Compilers Notes:

Fixed symbol errors.

Fixed timestamp errors (watch your posting times please folks. You can’t post a response to someone before you meet them).

Corrected spelling. ßEspecially nasty! Watch it please guys.

I think we started out with a bang! Tons of posts… 32 posts comprising 65 pages of work. Good work everyone!

Jeff.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mission: New Beginnings, Day -9 to 7
Stardate: 2406.12.17 to 2406.12.30
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Summary of posts:

(USS Iron Heart - Transporter Room - Lise & Tane - 0940)
(USS Iron Heart - Observation Lounge - Captain Arianna & Tane - 1009)
(USS Night's Watch - Observation Lounge - Captain Richard Ian Lee – 0730)
(Starbase Geneva - Operations - Captain Richard Ian Lee - 0800)
(Starbase Geneva - Deck 14, Holodeck 5 - 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant {JG} Paul Casely - 0725)
(Starbase Geneva - Personal Quarters - 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant {JG} Paul Casely - 0735)
(Starbase Geneva - Deck 26  - Captain Richard Ian Lee & Lt (JG) Paul Casely - 0930)
(Starbase Geneva, Promenade Deck 26, 2O/TAC/SC, Lieutenant {JG} Casely, 945)
(Starbase Geneva, Deck 62 TAC/SC Office, 2O/TAC/SC, Lieutenant (JG) Casely, 11.45)
(Starbase Geneva - Deck 62, TAC/SC Office - 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant {JG} Paul Casely - 1724)
(Starbase Geneva, Main Operations, 2O/TAC/SC, Lieutenant {JG} Casely, 0800)
(USS Steel Talons - Admirals Deck, Admirals Office - LoDona & Arianna - 1408)
(USS Altruvidia, Personal Quarters, SPC Dr. Deirdra Eistal, 05.30)
(USS Steel Talons - Admirals Office - LoDona & Arianna - 0805)
(Starbase Geneva, Outside COs Ready Room, Soon to be CO Lise Arianna and
Current CO Lee, 0845)
(Starbase Geneva, Officer's Quarters, 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant {JG} Paul Casely, 0848)
(Starbase Geneva, Outside COs ready room, 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant {JG} Paul Casely, 0854)
(Starbase Geneva, CO's Office, CO Lise Arianna, 0852)
(Starbase Geneva, CO's Office, 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant {JG}Paul Casely, 0855)
(Starbase Geneva, CO's Office, CO Lise Arianna, 0857)
(Runabout - Ensign Matthew McLaren - 1000)
(Starbase Geneva, Ready Room, CO Lise Arianna, 1000)
(Starbase Geneva, Ready Room, Ensign JG Matthew McLaren, 1002)
(Starbase Geneva - Personal Quarters - Ambassador Miador Tane - 1015)
(USS Garibaldi - Bridge - Col T'Vanek - 1015)
(Starbase Geneva - Main Operations - 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant {JG} Paul Casely - 1017)
(Starbase Geneva, CO's Ready Room, CO Lise Arianna, 1020)
(Starbase Geneva - Marine Shuttlebay - Col T'Vanek - 1035)
(Starbase Geneva - Operations, outside the Ready Room - Col T'Vanek - 1042)
(Starbase Geneva, CO's Office, CO Lise Arianna, 1045)
(Starbase Geneva, deck 30, engineering, Ensign JG Matthew McLaren 1100)
(Starbase Geneva, Main Engineering, SPC Oksana Vetaniuk, 1103)
(Starbase Geneva, Ensign Oksana Vetaniuk, Main Engineering, 1106)
(Starbase Geneva, Officer's Outside Captain's Ready Room, SO, Doctor Engtamn-Jensi, 1111)
(Starbase Geneva, Ready Room, CO Lise Arianna, 1112)
(Starbase Geneva, Ready Room, SO Doctor Engtamn-Jensi , 1113)
(Starbase Geneva, deck 30 engineering, ensign JG McLaren, 1130)
(Starbase Geneva, Turbolift, CSO Ensign {SG}Doctor Engtamn-Jensi , 1137)
(Starbase Geneva, Deck 33 Main Engineering, CSO Ensign {SG}Doctor Engtamn-Jensi, 1140)
(Starbase Geneva, Deck 32 Main Engineering, CSO Ensign {SG} Doctor Engtamn-Jensi, 1146)
(Starbase Geneva, Deck 32 Engineering, Ensign McLaren, 1148)
(Starbase Geneva, Deck 32, CSO Ensign {SG}Doctor Engtamn-Jensi , 1153)
(Starbase Geneva, Deck 32, ensign JG McLaren, 1155)
(Starbase Geneva, Deck 34, Ensign (SG) Engtamn-Jensi, 1157)
(Starbase Geneva, deck 32 engineering, Ensign JG McLaren, 1159)
(Starbase Geneva, Main Operations,2O/TAC/SC - Lieutenant (JG) Paul Casely, 1212)
(Starbase Geneva, Deck 34, CSO, Ensign (SG) Doctor Engtamn-Jensi, 1218)
(Starbase Geneva, Ready Room, SPC Dr. Eistal, 1305)
(Starbase Geneva, deck 1, Main Ops, Ensign Matthew McLaren 1404)
(Starbase Geneva, Deck 1, Main Ops, 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant Paul Casely, 1411)
(Starbase Geneva, Deck 28, The Olde Stone, 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant Paul Casely, 1420)


Stardate: 2406.12.14

(USS Iron Heart - Transporter Room - Lise & Tane - 0940)

"Let me GO!"  Lise protested as she violently moved her arm so that the
security officer who held it had no choice but to let go.  She could still,
however, feel the phasers pointing on her from a number of directions.

Lise turned and glared at every one of the security officers that surrounded
her.  "I TOLD you, I've made my choice."  She said vehemently.

The officers, did not reply.  Instead, they motioned for Lise to move, she
followed them through the corridors seething at the indignation of these men
who had plucked her from the very centre of the fight of which she had
become so fond.  It would be her life.  It was her being.  It was what she
believed in.

The men stopped and Lise waited.  ~What will happen next?~  She wondered,
still surveying her surroundings.  She would escape, she could, she knew it.

Tane looked at his robes and slipped them on, the robes of his house, and
slipped his D'k'tang at his side. He looked at himself briefly in the
mirror, the image that came back was a care-warn man who had too many
responsibilities (who was also recovering from a hangover). Someone stepped
through the door of his quarters, "Sir, the prisoner has been escorted on
board."

Miador nodded briefly and turned on his heel without a word. He took a deep
breath; this wasn't something he was looking forward too. As if he didn't
have enough on his plate already, one of his own had to go and get herself
deep into trouble. He pulled his hair back into a working ponytail and
cracked his neck, then stepped forward and through the doors. Standing
there, beside the door, was Lise. Tane put his hands behind his backs and
nodded at the security guards, who took a couple steps back. "You've given
me no end of headaches, Captain." he said without preamble.

Lise looked at the Ambassador who she knew all to well and stood with her
stance on guard and her arms folded behind her back.  She closed her mouth
tightly and looked Tane in the eye, her eyes burning with the fire of the
battle from which she'd been plucked.

He took in her appearance and flushed an angry red. "You DAMN NEAR CREATED A
DIPLOMATIC INCIDENT WITH OUR ALLIES!" He thundered at her, "You are By God a
Captain in Starfleet and NOW you will start to act like it!" He gestured to
the guard's "Take her to the Observation Lounge, Ill be down there shortly
to talk. If she gets away from you, I swear to God you'll wish you were
dead."

He cursed in fluent Klingon and stepped away, to let them pass.

Lise did not flinch a moment as the Ambassador let loose his anger in her
direction.  Instead she maintained her fiery glare into his eyes, her
passion for this newfound cause becoming ever so apparent as she watched him
lose his temper in anger at her actions.  ~You DON'T understand~  She
thought as she watched him.  ~I AM ONE OF THEM TOO!~  Her fiery Klingon
temper raged while she fought against it with the collectedness of her
betazoid mind.

She watched him threaten the security guards.  The corners of her mouth
turned up ever so slightly as she took that a challenge.  The security
officers grabbed her arms roughly and shoved her in the direction of the
observation lounge.  She allowed herself  to be lead out of the room and
waited until she heard the doors hiss shut before she began to struggle
against them.  The ship, she knew the deckplans well.  They wouldn't keep
her here, she'd resigned her commission in the name of the Klingon cause,
her sisters needed her, she didn't need to be here.  She didn't need to take
this.

Continuing to move forwards she waited until they crossed a crucial junction
in the corridor before she doubled back, and dropped to the ground, rolling
through the officers legs and then opened the Jeffries tube access panel and
slid inside.

Tane's badge beeped, =^=She's loose in the Jefferies Tubes, Sir.=^= a level
voice said. =^=We're after her.=^=

"Stun her." Tane said back dangerously. "And slap her in cuffs." HE cut the
connection and tapped it again, "Tane to Captain Lavelle, Shields up, and
take all transporters down and full security alert. I want guards at every
engineering room, Captain Arianna has gotten out, and she's a fully trained
engineer."

=^=Understood.=^-= The ship immediately went to Red Alert. Miador took a
deep breath and turned back to his communications panel, where the face of
Admiral LoDona was frowning at him.

Lise knew that she only had an extremely limited amount of time before
everyone would be made aware of her little stunt.  She had to create a
diversion and fast.

She zigged and zagged through some of the most unconventional paths, hoping
to find a way that she could evade the security guards that were after her.
If she could make it this far, no doubt she would be able to at least
accomplish something.  She wouldn't let Tane get away with this so easily.

Finally she'd made it to her desired destination, a small compartment off of
a hard to get to access crawlway she couldn't hear anyone in her vicinity.
She couldn't stay there long, but it was time to put her skills to use.

Plucking the communicator that they'd placed on her off her chest, she
cracked open its back.  ~and now, for there to be more than one of me
roaming around~

Quickly she accessed the computer and then instructed it to project several
signals of her communicator onto others, thus making it look like there were
easily 100 of her roaming about the ship.  She smiled as she encoded the
relays and rerouted them through several subsystems making them difficult to
shut down.

Closing the panel that she'd used, Lise quickly made her way out of the
other door of the tiny space and was on the move again.  She couldn't stay
in any one place for too long, but with any luck, she could confuse them
enough to get off and back.  Back to where she belonged.

Major Smith grinned behind his face-plate. "She's accessed the computer,
lock 'er down Boys." he said over his open frequency to the other Combat
Engineers in the area. He grabbed hold of a rung and flung himself down a
deck, onto the level that she had last accessed, and then pulled his phaser.
"What're our orders about this woman, Chief?" he said quietly as he looked
around.

=/=Find her, stun her, cuff her and drag her sorry ass to the Observation
Lounge. Careful, she's an engineer AND a part-Klingon fighter.=\=

"She doesn't have a weapon, does she?"

=/=Not that we know of, but beware anyway=\=

"Right." He said as he took off and began crawling through a tube. All the
CE's were making their way for this deck while Security and the Marines
began cutting off all exit points and the engineering sections were locked
down. She hadn't been very wise, trying to plan an escape on a ship that was
already locked down for combat. Nearly a third of the Marines and a cool
fourth of the Security forces were always on active alert these days. He
paused at a junction when he saw a flash of something move, and with
instincts born of long years in the Marines, he began moving for it at high
speed.

Lise could feel that she'd been spotted, the heavy clomps of an individual
following her was her other big clue.  She quickly turned and headed
straight up before jumping into another conduit.  She needed another obscure
place to hide.  She couldn't quite risk going out on deck without having the
ability to scan what was there.  She knew the protocol and at this moment,
the entire ship was probably crawling with all its forces that would have
been dragged out of bed and into alert status.

~Glad I'm not captain of this one~  She thought wryly as she pressed a
button and vented coolant fluid from a nearby conduit causing an obstacle
for her pursuer who would no doubt find a way to track her.  She raided an
engineering repair kit that had been left in her path and continued on.

Smith snorted as he waded through the coolant, untouched in his BDU. He
turned his head and switched to infra-red, and grinned large as he caught
the residual heat signature of his quarry. There was nobody else in the
area, it could be nobody BUT her. She had made a mistake, lowering the
ambient temperature.

He swung into a conduit she went through and kept on the move, "I have the
Captain on the move in conduit 10-2, she's trying to make a run for the
secondary transporters. I'm close. We need a cleanup crew in this area, she
ripped upon a coolant line."

=/=Roger, sealing off that area=\=

Lise could hear the sounds of someone clamoring after her.  She had to keep
ahead.  She was on her way to the transporters, but there was no way that
she'd be able to gain access.  No doubt, they'd all been locked out and
while she was good, she knew she wasn't good enough to be able to crack the
lockout code in the few seconds that she was likely to have.

She needed to create another diversion.  She thought, quickly, looking
around herself.  She was running out of ideas, but wouldn't let herself be
caught.

The echoing sounds of the person following her increased.  She reached a
major junction point.  She looked around, there were six points of exit, all
into different places of the ship.  She couldn't head for the transporters,
but there was one that she knew lead to an emergency access panel inside one
of the holodecks.

Smiling, she picked that one and set off.  She moved as quickly as she
could.  Having been an engineer she was suddenly made glad for all the time
she'd spent maneuvering through these blasted tubes, she'd become quite
adept at it.

She kept crawling and finally reached the access panel, she pushed it out
and found herself on the stark grid of a holodeck.  "Computer, activate
alien crowd program delta gamma four."  She said, a basic program that was
loaded on all holodecks.  Instantly, the room filled with thousands of
bodies.

"In addition, have the main door open and close at random every second."
She added, and the almost melodic sound of the air compressors were added
into the mix.  It was a party, and everyone was invited.

The trail ended at an engineering access port to the holodecks. He popped
his head in and laughed out loud, there was a party going on, she was trying
to hide within the holodeck system. He shook his head and pulled out, and
pulled one of the access ports off. "I've got her, 60 seconds." he said into
his mike, as he pulled out his small toolkit and found what he needed. All
Combat Engineers were, first and foremost, engineers. He got into the
programming, and then cut the power to the holodeck

with a chuckle he pulled out his phaser and stuck his head back in.

As the power was cut, Lise had been making her way towards the door.  The
moment that everything disappeared, the doors were open just a small enough
crack that she could squeeze through.  She couldn't stay where she was, and
so she made her way through the doors.  She could hear the sounds of heavy
footsteps converging on her location, she scurried down the hallway as she
felt the heat of a phaser blast barely miss her as she overloaded the access
mechanism to the Jeffries tubes and gained access again.

At this point she was running out of ideas, they were good -- of course they
were good -- they were the best, they were Starfleet.  She began to realize
precisely what she was up against.  However, she wouldn't allow herself to
be taken without a fight.  Crawling again like she'd never crawled before,
she made her way for her only hope of escape, the shuttle bay.

"She got out," he grunted as he put both hands on the doors and flicked them
open with little effort, due to the Strength assists of the BDU. He took off
after her at a high-rate of speed. He caught up a short time later, and just
missed her as she jumped into another tube.

"She's headin' to the Bays!" he said.

=/=Let her get there, Major, herd her. There is only one shuttle on standby,
the rest can't get off the pad in less then 15 minutes and there is no way
she's getting out of the bay.=\= Came the reply.

The Marine grunted, but didn't question the order as he holstered his weapon
on the run, grabbed hold of a rung, and jumped inside the portal after her.

Lise made her way through the rat's maze of tubes as she finally reached her
destination.  In all probability she wouldn't be able to get off, but there
was no other way.  She couldn't gain access to the transporters, and there
was someone on her heels, she could sense them.  Bolting out of the access
panel, she made her way to the nearest shuttle craft as she keyed in a
passcode to enter.

