NRPG: Gone Fishing. Back Tomorrow Today's compile index is brought to you by trout: Day 1 (USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge - OPS Lt (jg) Donald Johnson - 1200) (USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge- acting CO - Commander Archibald Stakes - 1302) (USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge- CEO- Lt. Matthew McLaren-- 1306) (USS Boudicca - Bridge - acting CO - Commander Archibald Stakes - 1522) (USS Boudicca - Main Engineering - ACEO Lorimar -1522) (USS Boudicca - Bridge-AOPS Lt. Tollian Yalix-1525) (USS Boudicca - Laroon's Quarters - Acting FO Lt. Cmdr. Aleksander Stolev - Day 1 - 1527) (USS Boudicca - Ready Room - ACMO Gates - 1705) (USS Boudicca - Ready Room - acting CO - Commander Archibald Stakes - 1715) (USS Boudicca - Ready Room - ACMO Gates - 1720) (USS Boudicca - Corridor - ACMO Gates - 1725) (USS Boudicca - Corridor - Goat Nanny - 1730) RPG: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Mission: The Fires of Heaven, Day 1 Stardate: 2407.06.28 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< (USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge - OPS Lt (jg) Donald Johnson - 1200) Donald had just taken his seat when he noticed Zzt entering, he had brought with him a small bag of cookies that he had made the night before for the Gerratlian. Normally he would have made enough for everyone, but he hadn't planned on seeing everyone and these were special for Zzt. Just as he stood to go over to Zzt the door opened to admit the Captain and a stranger behind him. But it was no stranger to Zzt, who made his welcome abundantly clear. Donald watched the exchange with amusement and was dismayed when Sevant sent the large fellow off into a corner, his shiny glasses askew. Donald quickly walked over to Zzt and said quietly, "Those are quite dashing." He reached out and slightly adjusted them, so that they sat properly. "These are for you," he said, as he handed the bag of cookies to Zzt. "Smile," he said encouragingly, as he smiled himself. (reply Zzt, Any) (posted by Kaweo Kanoho) (USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge- acting CO - Commander Archibald Stakes - 1302) "Sir, what did you have in mind?" Archibald waved Esme to leave as he sat himself down and signaled the two officers to do the same. He keyed in a few commands into the computer and the screens in the lounge showed a sideview of the Keltoi class vessel. "The other side has taken great length in determining the strengths and weaknesses of all our ship-classes," he started off. "Of course since we use the same ships, they same strengths and weaknesses apply to their ships. In a few cases there have been some improvements made on both sides or so I am told, but *they* actually went as far as redesigning a vessel to use those weaknesses against the class that they feel will be most influential in the upcoming battle." Archibald nodded at the screen. "The Keltoi was deemed the most influential ship design and for that they determined a list of one hundred and three weaknesses, some bigger, some smaller." Archibald's face broke into a humourless smile. "During my 'debriefing' I understood that our side counted one hundred and seven although I personally fail to see that our waste management system not using armoured reflux pipes is going to make a big impact. Never the less the more important ones have been addressed and we need to expect those measures to be used against us in the battle." After a few seconds of silence, Archibald continued. "Then there are the mission specific points. We are to spearhead an attack on a base which means that we will receive a lot of incoming fire through the front arc. For anything to the side or aft of us a separate group will be responsible, so the aft shields will be used least. Therefore the first task will be to maximise the strength of our forward shields and reduce the strength of our aft shields. This will involve moving shield generators from aft to front and increasing the number of conduits in our forward section." "Furthermore we will be facing platform hostile action. Some of them, or probably by now all of them, have been coupled with one another, making it easier to target one vessel by two or more platforms at the same time. This is linked to some of the platforms being upgraded to include a full set or sensory equipment, which they will use to more precisely target specific ships. A list of known enhanced platforms has been compiled but that is by now most likely outdated. So we will have to prepare some of our sensors to listen out for platforms that show more than normal sensor emissions. These signals must receive priority over others and a separate link needs to be installed to the tactical stations so we we can pick out the enhanced ones and silence them. This will be mainly our task as we will be the leadship, even though the silencing will not be done by us. Whatever happens, we need to