Re-Assignment Orders

Posted on Tue Nov 17th, 2009 @ 1:46pm by Captain Elsie Halliwell & Lieutenant Cress Maven & Commander Curtiss Drake & Lieutenant JG Ryan Warner & Lieutenant Commander Dylan Blake & Lieutenant Commander Kaylis Kirana & Lieutenant Commander Eliza McAdams & Lieutenant JG Lucy Carter & Lieutenant JG Drew O'Connell & Lieutenant JG Yvette LaFaal & Ensign John Bradshaw & Lieutenant Jimmy Cooper

3,384 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Balowlli System
Location: Conference Room
Timeline: Day One: 0900 hrs

ON:

“All senior staff report to the Conference room immediately,� Kerr stated as he took his finger off the panel that was embedded into the desk before him. The internal communications hail resounded throughout all eight decks, as the Trill sat there, coffee in hand and a stack of pads before him.

Here we go again, he thought to himself with an amused expression.

T'kaarch looked up from the monitor he was working on, and turned towards his boss, Ensign Larkin. "Kind sir," he said politely, "Would that include me?" Though he would be honored, he wouldn't be surprised if this was a 'party' not ment for him.

"Hmm," Larkin mused. "If I recall Starfleet tradition properly, no, but why don't you come along anyway." He began to leave the room, and then added jokingly, "we've both been out of touch for a while. If you put us together, you might get one competent officer."

"Heh, very well, thank you." T'kaarch smiled as he dribbled behind Ensign Larkin.

Doctor Fox stepped through the doors into the conference room and looked about at the lack of other Officer's and smirked.

"First one to the party, I see." he said, taking a seat near to the Captain. "Feeling allright?" he asked genuinely, adjusting himself in the chair. It had been a long time since he'd been in a conference like this. It brought back quite a few old memories, some good and some not so much so.

Turning to him, Kerr nodded. “Thank you, Doctor, yes. I’m doing much better now, having found my sea-legs, as you called them.�

Drew had been working through the newest files from Intelligence, downloaded just that morning, when the page had come through. Running his hand through his hair, he marveled at how well behaved it had been since he'd seen the ship's barber. He had to remember the man's name the next time he went in, for now all he could manage was that he was Bolian and had spent some time on the USS Enterprise�D. Those salient facts and that the alien never shut up. Still, it was worth not having his hair in his eyes all day.

Deactivating the information feed and dropping the PaDD, Drew exited his office and headed to the conference room. Stepping into the turbolift, Drew considered the announcement, no doubt Captain Kerr would tell them about the new technology they would be testing, Polaron torpedoes if his information was up to date, a fact he had let slip while in Ireland.

Stepping into the lounge, Drew realized he was among the first to arrive. Noticing the Captain, he nodded and moved silently to his chair at the end of the table. The man with Kerr, a salt and pepper haired, seasoned Lieutenant, Drew could only come to two conclusions. One; he was the ship's new doctor, Cailean Fox, and two; he was beyond vaguely familiar though Drew couldn't place him. Deciding not to stare, Drew removed the ovoid device he always carried and thumbed the controls, when all four panels had lit green, he decided he could relax until the others arrived.

Even after her tour of the ship, Yvette was still managing to get herself lost, but luckily she had already been in a turbolift when the call came through, all she needed to do was redirect the lift to another location, which would be the bridge.

Within moments she was snaking her way along the table trying to find a seat to plop herself down in, smiling greetings at the Doctor and Captain as she entered.
"I thought I would be the last to arrive", she opened to the room.

In her office Lieutenant JG Carter tapped her com badge. "Carter to Captain Kerr. Captain, I am on my way." She finished her appointment early and 5 minutes later stepped into the conference room, taking a seat next to Commander Arkham.

Shalie had been going over the maintenance schedules when the call came over the COMM. With the work load combined with the deadline she had set for completion she brought her PADD with her as she navigated the corridors to the conference room. As she entered the room she took note of who was in there. O'Connell, Dr. Fox and the Captain as well as a new officer she had yet to meet made up the group that had arrived so far. Taking a seat not to far from the group she continued what she had been working on.