Tane pulled his phaser when the hatch finally closed behind the Captain, and
hit her point-black in the back on level one, just enough to knock her
sprawling against the seats. He remained sitting where he was, phaser out, a
she stirred and groaned. "This is a warship Captain, and you're playing with
things that could get millions killed if you succeed and the Klingon Empire
pulls out of the war. Do you think for a moment that we would loose you, or
that we would hesitate to kill you if you made it necessary? This is a
warship, if you had managed to get out of this bay, you would be spread
across the entire orbit of Qo'Nos as atoms."

The door opened and two security guards entered, slowly. "Cuff her," he said
without mercy.

Lise glared Tane "Our people."  She said, her lips thinned and tight, her
voice taught with the strain she was feeling for all her sisters in
fighting. "They're our people."  She reiterated as the security guards
pulled her away.   "I resigned to be alongside them."  She spat back.  "You
have no right."

"I have EVERY right, you think handing in a piece of paper matters to the
Klingon High Command, a people that keep their people in their own military
TO THE DEATH? Do you seriously think they are going to continue to help us
while a CAPTAIN in Starfleet is helping run a quasi-revolution? IF so,
you're more of an idiot then I ever dreamed you could be." he snapped.

"Drag her to the observation lounge, in cuffs." He said loudly. "She's
stunned once; stun her again if she gives you ANY resistance. I will
personally drink the blood of both of you if you fail."

A heavy voice said "There will be no failure." And a man in Marine armor
pushed the guards to the side. He picked her up by the arm, his face
couldn't be seen. He looked at the cuffs then back again, "She can't break
away from me, no matter how much she squirms. Come on, sweet-heart, you lead
me on a merry chase but its over now." He jerked her to the side and began
leading her out.

Tane blew a breath threw his lips and tossed one of the security officers
his phaser. "Follow along."

Lise looked with contempt at the man who had referred to her as
'sweet-heart'.  She squirmed and then looked straight into his BDU helmet,
"Do NOT refer to me as that."  She proclaimed.  "You heard him."  She said
strictly, "I'm still a CAPTAIN and you will accord me the proper respect."
She said bitterly.

The Marine pulled her through the doors, "You said it yourself, you've
resigned. I don't care what the Klingon empire thinks of you, I do know that
you just caused this ship to go up in arms. I care about THAT a lot." He
looked over at her, "Frankly, traitor, I don't give a damn what you think."
He turned back and went silent as they stepped into a turbolift.

Lise looked at him squarely.  "I" She said succinctly with enough
enunciation so that the Marine would be able to comprehend it through the
thick BDU that he was wearing.  "am NOT a traitor."

He remained silent, uncaring. The doors opened to the bridge, he pulled her
along and into the observation Lounge. The doors shut quietly, he pushed her
inside and took up position at the doors and loose attention.

(USS Iron Heart - Observation Lounge - Captain Arianna & Tane - 1009)

Miador sat down, much more calm now that word had been given that the
particular mesh that had seen the capture of Lise was over, the Chancellor
had taken a light stance and waved it away, Lise was his to deal with for
the time being. After a short message to LoDona, it was decided they were
going to travel back to Starbase Geneva and meet up with the Talons. LoDona
would deal with her from there.

Tane folded his hands together and looked at the cuffed woman, remembering
how she used to be when she had been Captain of Geneva and he had been
transferred out as one of the mere Diplomats. Those days were long gone
though; here she was, in chains over some ideological bit of fluff. And here
he was, back in command of the Federation Embassy during wartime.

"Now, Captain Arianna. We have to have a talk." he said, far more level then
when they had first met. "If you think you can behave, Ill have the cuffs
removed and the guards placed outside. There is no way you're getting out of
this room without my authorization, I warn you now."

Lise stood and glared at him.  She thought of a million things that she
could say that would make him angry, that would make them all angry, but she
wouldn't.  That wouldn't serve her purpose.  Not yet.

The word 'traitor' it had stung in a way that she hadn't thought.  She
hadn't been a traitor.  After all, it was she who had been abducted, and in
the end, it would have been her being a traitor to her own kind, her own
very being and origin of life had she not done what she had done.  And so
that had guided her decision.  Her sister, her niece, they all were in the
same situation, it was for them, for all her Klingon sisters that she had
engaged in this Endeavour and they had made changes.

Changes alright.  Lise looked around the all-too-familiar layout of the
observation lounge and thinking that at this meeting, she would not be the
one calling the shots.

Tane took that as assent, He made a gesture to one of the two security
guards, standing behind her, who took off the cuffs. "Stand outside," he
said. Once they were gone, he kicked back in his chair. "I don't give a damn
about your philosophical problems with the Klingon Empire;" he said easily.
"You're lucky that your life has been spared, the High Council takes a very
dim view of outsiders fiddling with their Internal affairs. And don't
mistake this, Lise, you're an outsider. Your supposed abjuction of command
means nothing to them; they see you as a Starfleet Officer: so a Starfleet
Officer you are." He crossed his hands over his knee; "I've given every hour
of my life over the last months to preserving this alliance to beat Doenitz.
You, Captain, came perilously close to ending it. You, damn near single
handed, nearly managed to condemn LoDona and the 52nd, and therefore any
hope that Doenitz will be overthrown and the Federation protected. You took
and oath against that, and you broke it. For that you will be sentenced by
LoDona for conduct unbecoming an Officer during wartime, and for Grand
Treason in the face of the Enemy."

Lise looked across the table at Tane.  "And for my people it means nothing.
I am not so much the outsider you would have me be."  She said furiously.

"Your people are a small dissention group, unhappy with thousands of years
worth of culture. That is also beside the point we're discussing, your
people are small in number. How many people are in the Federation?" He
leaned forward, "How many people have already died for this, and how many
more would have died had the Klingons pulled back their troops to wipe you
and yours out?"

He sat back again, undisturbed. "The simple fact is, Lise Arianna, you would
have been slaughtered had the Klingons decided to take more official notice
of you then they had. And while they did it, thousands or millions of our
own would be killed. You're Klingon, or think you are. What do oaths mean to
those of Klingon blood, hmm?" Tane's face was rock, he knew as much of the
Klingons as she did. He was only missing the blood.

"It's a matter of numbers. The needs of the many..."

Lise did not lower her eyes, instead she looked across at him, "but for
blood, for honour, for the house, for the glory, family, one would do
anything.  It has happened before, it will happen again, no matter who, no
matter when.  Any number of people would have done the same as I."

"And any of that number would be put to death by now. You're a special case,
half-Klingon and a Captain. That requires LoDona to give you a court
martial." He quirked an eyebrow, "I'm now speaking as Tane of House Tane, To
HELL with your house, to HELL with your blood, And Double-Damn your honor!"
HE slapped the table hard, his hair flared around him, "You almost caused
the death of millions!" He took a breath, "Get that through your head
Captain. You will probably never be allowed back into the Empire, and THAT
assuming you're not put to immediate death. Start listening to your
conscience, and do it pretty damned pronto."

"And had you NOT removed me, I would have died alongside my group, or we
would have prevailed.  It's happened in every history of every planet where
there was subjugation.  Every single one.  There was an uprising, a revolt,
many gave their lives, their blood, but it made their future stronger.  It
was NOT in the capacity of Captain that I was doing what I did.  It was in
the capacity of daughter of Kre'Tos.  A once powerful house, now unable to
accomplish the most menial tasks for its lack of male heirs."

Lise took a breath as she realized that she'd been shouting and she could
feel the emotions rising within her.  She lowered her voice to a metered,
clipped tone:  "Double damn my honour?  Isn't it interesting that both sides
are double crossers.  Had this 'so-called' captain resigned to fight on the
side of the dominant power -- the high council, would they have complained?
No.  When I was the high ranking official in Starfleet's ranks, was my
honour and adherence to duty prized?  I should think so.  So isn't it
interesting that you are all so interested only in what is 'convenient' for
you at the moment.  My honour sees me through all, and damn it I shall not.
However, if you so feel the need, please, be my guest to try the gesture on
your own."

"I do," he growled. "Because this is bigger then either of us. Your lack of
conscience then would have doomed the Federation, all because a few women
wanted a voice on the Council, when in reality they already rule the Major
houses." He shook his head, "Your group is already dead Captain, its more
then just the men you had in arms, its the Matriarch's whose power you
threatened, Soldiers who couldn't believe your break with tradition. You
hold onto honor, yet you've broken every honorable code the Klingons held
dear. Your minority opinion is squashed, or will be within days. In the mean
time..." he stood up, "You will be placed in confinement within the brig;
you're to intelligent to trust in locked quarters. Even you can't break out
of the brig to raise hell. LoDona is deciding whether or not to charge you,
you remain in confinement according to the Articles of War under suspicion
of Treason until that time."

He folded his robes about him, his eyes hard. "I thought I knew you,
Captain, once. I was obviously wrong. The selfish desire you've shown in the
last weeks is unmatched to any in history, I will be glad to wash my hands
of you." He stepped back and hit a button, "Get in here." he barked.

As the doors opened and the Marine walked in, he said "Escort her to the
brig." He turned to her briefly. "May the Gods forgive you the death you
nearly caused, Captain Arianna. And may your honor be able to overcome the
thought of the deaths you would have had on your hands."

Lise looked at Tane.  "You don't understand."  She said softly.  "I couldn't
expect you to."  She turned her back on him.  She had a conscience and he
had no idea what had transpired, how things had unfolded, the precise reason
that the Klingons had fought, how that had impacted them.  He didn't know.
He couldn't know:  he was a man.  He wouldn't understand.

Lise cared about life more than he could understand.  The precautions that
she'd insured they take, the way that she'd conducted their incursions,
there was not a high loss of life on the other side.  She hadn't allowed
slaughter, and both sides had occurred deaths, just as in any combat and she
knew of every single one of them connected with her responsibility; no
matter their side of combat.  She had kept track, and Kahless knew she felt
and mourned for them.  Kahless knew.  Her only wish had been to die in
honour -- a feat that was seeming less and less possible by the minute.

He gestured for them to take her, "Don't let her loose," he said to the
Marine. He watched her as she was pulled from the room, then sat down again
and put his face in his hands. That was one diplomatic incident down. He
tapped his badge a few moments later, "Captain, make ready for diplomatic
visitors within the hour and prepare to break orbit."

(Posted by Katherine and Trout)

Mission: New Beginnings, Day 1
Stardate: 2406.12.24

(USS Night's Watch - Observation Lounge - Captain Richard Ian Lee - 0730

Rich crossed his arms behind his back as he looked out the window of the
observation lounge at the black stream-lined form of the Steel Talons. She
was something to look at, that was for sure, but her coming heralded more
then just a good photo opportunity. The Night's Watch and the Talons hadn't
been together in months, not since the mass invasion by a goodly sized
battle group of Doenitz. Now both were together again, in the shadow of the
Fleet Hub, Starbase Geneva.

What was more; Rich had no idea why he had been summoned here. That was
particularly annoying to him, since he was the primary strategic planner for
the fleet. He hated fleet and ship movements being planned without his
knowledge. Most especially when it was his own ship. He blew a breath
through his mustache in annoyance. He had been cooling his heels here for
hours while the Talons caught up.

=^=Sir, Admiral LoDona has just beamed aboard and is enroute to your
position.=^=

"Very well," Rich answered immediately. He turned his attention from the
Talons to the Starbase herself. Geneva was a beacon in space, and her
upgrade was complete. Rich could only assume that his presence here had
something to do with her... the timing was perfect and there was no other
reason to meet at this location; several others had been mutually closer to
their positions.

The Captain's musing was cut short as the doors opened behind him. Lee
turned on his heel and nodded at the fireplug of a man who stepped in.
"Admiral." was all he said.

"Captain Lee," Admiral LoDona said agreeably, or as close to 'agreeably' as
he ever got. The man's temper was becoming much like Rich's own, dark and
quick, especially as the Campaign against Doenitz continued in earnest. Even
with the Klingons openly on their side now, things were not easy. It was
going to take time for the Klingons to fully mobilize their fleet, only a
few dozen ships had joined the effort thus-far. The rest would be coming
within the month, but until that time, the fight was going to be long and
difficult. It would be no easier once the Klingon High Command had joined
them fully. By that time, all the Senior Command Staff of the fleet would
have to deal with their Klingon counterparts. Even now, Rich has a couple
Klingons on his strategic staff; they were making him want to commit murder.


The Admiral stepped beside him and took much the same stance, looking at
Geneva through weary eyes. "She is fully operational now." he said, simply.

"Aye Sir, I've read the reports." Lee agreed. He had been the one who had
taken her offline for so long, he knew what the time-table was.

"I've seen your list of candidates for her new Commander. My final choice is
a bit more... problematic."

Rich quirked an eyebrow and turned back to the window. "Define Problematic."

"Captain Lise Arianna."

Rich blew out a breath and hung his head for a moment in thought. "You're
right, much more problematic." he finally said. "And unavailable to boot."

"Which is why you're here Captain, until we can round her up, you have
command." The Admiral said, evenly. "I don't expect it will be long."

Rich rubbed the bridge of his nose, "As you wish." was all he could say.

(Starbase Geneva - Operations - Captain Richard Ian Lee - 0800)

Rich stepped onto the Operations deck and paused, looking around at the
two-level structure. It wasn't the largest operations center he had ever
seen, not by any means, Ops on Valhalla at Utopia Planetia had been the size
of a football stadium almost; with a raised platform in the center for the
senior department heads that was the same size as Geneva's control center.

Lee put both hands against one of the rails and leaned his full seven foot
plus frame on it, looking around. The temporary command crew was in place,
but the permanent crew was in route. He sighed slightly, just what was
LoDona thinking, putting him here? The fact that he commanded the 'Watch was
more then enough for him, most of the administrative command duties had been
handed to the First Officer and Rich spent most of his time in the Stratops
command center. Here, he was going to be needed a lot more, especially
considering the station was becoming active again.

He cleared his throat and waited for attention to turn to him. "By Order of
Admiral LoDona, I hereby take command of Starbase Geneva. Duty Officer, note
it in the log. I want full systems readiness reports on my desk in 2 hours,
and route any incoming officers my way immediately."

The Captain stood to his full height, "Hop to it."

(Posted by Trout)

Mission: New Beginnings, Day 2
Stardate: 2406.12.25

(Starbase Geneva - Deck 14, Holodeck 5 - 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant {JG} Paul 
Casely - 0725)

The room was awash in the glow of tinsel and lights. A stately tree sat in 
the center of the room with brightly coloured packages all around it. Seated 
around the tree was the rest of the Casely family, including Paul dressed in 
his full dress uniform.

"I never wanted to admit it son, but you're doing very well for yourself in 
Starfleet. You were right to follow your dreams," said Peter Casely, the 
aging patriarch of the family with a grin. He patted his son on the shoulder 
and looked at his wife.

Diane, Paul's mother, for her part, just smiled at her son and hurried off 
to bring in more gifts. She had shown concern but definitely seemed to be 
much more accepting of Paul's new path.

Suddenly, Paul's nephew, Matthew, walked over and plunked himself by Paul 
and hugged him.

~If only. but its just a pipe dream. My family is gone to me. Merry 
Christmas,~ thought Paul bitterly.

"Computer, end programme," stated Paul flatly. He thought for a minute and 
then turned, "Computer, delete programme." Then he walked out of the 
holodeck.

(Starbase Geneva - Personal Quarters - 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant {JG} Paul Casely 
- 0735)

Paul walked into his quarters feeling alone and dejected. They always said 
Christmas was the most difficult time. He hadn't heard anything from his 
family since he decided to join Starfleet. Not even from his brother, Denis. 
It was hard, and he was satisfied with his decision, but he still longed for 
his family.

Paul walked through his large, empty quarters. He remembered his 
exhilaration when he had first seen them. That was one perk about starbases. 
lots of room. Now, it just felt huge and empty.

"Computer, messages and schedule please?" asked Paul.

