Hashing it Out

Posted on Fri Mar 29th, 2013 @ 8:04pm by Captain Elsie Halliwell & Captain T'mpest Michaels & Lieutenant Commander Kadie Mora & Lieutenant Commander Morai Keen & Lieutenant Commander Dylan Blake & Lieutenant Jimmy Cooper & Lieutenant JG Marcus Augusta PHD & Chief Petty Officer Adriana Keen & Captain Alexsa Kendrick

1,942 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Rumours, Promises, and Lies
Location: Briefing Room, USS Ranger
Timeline: Mission Day 6: 1400 hours

ON:

Elsie stood at the head of the briefing table. Her hands placed on its edge either side of her waist as she delicately leant slightly forwards, tilting her head down a little and looking up through the gentle wisps of hair that swept across her forehead. She waited until the members invited had been seated and the quiet, hushed din had settled before beginning.

"It's time that we acknowledge a few... irritations that seem to have filtered through the corridors of the lower ranks and now, sadly, up to officers I once classed as friends." She took in a breath and glanced at each one of her 'trusted' collection; the array of coloured collars peppering the chairs that cradled their backs. "I'm not sure exactly how Jenner dealt with the quiet rumblings of dissent on the ill-fated Dubai but the logs we have gathered indicate that he didn't confront it. I will not allow the Ranger to succumb to the same demise and so I want each and everyone of you to pass this down to your staff: I will not tolerate any deviation from expected behaviour or insubordination of any kind. I've tried to run this ship with a stern but gentle hand. If that fails, then I shall return to a more militant execution. Am I clear?"

Order was the hardest thing to maintain on the Ranger these past few days and Elsie felt as though she was loosing her grasp on her command. The four pips that fastened tightly to her collar no longer seemed to engender its usual respect. "Our brig is small. But I will start confining crew to quarters who continue to step out of line."

Marc had chosen not to sit but to stand at the back of the room leaning against a bulkhead surveying the staff. They all knew why he was there and they all knew his feelings on the matter the captain had chosen to address. He felt his mere presence was enough to make his point.

Of course Blake had heard the rumours echoing though the ship, the whisperings of unhappy crew members but he'd paid little heed. Then, on the other hand was the Captain herself who'd seen a shift in her behaviour toward him. Maybe this was part of his punishment regime she'd threatened having already spent many an hour scrubbnig the deck until it gleamed.

With the ships systems taking a life of their own the timing of this tight fisted approach couldn't be worse, with tension already running high and frustraions peaking he wouldn't be surprised if some of the crew crossed the line.

Keen sat quietly near the middle of the table; he knew that the cohesion of the crew was not what it should be; he also knew the desperate situation that had risen from this. What he did not know is how to circumvent it?

"With all due respect Captain." Keen spoke. "Our logs are not so different than the Dubai at the moment; but with our knowing things are bad I am suggesting getting out of this region of space. Two ships reacting radically in the same negtive way is a sign there are other problems to be solved." He did not back down to Cardassians and he could not here for the sake of his Flock. "I suggest a reverse course and get out of this space to evaluate the tensions and safety of both the ship and crew." He took a breath. "If it will help I could use the Medical Clearances as I see a defined danger to the crew and Star Fleet can use me as a scapegoat for your changing orders if it does not help." He felt his back itching from scars unseen. "I have taken lashings to save those in my flock before; I would do so now to save lives. I strongly suggest getting clear until we understand what is happening"

Kendrick glanced up at Keen, and as far as she dared without anyone noticing, took in the expression of Captain Halliwell--blank, so far.

T'mpest was concerned that the Captain's hard line approach in this case might have the opposite effect and push more people away. "While I agree in part," T'mpest said, "If there's a way to break whatever psychic force is causing the tensions to the crew, I would rather take a little extra time to do that and make this section of space safe for future travelers and colonists, if it can be done while still ensuring the safety of the crew."

"If there is such a thing," Mora said sceptically, and checking her attitude at the door as ordered, for now. She still spoke with gusto however, "no offence commander, but what you have on the table is mere hearsay and rumour--maybe people are just unhappy, for lack of a better word." She said steling a look in Halliwell's general direction without making eye contact. "Aside from some interesting reports and theories from the crew of the Dubai, there hasn't been much life in this sector for a long time, more than any of us have been alive. Apart from some concentrated mineral deposits, some of which we could probably do with, deuterium, dilithium, others, mainly located in a dense asteroid belt a hundred light years away, I can't see any reason why anyone would want to settle in or travel through the area."

"There is enough circumstantial information to warrant further investigation," T'mpest replied calmly. Besides, there was a chance they could find the answers they needed on the planet.