Arkham had just returned to the ship several hours before, the events of the past several days weighing heavily on her. Rubbing her eyes tiredly and pushing aside a recently completed PADD, she rose from her desk and made her way to the wardroom. Moving toward her seat , dictated by centuries of tradition to be at the right hand of the Captain, she thumped heavily into her chair.

"That time again, eh, Coltan?" Arkham grumbled, taking a sip of tea.

“It is, Commander,� the Trill replied. “I just hope that we all have the strength for round two.�

Kevin Larkin arrived at the door and was surprised to be greeted by fewer looks of familiarity than he'd expected. He knew that many of the senior staff were just as new as he was, but he'd become so accustom to strangers looking at him as they would a close friend that it seemed almost strange when they didn't. Nevertheless, it was a welcome change.

Behind him, T'kaarch, the big cat wandered in, looking down and playing with his fingers. "Oh, hello everybody" He said as he looked up to the growing crowd of people in the conference room.

"Captain," Larkin spoke up. "I hope you don't mind, but I invited T'kaarch to join us."

“Not at all, Lieutenant,� he replied, nodding to both Kevin and T’kaarch. “Please, both, take a seat.�

"Thank you, captain," T'kaarch said friendly, as he sat down besides the CSO. "So, what's this all about?" T'kaarch asked, not realising it wasn't really his place to ask.

“All in good time, T’kaarch. Just take a seat and I’ll get to the agenda once everyone has arrived.�

As John was standing in front of the blank grey wall in his quarters pondering what he should hang up to give his room some life, This one or this one? when he was interrupted by the Captain’s voice requesting senior staff to report to the bridge. Guess it will have to wait , he thought. John put the paintings down and dawned on his jacket dashing to the door.

As the lift stopped he headed for the conference room. Once inside he saw that he wasn’t dead last but close enough, He moved to one of the far seats and sat down, putting his hands on the table cupping them as to show he was giving his attention to the Captain.

Looking around the room, Kerr considered the officers as they filed in, one by one. Seeing T’kaarch there, Kerr hailed Lieutenant Sheedy as he waited.

“Kerr to Sheedy. Lieutenant, could you bring your assistant chief, Mr. Blake with you? The more technical and scientific heads we have at this briefing the better.�

Skanda tapped her badge. "Aye, on our way." She paused on her way out and crooked a finger at Blake. "C'mon."

Below deck Blake looked toward Sheedy as she was about to leave with a frown and downed his tools. Whatever the Captain wanted to talk about must have him stumped to want the both of them.


"No, it doesn't matter. At the end of the day operational functions come first and as far as I'm concerned I had precedence over the tactical resource system." Ryan Warner backed into the room, facing his counterpart in the security department with a scowl. Only fifteen minutes ago, Kate had assumed control of the bridge - thanks to her new standing in the chain of command - and just as he had been testing the longe range navigational sensors she had stolen half of his power output for her own sensor check. Naturally it hadn't gone down well with the pilot. He turned sharply and glanced around the room, a meek smile of embarassment appearing before he moved to an empty chair.

Last in and directly on Ryan's heels, Kate stepped into the crowded room and immediately wished there had been a back entrance. Though she was last for a very specific reason, having been on Bridge duty whilst preparations for departure got underway, the new Security Chief still felt awkward as she took her seat and let her eyes drift around the table, never settling for too long on any face because then she'd run the risk of being able to glean their reaction. Tardiness was not something Kate suffered easily and even when it was required, she felt exposed. Finally, her eyes landed on Kerr's face and she dutifully reported, "Bridge is secure, sir."

“Thank you,� the Trill nodded, smiling at Kate. “This shouldn’t take too long, and then I believe that we can all be on our way, Mr.. Warner.�

Ryan simply nodded a meek response in Kerr's direction as he took his seat. In truth, he was itching to finish his astronav dump and see the ship on her way. The fact that the Captain sensed that was a rare bonus and he was appreciative of that. It was time to start pushing the limits of the Archimedes, time to find some even ground to give her warp core a nice upheaval and get her flying. As his rear end seemed to find comfort, a thin smile creased his lips.