[Your duty is set to start in Main Operations at 0900. You have one new 
external message.]

~External message? Odd.~ thought Paul as he walked to his terminal and sat 
down.
"Computer, play message," said Paul. Suddenly the image of his brother 
flashed on the screen.

=^=Hello Paul. I know you're busy but I just wanted to wish you a Merry 
Christmas. I know things have been kind of. strained. with the family. I 
just wanted you to know that Laura, Matthew and I are very proud of you, 
even if its not really what mom and dad wanted you to do. Anyway. well. I 
hope to hear from you sometime.=^=

Paul paused for a moment and looked at the screen.

"Computer, save," he stated, "and prepare for reply."

With that, Paul began sending his reply explaining life on the station and 
everything else that had happened as a smile crept onto his lips.

(Posted by Jeff Bergeron)

Mission: New Beginnings, Day 3
Stardate: 2406.12.26
 
(Starbase Geneva - Deck 26  - Captain Richard Ian Lee & Lt (JG) Paul Casely - 09.30)
 
Paul walked along the promenade. This is where station ops told him to go. He was apparently looking for civilians quarters or something. Someone named... Callahan. Paul looked around and frowned, he could seem to locate any civilian quarters by that name... and then he saw it. Paul chuckled to himself as he walked to the bar located on the promenade with the sign out front reading Callahans.
 
Paul stepped into the brightly lit pub and saw several different Starfleet personnel... he quickly eliminated those in uniforms other than command red. Then, taking sidelong glances at collars he tried to find the captain. Slowly, Paul wormed his way through the crowds and as he did so, the pub seemed to grow more dim. Finally, Paul saw the tallest human he'd ever seen. ~This has to be him.~ thought Paul.
 
The fact that this was likely the captain was borne out by the sheer number of PADDs surrounding him. To the pile, he prepared to add another one. He looked at Captain Lee and stated, "Sir, Lieutenant Paul Casely reporting for duty, sir."
 
Rich's eyebrows clicked up to the top of his skull and looked at the officer who had stepped up to his table. After a few seconds he looked back down, "Have a seat, (rank), and how about you start telling me just who you are, and what you're supposed to be doing here." He put the PADD he was looking down aside after a few moments and sat back in his chair. "In fact, your orders might be helpful as well." he said as he grabbed a small mug and brought it to his lips.
 
Paul sat down warily and handed Rich the PADD. "These are my orders, Sir. I am your new Second Officer and Tactical/Security Officer. I have come from the USS Nimitz where I served in the capacity of TAC/SC officer. I do have a question though, sir," responded Paul looking the captain dead in the eyes.
 
Rich took the PADD and finished off his mug. "Go ahead." he said as he looked down at the PADD and began to scroll.
 
"I was just wondering.  Do captains learn to say the exact words, 'how about you start telling me just who you are, and what you're supposed to be doing here' at some point? Captain Sash asked me exactly the same thing when I came aboard the Nimitz, almost to the letter," queried Casely with a wry grin.
 
Lee confirmed the orders on the PADD and looked up again after a few silent moments, "This is the fleet Sonny," he said in an unimpressed, exaggerated tone, "You should know by now that we do everything by a book." He looked at the PADD again, then tossed it aside.
 
"Alright, you're in." Rich said quickly. "Computer, give me secure access to the Starfleet database. Authorization Lee omega seven seven."
 
[Granted]
 
"Right, recognize me. Captain Richard Ian Lee, Commanding Officer of Starbase Geneva."
 
[Captain Lee Recognized]
 
Rich looked at the Lieutenant, and waited.
 
Paul arched an eyebrow and allowed the grin to fade from his face. "Computer, recognize Paul Casely, authorization Casely epsilon four nine."
 
[Lieutenant Casely Recognized]
 
"Computer, grant Lieutenant Casely all appropriate command authorizations for Security Chief and Second Officer."
 
[Done]
 
Rich leaned forward and put the mug on the table again, "Welcome aboard, (rank)." Lee said with a nod. "Now, your regular Captain isn’t aboard yet, but I’m in charge of this intergalactic gas-station in the mean time. So, tell me about yourself."
 
Paul did what he could to suppress a chuckle as he recalled Captain Sash's exact words when he came to the Nimitz as being, 'Casely, I want you to tell me about yourself.'
 
"Well, sir... I graduated from Starfleet Academy being specialized in Security/Tactical and OPs control. I boarded the Nimitz originally as ATAC to Ensign Kateb. When she and our SC, Edward Gideon died during that mission I took over. I enjoy martial arts and tactical simulations. I have masters degrees in tactical history and diplomatic politics with a focus on Xenobe Relations." replied Casely straight-faced.
 
Rich took another drink from his mug and leaned his head back, "Well, that would be a reason for your assignment here then, Second and Sec Chief." he said, "This is a mixing ground and diplomatic center, it always helps to have people with some learning in political and diplomatic relations between races." He took a sniff of the mug and put it down, "For now, You're the second highest ranking officer on the station in the direct line of command, keep that in mind if there's a problem. Until Captain Lise gets here and the First Officer signs on, you're up for shift duty. Any issues with that?" he asked, as he crossed his arms and looked at the officer.
 
Paul looked at his present CO and deadpanned, "Not in the least, Sir. I look forward to it."
 
"You're a fool then, but you're my kind of fool." He nodded his head, "Then take this day and explore you're new station. Learn its nooks and crooks, you'll be needing that as Security Chief. Report for duty at 0800 tomorrow, I want to watch you for a shift. After that, well, we'll see."
 
"Understood, Sir," said Paul as he rose stiffly. He would be needing to recall all his lessons about 'proper conduct' for the time being. Ironic when dealing with a CO who did his business in a bar.
 
Rich chuckled, "You're off duty until tomorrow, enjoy yourself tonight, once you're done playing tunnel-rat. Dismissed."

(Posted by Trout and Jeff)
 
(Starbase Geneva, Promenade Deck 26, 2O/TAC/SC, Lieutenant {JG} Casely, 9.45)

Paul exited Callahans and headed along the promenade. He scanned the area as a whole and placed the different shops and businesses. This would be very different to work at compared to the Nimitz. Paul noticed the various races wandering along the promenade and he suddenly saw with striking clarity the reasons that someone with diplomatic training would be useful. Every life form, every species, ever race that the Federation had ever encountered was to be found in some form aboard this station. In some ways it was beautiful, in other ways frightening. Paul wandered, observing the nuances of the station, suddenly he heard a cry and saw an adolescent Miradorn male running across the deck with something under his shirt.
 
“STOP! Thief!” Paul heard and from far behind as he took off after the boy. Paul did have a phaser at ready but had little desire to fire on a child, let alone point it at him. Instead, Paul put his head down and kicked in a burst of speed. Soon, he overtook the child and was able to grab hold of him.
 
“Let me go!” yelled the child.
 
“I don’t think so, young man, stop now,” said Paul, putting the breaks on, “Now, what do you have stuffed under there?”
 
“Nothing,” replied the child sullenly, “let me go!”
 
“Listen,” replied Paul, “either you’re going to show me what you have hidden or I’m going to go after it. Then you’ll spend a nice day in the brig.” He was starting to get angry with this teenager. The Miradorn were well known as being regularly engaged in illegal activities.
 
The boy looked up at Paul and sneered at him, “And just who are you?”
 
“I would be Lieutenant Casely, the new Security Chief on this station. So I guess you could say, I’m the law here,” stated Paul glaring back at him.
 
The boy swallowed hard and pulled an electronic device out of his shirt and handed it to Paul. Paul took it and stared at it. ~Personal holo emitter… worth a pretty penny to the right people.~ thought Paul. Just then the shopkeeper caught up. The Eminarian merchant looked at Paul for a second.
 
“Hello… ummm…Lieutenant… you’re new here, aren’t you?” said the shopkeeper.
 
“Yes, I’m the new Security Chief. Lieutenant Casely,” responded Paul.
 
“I see… thank you for stopping… HIM!” said the Eminarian, “I want him prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
 
Paul tossed the emitter back to the shopkeeper. “Well,” he said, “I’m not sure about how far we can legally prosecute a teenager… I will speak to his parents. However, I would also say that the emitter he took could be problematic for you… after all, it looks like Cardassian technology, making it possible contraband I do believe. Be a shame to have to go through your inventory and records to make sure.”
 
The shopkeeper looked at Paul for a second and blinked. “Well, just make sure you talk to his parents,” he muttered as he walked back to his shop.
 
Paul chuckled to himself and started with the boy back to the civilian habitat areas.
 
(Starbase Geneva, Deck 62 TAC/SC Office, 2O/TAC/SC, Lieutenant (JG) Casely, 11.45) 
 
Paul walked into his new office. He had spent almost two hours talking to the boy’s parents. Braja was the boy’s name… his parents had brought him to the station in hopes that he would abandon the ‘typical’ industry for his race. The parents were decent hardworking people who were just trying to escape a common ethnic stereotype that had been pinned on them. Their son was clearly not helping. Paul was sure this wouldn’t be the last he’d see of Braja in the future. He hoped that it would be in a more positive light.
 
Paul walked over to his desk and sat heavily in his chair. This was certainly a lot bigger than the office he’d had on the Nimitz. He looked at his computer and keyed in a report on Braja. He wasn’t surprised to find that the boy had been caught for petty theft before. ~Next time the brig for sure… at least for a night,~ thought Paul grinning slightly. At least this way the parents were definitely aware he had given their son the benefit of the doubt first.
 
Paul leaned back slightly as the computer scrolled through various complaints and issues logged in it. Nothing major, of course that was hardly surprising the station had only just been reopened to the ‘general public’ as it were, very recently. Paul looked at the various reports on minor infractions and added the report of the Eminarian’s contraband technology. He might save that for a larger investigation later as it might lead to a larger fish… namely whoever was sending this technology on board. ~First day and already at work… typical of me.~ thought Paul with a chuckle.
 
(Starbase Geneva, Promenade Deck 28, The Olde Stone, 2O/TAC/SC, Lieutenant {JG} Casely, 12.45) 

Paul exited the turbolift and walked onto the deck. He had been looking through the station deck plans and was surprised by how expansive it was… especially the size of his own department. He had found other restaurants and pubs besides Callahan’s and decided to investigate. ~No sense running into my  charming captain unless I have to. I hope Captain Arianna is more affable,~ thought Paul.

Paul walked into the Olde Stone and sat down. He was given a menu and started paging through it. 

“I’ll have a steak, medium rare and a porter cream ale please,” requested Paul. He decided to rest, relax and rejuvenate for the rest of the day. He knew his morning shift at Station Operations would be… interesting.

(Posted by Jeff)

(Starbase Geneva - Deck 62, TAC/SC Office - 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant {JG} Paul Casely - 1724)

Paul walked into the office and looked around. He couldn't believe the sheer size of it. It was a bit far from system operations, but the turbo lift was fast, so he'd deal with it. Besides, when he was not on duty in ops he had to deal with the day to day security of the station. Paul walked through the office carrying a large box and balancing several other items.
 
~Good, they put in the bookshelves I asked for,~ thought Paul. In front of the bookcases were several boxes roughly the same size as he had in his arms now.  With that, he started unpacking and looking at the books and placing them into different shelves, tactical information, history, Starfleet and literature. He needed a place to put his Art of War, his Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, his Starfleet Regulation Guide and his Faust by Goethe. Everything in its place. Despite the fact that most, if not all, things were available on the computers, Paul preferred the tactile sensation of pages against his fingers. There was something satisfying about reading an actual book. Most of his books were antiques, rescued from Earth's past. They were about the only thing he'd brought with him when he left home. Over time, the bookshelves began to fill up steadily with heavy emphasis placed on literature and history. Paul stood back and looked at the shelves and nodded approvingly, then he frowned slightly.
 
~Something is missing,~ he thought, then he remembered.
 
Paul gingerly picked up a model of a sovereign class starship and placed it reverently on the center bookshelf. Emblazoned across the saucer section was the name USS Nimitz NCC 75878-E. Paul nodded, stepped back a few paces and then sat down at his desk and began getting caught up on 'paperwork'.
 
~Unauthorized transport... items arriving, no lading...problems in transport shipping...damn it, can't seem to access the customs section... I should be able to get into all the personnel files except for intelligence...~
 
Paul tapped his comm badge.
 
"Lieutenant Casely to Captain Lee. I've been looking at some of these reports, there are definitely inconsistencies in shipping. What do you think the chances are that someone in customs are part of the smuggling problem, sir?" asked Paul.
 
(Reply Lee)
 
"Sir, how can I gain access to the personnel records from customs? I can't seem to get access, could be just a glitch," requested Paul.
 
(Reply Lee)
 
"Yes Sir, thank you Sir," said Paul as he returned to his computer.
 
(Posted by Jeff)

Mission: New Beginnings
Mission Day: 4
Stardate: 2406.12.27

(Starbase Geneva, Main Operations, 2O/TAC/SC, Lieutenant {JG} Casely, 0800)

Paul walked off the turbolift into Main Operations. He walked onto the deck
and presented himself to Captain Lee. This would be his first duty shift in
control of the station's Main Operations.

"Lieutenant Casely, reporting for duty, Sir," said Paul.

Paul looked at his CO and nodded. He walked directly towards the command
duty station. Paul keyed in his personal codes and transferred the station
to himself. As soon as he assumed control of the station he was inundated
with PADDs awaiting signature. Paul grimaced slightly and started quickly
reading and signing off on items. When that was complete, he furrowed his
brow slightly.

"OPs where are the diagnostic reports?" asked Paul.

”Sir?” came the confused ropy.

"Please be advised that before I start my duties from now on I want level 5
diagnostics run and the reports in front of me, as per Starfleet
regulations. Weekly I want to see Level 4s and once a month Level 3s. You
should already know that from Station regulations orders. We'll set up
schedules with Engineering for Level 2 and Level 1 diagnostics to at least
correspond with Starfleet regulations," stated Paul, "Its up to you to keep
this station running up to optimal capacity."

”Yes Sir, understood,” answered the Ensign.

Paul nodded to the officer. There were a lot of new people on this starbase
so it wasn't surprising that not everyone was 100 percent sure of their jobs
yet. He had to make sure they understood that he would run a tight ship. er
station.

"What ships do we have docked at the moment?" Paul asked allowed, waiting
for the appropriate officer to answer.

A quiet reply came from the other side of Paul, “Very few at the moment, just some freighters, Sir. I’ll send you the details.”

"Security station, make sure you notify the customs officers to double check
all cargo. I believe we might have a smuggling ring onboard the station. I
found a shopkeeper selling a Cardassian holo emitter yesterday. Please make
sure someone from security checks out the Eminarian shopkeeper on deck 26. I
want to know where and from whom he gets his shipments. Don't be too heavy
handed, just make sure he knows we're watching him," stated Paul.

”Yes Sir.”

With that, Paul settled in to the command chair in OPs station and began to
check regular logs and reports as they came in. This was going to be a lot
more 'busy' than an average starship on a regular day. At least things would
probably never get boring.

(Posted by Jeff)

Mission: New Beginnings, Day 6
Stardate: 2406.12.29

(USS Steel Talons - Admirals Deck, Admirals Office - LoDona & Arianna -
1408)

=^=Admiral, Captain Arianna has been brought aboard with Ambassador Tane.=^=

Robert, who was looking out his port-hole at the emptiness of space and
rubbing his 'class ring', nodded to himself. His face was pinched and drawn,
the result of month's worth of bloody conflict that was only going to get
worse, even with the help of the Klingons behind him. He rubbed his eyes,
"Escort her here immediately."

He took a seat behind his desk and folded his hands together, waiting.

Lise was being escorted through the Iron Heart and finally transported over
to the Steel Talons.  She knew the path all too well, she, complete with
cuffs, was brought alongside Ambassador Tane to the doors of Admiral
LoDona's office.

