to prepare some specific defences. For that reason you will be detached from normal engineering duties." Lise nodded as she noted the shift that Stakes was making. "Mister al-Sharif" Lise turned her attention towards Stakes, fighting the cringing impulse that overtook her whenever she was referred to by the masculine pronoun that Starfleet still reserved as formality. She wondered, with all the progressions towards equality, why there had not been some new linguistic invention to address officers which did not result in betraying a form of gender -- in this case, masculine. However, archaic linguistic markers aside, Arianna continued to listen to what Stakes had in store for her: "you will command Boudicca Engineering until Mister McLaren is available again, but you will assist him with any of the work that is required by him." Jael's head could be seen nodding as she accepted the position. Despite her sworn secrecy as to her identity, Lise would not betray the Boudicca, and would use all the experience she had to help the situation. She knew that about Jael, but wondered what had lead Stakes to show such confidence in her. Stakes continued: "Mister Zzt, I will expect you to assist both engineering groups with their work. Oh, and Mister al-Sharif, so that any confusion may be prevented, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Lieutenant junior grade. Mister Lorimar? You are hereby promoted to the rank of Ensign senior grade, to follow suit and to denote your exemplary service so far." Lise nodded shocked. She looked over at Lorimar and indicated her non-verbal congratulations. What did that report Susan had left on her behalf say? What new information had Stakes encountered? On the one hand, while pleased with the news, on the other hand, she felt uneasy. Stakes continued with his Boudicca re-organisation program. Finally detailing that the triumvirate that would oversee al. Stakes finished by stating: "We will kill. We will die. But Valhalla will fall." Lise nodded her head admiringly. The warrior in her Klingon blood, heard the call, and for once, the resentment she had for being placed as Jael melted (not entirely dissipating), but she knew, that at this call to war, there was no other place she would rather be than here, among friends (whether they knew it or not). Her thoughts drifted an instant to Susan, the one who was missing. But there was a duty at hand, and they all knew and understood that. What would be, would be. At that point in the meeting something unusual happened. Lise watched as all the officers were presented with glasses of water in a darkened room. Once the yeomen had departed, the screens were illuminated and there was a picture of serene scenic view of mountains. Stakes explained, "the water in the glasses in front of you has been bottled by me the last time I left Earth, the stream can be found just outside Auckland undisturbed, untouched by human hands. Clear mountain water has always been a symbol of purity. And as such it signifies our duty. To remove the contamination. To restore purity to the world. Ladies and gentlemen, rise, please and join me" There was the sound of fabric rustling and chairs moving as everyone stood. Stakes pronounced with great reverence: "To the restoration of purity in our lives" There was a triumphant chorus of calls "Here, Here" and the like that echoed throughout the officers. Lise bit her tongue and would not allow herself to pronounce the Klingon toast at a normal voice level, but instead she mouthed: "wo'boudika DevtaHjaj" May the Boudicca continue to lead on strongly. She meant it. (Reply any, none) (Posted by Kat) (USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge-AOPS Lt. Tollian Yalix-1230) Tollian couldn't say that he understood the significance of drinking water that had come from a natural spring. As far as it's purity was concerned, he couldn't believe that it was in any way more pure than what the replicator could produce. Still, if the commander wanted to make some sort of pointless gesture about purity using impure water, that wasn't any of his business. The Efrosian Lieutenant surveyed the room. The officers here looked almost solemn. They all understood the importance of the moment, of that he was certain. They knew the dangers and the risks. And he suspected they understood the odds. For many of them, he suspected this battle would be the culmination of their lives. How they dealt with it, would determine their character in the eyes of their shipmates and friends. For Tollian, it was an entirely different thing. It was the moment that he had been steering towards since his birth. Efrosians believed that each person had a critical destiny to play in the universe. They knew that there was one defining instant in which that individual was meant to shine and was meant to test every fiber of his existence. For Tollian Yalix, his moment was coming. He was certain that never again in his life would he have the opportunity to fulfill his destiny. He knew that all the myriad fragments of his fate would meld together in one incredible instant. And that instant would be his to command and to control. That instant would be his legacy. Everything that came afterwards would be a mere remembrance of a perfect moment in which Tollian Yalix, met his destiny head-on a fulfilled it, for better or worse. It was the moment of spiritual apotheosis that his people longed for their entire existence and he knew it would be soon. He knew that once, not that long ago, there had been a time when his position on the bridge during such a battle would be assured. Now with a new Chief of Operations, that wasn't as definite. One could argue that he wasn't meant to be there, if he wasn't in fact there during the battle. But that type of thinking had always bothered Tollian. He much preferred the dogma of manipulated destiny, in which the individual had some affect upon the destiny to be fulfilled. He wasn't a demagogue, who would claim to know his destiny. No that would be a lie, instead he believed more that he sensed the path that his destiny was following. He knew