As the officers sat and shuffled about on their own chairs, Kerr rose ceremoniously, and walked about the odd-shaped table distributing the data padds, a hushed stillness descending on the room as he went. “Firstly, before we get down to business of where Command wants to try our patience next,� he started, his face warm and looking more rested than it had of late, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the dedication you have shown to not only me, but this ship. I couldn’t have asked for a finer crew. And, I realise, walking about this room, that we have some new faces peppering our company.�

Standing now at the front of the room, Kerr nodded to the officers. “Lieutenant Doctor Cailean Fox, our resident Chief Medical Officer, Lieutenant Yvette LaFaal, our Chief Diplomatic Officer, Lieutenant Dylan Blake, our Assistant Chief Engineering Officer, Ensign T’kaarch, our Assistant Chief Science Officer and Ensign John Bradshaw, our new Transporter Chief. Welcome all of you.�

"Thank you, mister." T'kaarch was the only one actually answering it, and he immediately realised by the disturbing faces around him he screwed up right there.

Kerr looked about the room, paused for a moment to allow the brief nods of greeting and then continued. “Now to get back to work.�

The Trill walked over to the wall-mounted display, black as the backdrop beyond the glass, and activated it. An image of the new Polaron torpedo jumped to life on the screen and spun, displaying all key components of the new technology.

“The Polaron torpedo,� he announced, turning to face his crew. “Starfleet’s new line of defence soon to be rolled out across the entire fleet. The technology, although past the experimental phase, is still untested in open space. At least by people who know what they’re doing. That’s where we step forward.�

He flicked his eyes onto Lieutenant Warner and raised both eyebrows. “Ryan, we’re being sent to the Balowlli System. Are you familiar with it?�

"Yes, Sir," Warner responded, his eyes sharply flicking from the torpedo schematic to the commanding officer's. "Not exactly a hop, skip and jump away but certainly well-defined on our charts. As far as I know it's fairly quiet - tucked away into a corner."

“Thanks, Ryan. Now, Shalie and Kate,� he said, turning to them both, “the Nova class, when this technology is to be distributed throughout the Fleet, will only carry one of these torps. But, for this mission, we are being given a consignment of ten. They’re coming tomorrow. Work together to get them on board and installed, ready for transport. Also, en-route, I would like you to start calibrating a spatial probe for the first experimental charge.�

He turned to face the gaggle of officers assembled and continued. “The Polaron torpedo has been designed, upon detonation, to disperse Polaron particles through a ship’s systems, hopefully disabling them. Now, if the ship is shielded, the explosion will result in a considerable drop in its shields, but that’s not what we’re concerned with on this mission. The only problem is, the effects, at the moment, are seemingly random. What Command would also like us to charter is a discernable pattern. But, that’ll be down to our Science department to consider.�

Before the CSO could answer, T'kaarch said "Oohh, that'll be a challenge", and once again, he was being frowned upon.

"You're right, it will be," Larkin mused. "I think I might be able to write a computer program that could help us; if I can find the right algorithm, we should be able to predict what the effects will be easily. It might take a lot of data though. We'll have to figure out some way to make do with so few trials." The CSO's mind was already completely buried in solving the problem.

"Maybe we could take the Polaron technology for some smaller scale testing, see how far we'd get without actually shooting them torrrpedo's?" The catlike purring which occurred when T'kaarch said Torpedo's seemed to startle himself for a second, then he realised his home Cait language, which he indeed hadn't spoken in at least 20 years.

“Elaborate, Mr. T’kaarch. How would we do that?� the captain replied, turning his full attention to the cat.

"Well, I have to say I don't know exactly how these Polaron torpedoes work, but you mentioned some kind of radiation, right? Maybe we could create some kind of device which creates these particles, and point it towards... I don't know, maybe a model of a ship with different electronics, see if there are any patterns... But again, we'll need to look at the technology in the torpedo to see if it's even possible, preferably disassembling one."