Lise looked over at Tane her mind carefully shielded so as not to betray the
sentiments that were running through her head.  ~This can't be good~  Lise
thought as she watched the doors open before her and felt someone shove her
inside.

What she would have given to be able to avoid this situation.  It wasn't
going to be good.  Not at all.  Court-martial, imprisonment for life,
degradation and the death of her honour.  There was only one avenue that
remained.  In fact, she questioned why she had not explored that avenue
earlier, thus avoiding this entire situation.

Shamefully she hung her head before gathering her pride.  When the sentence
was through, she would ensure that she would not live out her life in such a
degredated situation.  Of that she would be certain.

~Here goes nothing~  She thought as she stepped through the door, more due
to the pressure and force of those guarding her.  A small smile played
across their lips ~I gave them quite a run~.

Once the door was open and the Captain pushed through, LoDona gestured the
other guards off. They gave a nod and walked out, letting the door close
behind him. Robert, who had started rubbing his Borg implants again
unconsciously, nodded his head to a chair without saying anything. It was a
BIG room, but she could see him just fine.

He brought up one hand and gestured to the crew that was working around the
War table, they too left the room. He wanted to be alone for this.

Lise walked towards the desk and stood behind the chair.  She did not speak.
Her nerves made their presence aware as the room emptied of the Admiral's
staff, but she maintained a facial expression etched in stone.

Robert folded his hands together again and continued rubbing his implant,
his gaze never leaving her face, waiting for her to sit.

Lise stood, her hands still behind her back and her eyes fixed on the
Admiral.

Robert stood to his full height, just under six feet, and put his hands
behind his back. The Captain remained ramrod straight. His face was a mask
as he walked around the desk and stepped next to the Captain. He was facing
the opposite direction as her, and he didn't turn his head to look at her.
"You're stubbornness will not help you in this Captain, I can assure you I'm
worse, and I'm tempted to simply have you shot. If I were you, I would be
playing along." He paused, "Whatever is going through your head, you better
start thinking like a Starfleet officer, or Ill make sure to keep you in a
comma until I can get you into a cell to rot. Mr. Tane warned me about
Klingon Ideals of incarceration, I will make it my mission to have you
suffer."

"Shoot me."  Lise said under her breath.  "Go right ahead."

"No, Captain, I'll lock you in the brig until you've forgotten what
starlight looks like." He said, still looking at his door and not so much as
twitching. "Now sit your ass in that chair and we'll have our little chat,
unless you like the alternative."

Before taking her place in the chair, Lise looked up at the Admiral and
glared her most ferocious glare, her eyes burning with fire.  Then she sat.
Arms still pinned behind her back.  Posture still straight.  She would not
let her guard down.  Not for one moment.

Robert waited for several seconds, unmoving, as she took her chair. He took
a short breath and turned on his heel, and then began walking to his chair.
"He stopped in front of the window/porthole and looked out of it for several
long moments before turning back to face her, his face completely
nonchalant and his arms still behind his back. He considered her for
several long, silent moments.

"I have an official request from the Klingons to simply kill you and be done
with it, the Chancellor was very unhappy with you, and with Starfleet by
extension. So, Captain Lise Arianna, what do you think I should do with
you?"

Lise looked at the Admiral.  "With all due respect -- Sir -- you have
probably made up your mind, what I think is irrelevant as you've already so
aptly demonstrated."

"You assume," He said without so much as twitching. "You also didn't answer
my question, now do so."

"Kill me."  She said succinctly.  Her honour had been robbed, no possible
chance for reclamation, no possible chance to regain what had been taken
from her.  There was no alternative.

"Wasteful, we're in a war." He said, again without moving. "But it's
tempting. I can, however, think of two very compelling reasons not to do
so." He took a breath, "One, you gave the Klingons hell, and you can do the
same for our enemies. Two, your honor was sullied the second you took up a
fight which put Starfleet and the Federation in mortal danger. There is a
chance, slim, that you can redeem yourself."

Lise did not move.  She did not speak.  She sat, silent.

"Starbase Geneva has been renovated, and she needs a Commander who knows her
well. She is one hell of a tempting target." He pulled his seat out and sat
down, not showing a single emotion. "The Captain I have in charge is needed
elsewhere. And whereas I have other options, I would be more comfortable
with someone at the helm who knows the place." He folded his hands together,
"I am trying to decide if your sense of honor, which you so obviously will
die for, is worth trusting if you decide it's worth living for as well."

It was the first thing that broke through the stone-etched expression that
Lise wore on her face.  She was stunned.  Of all the possible combinations
that she had imagined would happen.  This was most certainly NOT one of
them.  "And what have you determined."  She said finally as she gained her
sense of composure, her face once again set in stone, after having given
leave to its stoic expression for a mere three seconds.

"I haven't decided yet." He said, easily. "So, you're going to tell me just
what made you think your little revolution was worth millions."

Lise's expression did not change.  "Is that an order?"

"Would you like me to make it one?" he asked right back.

"I believe I can manage."  Lise responded her expression still remaining
unchanged.  "At first, it was not my idea.  At first, I had been forcibly
removed from the outpost and brought to Qo'noS against my will.  I am sure
that your records will sufficiently back that up."  Lise said evenly.

"But then, from my imprisonment, I saw, I watched, I saw how the women, the
girls, were denied those things that to them were most important.  Freedom.
Something that you, and I and everyone else in the federation take for
granted.  The ability to lead, the ability to hold power, to have their
voices heard in the legislating form of the government.  Houses which died
out -- like my own -- simply because of the lack of male heirs.  And then,
there was my sister:  my sister and her daughter.  They who had suffered
again at the hands of this gross injustice and subjugation.  And it became
clear.  Their incursions were taking lives, unnecessarily -- I could prevent
that.  There were cleaner ways of accomplishing what they needed, other ways
of attracting attention, gaining aid -- ways which did not include such loss
of life."

"And so -- "  Lise did not finish the sentence, she just looked at the
Admiral, her expression always remaining unchanging.

"And so you dug yourself into an internal Empire matter, regardless of your
oath to the Federation." He finished. He leaned back and steepled his
fingers, "I will be clear. If I give you this position again, you will stop
all your efforts in the Klingon Empire, and you will never step foot there
again while this war is on. To do so would probably be your instant death.
Is this understood?"

Lise looked at him and did not nod, her stoic expression fixed upon her
face.  "Yes.  It was not 'regardless of my oath'."  She said, "I removed
myself from Starfleet before.  I would not jeopardize my oath to this
organization.  I am not without honour as some would seem to think."

"Yet, you say you know Klingons. They didn't care that you had offered your
resignation, you went in as a Starfleet Officer and only gave it up during."
Robert shot back. He leaned back in his chair, "I will think on this and
inform you tomorrow. You will be well advised to think this over yourself."
He looked at her, "You are dismissed."

Lise stood and turned.  "I was kidnapped."  She said before she left.  "I
did not delve into it as you so eloquently put it."  She stood and turned,
then addressed both men: "Good day Ambassador, Admiral."

Robert watched her leave unmoving.

(Posted by Trout and Katherine)

Mission: New Beginnings, Day 7
Stardate: 2406.12.30

(USS Altruvidia, Personal Quarters, SPC Dr. Deirdra Eistal, 05.30)
 
Deirdra sat at her kitchen table and shook her head. Another transfer.  They'd been so many places and she feared for the children that they would never be able to settle down and make friends if she kept getting transferred from place to place.
 
Although, it wasn't as if every time she had been transferred, it had been devoid of their participation.  On some of their duty stations, it had actually been the captains who had requested that Deirdra put in for transfer if she wasn't able to better control her children.
 
~Better control my children-- HA!~  Deirdra thought wryly as she nursed her cup of hot herb tea before her.  
 
It was true, her children, the De'Ktor triplets were anything but controllable.  They'd been involved (and not in a good way) with almost every senior member of the tactical team on every ship and or station that they had been on.
 
At first, Deirdra was hoping that it was just a phase, one that they would soon outgrow.  After all, children were mischief makers, weren't they?  Didn't they all go through this period in their lives of being incredibly difficult and getting into trouble?
 
Deirdra had discussed this idea with a number of other mothers, and also several counsellors. They all seemed to concur that this wasn't entirely an abnormal event.  However, each of these people had also stated that usually the children outgrew that phase.
 
So far, that hadn't happened.  Albeit, to their credit, the triplets got in less trouble on the civilian medical facility to which Deirdra had been stationed, they still were not without their mischievousness.  She thought about all the antics that they'd pulled in the short time they'd spent there and realised that probably the one that she would remember with greatest clarity until the end of her days was when V'Tral was doing some sort of experimentation with an amphibious creature that he'd found in the banks of the river nearby the facility.
 
He'd created some sort of alternate living atmosphere for the creature while he studied his behavioural patterns and social interactions with other holo-amphibians that he had programmed in a variety of ways.  However, V'Tral being V'Tral he somehow managed to have the frog escape (or at least this was the story he'd told Deirdra) and it mysteriously ended up in the slippers of the security officer that had tried to hold the three in containment during facility inspection with the reasoning that if they were in containment then they couldn't cause anymore problems.  What a wrong assumption that had been.
 
Deirdra smiled, perhaps if they were someone else's children she'd be able to watch from the background and sort of giggle as some of her colleagues did as their antics.  However, she could not.  She also could not bear the feelings that she got from some of the COs she'd previously had as they continually looked down upon her as if she were a bad mother.  She wasn't a bad mother, she was just a Betazoid woman who had adopted three Klingon triplets who were quite active and had very vivid imaginations.  Unfortunately their vividness wasn't limited solely to their imaginations.
 
She sighed, there was nothing much she could do now.  The children were still sleeping and they would have to be woken up in several hours so that they could put in their school hours before arriving on Geneva.
 
~Geneva~  Eistal thought with an amount of dread.  The last time they'd been on Geneva... she thought back, remembering how she'd been called away from work to claim her children from the brig as they'd been having a golf tournament around the station and made their way through the counsellor's office succeeding in breaking one of her priceless antique vases.
 
There were so many shops on the station, so many restaurants, and so many people coming and going.  The potential for the children getting into trouble was astronomical.  Deirdra sighed.  This wouldn't be a walk in the park, it would be difficult if anything.
 
She re-read her assignment.  She was assigned under Lise Arianna.  Lise Arianna, daughter of the house of Kre'Tos, the captain who had once taken her son up on a bat'leth challenge.  V'Staq had admired her when he'd briefly met the woman as the Nimitz had been docked at Geneva.  However, she ran a tight ship.  She did not tolerate misbehaved individuals and furthermore, she had a very unorthodox way of dealing with anything.
 
In fact....  ~didn't I read somewhere..~  Deirdra began thinking, she quickly scrolled through some of her notes.  She received the Klingon Empire monthly because of her children and her wanting them to have a concept of what their culture was like even though they had a Betazed mother.  She recalled having seen Lise's name mentioned in one of them as of late.
 
~Oh my goodness!~  Deirdra thought as she read the article.
 
####
 
PetaQ' Captain Arianna sides with rebels.
 
It has been reported that the house of Kre'tos shall be dishonoured from this point forward as its sole daughter -- having firstly wasted her life in dedication to Starfleet service has chosen to ally herself with the unmentionables.
 
Yes, it is true, one of Starfleet's own has crossed the line and is providing those same unmentionable dishonourable ones with help, aid and access to new technologies.  We will prevail, we will fight with honour and their dishonoured souls will find a wretched place in Gre'thor.
 
Beware Arianna and Starfleet, you shall reap the rewards of your dishonourable actions.
 
########
 
Eistal shook her head, a captain who'd been dishonoured and turned from Starfleet, how is it that they let her have a command?  Geneva....
 
She took a sip of her tea.  Time would tell what lay in store for them and in time, she'd learn her path to the station's brig and who to speak to in order to have the triplets released and all would be 'normal' -- or so she could only hope.
 
(Posted by Katherine)

(USS Steel Talons - Admirals Office - LoDona & Arianna - 0805)

Robert stood loosely, leaning against the 3D situation map as the door
behind him opened. He didn't take his eyes off the display, now ripe with a
lot more lights then it had been earlier as Klingons took up patrol
positions in preparation for a full-out invasion.

"Leave us," he said just loud enough to be heard. The doors opened again. He
stood up after a few seconds and looked over, as expected; Captain Arianna
was standing in place. "Over here, Captain." He said quietly, "Join me."

Lise approached carefully and stood next to the Admiral.  Still saying
nothing.  She'd spent the entire night wrestling with her conscience, there
were so many things unresolved in so many areas.  If she would be
imprisoned, she would end her life.  No questions asked.  But instead, she
found herself standing next to an Admiral who, ironically still addressed
her as Captain.

"It's a mess, isn't it?" he asked in a musing tone. "We're being pushed from
all sides now, even with Klingon support. The rest of the Klingon Battle
Group won't be fully mobilized for another two weeks, give or take." He
stood up fully and put one arm behind his back as he touched a control and
enlarged the immediate area. "And in the center of it all is Geneva, of
which we're in orbit now."

"Geneva."  Lise said quietly.  It seemed like ages ago when she'd first set
foot on the station, then risen through the ranks to become its FO and
finally CO.  She knew the station inside out, she knew the ins and outs of
the vessels that visited it and serviced it.  And now, it had become the
focal point of a wartime endeavor.

"I trust you spent last night thinking about cause and consequence?" he
asked, finally turning his head to look at her for the first time.

Lise lowered her eyes.  Playing along at this point wasn't something she
wanted to do.  For all she knew, he could just be stringing her along and in
the end decide to shoot her.  Unsure how to respond, she turned her eyes to
his and stated the absolute truth:  "I always think about cause and
consequence."

"Good, then you'll understand me perfectly when I say this." He said
quietly, turning his eyes back to the map. "We can afford no screw-ups,
we're too hard pressed, we're loosing to many good people. I'm going to give
you Geneva because you are, in the end, the best person for the job. But if
you screw me over, I'll hunt you down myself." He stood up fully and placed
both hands behind his back. "Geneva," he mused, "Was designed as a Frontier
stronghold, now we've made her into a Frontier Fortress. She's stronger then
she was under your time, but she still needs someone in command willing to
spit in the eye of an enemy... you've proven that amply."

Lise looked over at the map surrounding Geneva, then at LoDona, then back to
Geneva.  "Conditions?"  She asked cautiously.

"You don't antagonize the Klingons, who will be using this place as a
re-supply base, and using the promenade for the occasional break during
repairs. You don't try to influence Klingon politics while you're there, or
at all during this war. In short, you don't do anything that is bound to
make me grumpy." He looked over again, "Otherwise, command is yours and the
court-martial you so richly deserve will be put off indefinitely, and erased
from your official record once this war is over."

Lise looked at LoDona with a disbelieving look.  "That's it?"

He nodded once. "Captain." He turned to face her, "I can understand your
reasoning and actions better then most, I've had my own issues with 'how
things are'. Under most circumstances I would have a far different opinion
of this whole masquerade. We simply don't have the resources, time, or
manpower anymore to turn our attention from the real issue. Even if I
understood your reasoning, under most circumstances you would have been
permanently removed from the Fleet and left to rot in a Klingon prison for
your actions. But even that must be put aside, as must your crusade, in the
interest of the greater good. None of us can afford to waste anything in
these times. If you do your job, and do it well, I will forget any of this
ever happened... and I will have Tane convince the Klingons to do the same."

Lise looked at Geneva again and then back to the Admiral.  "I accept sir."
She said solemnly, knowing that with those words the fight in which she'd
engaged for her sisters had been lost.  But for now, the Admiral was right,
the situation was delicate, and it appeared that she was needed.

"What all do I need to know?"

"Lee will fill you in fully," Robert said, turning back to the table. "He's
currently in charge of the station; you'll take command from him."