better than to fight it, instead choosing to embrace that aspect of his spiritual being with completeness. He looked over at Johnson and mentally reminded himself to have a word with the chief when this meeting was finally dismissed. (reply Any) (posted by Daniel Greene) (USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge - OPS Lt (Jg) Donald Johnson - 1245) Donald took up the glass that was offered to the assemblage and joined in the toast, doing his best to put on a good front. He still was not convinced that the mission made much sense, but he would trust in the tactical minds of the fleet that they would be able to succeed and survive. He supposed drills would be run. There was no guarantee who would be on the bridge and he wanted his two assistants to get as much bridge time as possible. When the meeting finished, he turned to Tollian and Carft and said, "Guys, let's have a talk in my office." (USS Boudicca - Johnson's Office - OPS Lt (jg) Donald Johnson - 1250) "Have a seat," Donald said as he took a seat behind his desk. "What do you think of our mission?" he asked (Reply Yalix and Kea) "Any suggestions you think we need to look at specifically?" Donald asked, as he picked up his padd to go over the current ship status. (Reply Yalix and Kea) "I believe we're going to be running drills for a few days and I want you both to get bridge time. I know it may be asking a bit much, but I would like both of you to do a few hours on each of the shifts that you are not assigned on. Just for the practice. I'll be on the bridge more often, but I will use the mission ops station to monitor our daily operations. We do seem to have a problem with our matter reclamation systems. I have a team working on it, but if either of you fell up to it, I would appreciate it." said Donald. (Reply Yalix and Kea) (USS Boudicca - CEOs Office - aCEO Jael al-Sharif - 15.00) The meeting during the morning had been tense. The situation was grave. Only time would tell. Lise had moved everything into the office and arranged it in a way that aimed at not seeming like the way she had it arranged before. However, there was a certain je ne sais quoi to how she liked to do things, and any other way, it was just unbalanced and provoked some form of discord from her inner being. ~Not that my inner-being is in any form of accordance with my outer being~ The next few days would be crucial. Lise would ensure that her team was in place. Well the team would ensure that they themselves were in place. She was unsure how to play this role, being Jael, but she was going to have go move forward. Now was not the time for experimentation. She would just have to hope for the best. The best, and the fact that those brass didn't come poking their noses around her work. She was worried, now that Sevant had become an Admiral, would he be privy to the information that she was aboard? Would he know? And if/when he did, what would he say? What would he do? They had been friends long ago on this very Ship. He the TAC/SC and she the CEO. He had once caught her using a program that was on the fringe of legality on the hollodeck. A program, she had recently discovered, that still existed. Brushing her thoughts of bat'leth practise aside. (Since when did bajoran/human's know how to use bat'leths?) Lise continued organising her area. The KLAXON and COMPUTER sounded at the very same instant: =^= Red Alert! All hands to Battlestations, this is a drill =^= Lise threw the PADD across the room. Miraculously, after years of practise, it landed squarely on her desk as she dashed out the door not even casting a second glance behind herself. She gathered around the main monitor. Shortly thereafter, Lorimar arrived. Lise went about checking the other systems. It was, in fact a drill. Lormiar indicated to the bridge that we were indeed ready for whatever. "Good job, people" Lise said to the newly gathered crowd. Their time, three minutes, thirty eight seconds. However, had this been a real emergency there would have already been the delegation of tasks taken underway and likely they would be in repairs. Yes, this upcoming phase was crucial. Al-Sharif glanced over at Lorimar. "Not bad... Not bad.... Although next time, let's see if we can get it down to three, twenty." (Reply Lorimar) (Reply Lorimar, any) (Posted by Kat) (USS Boudicca - Engineering - ACEO Lorimar - 1515) Lorimar looked at his new boss speculatively, wondering just how much time she wanted to shave off, then heard the answer when she spoke it -- 3:20. ~18 more seconds? Doable, no doubt~ He stroked his beard thoughtfully before answering. "Well Lieutenant, ah'm certain we can take a bit of time off, no doubt about it." He glanced at the display before him, then at the crew in the engineering space. He smiled and turned back to al-Sharif before continuing. "There are two ways to work at it, as ah see things. The machine side, and the human side. As far as the machine side goes, we can cheat a wee bit without straying too far from safety or regulations. We can shorten and even skip some of the diagnostics when we transition to red alert. Any changes in SOP naturally are your decision to make of course." He scrutinized her a bit while he paused, trying to read her thoughts and expression. "To paraphrase a famous engineer, 'We cannae change the laws of physics...' Having said that we bend those laws a wee bit. Ye know better than I do that safety regulations are *extremely* conservative, so we hae some wiggle room there of course. Ah'm nae suggestin' we dae anything brash or reckless, just bringing up possibilities. Alternatively, we could maintain more of the auxilliaries at standby, or low power operation even, then they would be available more readily when we need them. That would free up both crew and computer, reducing the workload a fair amount. The downside, of course, is higher maintenance requirements, and 'waste' of resources. I suppose that would need to go through both OPS and the CO if ye wanted to explore that route." Bob gestured around the engineering room expansively and his eyes twinkled as he smiled and pressed on. "On