“I appreciate your enthusiasm, Ensign,� Kerr replied, nodding, “and you may be on to something. Out of the ten, both you and Mr. Larkin may disassemble one of them. I’ll keep back a second for you, should your first attempt fail. However, I have faith. I think that you should work with Sheedy, Montgomery and Martin on this. It make all of our understandings easier to take an inner look at what we’re playing around with.�

Turning to the other side of the table, Kerr continued. “Right, now, Drew and Yvette, I want you to research the Balowlli System in detail. It is inhabited but by pre-warp civilisations. I want to know who they are, how advanced they are and, working with Mr. Warner, where we should begin the testing to ensure we don’t expose them to anything the Prime Directive forbids us to.�

"Aye sir. Consider it done", Yvette's roving eyes took in the sight of all of the Officers gathered around the table. She counted herself lucky in the fact she had been partnered with one of the most handsome men within the group, rivalled in her eyes only by the captain himself. Still, she had a job to do and couldn't allow minor distractions to interfere, no matter how enthralling they were.

Drew looked over at his new partner. Glad he'd made the effort to meet her earlier, he had managed to take the element of surprise out of their work relationship and he'd been proved correct, his department and hers would be closely tied together. He nodded and allowed a small smile.

“Doctor, even though the torpedoes are designed to affect systems only, I want to know how the particles affect living tissue. But, we’ll need to work with Ops and Engineering on this one. I’m unsure how technology like the bio-neural gel-pack systems are affected by the particles.�

"We'll get on it." Fox replied, turning to the Ops Chief with a nod.

Shalie acknowledged Fox and made the necessary notes in her PaDD. This was just one more thing to add to her ever growing to do list. She returned her attention to the meeting.

Ryan frowned and casually swivelled in his chair to face Kerr, one element of the experimentation had begun to creep into his concerns and he was beginning to feel that his own department would be suffering some consequences. "Captain, will we be using our own auxiliary craft to test the effects of the torpedo?"

“I’m glad that you asked that, Mr. Warner,� Kerr said, sitting back down. “As I said, the spatial probe that I want Sheedy and Montgomery to calibrate en-route will be our first experimental test. Once we – or rather you, Ryan – have determined the best locale for the detonations, Command will then send a soon-to-be decommissioned Oberth class vessel to test. We’ll move from the spatial probe through to a shuttle provided by the Oberth, and then onto the Oberth itself. You can relax. You won’t have any mess to clean up afterwards.�

John looked around the room trying to ascertain what his role would be in all this he wasn‘t sure if he should wait till the briefing was over, and ask Lieutenant Sheedy or speak up hoping he wouldn’t make a fool of himself. Just Do It He turned to the Captain and politely asked “Excuse me, Sir if I may ask what would be my role in all this,� While waiting for a response he looked at the Lieutenant hoping he didn’t step out of line for asking.

Kerr turned to face the Ensign and nodded to Lieutenant Sheedy. “For the moment, Ensign,� he replied, “you are to remain in Lieutenant Sheedy’s department, and as your head of department, she will assign you the work where needed. We all have a lot of work to do, and everyone will need to do their own stint so that we can report back to Command the success of our tests.� The Trill considered for a moment, as if a thought strayed into his mind. “What you can do for me, Ensign, in the meantime however, is discern what effects the Polaron particles have on the transporter systems specifically. In relation to the target, I mean. Once detonated on a vessel, I want to know how the particles interact with the transporter confinement beam. Disabling a ship is one thing, but if we can’t transport on or off the target, it’s not so useful to us.�

“Understood Sir, I will get to work as soon as the Lieutenant is finished with me,� John replied as he looked over to Sheedy and nodded.

Kerr smiled at the nodding faces around the table: his crew. “Now, if there’s no further business to attend to, you’re dismissed.�

Shalie watched the rest of the senior officer. She had no further questions, but didn't want to look like she was too anxious. She glanced down at her notes and over at Drew before pushing off the table and heading for the door. She would send a message or speak with Fox and Martin about their assignments starting with the refit for the torpedoes.

Without further ado, T'kaarch stood up and walked out of the room.

Sheedy planted her hands on the table and stood up. "Well, le's get t' work then," she said to Blake and Bradshaw. And whoever else happened to be listening. "The sooner we sta't, th' better."

And with that John got up from his chair following the Lieutenant’s out.

OFF:

 

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