"when?"

"Now." He looked over at her briefly, "And good luck."

"I report in to you?"  She asked hesitantly deciding she'd want to know the
boundaries of things that would make LoDona 'grumpy' BEFORE she crossed
them.

"Just as you always have." He said, agreeable. "Anything 'special' will be
told to you by Lee. There are few special conditions

Lise nodded.  "Understood."

"Dismissed."

(Posted by Katherine and Trout)

(Starbase Geneva, Outside COs Ready Room, Soon to be CO Lise Arianna and
Current CO Lee, 0845)

Lise stood outside the door of the ready room.  This had been her office,
this would again be her office.  She couldn't believe the events that had
occurred within the last two weeks.  One minute she'd been on Qo'noS
fighting for her life, in the name of her house and her sisters and then the
next -- about ready to take over command of Starbase Geneva, again.  She
closed her eyes and took a deep breath, centering herself.  She could feel
people watching her.  It was no doubt surely people would know what had
transpired with her.  It wouldn't be easy.  Not that it ever was.

Rich cut his connection with LoDona with a nod. He looked up a few moments
later. "Enter."

Lise walked into the ready room and faced someone sitting at her desk -- the
feeling was quite odd, not to mention the situation.  "Lise Arianna
reporting in for duty -- Sir."  She said as officially as she could.

Rich sat back in his chair, looking at her. "So you're the pain-in-the-arse
that's been causing so much hell." He stood up to his full seven foot plus
height. "Computer, recognize me. Authorization Beta Seven Four Five"

[Captain Richard Ian Lee recognized.]

He quirked an eyebrow at her.

Lise did not say a word, nor change her stoic facial expression.  "Computer,
recognize me.  Authorization Delta Gamma Tango Sixty-Five."

[Captain Lise Arianna recognized.]

"Computer, transfer all command codes to Captain Lise Arianna."

[Captain Lise Arianna is now in command.]

"I stand relieved." He said, semi-formally.

Lise nodded her head briefly in respect for the Captain before her.  "Thank
you Captain."  She said cordially.  "I understand you have information for
me."

Rich nodded briefly, "Anything of strategic value goes to me right away.
We're on wartime conditions, so no uncoded transmissions, and if a ship
contacts you that don't happen to be on our safe-list, treat it with extreme
caution. In short, behave like we're in a war."

Lise nodded. "That I can do.  Special conditions?"  She enquired.

Rich crossed his arms behind him and stepped out from behind the desk, "Yes,
you're going to be watched for a while, to make sure you don't up and decide
to use your position and resources to deal death in the Klingon Empire. If
it looks like you're doing just that, you'll have a lot of people jump you,
all at once. Otherwise." He shrugged, "Nothing particularly special. You'll
find a list of special frequencies and other small commands in your personal
database."

Lise nodded.  "Understood.  And my staff?"

"Enroute, or already here. You're getting a completely new staff, the rest
were reassigned when Geneva went down for weapons and defense upgrades."

Lise nodded.  "Command Staff?"

"You've got no First Officer yet, we're shifting people as available. You
have a Second Officer, he's been here for a week or so." Rich stepped up
next to her, "Good, solid officer. Also your Security Chief, he transferred
from Nimitz."

Lise nodded.  "Captain, a question if I may?"

Rich considered that for a few moments, "Go ahead."

"What is the level of 'public knowledge' of my situation?"  She asked
cautiously.

"Greater then I would like." Rich said, immediately. "The Klingons have been
bellowing about the whole situation in general since they arrived, and talk
has a way of spreading.

Lise nodded.  "Understood.  My 2O/TAC/SC?  Has he been informed of the
situation?"

"Not by me. And I trust there won't be a situation after this." He eyed her,
"My job is hard enough as it is."

Lise returned the glare.  "There will not be a situation after this.  You
have my word of honour."

Rich chose to say nothing about that. "Good luck, Captain, and welcome back
to the war." He stepped forward and out the door, leaving Arianna to her new
command with serious reservations.

Lise watched as Lee left the room.  She sat behind her desk and called up a
PADD.  "Lieutenant Casely, report to the CO's ready room."  She said not wasting
any time.  The beginning was now.

(Posted by Trout and Katherine)

Mission: New Beginnings
Mission day: 7
Stardate: 2406.12.30

(Starbase Geneva, Officer's Quarters, 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant {JG} Paul Casely,
0848)

He was slipping. This recent change in duty had seriously impeded Paul's
routine. He had cut back his daily combat exercises to just 5 a week from
his usually daily session. With no FO Paul was pulling double duty until the
officer arrived. Now he had to get ready for his command ops duty shift. It
was a good thing that Captain Sash had started him on the command training
programme the instant he had become TAC/SC on the Nimitz. Paul was just
about ready to leave for his duty shift in command ops when he heard a new
voice on his intercom system.

=^=Lieutenant Casely, report to the CO's ready room.=^=

"I'm on my way," Casely answered wondering who was addressing him. He was
warned that the CO would be changing on the station soon, it appeared that
time would be now. Paul quickly checked his uniform in the mirror and tugged
at the base of it gently before exiting his quarters.

(Starbase Geneva, Outside COs ready room, 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant {JG} Paul
Casely, 0854)

Paul paused for a second. A lot had happened in the last few months.
Starting out on the Nimitz fresh faced... having to take over two duty
stations when Gideon and Kateb died... working to find Sevant with the
Boudicca crew and the imbroglio that came with it... he had earned this and
as Sash had warned him, he had been forced to grow up quickly. Paul reached
out and pushed the chime and waited for his new CO to admit him. Eventually
the door slid open and Paul briskly walked in. He positioned himself at
attention in front of her desk and looked straight forward. His time with
Captain Lee had taught him that formality was a better way to start than
familiarity... he suddenly recalled an axiom regarding coal becoming a
diamond when he thought about Lee.

"Lieutenant Paul Casely reporting for duty, Sir," he stated and then glanced
down at his new CO. The first thing he noticed were the ridges... ~Klingon
or some subspecies in her background~ he thought. The second thing he
noticed were her eyes before he caught hold of himself and snapped his eyes
straight forward.

(Posted by Jeff)

(Starbase Geneva, CO's Office, CO Lise Arianna, 08.52)
 
Lise had just summoned the new 2O to her office.  She looked at the array of PADDs that had been left for her attention by Captain Lee.  ~Fabulous.~  She thought as she saw stacks upon stacks lining the back wall.  ~I have a funny feeling about this~  She thought as she surveyed the situation.
 
The office had changed in the year or more since she'd left it.  Probably housed a number of different COs as well.  During these times, the fleet had been shuffling people right left and centre -- no one knew better than she.
 
Before her mind could turn to other states of affairs -- for instance her luck and situation that had found her in the Captain's seat -- she heard the enunciator sound.
 
"Come in."  She called flatly.
 
In walked a young looking Lieutenant.   She heard him say: "Lieutenant Paul Casely reporting for duty, Sir."  Lise looked at him and watched as he seemed to look straight into her eyes for a moment and then quickly moved his glaze elsewhere.
 
"At ease Lieutenant."  She said quickly as she motioned for him to sit.  "Can I offer you anything?"
 
(Reply Casely)
 
Complying with his wants she also replicated herself a black coffee and returned to her desk seat.  "Well Lieutenant Casely, tell me about yourself?  I've just arrived this morning and to be quite honest, a Command wasn't precisely what I was expecting to be handed."
 
~A court-martial and death sentence were~
 
"So I'm afraid I haven't had a chance to do the necessary research regarding the station and crew.  What can you tell me?"
 
(Reply Casely)
 
"Understood."  Lise said as she took a sip of coffee and then glanced at a PADD beside her.  "It looks like we are scheduled to have an Ensign McLaren join us shortly and following that, a civilian scientist, Dr. Engtamn-Jensi."  Arianna looked up at the Lieutenant before her.  "I'll be quite honest with you at this point in time Mr. Casely, the fleet is in dire needs, they must have been in order for them to have put me in this chair.  However, that being said, we must make do with what they allocate us.  Therefore, seeing as you are the most senior officer aboard at this moment, I will be relying heavily on you during this time for logistics and coordination. I trust you will be able to fulfill this duty?"
 
(Reply Casely)
 
"Excellent."
 
"Well, as I was going to say, Ensign McLaren is trained in both Tactical and Engineering.  However, while we have no senior engineering officer at this point, I will be assigning him to work in Engineering."  Lise scrolled through the roster that she'd been given.  "The station looks pretty empty by the looks of this."  She said and exhaled deeply.  LoDona wasn't kidding when he'd insinuated that this wasn't going to be a walk in the park.
 
(Reply Casely iyw)
 
"I think I can probably convince Dr. Engtamn-Jensi to work in our science department for the time being.  After all, he is a scientist and he's here, so that should work.  Then we'll have those areas covered.  Let's see here --"  Lise's eyes stopped short when she saw a name on the list that was due to arrive later in the day.
 
"Eistal"  She said evenly.
 
(Reply Casely)
 
"Dr. Deirdra Eistal and her three children are due to arrive later in the day.  They are a *handful* to say the LEAST!"  Lise resisted the urge to groan.  She'd had many encounters with the triplets from the house of De'Ktor and their adopted Betazoid mother and none of them had been pleasant and it looked like they were again being assigned to roam about Starbase Geneva.  "Right, so be on alert for that."  She said emphatically.  "The rest of the crew looks like they will be arriving TBA so we'll have to make due with what we have, but that sounds like a good start.  Do you have anything that you feel requires immediate attention?"
 
(Reply Casely)

(Posted by Katherine)

(Starbase Geneva, CO's Office, 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant {JG}Paul Casely, 0855)
 
"At ease Lieutenant."  She said quickly as she motioned for him to sit.  "Can I offer you anything?"
 
Paul felt himself relax and he sat down in a chair in front of the desk. This might not be like Lee after all.. he could hope anyway.
 
"Ummm... some sencha tea please," replied Paul.
 
Complying with his wants she also replicated herself a black coffee and returned to her desk seat.  "Well Lieutenant Casely, tell me about yourself?  I've just arrived this morning and to be quite honest, a Command wasn't precisely what I was expecting to be handed. So I'm afraid I haven't had a chance to do the necessary research regarding the station and crew.  What can you tell me?"
 
"Well Sir, the station has been largely refitted. A lot of the officers that were here even the last week are being swapped out at the moment. Things are pretty... messy. The promenade has gained a few shops and merchants, but its still largely empty as well. We appear to have an almost blank slate. You probably know as much about the new crew as I do. I, myself, was just transferred from TAC/SC duties aboard the USS Nimitz. I also have training in diplomacy and tactical history... as well as masters degrees in both subjects," stated Paul grinning slightly.
 
"Understood."  Lise said as she took a sip of coffee and then glanced at a PADD beside her.  "It looks like we are scheduled to have an Ensign McLaren join us shortly and following that, a civilian scientist, Dr. Engtamn-Jensi."  Arianna looked up at the Lieutenant before her.  "I'll be quite honest with you at this point in time Mr. Casely, the fleet is in dire needs, they must have been in order for them to have put me in this chair.  However, that being said, we must make do with what they allocate us.  Therefore, seeing as you are the most senior officer aboard at this moment, I will be relying heavily on you during this time for logistics and coordination. I trust you will be able to fulfill this duty?"
 
"Of course, I'll do my best to help in any way I can. I've already been taking duty shifts in command ops for the last while. In fact, when I finish here I'll be on my way there," stated Paul, smiling.
 
"Excellent."
 
"Well, as I was going to say, Ensign McLaren is trained in both Tactical and Engineering.  However, while we have no senior engineering officer at this point, I will be assigning him to work in Engineering."  Lise scrolled through the roster that she'd been given.  "The station looks pretty empty by the looks of this."  She said and exhaled deeply.  LoDona wasn't kidding when he'd insinuated that this wasn't going to be a walk in the park.
 
"From what I've seen Sir, its never easy right now. People move up fast due to staffing problems and other issues," said Paul, "I guess we can just do our best."
 
"I think I can probably convince Dr. Engtamn-Jensi to work in our science department for the time being.  After all, he is a scientist and he's here, so that should work.  Then we'll have those areas covered.  Let's see here --"  Lise's eyes stopped short when she saw a name on the list that was due to arrive later in the day.
 
"Eistal"  She said evenly.
 
"I'm sorry, I don't know this person. I take it you do?" queried Paul.
 
"Dr. Deirdra Eistal and her three children are due to arrive later in the day.  They are a *handful* to say the LEAST!"  Lise resisted the urge to groan.  She'd had many encounters with the triplets from the house of De'Ktor and their adopted Betazoid mother and none of them had been pleasant and it looked like they were again being assigned to roam about Starbase Geneva.  "Right, so be on alert for that."  She said emphatically.  "The rest of the crew looks like they will be arriving TBA so we'll have to make due with what we have, but that sounds like a good start.  Do you have anything that you feel requires immediate attention?"
 
"Well Sir, I've noticed that there might be a smuggling issue on board," stated Paul and then he relayed his experience from the first day on the promenade.
 
(Reply Lise)
 
"I've also noticed we have a few redundant systems that aren't operating quite properly. I've instituted a routine of diagnostics first thing in the morning on a rotating schedule. You might want to revise it, but its been at least keeping us running so far," said Paul, "We really do need a fully qualified engineer to deal with some of the problems with that... not horrible, but if we were attacked we would probably lose some primary systems and have problems bringing up secondary ones."
 
(reply Lise)
 
Paul looked at his new CO and grinned, "I suppose the last thing is that I need to get to Command Ops for my duty shift. If you have time to join me I can show you around, although by the sounds of it you're more than familiar with the station."

(Posted by Jeff)
 
(Starbase Geneva, CO's Office, CO Lise Arianna, 08.57)
 
"Well Sir," Casely began, "I've noticed that there might be a smuggling issue onboard."
 
Lise looked at him curiously.  It simply wouldn't do having a smuggling problem taking place the very first day she was installed into command.  That was probably somewhere on the list of things that would make LoDona grumpy she reasoned.  "Alright, let's see if we can get someone on that because we need to clear it up straight away.  Send me a report when you get a chance -- preferably before the end of today letting me know precisely what you determine the problem to be or potentially could be and your recommendations for avoiding it and/or cleaning it up. "
 
~Let's just hope its not Klingons!~
 
Casely seemed to note what Arianna had stated before moving on.  "I've also noticed we have a few redundant systems that aren't operating quite properly."
 
~Of course we do...~  Lise reasoned.
 
"I've instituted a routine of diagnostics first thing in the morning on a rotating schedule.   You might want to revise it, but its been at least keeping us running so far.  We really do need a fully qualified engineer to deal with some of the problems with that... not horrible, but if we were attacked we would probably lose some primary systems and have problems bringing up secondary ones."
 
Lise nodded.  "Understood.  Well, for the time being, let's leave your schedule as is.  We're due to have an Engineer report in later this morning so I'll be sure to send him down there."  She touched a PADD, "Yes, Oksana's still down in Engineering, she'll be able to show him where everything is and hopefully get him all oriented so that we can put him to work.  We'll have to get that secondary system problem squared away though -- "
 
Lise broke off her sentence with a smile thinking of one person she knew for sure who could help with the situation if they got desperate.  ~Not entirely by the book, but after all, a Starbase with complete system's failures would be more likely to make LoDona grouchy than anything else~
 
"We'll work on it."  She finished.
 
Lieutenant Casely smiled.  "I suppose the last thing is that I need to get to Command Ops for my duty shift.  If you have time to join me I can show you around, although by the sounds of it you're more than familiar with the station."
 
Lise nodded.  "I am quite familiar with the station but there have been a number of refits and things that I must acquaint myself with as well as some formal paperwork that needs to be done.  My apologies, but taking command today wasn't exactly on my list of things to do -- I am rather unprepared and hope to be able to rectify that situation before morning's end.  I will, however be in contact with you later this afternoon -- that is if there's nothing that doesn't require my attention earlier."  With that, Lise watched as the Lieutenant rose.
 