remain on the move, pressing on. *WE* will dictate the flow of the battle, and we must make sure that the other side can only react to our actions. As soon as they know where we are going it will be easy for them to bring in reinforcements, condemning us to a slow crawl and certain death. We may have the superiority in numbers, but they have the defensive set up and if led effective, our odds of mission success will be ten perhaps twenty percent. We *need* them to make mistakes and the only mistakes they are going to make are the ones we are going to force upon them." Archibald fell silent for a second. "Also I want the Boudicca to have a low intensity third regenerative forward shield, to be placed between the main and auxilliary one. Its task will be to dull any enemy torpedoes that will come in thick and fast. The explosion forces of the torpedoes can then be led safely away by the auxiliary shield. And make no mistake, gentlemen, they *will* come thick and fast. If you know the outer shield set up of a specific class then you know exactly where the weakpoints will be and use that to ensure that the shields can be temporarily breached at specific places for instance where a torpedo is supposed to hit. Luckily this requires the torpedoes to be much more complex in order that they not only hit a ship but also hit it at a very specific time and place and to my knowledge most of those torpedoes are held by only a few ships. BUT if I were in charge, I would have made sure that some of the platforms would receive them as well as they will most likely be facing Keltoi's." Archibald fell silent for a third time and regarded the screen in front of him. "Those are the main points for now," he concluded, "and probably enough for you to make a start with, mister McLaren. But rest assured, once these alterations are done, there will be plenty of others. I will send you both a full list of weakpoints and the list of proposed improvements. In the meantime, Mister Stolev, we need to make sure that the human factor will not fail the mechanical one. As soon as one area has been changed, the crew will need to be trained on the new requirements and they must be able to use them with their eyes closed. That will be your main focus." Archibald looked at his hands. "Remember, gentlemen. A ship can only be effective if both ship and crew are adequately prepared and enhanced. Unfortunately, you only have one week to make it happen." (Reply Stolev, McLaren) (posted by Adrie Geuken) (USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge- CEO- Lt. Matthew McLaren-- 1306) Stakes waved out the yeoman, his daughter, then keyed a coded sequence into the computer. The display screens in the lounge came to life displaying the lateral view of the Keltoi class starship. "The other side has taken great length in determining the strengths and weaknesses of all our ship-classes," he started off. ~No surprise there.~ McLaren mused mentally. "Of course since we use the same ships, the same strengths and weaknesses apply to their ships. In a few cases there have been some improvements made on both sides or so I am told, but *they* actually went as far as redesigning a vessel to use those weaknesses against the class that they feel will be most influential in the upcoming battle." Archibald nodded at the screen. ~A Keltoi Killer?~ "The Keltoi was deemed the most influential ship design and for that they determined a list of one hundred and three weaknesses, some bigger, some smaller." Archibald's face broke into a humorless smile. "During my 'debriefing' I understood that our side counted one hundred and seven although I personally fail to see that our waste management system not using armored reflux pipes is going to make a big impact. Nevertheless the more important ones have been addressed and we need to expect those measures to be used against us in the battle." Matthew nodded. So far the reasoning was sound. After a few seconds of silence, Archibald continued. "Then there are the mission specific points. We are to spearhead an attack on a base which means that we will receive a lot of incoming fire through the front arc. For anything to the side or aft of us a separate group will be responsible, so the aft shields will be used least. Therefore the first task will be to maximize the strength of our forward shields and reduce the strength of our aft shields. This will involve moving shield generators from aft to front and increasing the number of conduits in our forward section." "Furthermore we will be facing platform hostile action. Some of them, or probably by now all of them, have been coupled with one another, making it easier to target one vessel by two or more platforms at the same time. This is linked to some of the platforms being upgraded to include a full set or sensory equipment, which they will use to more precisely target specific ships. A list of known enhanced platforms has been compiled but that is by now most likely