the human side... well, ah could set up a cot in a dark corner near the storage lockers... and the rest of the lads and lassies... well, we could always issue rollerskates so they could get here mair quickly..." Bob chuckled quietly, hoping the CEO had a good sense of humor. (Reply Jael, Any) (Posted by Russ) (USS Boudicca - Main Engineering - aCEO Jael al-Sharif - 15.20) Lise considered what he said, and almost smiled at the thought of roller-skated officers whizzing down the corridors. However, in that vision there were also many crashes and incidents. She didn't see how that would increase productivity. In truth, they could shave time off the diagnostics. However, that wouldn't leave them any room for adjustments when it actually came down to crisis time. There were a few rules that she operated by and one of those was mainly to keep the required procedures in place until the last possible moment. She opened up her mouth to speak, and then closed it again. She considered precisely what she was about to say. At this point in her career, she was in a unique position. She had long been the one who asserted unreasonable demands over her own CEO, McLaren. In fact, there were moments when she KNEW what she had required of him was impossible. BUT, somehow, engineers being engineers, they would find a way to adjust. Except, now, all those impossibilities were the problems of both her and her team. It was going to be her job to negotiate for possible requests while keeping everything in one piece. No, they wouldn't sacrifice the machine side of the system, as Lorimar had put it, not just yet. She opened her mouth again, ready to speak. "We won't touch the protocol side of things for now. That's what we save for those moments when we have to pull miracles out of nowhere. It's true, what Mr. Scott says, you cannot change the laws of physics, but you most certainly can push them to their asymptotic limit and get the most out of them. That, Mr. Lorimar is where we will be going. We will not, get cots and sleep in storage rooms, there will be no rollerskates - that would actually undermine efficiency as far as I can tell. But, we will all be 18 seconds faster. Simple as that." Lise looked around at the crew that was still gathered around. "Yes, Mr. Lorimar? Yes, everyone?" (Reply Lorimar, any) (Posted by Kat) (USS Boudicca - Bridge - Acting CO Archibald Stakes - 1525) Archibald viewed the activity on the Bridge and felt that at least this part of the proceedings were progressing if a little bit slow. But the crew would be ready for the battle, of that he was sure. Which left ..... Archibald got up from the chair. "Mister Johnson, you have the Bridge. Inform me when Commander Stolev returns." he said before entering his Ready Room. On his way to the Ready Room he signaled Esme to stay put. (USS Boudicca - Bridge - OPS Lt (jg) Donald Johnson - 1526) Donald was monitoring the current drill from the mission ops station, when Commander Stakes stood up and said, "Mister Johnson, you have the Bridge. Inform me when Commander Stolev returns." "Understood," Donald replied, as he moved to the command chair. "Carry on," he said as he sat down. He glanced at his padd and noticed a message from Ensign Laroon. ~I wonder what this is about.~ thought Donald, as he typed a reply letting the Ensign know that he would meet him as he desired. (USS Boudicca - Ready Room - Acting CO Archibald Stakes - 1527) Archibald looked around the bare room before he let himself slide in the chair behind the desk and flipped open the computer screen and touched the comm button on his desk. "Stakes to Commander Straton. Commander, is there an update on the ETA for the Vanguard group? I really would like to discuss our group strategies with the other CO's as soon as they arrive, We won't have time to discuss proceedings between 36 ships when the battle is raging around us. Also how have your simulations progressed? I need to know the optimum angle of attack at the platform rings to break away and go for the starbase, giving the enemy a minimum of time to respond." (reply Eva, Donald, any) (posted by Adrie Geuken) (USS Boudicca - Shuttle Bay - ACMO Gates - 1550 ) Georgia exited the shuttle on wobbly legs, relieved that the journey was finally over, but terrified of what might lay before her. It was one thing to be nervous about where you were heading, but to actually arrive there was another matter altogether. All she wanted to do for the moment was to find her quarters and go to bed. ~you mean you want to hide!~ Knowing that she wouldn't be able to relax anywhere until she had reported to her new CO, she gave her hair a quick pat over, and got directions to the ready room. The sooner it was over with the better. (USS Boudicca - Ready Room - ACMO Gates - 1700 ) Georgia wasn't sure if it was the sight of the Captain, or the after effects of the trip, but she was suddenly feeling not quite right. There was a churning in her stomach and a tightening in her throat that she was familiar with and didn't like one bit. She stood for a moment, swallowing with difficulty, wondering if there was any way out of the situation other than the one she knew would be inevitable. Seeing her superior officer waiting for her to speak, she knew there was no way around what was to happen next. "Uh Ensign Gates reporting for duty Sir." she croaked, and promptly threw up. (reply whoever is in the ready room) (Posted by Wendy) (USS Boudicca - Outside Laroon's Quarters - OPS Lt (jg) Donald Johnson - 2100) Donald pressed the doorbell outside of the Ensign's Quarters. (Reply Hikaru, Arania, Yalix, Kea, Laroon, Any) (posted by Kaweo Kanoho) NRPG: See we had to take a little break just because of the hint of more than one day. Pathetic really. Now remember the password? What?!? What do you mean you forgot? We haven't been gone that long. Come on, we don't have this... Okay, fine here's a new pass code. I have to go already. yes, really. I'm not making this up. We'll meet again soon. I promise, as long as he doesn't go nuts again. -USS Boudicca, NCC 49901 Star Trek: Freedom - http://www.startrekfreedom.com