"Thank you for your report Lieutenant.  Dismissed."

(Posted by Katherine)

(Runabout - Ensign Matthew McLaren - 10.00)

Matthew sat back in his chair as the shift dropped out of warp at the edge
of a nondescript system. Looking up from the PADD he was reading he stared
through the view port at the starbase with his artificial eyes, that he was
assigned to. It was huge, 150 decks, capable of containing a galaxy class
starship.

The runabout crossed on impulse power towards the massive docking area of
the starbase. The Bajoran pilot requested docking and they were inside.
Matthew stood from his chair and shook hands with the pilot then exited the
runabout via the hatch in the back. As soon as the hatch was closed the
runabout sped off back out into space.

Matthew looked down at a PADD with directions on it and headed off towards
a turbo lift.

In the lift Matthew thought about his trip here. It was really uneventful.
Too easy really. ~Maybe star fleet was the right choice after all.~ He
thought back to his life before the federation. What life? There really
wasn't one, moving from place to place without sight only using a cane most
of the time. Hadn't been easy.

The lift stopped and he stepped out. He noticed that the base seemed really
empty. Hardly anyone here.

After locating the ready room he rang the chime.

"Enter." He heard a voice say so he did.

"Ensign Matthew McLaren, reporting for duty, sir!"

(Posted by Matthew McLaren)

(Starbase Geneva, Ready Room, CO Lise Arianna, 10.00)
 
Lise sat drinking her third cup of coffee for the day.  ~This wasn't what I expected when I got up this morning.~  She thought as she read through yet another PADD, skimming the information and committing the noteworthy facts to memory.  Her head hurt, she was tired and it was surely going to be a long day.
 
The door chime sounded.  "Come" She called.
 
A tall human individual with brown hair entered the room.  He spoke: "Ensign Matthew McLaren, reporting for duty, sir!"
 
Lise looked at the Ensign across from her.  "Welcome aboard Ensign McLaren, please have a seat."  She said gesturing to the two purple chairs that were across the desk from her.  She waited for him to have a seat.
 
"Now, Ensign, I have read your bio and Academy transcripts and they state that you are trained in both Engineering and Tactical.  I trust that this is correct?"
 
(Reply McLaren)
 
"Good to hear."  Arianna responded, her voice somewhat lacking enthusiasm.  "Then for right now I will assign you as Assistant Chief Engineering Officer aboard Starbase Geneva.  I would like you to report into Ensign Oksana Vetaniuk in Engineering, she will show you the ropes and get you started in Engineering."
 
(Reply McLaren)
 
"Do you have any questions Ensign?"
 
"Well then, Welcome aboard.  Be sure to see the quartermaster about your quarters before you report into Ensign Vetaniuk."  Lise said as she rose at the same time as McLaren and took his hand.  Shaking it firmly she bid the Ensign farewell as she said "dismissed."
 
(Reply McLaren iyw).
 
As the Ensign left, Lise sat down at her desk again and continued reviewing the PADDs before her.

(Posted by Katherine)

(Starbase Geneva, Ready Room, Ensign JG Matthew McLaren, 1002)

Lise looked at the Ensign across from her.  "Welcome aboard Ensign McLaren, please
have a seat."  She said gesturing to the two purple chairs that were across the desk
from her.  She waited for him to have a seat.
"Now, Ensign, I have read your bio and Academy transcripts and they state that you
are trained in both Engineering and Tactical.  I trust that this is correct?"
"yes sir."
"Good to hear."  Arianna responded, her voice somewhat lacking enthusiasm.  "Then
for right now I will assign you as Assistant Chief Engineering Officer aboard Starbase
Geneva.  I would like you to report into Ensign Oksana Vetaniuk in Engineering, she
will show you the ropes and get you started in Engineering."
"Understood, thank you sir."
"Do you have any questions Ensign?"
"No sir."
"Well then, Welcome aboard.  Be sure to see the quartermaster about your quarters
before you report into Ensign Vetaniuk."  Lise said as she rose at the same time, she took his hand, Shaking it firmly she bid the Ensign farewell as she
said "dismissed."
As Matthew left the ready room he couldn't believe his luck. Assistant chief engineer
was not what he was expecting as a first assignment, even if it was only temporary.
After finding out that his quarters were on deck 7 he quickly made his way there.
In the turbo lift he thought back to his meeting with the CO. He had already heard
the rumours that surrounded her and what she had done, but he hadn't exactly had
a clean background either. Quite the contrary. But that was behind him he hoped.
The turbolift stopped on deck 7 and he found his quarters. Finally being able to
drop his gear was a relief. He looked around the quarters. ~not bad~ he thought.
Keying in his code into the desktop consol he saw a message appear that wasn't one
he was expecting.
###########
TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE THAT IS THE QUESTION
---
Hear ye, Hear ye,
Come one and all,
To the most marvellous
Masquerade ball.
It will start in the theatre,
While watching a play.
The phantom of the Opera,
Showed in Matinee.
And then for the eve,
we'll go to the ball.
Of princes and princesses,
And those who enthral.
To dance and dance,
like almost in heaven
and  ring in the new year;
twenty-four-oh-seven.
So hurry, hurry, don't be shy.
To pick up your tickets, come on by.
The office of the theatre run by me;
Hagar, please do come and see.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~what the?~ This wasn't part of the assignment but he could never turn down a party.
He checked the chronometre and saw that it was nearing 1100. ~better get down to
engineering and check in~

(Posted by Matthew)

(Starbase Geneva - Personal Quarters - Ambassador Miador Tane - 1015)

Tane, leaning back into a chair that was just as he left it when he boarded
the Paladin, rubbed at his forehead lightly as he leaned his head against
his hand. "Turning and turning in the widening gyre, The falcon cannot hear
the falconer;" He muttered to himself, running the poem through his mind to
cut some of the small time chatter in his head and to calm himself. "Things
fall apart; the center cannot hold;"

He chuckled to himself, "Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The
blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere; The ceremony of innocence is
drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst, Are full of
passionate intensity."

Tane leaned his head back and put both hands over his face as his comm unit
buzzed.  ~Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at
hand.~ 

The Ambassador stood up and tapped his code into it, thereby opening the
special subspace channel granted to Ambassadors. He had one given to him as
a mere Ambassador, now he had closer on a dozen as High Ambassador to the
Klingon Empire. He took a moment to make his face a mask, and then flipped
it on. 

The face that appeared was that of the High Chancellor himself. "Tane," the
Klingon barked in his own tongue. "The Battle fleet has been assembled, the
first wave of Nine-Hundred has just been ordered into your territorial
space. They will make rendezvous in less then two weeks."

The Ambassador nodded sharply, "Does the Admiral know?"

"He's being informed now. Pave the way, Miador of the house of Tane. We're
coming." a toothy grin appeared, "Ka Pla!"

The channel cut off, leaving Tane alone in his quarters again. That
thrice-damned poem kept running through his head, it struck him as oddly
appropriate for some reason. He walked back over to his chair and sat down
again. He was back in his Starfleet Uniform, only covered by his House robes
for the daily meetings he was buried in. He thanked whatever Gods there were
for that, the blasted armor was bloody uncomfortable. 

"The darkness drops again; but now I know, That twenty centuries of stony
sleep, Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast,
its hour come round at last," he muttered, "Slouches towards Bethlehem to be
born?" 

He closed his eyes and tried to banish the poem, but it kept coming back
into his mind. Eventually he sighed, he had meetings to attend, and this was
getting him nowhere. He pulled his bat'leth off its peg next to the door and
put it under his arm. When dealing with Klingons in Wartime, one never went
anywhere unarmed.

(Posted by Trout)

(USS Garibaldi - Bridge - Col T'Vanek - 1015)

"Sir, we are coming up on Starbase Geneva."

T'Vanek, sitting perfectly straight in the chair with his hands neatly on
the arm-rests, gave a curt nod. "Very well, bring us out of warp and move at
full impulse."

"Aye Sir," The marine pilot said. The streaking stars on the small view
screen changed to the relative crawl of impulse power. The Vulcan pushed a
button on his chair and changed the magnification of the screen and centered
it on the Starbase. A lot more controls were put at a CO's touch on a
Gryphon-Class Marine Lander, typical starship operations wouldn't have been
very efficient for the small craft, which were meant to land in planet-side
battle zones and would probably have to be steered very quickly. As such, it
didn't surprise any of the specialty marines on the bridge when the Starbase
suddenly jumped up in resolution. 

T'Vanek leaned back in the chair and steepled his fingers. "Open a channel
to Starbase Flight Operations." He said in a level tone. A few moments later
his operations officer nodded, and the Vulcan said "USS Garibaldi to
Starbase Geneva, requesting flight-plan to the Marine Shuttlebays to
disembark the 1st Geneva Company."

"Very well, Starbase Geneva, the Garibaldi is stepping into pattern and
making way as requested." He cut the channel and stood, "All Hands prepare
to disembark."

(Posted by Trout)

(Starbase Geneva - Main Operations - 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant {JG} Paul Casely - 
1017)

Paul  had just finished getting the rest of the diagnostic reports for that 
morning. Everything seemed to be functioning more or less normally. He'd 
have to contact engineering at some point to make sure they knew what had to 
be worked on. He would truly look forward to the time when the station was 
functioning at close to 100%. An ensign broke his concentration.

"Sir, we are being hailed by the USS Garibaldi," stated the young woman.

"Put it through Ensign," stated Paul looking up from the PADD he was 
operating.

=^=USS Garibaldi to Starbase Geneva, requesting flight-plan to the Marine 
Shuttlebays to
disembark the 1st Geneva Company.=^=

Paul thought for a second and motioned to one of the officers on the deck to 
call up the specs and information on the USS Garibaldi. He noted the Vulcan 
commanding officer. ~Unusual... a Vulcan in charge of marines... maybe he'll 
be a better representation than I'm used to.~

"Greetings USS Garibaldi. This is Lieutenant Casely, I'm the 2O of Geneva. 
Colonel T'Vanek, you are cleared to dock. The information and coordinates 
are being transmitted at this time. I will contact the Captain and let her 
know of your arrival," stated Paul, "Welcome home Pride and Passion."

=^=Very well, Starbase Geneva, the Garibaldi is stepping into pattern and 
making way as requested.=^=

Then the channel cut. Paul grinned, ~Typical Vulcan...~

Paul then contacted Captain Arianna.

"Lieutenant Casely to Captain Arianna. Colonel T'Vanek and the rest of the 
Pride and Passion have arrived. They are currently docking. I'm sure the 
Colonel will be knocking at your door shortly, Sir."

(Reply Lise)

"I'll send you the personnel reports, but I have a feeling you're fairly 
familiar with the Colonel and Pride and Passion," stated Paul, "I'm about to 
let Engineering know about some of the issues we're having. I'm concerned 
about the lack of working redundant circuits in life support controls."

(Reply Lise)

"Understood, Casely out," stated Paul. He then turned to the operations 
staff. "Get me Engineering on the blower please."

"Ensign McLaren? This is Lieutenant Casely up in Operations. We ran our 
morning diagnostics... I'm concerned as life support's redundant systems 
aren't working. We have no back ups if the mains go down. Could you look 
into that please and report back?" queried Paul.

(Reply McLaren)

Paul smiled, he remembered being that green, “Thank you Ensign. Is there 
anything else you need down there? I know things are a bit of a mess, but 
I'll do what I can for you if you let me know... as long as one of your 
needs isn't more personnel... we're working on it, but its a bit of a 
problem right now."

(Reply McLaren)

"I'll look forward to your report when you're completed. Please report 
personally to the bridge. As I'm the second officer, I should probably meet 
you personally. Casely out," stated Paul and cut the channel.

(Posted by Jeff)

(Starbase Geneva, CO's Ready Room, CO Lise Arianna, 1020)
 
=^= Lieutenant Casely to Captain Arianna.=^=
 
Lise tapped her commbadge and said "acknowledged."
 
=^= Colonel T'Vanek and the rest of the Pride and Passion have arrived.  They are currently docking.  I'm sure the Colonel will be knocking at your door shortly, Sir. =^=
 
"Excellent."  Lise said as innocently as she could.  The truth of the matter was, as she'd begun to understand: the station was a mess.  There were Engineering problems, there were staffing problems there were all sorts of problems and Marines had this tendency to want things to work so that they could serve and protect.  However, they sometimes had a tendency to be a little demanding about things in short supply.
 
=^= I'll send you the personnel reports, but I have a feeling you're fairly familiar with the Colonel and Pride and Passion.  I'm about to let Engineering know about some of the issues we're having.  I'm concerned about the lack of redundant circuits in life support controls. =^=
 
~Of course that is a pretty heft concern~  Lise thought.
 
"Good work Lieutenant, keep me apprised of the situation."
 
=^= Understood.  Casely out. =^=
 
(Posted by Katherine)

 (Starbase Geneva - Marine Shuttlebay - Col T'Vanek - 1035)

The Vulcan crossed his arms behind him as Marines passed by him after
exiting the rear-hatch and making their way to the far side of the bay. The
full company had traveled back with him from the Paladin, all aboard this
Gryphon Class carrier, also known in slang as a 'Sod Hopper'. There were a
few holes in their ranks from the battle they had seen, but he had it on
good word that they would be replaced shortly now that the Starbase was back
in operation. 

He quirked an eyebrow as the last man stepped off, Sergeants began bellowing
for the company to form up and make their way for the Marine Staging Center,
orders the Colonel had given before they had ever landed. He wasn't sure
juts how the new Captain wanted to deal with his Marines. Point in fact, he
didn't even know who the Captain was right now. He was to report to Captain
Lee, the Strategic Operations Officer of the fleet: someone he was asked
questions of often from a Marine perspective. Logic dictated, however, that
Lee was only a temporary Commanding Officer, his position as Head of
Strategic Ops required him to be far more mobile then the commander of a
Starbase would allow. There was a 92% chance that he would be replaced
within a week, a 5% chance that he would be replaced within two, and the
rest was equally distributed between him stepping down from Strategic
Operations and becoming commander, or being forced to stay the position due
to a lack of sufficiently trained Command Officers.  

He tapped his badge, "T'Vanek to the Garibaldi, start shutdown procedures
and power down the ship."

=^=Aye Sir, we'll be done in thirty-five minutes.=^=

The rear hatch began closing as T'Vanek said, "Very well, carry on." And cut
the channel. He waited a few more moments, "XO."

"Sir!"

"Stand down the men and await my return."

"SIR Aye Sir!"

The Vulcan turned on his heel, "Computer, location of the Commanding
Officer?"

[The Captain is in the Ready Room]

He stepped into a turbolift, "Take me to the Command Deck."

(Posted by Trout)

(Starbase Geneva - Operations, outside the Ready Room - Col T'Vanek - 1042)

The Colonel stepped beside the door and came to loose attention. Apparently
the CO, whoever it was, was in a meeting. It simply wouldn't do to interrupt
it. As such, he prepared to wait.

(Posted by Trout)

(Starbase Geneva, CO's Office, CO Lise Arianna, 1045)
 
Directly following the exit of a group of engineers bringing some schematics information to her attention, Lise was greeted by yet another new Arrival.  The door chime sounded and Lise responded almost out of habit: "Come in."
 
(Posted by Katherine)

Starbase Geneva, deck 30, engineering, Ensign JG Matthew McLaren 1100)

The turbo lift stopped on deck 30 and he rushed to engineering. As he stepped in
a woman looked up from her work and nodded in his direction. He walked over and
offered his hand.
"Ensign Matthew McLaren, pleased to meet you sir."
The woman took his hand and shook it firmly. 