outdated. So we will have to prepare some of our sensors to listen out for platforms that show more than normal sensor emissions. These signals must receive priority over others and a separate link needs to be installed to the tactical stations so we can pick out the enhanced ones and silence them. This will be mainly our task as we will be the lead ship, even though the silencing will not be done by us. Whatever happens, we need to remain on the move, pressing on. *WE* will dictate the flow of the battle, and we must make sure that the other side can only react to our actions. As soon as they know where we are going it will be easy for them to bring in reinforcements, condemning us to a slow crawl and certain death. We may have the superiority in numbers, but they have the defensive set up and if led effective, our odds of mission success will be ten perhaps twenty percent. We *need* them to make mistakes and the only mistakes they are going to make are the ones we are going to force upon them." Archibald fell silent for a second. "Also I want the Boudicca to have a low intensity third regenerative forward shield, to be placed between the main and auxiliary one. Its task will be to dull any enemy torpedoes that will come in thick and fast. The explosion forces of the torpedoes can then be led safely away by the auxiliary shield. And make no mistake, gentlemen, they *will* come thick and fast. If you know the outer shield set up of a specific class then you know exactly where the weak points will be and use that to ensure that the shields can be temporarily breached at specific places for instance where a torpedo is supposed to hit. Luckily this requires the torpedoes to be much more complex in order that they not only hit a ship but also hit it at a very specific time and place and to my knowledge most of those torpedoes are held by only a few ships. BUT if I were in charge, I would have made sure that some of the platforms would receive them as well as they will most likely be facing Keltoi's." Archibald fell silent for a third time and regarded the screen in front of him. "Those are the main points for now," he concluded, "and probably enough for you to make a start with, Mister McLaren. But rest assured, once these alterations are done, there will be plenty of others. I will send you both a full list of weak points and the list of proposed improvements. In the meantime, Mister Stolev, we need to make sure that the human factor will not fail the mechanical one. As soon as one area has been changed, the crew will need to be trained on the new requirements and they must be able to use them with their eyes closed. That will be your main focus." (reply Stolev) Archibald looked at his hands. "Remember, gentlemen. A ship can only be effective if both ship and crew are adequately prepared and enhanced. Unfortunately, you only have one week to make it happen." Matthew considered each point as they were delivered. He already had a couple of alternate suggestions that might save them time and achieve the same goal, especially where the shield generators were concerned. "Sir, if I may offer a refinement to your first requirement?" (reply Stakes) "When we were last at Geneva, I had the refit team take aboard an additional 6 primary shield generators and 2 auxiliaries. Originally I had planned to use them to replace any shield generators that might be knocked out in the course of our pursuant missions. We haven't needed to use them at all. They are, in fact, stored in Engineering Support as we speak. Rather than remove any Generators from the Aft Quadrant, I could simply install two or three of the spare primaries, and Operations could simply juggle between them as needed with the power distribution side of things. I figure that will give us the full capability to restore aft shields to full power- if you need to and still give us the ability to enhance the forward shields as you've requested. This should save us a great deal of time, since we won't have to remove anything from the aft quadrant for relocation. I'd still have to run the conduit and do the final installation, but it would still be faster than a complete move. And we would not be able to run all the shields simultaneously or we'd risk a power failure." A slight pause. "Additionally, I can install a second primary which you can run at reduced power instead of another auxilliary between the forward main and auxiliary. It should be able to handle the strains just as well, if not better, and can be strengthened as needed to even cover a larger portion of the forward arc as needed. With our engine refits and the improved EPS taps, we shouldn't have any problems powering that unit and maintaining needed power levels elsewhere on the ship. I can then install the two additional Auxiliaries to reinforce the Bridge and Main Engineering They will also act as a shield inhibitor in the event that the ship's primary shields should fail. That means no