Psychic force Blake shook his head, in his opinion there had to be another force at work here to create this more likely a natural based phenomenon never seen or recorded before.

Alex sighed quietly before voicing her own thoughts without looking at anyone in particular, so far just one sentence, "We can't leave, we're not done, even if the so-called forbidden planet is our last stop, one way or another."

T'mpest agreed with her, but dared not add to Kendrick's comment.

"'We're not done' is not an acceptable reason to jeopardise the lives and safety of this ship, Captain," Elsie countered, regarding her with a level expression with which Alex returned an almost solemn, wanting one. "But we're in agreement. I'm not prepared to leave this sector dropping warning buoys as we run. Nor am I about to forsake the lives of the Dubai. We at least owe it to them."

She turned to Mora. "I'm not willing to chance any kind of flight with the systems as they are," and so facing back to the room added, "so we'll take a shuttle down and investigate this 'Forbidden Planet'." Now regarding T'mpest she continued, "We'll take the Campbell. The Aerowing will be able to hold more crew."

Jimmy's face curled in a half-smile. Yeah, being blown up will really help the torn apart souls of the Dubai. "What do you expect to find down there? There's enough to fix for us up here before this whole ship goes boom! With all due respect, of course."

Mora was about to interject but T'mpest got there first.

"Just because the Dubai blew up does not mean the Ranger must suffer the same fate," T'mpest countered. "We can take steps now to prevent that and ensure a successful outcome to our mission."

She looked around the table, then focused on Jimmy. "We can talk to the counselors, we can express our concerns and work them out rather than let them ferment until something does happen."

"Talking is pointless if no-one listens," Mora said practically under her breath but so the whole room could hear it, Kendrick noting parallel frustrations between a number of the personnel present. "We do have enough to do up here, you're right," Kadie went on, "but engineering is hardly required on a planetary survey. We're working round the clock and sickbay is ninety-three percent complete, and the diagnostic repairs of the rest of the systems are progressing well, transferring to standard isolinear circuits. With this the computer appears to almost be fixing itself which leads to a conclusion that this area, whatever is affecting the area, even if there is something here responsible is somehow causing a disruption to the gel-packs' connections and operation. We're still a long way off fixing the entire ship, but it's getting there. Engineering staff along with those temporarily transferred will have to remain on board." Mora finished her department assessment with a simple "Sir." collectively to the three most senior officers.

Adriana seemed to shrink a little in her chair and she chewed her bottom lip. She didn't like the tension running around the ship; it made her nervous and she dropped a protective hand over her belly where the baby steadily grew. She cast a nervous glance at her husband but didn't hold his eye before she looked back down at the table. As the only enlisted person there, she supposed that put her in the position of honorary Chief of the Boat, but... they seemed to be as divided and secretive and tense as the officers were acting right now.

Elsie paused. There were a lot of opinions, personalities and aggression in this room and Elsie knew that she was fighting a loosing battle trying to keep them all in check. She was tired and irritated with how she had lost some semblance of control of her own ship but she knew that the crew of the Ranger had responsibilities. To itself and the surrounding sectors. She looked towards Jimmy with a blank expression and simply uttered "Not exploring this Forbidden Sector is unacceptable." She then turned to regard Mora. "If you can handle the repairs, then we'll take the shuttle down to see what we're up against. We're all falling apart sitting up here as it is."

We are, the ship is, I mean what's the difference right? Mora mused to herself before actually responding to the direct command, "Aye sir."

Keen saw the nervous look from his wife; the fatigue on the Captain and the general discontent in the staff here. There were explosions; fist fights and almost what a psychologist might call an 'experiment' in pressure effects upon a crew. When they got through this Keen might have an interesting article for the journals.

"Might I suggest a general message from the Captain, to relieve tensions and assure the crew that we are working on things and will get through this?" Keen spoke calmly. "What humans call a pep talk often does wonders to ease tensions in most cases."

Kendrick, only moving her eyes so as not to draw any attention, looked sharply at Keen, then across to T'mpest. From what I've seen, Captain Halliwell is one of the direct causes of our predicament, a pep talk coming from a source like that is hardly going to carry weight, she thought before returning her gaze to the table.

"That's not necessary," Elsie countered with a respectful nod to Keen. "But thank you." She looked out to the crew and simply added, "you have your orders," before sitting down at the head of the table to wait for them to leave.

Orders to go around and get killed Jimmy sighed, but kept his tongue. "Captain." He said simply as he filed out.

T'mpest looked at the Captain for a long moment. Then she gave her a half-bow and left the room.

 

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