(Posted by Matthew)

(Starbase Geneva, Main Engineering, SPC Oksana Vetaniuk, 1103)
 
Oksana was in the middle of recalibrating a set of relays that had, for some reason, decided that their efficiency transfer rate was too efficient and had begun to correct the problem on their own.  The only problem with that decision was that the relay had started to overload with all the excess energy that was not being transferred through its coupling.
 
"Ouch!" Oksana said as she touched something that she probably shouldn't have.
 
At that moment, she heard footsteps coming towards her. Oksana peeked out from the access panel that she'd been doing work in and saw a man in gold approaching her.  ~Oh, please let it be an engineer~  She thought hopefully.  As it was, on the station, there were so many things to fix, and so few people who were qualified to fix them.  The station was a mess.
 
The man offered his hand to Oksana.  "Ensign Matthew McLaren, pleased to meet you sir."
 
Oksana wiped her own hands on her engineering uniform pants and shook his hand with a firm grip.  "Nice to meet you too, Ensign McLaren.  Please tell me you're an engineer.  I mean you're dressed like one and while its possible that you could be yet ANOTHER security guard telling me precisely what needs to be fixed yesterday -- an engineer would be helpful."
 
(Reply McLaren)
 
"Chydovo!"  Oksana said slipping for a moment into her native language of Ukrainian.  The universal translator kicked in the moment that she spoke and the expression "marvellous" was piped through McLaren's commbadge in a female-sounding computer voice.
 
(Reply McLaren)
 
"Well, Ensign, what's your specialty?"
 
(Reply McLaren)
 
"Gotchaya, well have I got the job for you!"  Oksana said as she led the new Ensign over towards the main display board where they were logging all the jobs that had been requested and who was currently working on them.  The board's information suggested that there were possibly more things to do than there were staff to do it.
 
~You know, every year, they keep saying it'll get easier -- and it doesn't.  Maybe next year...~  Oksana thought wistfully.

(Posted by Katherine)

(Starbase Geneva, Ensign Oksana Vetaniuk, Main Engineering, 1106)
 
Oksana watched the new Engineer as he seemed quite shocked by the amount of work that they were going to have to do.  
 
"I know."  She said silently.  "It's a lot.  Dooje Bahato!"
 
=^= Really a lot =^= The computer's translation program supplied.
 
"At any rate, let's get you going on something.  You say you're good with reactor power, shielding and weapons. Let's use some of those skills -- there has been problems with the transfer of energy and the relays have been losing a lot of power while doing so.  We think this might be the root of some of our secondary system problems but aren't entirely sure. I was just trying to fix up one of the conduit junctions.  But if you would like to go and run a systems diagnostic on the power grid, that would be extremely helpful."
 
(Reply McLaren)

(Posted by Katherine)

(Starbase Geneva, Officer's Outside Captain's Ready Room, SO, Doctor Engtamn-Jensi, 1111)
 
Engtamn hesitantly walked down the corridor to the ready room. He really did not like command staff. He had learned that they primarily saw their science staff as people who were there to make things go boom. He really had no desire to destroy and never had. Like most of his race, he was peaceful and wanted to find ways to benefit all people of the universe through his abilities. Engtamn hoped that this venue, that this starbase, would allow him to continue his research and fully unlock the potential of dark matter. He pressed the door chime and watched as the door slid open.
 
Engtamn walked into the office and looked around. He saw a humanoid woman sitting behind a desk, he did not recognize the race... nor did he particularly care. He assumed this was his new Commanding Officer.
 
"I am Doctor Engtamn-Jensi and I have been attached to your facility, Sir," stated Engtamn hesitantly and softly, "As you probably know, I am a science officer... and attached to your theoretical science branch as well."
 
(Reply Lise)

Engtamn softly continued, "I... am... studying dark matter and dark antimatter. I believe they could be harnessed for beneficial purposes. That... reminds me, I don't do weaponry. I'll scan someone else's for you. I'll be happy to tell you what their using and try to give you ideas to block them, but I won't create weapons. Sorry. Its... against the beliefs of my race. I suppose you want me to go now... most Captains are not very happy when they find out they have a Scientist that doesn't make weapons. If you want, I can apply for a transfer somewhere else, I mean if you really want someone to work on weapons."
 
(Reply Lise)
 
Engtamn brightened slightly but continued in his soft tones, "I also am very good at finding new ways to deal with energy transfer and utilization, as well as shields and shield harmonics. I'm working on different transporter technology as well. But... no weapons."
 
(posted by Jeff Bergeron)

(Starbase Geneva, Ready Room, CO Lise Arianna, 1112)
 
Lise traced her faint cranial ridges with her left index finger, she was deep in thought.  The door chime rang.
 
"Come in."  She said distractedly before looking up and seeing the Grazerite dressed in science blue before her, he looked around as he entered the office.
 
"I am Doctor Engtamn-Jensi and I have been attached to your facility, Sir, as you probably know, I am a science officer... and attached to your theoretical science branch as well."
 
Lise nodded.  She noted that the man spoke quietly, she was careful not to make any extraneous noise that might disturb his words and cause her to misunderstand what he said.  "Welcome aboard Doctor."  She said gesturing for the man to sit.
 
Continuing his speech as if it was rehearsed he said, "I.... am... studying dark matter and dark antimatter.  I believe they could be harnessed for beneficial purposes.  That... reminds me, I don't do weaponry.  I'll scan someone else's for you.  I'll be happy to tell you what their using and try to give you ideas to block them, but I won't create weapons.  Sorry.  Its... against the beliefs of my race.  I suppose you want me to go now... most Captains are not very happy when they find out they have a Scientist that doesn't make weapons.  If you want, I can apply for a transfer somewhere else, I mean if you really want someone to work on weapons."
 
~Right now, I need someone to work on ANYTHING~  Lise thought as she watched the Scientist before her recite his speech.  However, she had learned after dealings with Dr. Tanya Leigh Dervin Junior that there were special ways to dealing with theoretical research scientists and that they were of a particular breed and needed special attention.  And if they felt important, good things were bound to happen.  Although in some occasions (as in with Dr. Dervin jr), not so good things happened, but at least, the respect of scientist were important.  The respect of all crewmembers of one another was important, that's what made the station run so smoothly.  
 
~Although there usually needs to be a CREW to run a station~  Lise thought bitterly.  However, she curbed her thoughts immediately in an effort to prevent this sensitive scientist from perceiving them.
 
"Dr. Engtamn, you are welcome on this station and we will do the very best that we can to accommodate you and your research.  We will also strive to prevent your from finding yourself in situations that go against your beliefs."  Lise tried to sound reassuring.
 
The Dr's face brightened a little but his tone remained quiet, "I also am very good at finding new ways to deal with energy transfer and utilization, as well as shields and shield harmonics.  I'm working on different transporter technology as well.  But... no weapons."
 
Lise smiled, "I got it, no weapons.  Well listen, that sounds fine to me.  I have a request of you Dr, however, and I promise it doesn't involve weapons."
 
(Reply Engtamn)
 
"Well the thing is we currently don't have any senior officers in the science department at this time.  We've also taken onboard a new arrival in Engineering.  I know that you've not taken command training and choose not to and that is completely your option, but I was wondering if in this instance you would be able to serve as an acting-chief-science-officer and liaise with the Engineering department.  I have a funny feeling that we're going to be in need of some of those ideas of yours for energy transfer and shield harmonics."
 
(Reply EJ)
 
"Good, its settled then.  See the quartermaster who will assign you quarters and you can get your stuff moved in.  Then you can report into science see what's going on there and if you get a chance head down to Engineering.  Ensign McLaren is the new ACEO and you will also find Ensign Vetaniuk down there and she is quite knowledgeable as well."
 
(Reply EJ)
 
"Good, do you have any other questions Doctor?"
 
"Well then, thank you and I look forward to working with you.  Once again, Welcome aboard."  Lise said as she rose and dismissed the Doctor from her office.
 
After the doors had closed she sat down at her desk again and continued her work.  ~Are they ever going to stop?~  She thought as another PADD popped out from the woodwork.  So many changes since she'd last been onboard.  So many things to see.
 
~To see?~
 
The PADD that had literally popped out of the woodwork and it laid before her.  ~I swear this wasn't here before.~ Lise thought as she examined it.
 
###########
TO SEE OR NOT TO SEE THAT IS THE QUESTION
 
---
 
Hear ye, Hear ye,
Come one and all,
To the most marvellous
Masquerade ball.
 
It will start in the theatre,
While watching a play.
The phantom of the Opera,
Showed in Matinee.
 
And then for the eve,
we'll go to the ball.
Of princes and princesses,
And those who enthral.
 
To dance and dance,
like almost in heaven
and  ring in the new year;
twenty-four-oh-seven.
 
So hurry, hurry, don't be shy.
To pick up your tickets, come on by.
The office of the theatre run by me;
Hagar, please do come and see.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Date: 2406.12.31
Matinee to begin at: 2pm - theatre
Ball to begin at: 6 pm -- ballroom
At the stroke of midnight, any unclaimed articles will be transformed into pumpkins.
For any questions, suggestions, or volunteers please stop by Hagar's office: cupboard under the theatre stairs, Starbase Geneva
 
#############
 
Lise laughed aloud.  "Evidently Hagar's still here."  She said as she thought of the crazed theatre manager that had been employed at Geneva's theatre and had a weird way about her.  ~Her office really is in a cupboard under the theatre stairs~  Lise reflected.
 
She couldn't help but wonder about the time that there had been a spell cast upon the entire crew.  Well that is, if you believe in spells, but everyone had mysteriously fallen madly in love with Captain Aragon, including herself.  That situation had quite angered his wife and she went off on a jealous rage.  They never could prove that Hagar was involved but Lise had her suspicions.  But then again, Lise shrugged, it could be nothing.
 
Although, what was that bit about pumpkins?  Perhaps it was just Hagar and her usual style.  If there was one thing that she could not be faulted for, that was throwing a party.  She was excellent in organising and brining things to the station.

(Posted by Katherine)

(Starbase Geneva, Ready Room, SO Doctor Engtamn-Jensi , 1113)
 
Lise traced her faint cranial ridges with her left index finger, she was deep in thought.  The door chime rang.
 
"Come in."  She said distractedly before looking up and seeing the Grazerite dressed in science blue before her, he looked around as he entered the office.
 
"I am Doctor Engtamn-Jensi and I have been attached to your facility, Sir, as you probably know, I am a science officer... and attached to your theoretical science branch as well."
 
Lise nodded.  She noted that the man spoke quietly, she was careful not to make any extraneous noise that might disturb his words and cause her to misunderstand what he said.  "Welcome aboard Doctor."  She said gesturing for the man to sit.
 
Continuing his speech as if it was rehearsed he said, "I.... am... studying dark matter and dark antimatter.  I believe they could be harnessed for beneficial purposes.  That... reminds me, I don't do weaponry.  I'll scan someone else's for you.  I'll be happy to tell you what their using and try to give you ideas to block them, but I won't create weapons.  Sorry.  Its... against the beliefs of my race.  I suppose you want me to go now... most Captains are not very happy when they find out they have a Scientist that doesn't make weapons.  If you want, I can apply for a transfer somewhere else, I mean if you really want someone to work on weapons."
 
"Dr. Engtamn, you are welcome on this station and we will do the very best that we can to accommodate you and your research.  We will also strive to prevent your from finding yourself in situations that go against your beliefs."  Lise tried to sound reassuring.
 
The Dr's face brightened a little but his tone remained quiet, "I also am very good at finding new ways to deal with energy transfer and utilization, as well as shields and shield harmonics.  I'm working on different transporter technology as well.  But... no weapons."
 
Lise smiled, "I got it, no weapons.  Well listen, that sounds fine to me.  I have a request of you Dr, however, and I promise it doesn't involve weapons."
 
Engtamn smiled broadly showing his teeth, which all looked like molars. This CO seemed to understand... others hadn't. "Yes Sir, how can I help?" he said slightly more confidently.
 
"Well the thing is we currently don't have any senior officers in the science department at this time.  We've also taken onboard a new arrival in Engineering.  I know that you've not taken command training and choose not to and that is completely your option, but I was wondering if in this instance you would be able to serve as an acting-chief-science-officer and liaise with the Engineering department.  I have a funny feeling that we're going to be in need of some of those ideas of yours for energy transfer and shield harmonics."
 
"Yes Sir, that would be fine," stated Engtamn.
 
"Good, its settled then.  See the quartermaster who will assign you quarters and you can get your stuff moved in.  Then you can report into science see what's going on there and if you get a chance head down to Engineering.  Ensign McLaren is the new ACEO and you will also find Ensign Vetaniuk down there and she is quite knowledgeable as well."
 
"I will go down there immediately sir," said Engtamn smiling again, "I like engines and those sorts of things... I work with them a lot."
 
"Good, do you have any other questions Doctor?"
 
"Ummm... no sir... I prefer to work. If that's ok?" stated Engtamn, he did not know this species or how to respond culturally to it. He hoped a lack of questions wasn't offensive.
 
(Posted by Jeff)

(Starbase Geneva, Ready Room, CO Lise Arianna, 1119)
 
Lise had just finished asking the Doctor if he had any questions.  "Umm.... no sir... I prefer to work.  If that's ok?"
 
Lise half-smiled.  "Yes, of course that's ok."  She said, sensing his obvious discomfort at the situation.  "You can go now if you like, or you can go and find your quarters from the quartermaster.  Whatever works best for you."
 
(Posted by Katherine)

(Starbase Geneva, deck 30 engineering, ensign JG McLaren, 1130)
 
Matthew enjoyed engineering work, he wasn't sure why, but he had always had a passion for, repairing and making things work better. He was interrupted from his work by a soft beep from the com system.
 
=^=Ensign McLaren? This is Lieutenant Casely up in Operations. We ran our
morning diagnostics... I'm concerned as life support's redundant systems
aren't working. We have no back ups if the mains go down. Could you look into that please and report back? =^=
 
=^=no worries, I’ll check it out=^= The ensign replied.
 
=^=Thank you Ensign. Is there anything else you need down there? I know things are a bit of a mess, but
I'll do what I can for you if you let me know... as long as one of your needs isn't more personnel... we're working on it, but its a bit of a problem right now. =^=
 
=^=Understood. I think we have things under control down here=^= McLaren said as he picked up his tools and stood up. 

=^=I'll look forward to your report when you're completed. Please report personally to the bridge. As I'm the second officer, I should probably meet
you personally. Casely out=^= and the line went dead.
 
Matthew headed for a turbolift and signaled to a few of the noncommissioned volunteers to follow him. 
 
(Starbase Geneva, Turbolift, CSO Ensign {SG}Doctor Engtamn-Jensi , 1137)
 
Engtamn walked into the turbolift after finishing his meeting with the Captain. ~That went much better than I anticipated,~ thought Engtman, ~I'm still here despite saying I wouldn't work on weapons.~
 
"Deck 33 please," stated Engtamn. He knew that the computer did not care if he was polite or not but he found it hard not to behave in a civilized manner with something that could speak back to him. The doors slid shut and the turbolift began to hum.
 
(Starbase Geneva, Deck 33 Main Engineering, CSO Ensign {SG}Doctor Engtamn-Jensi, 1140)
 
Engtamn exited the turbolift and walked into the mostly deserted engineering offices. He could suddenly see why the Captain needed his help.
 
"Ummm... Computer, who currently is the senior officer in Engineering please?" questioned Engtamn.
 
[Ensign McLaren is currently the senior officer in Engineering.]
 
~Ensign McLaren? Never heard of him... not that meant much.~
 
"Computer, date of activation for Ensign McLaren's first Starfleet assignment please?" asked Engtamn.
 
[Ensign McLaren was assigned to his first post on Stardate 2406.12.30 on Starbase Geneva.]
 