boarding parties could beam directly to either of those areas. That's a lot of power consumption, so Operations would have to be up to the task of shifting power as needed." "This solution gives us 2-3 primaries in stock, should we need them or need to cannibalize them for parts. The other tasks I'll have to look into in more detail and I'll need some specifics on what type of sensor information I'll need to be looking for. But all of that is doable inside a couple of days if we work the department hard using shift and a half rotations." (Reply Stakes, Stolev) (posted by Daniel Greene) (USS Boudicca - Bridge - acting CO - Commander Archibald Stakes - 1522) With an ease that could only come from years of practice, Archibald remained rooted in his chair, with an occasional glance around him, when the klaxons started howling and the red lights came on. First duty of anyone in command, he had considered a long time ago, was to show calm in the face of danger. "Captain," the on duty OPS-officer spoke up "Operations department is standing to for Battle stations, all power from nonessential ship's systems is keyed for reallocation. Shuttle bay reports all auxiliary craft secured for battle. Cargo bays report similar status for their material. I will report the readiness of each department as they check in." Stakes nodded, not taking his eyes of the file he was reading on his computer. "Very well, Mister Yalix," he commented dryly, resisting the urge to bring up the reporting log. It was, after all, the duty of the crew to show the CO and FO their readiness and capability, not for him to start looking for signs that they weren't. Archibald looked sideways and remembered that Sasha had left the bridge not that long before. He knew that an FO's position was an awkward one and entailed controlling everything and everyone. It also meant that he had to find a way to keep abreast of important issues as well as keep everything else flowing in a timely fashion. Archibald wondered if Sasha was ready for that. His reactions seemed to ooze emotionality, which was not a character trait that Archibald was looking for in a command officer. He narrowed his eyes and finally looked away from the screen, to consider ways to 'assist' the new FO with. "I'm sorry sir, elapsed time for operations, 2 minutes 10 seconds." Archibald shot a glance at the OPS-officer. ~Perhaps a bit more like him,~ he mused. As the other departments reported in Tollian read them off including the elapsed time of their readiness. "Tactical and Security manned and ready, 2 minutes 25 seconds; Marines, in position 2 minutes 32 seconds; Medical manned and ready, 3 minutes 22 seconds; Engineering. manned and ready 3 minutes 38 seconds; Sciences, manned and ready, 3 minutes 42 seconds; Counseling department, reporting ready at elapsed time of 6 minutes 24 seconds, sir." Archibald nodded again. "I believe that that must be a world record for Mister Marsh. I assume that this time he managed to arrive at the counseling department WITH his trousers on?" he asked Tollian, then waved it away. "I expect Mister Stolev will have words with the counseling department. Perhaps now the chief of counseling will consider the benefit of having a sleeping arrangement set up somewhere close by. And although the readiness of the counseling department should not affect the effectiveness of the rest of the crew, there will not be separate targets for separate departments. We are ALL, as they say, in the same boat. Please distribute the scores to the various department heads and convey a message to the Operations department that I am pleased with their efficiency." (reply Tollian, any) (posted by Adrie Geuken) (USS Boudicca - Main Engineering - ACEO Lorimar -1522) "Yes, Mr. Lorimar? Yes, everyone?" Lorimar looked al-Sharif squarely in the eye and his smile disappeared, lest it be mistaken for a smirk. "Aye Aye Lieutenant, clearly understood. Eighteen seconds it is, and ah'm sure we can shave a fair bit more off that as well." Bob looked around the deck, making eye contact with any crew that happened to be facing in his direction. He paused a moment, checking the displays before him. He turned back to the CEO and then spoke very quietly but clearly. "Lieutenant, if I may make a suggestion?" (Reply Jael, IYW) Bob nodded then continued with his proposal. "Ma'am, ah'm all for these drills, they are great practice and will surely help us get ready for what is tae come." He cleared his throat quietly then continued. "Having said that, my suggestion is simply this. Rather than mucking about with a few seconds here and there, What if we ran a simulation *starting* with all Red Alert engineering crew already at their battlestations? That way, we could see what the minimum possible ready time would be from the diagnostic and hardware side. We could see just how fast we could bring all required systems to ready. Working from there as a bare minimum goal, we could go backwards and see where, how, and just how much time we could shave off the human side of the equation. What dae ye think Lieutenant?" He gazed thoughtfully at his CEO, wondering how she would react to a totally serious, and he hoped, logical, approach to the problem. (Reply Jael, Any) (Posted by Russ) (USS Boudicca - Bridge-AOPS Lt. Tollian Yalix-1525) . "I believe that that must be a world record for Mister Marsh. I assume that this time he managed to arrive at the counseling department WITH his trousers on?" he asked Tollian, then waved it away. Yalix started to reply, then realized it was a rhetorical question. "I expect Mister Stolev will have words with the counseling department. Perhaps now the chief of counseling will consider the benefit of having a sleeping arrangement set up somewhere close by. And although the readiness of the counseling department should not affect the effectiveness of the rest of the crew, there will not be separate targets for separate departments. We are ALL, as they say, in the same boat. Please distribute the scores to the various department heads and convey a message to the Operations department that I am pleased with their efficiency." "Yes sir," the Efrosian replied. He had always been one for timeliness and it seemed that Lieutenant Johnson had kept most of the department standards that Tollian had set in place over the months. He sent the prerequisite reports as the captain had ordered. It helped that the Chief Operations Officers battle station could be at either the Operations office, if off-duty at the time of the alert, or on the bridge. Tollian was pleased that Johnson had decided to check in from the office. Of course, the COPs might well make his way to the bridge once the alert was finished. He dictated a message to Johnson, conveying the Captain's commendation of the operations Department's readiness and efficiency as the captain had ordered. He signed it 'Lieutenant Tollian Yalix, Beta Shift Assistant Operations Officer, at the request of Archibald Stakes, CO, USS Boudicca.' (reply Any on Bridge, Johnson iyw) (USS Boudicca - Laroon's Quarters - Acting FO Lt. Cmdr. Aleksander Stolev - Day 1 - 1527) Stolev relaxed his grip on his phaser -- only slightly -- when he saw that he and Laroon were the only occupants of his quarters. He noticed that Laroon had been similarly gripping his own sidearm. "Sir I know you got me message about the....Captain Rivers affair." Laroon looked at Stolev for a second and then started talking. "I had the computer inform me when it had cracked the security codes on the traitor acting as Casely's computer. I came to look at what it found along with the evidence I had uncovered in his quarters to find any match." He stopped and looked around for a second and then back to Stolev. "Sir your going to have to take a look for yourself." He pointed to his computer screen and then pulled the chair out for the FO to sit. Stolev frowned as he made his way around the desk. "I thought we had determined that the encryption on those files was unbreakable. I've never heard of a ship taking three months to break any sort of code." His mind was racing as he considered the possibilities. "The computer has been working on this non-stop since we discovered it?" (reply Laroon -- assuming yes) "Well... cryptographic analysis was never my specialty, but I know a few of the central tenets," replied Stolev. "One of those being that if a modern computer doesn't crack a code within a few days -- a week at most -- it's considered unbreakable." Stolev quickly looked through the information on the screen. His eyes widened as he read through some of the material there. It displayed detailed information of a Doenitz-friendly spy network infiltrating deep within Freedom squadron, with operatives on nearly every ship, complete with names, code-names, operational areas, and current assignments. His eyes stopped as they arrived at the name of the coordinator of the spy network for Task Force 19: Archibald Stakes. According to the document, word had gotten back to Doenitz about the impending formation of a task force to strike at the heart of Federation space, and that the Boudicca was the likely lead vessel. In response, he had dispatched a highly trusted operative to coordinate operations within the task force from on board the Boudicca, and Stakes was listed as that operative. Despite the contents of this report, Stolev found it hard to believe that Stakes could be a double agent -- he didn't have the personality for it. But then again, spies could be trained to emulate a false persona. The possibilities were making his head spin. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then looked up at Laroon. "So we must consider the distinct possibility that someone discovered your decryption program running, altered the contents of the encrypted file, and then loosened the encryption so that we would break it. Someone smart enough to do that would most likely have removed any evidence of such tampering, but it's worth looking in to." Stolev leaned back in the chair and gazed out the viewport. "This file in and of itself is not enough to warrant taking any direct action against the individuals listed therein. Computer files can be too easily manipulated, modified, or could simply contain false or erroneous information. We need evidence to either corroborate or refute what this file says." He turned back to Laroon. "As chief of security, that's your job. Start by analyzing computer logs for any evidence of tampering with this file. Next, you will probably want to set up some discrete surveillance of the individuals listed in this report, and investigate past recorded behavior in public areas of the ship, computer usage, et cetera, looking for any suspicious patterns of behavior. Keep in mind that even in times of war, we consider people innocent until proven guilty. Therefore, you must be very careful not to violate the letter or spirit of any regulations in the course of this investigation." (reply Laroon) (posted by Aaron) (USS Boudicca - Ready Room - ACMO Gates - 1705) Georgia felt her face burning with embarrassment as she was led to a small room at the back of the Ready Room. "Oh you poor thing. Was he nasty to you?" Realising she was still incapable of speech, Georgia shook her head and let the young woman help her into the alcove. The sight of the small sink bought forth another round of retching, only this time that was as far as it went. She tried desperately to pull herself together but found to her dismay there were tears pricking at her eyes. The young woman with her was chatting away, obviously trying to make Georgia feel better, but she still felt mortified by what had happened. ~the worst part is I still have to face him, I can't just leave~ "I want to go home." she groaned, only realising she had spoken the words aloud when her companions chatting stopped. Although she hadn't thought it possible, Georgia felt her cheeks flaming even redder, and quickly splashed water on them, trying to cool them at least a little. She turned to the young woman beside her, noting she was around Georgia's own age, and perhaps understood. "I'm sorry, that was totally unprofessional. Please, just forget I said it." Something suddenly struck Georgia as her mind cleared. ~she called him Dad! this couldn't get any worse. She'll tell her beast of a father what I said and I'll look even more inept~ She glanced toward the Ready Room where she could almost sense him laying in wait, and then back at Esme. "Thank you for your kindness. I guess the trip and my nerves shook me up worse than I thought. I should probably go back out there." She pulled her uniform straight, and took a few steadying breaths. There was no way out of it. She would have to go back and stand in front of this man and no doubt be humiliated for her behaviour. But with any luck it wouldn't last too long and then she could go. She had been through worse. Georgia had barely left the safety of the alcove when she felt her cheeks beginning to redden again. She presented herself, once again, in front of the Captains desk, and did her best to avoid looking him in the eye. "Ensign Gates reporting for duty Sir." (reply Stakes, any?) (posted by Wendy) (USS Boudicca - Ready Room - acting CO - Commander Archibald Stakes - 1715) "Ensign Gates reporting for duty Sir." With a nod of his head, Archibald sent Esme out again and waited for the door to close behind her. "Better, Ensign, much more ... acceptable." His gaze went to the area of accident and then went up to look at the young female's face and frowned as he found her not looking him in the eyes, her cheeks already reddened. He shook his head for a second as he looked at the PADD in front of him. Everything told him, no screamed at him, that this Ensign was not ready for service on board a starship. ~The academy must be really scraping the bottom of the barrel now,~ he considered, ~if these are the new officers that they ship out.~ He looked back up at her face. "I'm down here, Ensign," he suddenly said, feeling satisfied when at least for a fraction of a second their eyes met. ~Somebody is going to be in for a rough ride,~ Archibald thought with an inwardly sigh. He was considered sending her away again but knew that they were too hard pressed with medical staff. On the other hand, what good would she do? If she behaved similarly whenever there was an obstacle, she would do more damage than good. Thinking about it for a few more seconds, Archibald made a decision. "Welcome on board, Ensign Gates. Your assistance will be greatly needed in our medical facilities." He did not get up to offer her a hand as he imagined that that might be the worst thing to do with her already being unbalanced. "Unfortunately, Ensign, we have been without a Chief Medical Officer for quite some time and you will have to double up to fill all the niches that haven't been filled for a long time. But