~Well, that explains that.~ thought Engtamn, ~Oh well, I'm sure he's doing his best.~
 
"Computer, please give me the current location of Ensign McLaren," further questioned Engtamn.
 
[Ensign McLaren is on deck 32.]
 
"One further question computer, then I'll stop bothering you. What station systems are contained on deck 32?" asked Engtamn.
 
[Deck 32 contains the following station systems: Primary Life Support Systems.]
 
~Yes that is an important one. I wonder what is wrong there,~ thought Engtamn.
 
"Thank you for your help computer," said Engtamn. He didn't expect it to tell him he was welcome, but one never knows. With that, the Grazerite walked back onto the turbolift and proceeded to deck 32.

(Starbase Geneva, Deck 32 Main Engineering, CSO Ensign {SG} Doctor Engtamn-Jensi, 1146)
 
Engtamn walked off the turbolift and into the engineering platform. He surveyed the area and saw many non-commissioned personnel working on the systems. Finally, he spied a human male with an Ensign JG pip. He was tall and heavy set with blue eyes. There seemed to be something 'odd' about his eyes, but Engtamn decided to ignore it. In the grand scheme of things it was probably unimportant.
 
Engtamn walked up to the ensign and softly spoke with him, trying not to meet his eyes.
 
"Ummm... excuse me... are you Ensign McLaren?" asked Engtamn.
 
(Reply McLaren)
 
"Hello... I'm the acting chief science officer. My name is Doctor Engtamn-Jensi. I was told by the captain to try and help you here," stated Engtamn, "What appears to be the problem?"

(Posted by Jeff)

(Starbase Geneva, Deck 32 Engineering, Ensign McLaren, 1148)
 
The ensign stepped out of the turbolift onto deck 32 and surveyed the area. The room was full of people who had volunteered to fill in until the real crew arrived. Matthew being the senior officer on the deck started assigning people to their tasks and then went to do some work of his own. 
The backup life support was in shambles. ~going to take me the better part of the day~ he thought as he begun calibrating a power coupling. 
 
He didn't notice when the doors opened and a tall man walked in quietly surveying the crowd until he found Matthew. The man walked over to him. 
"Ummm... excuse me... are you Ensign McLaren?" asked the man.
 
"Um, its McLaren, but yeah that’s me." Matthew corrected with a smile and offered his hand.
 
"Hello... I'm the acting chief science officer. My name is Doctor Engtamn-Jensi.
I was told by the captain to try and help you here," stated Engtamn, "What appears
to be the problem?"
 
The ensign noticed that the man wasn't making eye contact with him and wasn't surprised at all. He got that all the time, especially when he had the visor. He was used to it by now. He nodded to the doctor. 
 
"I appreciate any help you can give. We're having some problems with the primary life support. The redundant systems just aren't working. I think there’s some blown power relays. Would you be able to check out the relays on deck 34?" 
 
(Reply Engtamn)
 
"Oh by the way," Matthew said and pointed to his eyes. "its ok, I was blind."
 
(reply Engtamn.)
 
"I had a visor but it wasn't properly compatible with what vision I had and it cause me more pain then it was worth so I have artificial ones." Matthew knew that the artificial eyes weren't going to last for ever and they were degenerating as they spoke, but having been blind for most of his life he wasn't worried by it. He could still rebuild a warp core without sight so the sight he had for now was just a bonus and that was what he took it as. 
 
(reply Engtamn)

(Posted by Matthew)

(Starbase Geneva, Deck 32, CSO Ensign {SG}Doctor Engtamn-Jensi , 1153)
 
"I appreciate any help you can give. We're having some problems with the primary life support. The redundant systems just aren't working. I think there’s some blown power relays. Would you be able to check out the relays on deck 34?" 
 
"Yes, of course," stated Engtamn and started to go, keeping his eyes downcast as was his species way when meeting a new, possibly domineering species.
 
"Oh by the way," Matthew said and pointed to his eyes. "its ok, I was blind."
 
"That is unfortunate. I do not understand the bearing of this on our current predicament," said Engtamn softly, trying to no offend this creature further.
 
"I had a visor but it wasn't properly compatible with what vision I had and it cause me more pain then it was worth so I have artificial ones," stated Matthew.
 
Engtamn was now confused. He had no idea why the engineering person had stated this. "I'm sorry Mr. McLaren, but I do not understand why you are telling me this. I had only barely noticed your eyes seemed different from a distance. I took it as something that was a normal state in your species. It is not our way to make eye contact on a first meeting as it is a sign of aggression. Is this full disclosure something your people must do upon a first contact with someone new?"

(Posted by Jeff)

(Starbase Geneva, Deck 32, ensign JG McLaren, 1155)

"Oh by the way," Matthew said and pointed to his eyes. "its ok, I was blind."
"That is unfortunate. I do not understand the bearing of this on our current predicament," said Engtamn softly, trying to no offend this creature further.
"I had a visor but it wasn't properly compatible with what vision I had and it cause me more pain then it was worth so I have artificial ones," stated Matthew.
Engtamn looked confused. He had no idea why the engineering person had stated this.
"I'm sorry Mr. McLaren, but I do not understand why you are telling me this. I had only barely noticed your eyes seemed different from a distance. I took it as something that was a normal state in your species. It is not our way to make eye contact on a first meeting as it is a sign of aggression. Is this full disclosure something your people must do upon a first contact with someone new?"
"No, I’m sorry. I didn't know. In my species we usually make eye contact on first meetings and a lot of people don't do this because I was blind, they are not sure how to approach me. I wasn't aware of that custom, I’m sorry if I offended you." 

(Posted by Matthew)

(Starbase Geneva, Deck 32, CSO, Ensign (SG) Engtamn-Jensi, 1157)

"I'm sorry Mr. McLaren, but I do not understand why you are telling me 
this. I had only barely noticed your eyes seemed different from a distance. 
I took it as something that was a normal state in your species. It is not 
our way to make eye contact on a first meeting as it is a sign of 
aggression. Is this full disclosure something your people must do upon a 
first contact with someone new?"

"No, I’m sorry. I didn't know. In my species we usually make eye contact on 
first meetings and a lot of people don't do this because I was blind, they 
are not sure how to approach me. I wasn't aware of that custom, I’m sorry if 
I offended you."

Engtamn continued to look away and answered softly, "I take no offense. I 
must go now and take care of the issue on Deck 34."

(Reply McLaren iyw)

With that Engtamn hurried off to the turbo lift, happy to get away from 
living creatures. ~It is always so hard talking to other species... it is 
always so hard talking to anyone. I wish everyone was as easy to speak to as 
the computer...~ he thought.

"Computer, Deck 34 please," stated Engtamn as the turbolift doors closed 
and the lift began to move.

(Starbase Geneva, Deck 34, Ensign (SG) Engtamn-Jensi, 1157)

Engtamn walked into Main Engineering and past the matter/antimatter reactor. 

~Hmmm... probably can plan a few upgrades there later,~ he thought to 
himself. Engtamn walked over to the area housing the relays and began to 
inspect them. The Ensign McLaren’s hypothesis was correct, the relays were 
indeed in need of replacement. Engtamn pulled one of the relays out and set 
about inspecting it. ~That's a silly design, the power flow matrix is not 
very efficient.~ With that thought, Engtamn walked over to a replicator and 
called up the specifics on the relay. He began inputting a series of changes 
to the overall relay system.

"Computer, could you please run a simulation on my proposed design?" 
requested Engtamn.

[Working...]

Then the computers report flashed on the screen. Engtamn nodded, pleased 
with his results and began replicating the part. Once finished he began to 
put them in, replacing the blown relays and then tapped his comm badge.

"Doctor Engtamn-Jensi to Ensign McLaren," he said softly, "I have checked 
the relays and you were correct. They have been replaced. I have modified 
the new part as their energy flow conservation wasn't very good. I'll do 
more work on improving the system later in my laboratory."

(Reply McLaren)

"It is alright Ensign. Power flow is one of the things I do... if you note, 
we are operating properly now and using 18% less power to drive the system," 
stated Engtamn.

(Reply McLaren)

"Is there anything else you want me to look at?" asked Engtamn.

(Reply McLaren)

"Understood. Engtamn out."

(Posted by Jeff)

(Starbase Geneva, deck 32 engineering, Ensign JG McLaren, 1159)

Engtamn continued to look away and answered softly, "I take no offense. I
must go now and take care of the issue on Deck 34."
("Ok then." Matthew replied not sure what to think of this man as he scuttled away into the turbolift. ~better read up on his race~
He shrugged and got back to work. 
 
He finished the system diagnostic just as a message came over the com system. 
 
"Doctor Engtamn-Jensi to Ensign McLaren, I have checked the relays and you were correct. They have been replaced. I have modified
the new part as their energy flow conservation wasn't very good. I'll do more work on improving the system later in my laboratory."
"Thank you doctor."

"It is alright Ensign. Power flow is one of the things I do... if you note, we are operating properly now and using 18% less power to drive the system," stated Engtamn over the com.

"Fantastic doctor. Good work."

"Is there anything else you want me to look at?" asked Engtamn

"Could you please write a short report on what modifications you made to add to my own report and then check in with Oksana please. She'll have your next assignment." Matthew said, hoping that she would. He still wasn't quite used to telling people what to do all the time.

"Understood. Engtamn out."

Matthew began keying a report For Lieutenant Casely up in ops. He was impress with the work they had achieved in such a short time and hoped all there jobs ran this smoothly, of course he knew this wouldn't happen, but it was a good thought.
A few minutes later a second message came over the com from LT Casely.
 
"Ensign McLaren. I see that the redundant circuits in life support are now functioning. Excellent work. To further on your excellent work, I can see you somehow modified the system to be more energy efficient. Well done. I look forward to reading your report to see how you did it," stated Paul.

"Thank you sir, although I can't take the credit for that one. It was Doctor Jensi who came up with the plan and he installed it." Matthew said.
 "I understand. Please keep checking systems. We need to get together to schedule a level 3 diagnostic. We need to get those systems all up to spec as fast as possible. Lieutenant Casely out." 
Matthew downloaded his report onto a PADD. 
"Computer, set an alarm for 1400 hours." 

[Clock activated.] The computer replied in its emotionless voice. 

(Posted by Matthew)

(Starbase Geneva, Main Operations,2O/TAC/SC - Lieutenant (JG) Paul Casely, 
1212)

Paul reviewed some of the information on the PADD in front of him. After the 
arrival of the marines, things had been relatively quiet in OPs. It was a 
good time to get caught up on 'paperwork'.

"Ummm... excuse me, sir?" stated a young ensign.

"What is it Ensign Yalrath?" asked Paul of the young woman.

"Well, the redundant systems for life support have just come on line... 
and... well, you'd better have a look at this," said Yalrath, she definitely 
seemed confused about something.

Paul walked over to the console and started to look at it. All the systems 
for life support, including the redundant ones, were operating within 
expected parameters. ~Good, Ensign McLaren has taken care of the problem.~

"I don't see any problems here Ensign," stated Paul.

The Ensign swallowed and pointed to a section on her display, "Sir, it 
doesn't  make sense, the equipment is operating at 100% but we're using 
almost 20% less power than we're supposed to be to run them. See?" She 
pointed at a section at her display.

That was puzzling, not a problem necessarily, but puzzling.

"I see Ensign, thanks for pointing that out. I wouldn't have noticed 
otherwise," stated Paul, "Apparently Ensign McLaren has earned his supper 
today." Paul tapped his comm badge.

"Ensign McLaren. I see that the redundant circuits in life support are now 
functioning. Excellent work. To further on your excellent work, I can see 
you somehow modified the system to be more energy efficient. Well done. I 
look forward to reading your report to see how you did it," stated Paul, he 
was definitely pleased with the crew at the moment.

(Reply McLaren)

"I understand. Please keep checking systems. We need to get together to 
schedule a level 3 diagnostic. We need to get those systems all up to spec 
as fast as possible. Lieutenant Casely out," stated Paul still smiling 
before turning to the intercom system.

"Lieutenant Casely to Captain Ariana. I just wanted to let you know that 
Engineering and Science divisions have fixed the problem with the redundant 
circuits in life support. In fact, we're operating almost 20% more 
efficiently with power flow and therefore using less energy," stated Paul 
proudly.

(Reply Lise)

(Posted by Jeff)

(Starbase Geneva, Deck 34, CSO, Ensign (SG) Doctor Engtamn-Jensi, 1218)

 
=^=Could you please write a short report on what modifications you made to add to my own report and then check in with Oksana please. She'll have your next assignment.=^= Matthew said.
 
"Understood. Engtamn out."
 
Engtamn stopped for a second and looked at the thrumming matter/antimatter chamber. He loved these things. He had devoted a good deal of his life to making them more efficient. He wondered if he could have a small reactor placed in his laboratory, if he ever got a chance to work in a laboratory that is... 
 
He tapped his comm badge.
 
"Doctor Engtamn-Jensi to Oksana please," said Engtamn.
 
 (Reply Oksana)
 
"I was...umm... told by Ensign McLaren to talk to you about how I could help. I'm the Acting CSO, I will help you with anything except weapons and weapon systems," said Engtamn.

(Posted by Jeff)

(Starbase Geneva, Ready Room, SPC Dr. Eistal, 1305)
 
Deirdra walked into the Captain's office having already been granted admittance.
 
"Captain Arianna, Dr. Eistal reporting in for duty, sir."
 
(Posted by Katherine)

(Starbase Geneva, deck 1, Main Ops, Ensign Matthew McLaren 1404)
Matthew stepped off the turbolift into ops carrying a PADD. He walked over the Lieutenant Casely who was working at a consol. 

"Sir, we have checked the critical systems on board the station, there operating within acceptable limits, although we still have work to do. I have the report on the life support system and power relays you requested." He said and offered the PADD to the Lieutenant. 

(Reply Casely)

"We can run that level 3 diagnostic if you would like."

(Reply Casely)

(Posted by Matthew)

(Starbase Geneva, Deck 1, Main Ops, 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant Paul Casely, 1411)
 
 
Paul was busy working at a console and coordinating the other OPs crew for another shipment arrival when a young Ensign stepped out of the turbolift. He was a large gentleman. He made a beeline for Paul.
 
"Sir, we have checked the critical systems on board the station, there operating within acceptable limits, although we still have work to do. I have the report on the life support system and power relays you requested." He said and offered the PADD to the Lieutenant. 
 
Paul took the PADD. "I'm guessing you're Ensign McLaren? Its good to finally meet you."
 
"We can run that level 3 diagnostic if you would like," stated McLaren.
 
Paul suppressed a chuckle as he eyed the Ensign. "Mr. McLaren, have you forgotten what a level 3 diagnostic is? Its half diagnostic by computer and half you and other engineers pulling apart systems and testing them by hand. It will take hours to complete. The reason I asked to come up was so we could schedule a time when it would be convenient," stated Paul. 
 
He picked up a PADD and grinned, “It seems that traffic in and out of the station is lightest at around 0200. What say we schedule it for Stardate 2407.01.03 at 0200? Does that suit your schedule?" asked Paul.
 
(Reply McLaren)
 
"Good! Now, I'm going for lunch. I've been standing at this post for over 5 hours without anything to eat. Always relieve your crew before yourself. I think I'll hit the Olde Stone. Care to join me Ensign? You look like you haven't had anything to eat in hours. It will give us a chance to get acquainted," said Paul with a smile.
 
(Reply McLaren)
 
"Excellent. Now I just have to log out here," Paul pushed a few keys, "Ensign Yalrath, you have the conn."
 
With that, Paul strode out of OPs.
 
(Starbase Geneva, Deck 28, The Olde Stone, 2O/TAC/SC Lieutenant Paul Casely, 1420)
 
Paul motioned to a table and sat down.
 
"So, Ensign, tell me about yourself," said Paul with a smile.

(Posted by Jeff)

-=End Compile=-