you will find our medical facilities to be outstanding. I would suggest you head over there and see for yourself how you wish to organise it. I understand that you already found your quarters?" Archibald fell silent as he accessed the computer. "Ah yes, our transporter chief was so good to assign them to you. Good, that is sorted then. I know that you will be bsuy, Ensign, so unless there is anything that you would wish to bring forward?..." (Reply Georgia, room for more) As the young Ensign left his ready room, Archibald blew out a deep sigh before he accessed his comm badge. "Stakes to Ensign Marsh. Mister Marsh, I have a job for you." (reply Georgia, any) (posted by Adrie Geuken) (USS Boudicca - Ready Room - ACMO Gates - 1720) Georgia wasn't sure if the Captain was enjoying himself making her feel so small, or whether he was that arrogant that he had no idea. "Unfortunately, Ensign, we have been without a Chief Medical Officer for quite some time and you will have to double up to fill all the niches that haven't been filled for a long time. But you will find our medical facilities to be outstanding. I would suggest you head over there and see for yourself how you wish to organise it. I understand that you already found your quarters?" Georgia cleared her throat and tried to keep her voice from shaking. "Well no actually, I haven't, but I think, that is, my bags were being sent there." >From what she could tell without looking directly at Stakes, he was looking at his screen. "Ah yes, our transporter chief was so good to assign them to you. Good, that is sorted then. I know that you will be busy, Ensign, so unless there is anything that you would wish to bring forward?..." ~like the rest of my meal?~ She almost, almost, looked him straight in the eye, to see if he was mocking her, but at the last minute found she couldn't. "No Sir, I think, no there's nothing Sir." She replied lamely, wondering when the torment would end. (USS Boudicca - Corridor - ACMO Gates - 1725) Departing the Ready Room, Georgia felt totally humiliated. The worst part, if in fact one part was worse than any other, was when he had made her look him in the eye. As if being sick in front of him wasn't enough, she then had to be treated like a naughty school girl in the principals office. ~stupid, hateful man, and that poor girl, having a father like that!~ Deep down she knew she was being abit unreasonable and possibly making snap judgments, but the way his daughter had spoken it sounded like her father was in the habit of upsetting people. ~and his poor wife, what sort of a woman marries someone like that? she's bound to be some poor downtrodden thing who spends most of her time in the counsellors office hiding from her husband~ The further she got from the Ready Room, the better she began to feel. It was over at least, something she hopefully wouldn't need to do again in a hurry. The further she got from the Ready Room, the better she began to feel. It was over at least, something she hopefully wouldn't need to do again in a hurry. Being so caught up in her thoughts, Georgia didn't notice the small black and white blur as it raced around the corner and collided with her legs. Although the impact wasn't huge, it hit at exactly the right point to cause her to lose her balance and fall forwards in a heap on the floor. Feeling slightly stunned she looked behind her, and found a small hairy face peering intently at her. Without stopping to think, she opened her mouth and began to scream. (reply any) (posted by Wendy) (USS Boudicca - Corridor - Goat Nanny - 1730) It had been a long day and the human had not returned. They wanted to go exploring and it was a simple matter of arranging the necessary things. Such as walking over and pressing the wall, which opened a hole in the wall that lead outside the enclosure. They had left her to wander on their own and Nanny decided that she could call them if need, so she had proceeded to have her own adventure. Some sweet sounds drifted toward her and she wandered in that general direction until she came upon a thing making notes. Nanny stopped and leaned her head to the side. Suddenly the pleasant noise stopped. Nanny suddenly became aware of the thing staring at her. ~Danger!~ her horns said. Nanny turned and moved quickly, as she heard quick footsteps following her. Nanny dashed in and out of the bunches of tall things that looked like her human and others not. She turned the corner and came to a screeching halt, as a tall thing tripped right over her. She stopped and turned. ~The poor thing~ her horns said. Nanny went to its head and licked its fur and face. ~Less hurt~ her horns said. (Reply Gates, Arania, Any except for Stakes because these are not to become goat steaks) (posted by Punny Kaweo) NRPG: He went fishing? What the heck is going on? Fishing? I thought he was allergic. Did you tell him anything? -USS Boudicca, NCC 49901 Star Trek: Freedom - http://www.startrekfreedom.com