Back to Work

Posted on Thu Sep 19th, 2019 @ 8:43am by Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson & Captain Gary Taylor & Commander Liselle Qwyyn & Lieutenant Commander Aurelia Taylor & Commander Sthilg & Commander Arrianna Salannis an Vantar & Lieutenant JG Gallia Norris & Lieutenant Colonel Azhul Naxea & Lieutenant Commander Turak & Lieutenant Carter Smith & Lieutenant Commander S'hib & Petty Officer 1st Class Kaywin-Li Fray

Mission: Mission 3: Masquerade
Location: USS Elysium - Various
Timeline: MD 1
3359 words - 6.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Shore leave was over and the crew was being recalled. The USS Elysium was docked at SB1 and the crew ebbed and flowed through the gangways back into its glorious halls. Old crew mingled effortlessly with newer crew. Operations Officers ran around making sure everyone had a cabin assignment and that people were not bunking with the incorrect people. It would not do to have Andorians bunking with Vulcans, given the temperature requirements of each species.

As Turak walked up the gangway, he couldn't help but to be a little disappointed. He had spent his entire shore leave with his wife Sarah, who had come from earth to meet him. She was on summer break from the Academy and would only have one more year until graduation. It had seemed like 9 years since he had seen her, not 9 months. He was very pleased with his life aboard the Elysium, he just wished he could bring her along for the ride. Once aboard, he first returned his gear to his quarters and then planned to check in with the Security office.

Down in her cabin Lia was moving one or two things over to Gary's, it would take time but she may have a lot of time on her hands shortly. Now that people were returning to the Elysium, she knew her medical problem would probably be talked about. No doubt many would get it wrong, others would embellish it to make it more exciting. Just how the Captain would react was an unknown, but Lia had decided to face that problem head on by telling the Captain herself.

For his part, Gary was clearing both closet and dresser space for Lia and her things. He was determined to make this work and he knew Lia was equally determined. They had also agreed to handle her medical problem between the two of them and see how successful they were. He was committed to helping Lia. She would not go this alone. She was going to speak to the Captain and hopefully Phoenix would allow her to stay on as Chief Security/Tactical Officer while he and Lia dealt with her medical problem.

Naxea gazed out the porthole in her quarters, watching an Excelsior Class Vessel dock. Despite the class' age, the Excelsior Class still held an aire of elegance to it--reminiscent of the golden age of Starfleet. She thought back to meeting her half-brother at San Francisco. She thought about saving him from those three assholes. They had a rocky relationship but she would never allow any harm come to him--he was still family after all. Bajorans, especially in the aftermath of the Occupation valued family ties above all else. She had often wondered what Bajor would be like had they never encountered the Cardassians. Would they be more advanced than the Federation? Would they be hostile and xenophobic towards others? A beep from her terminal drew her attention away from "what ifs" to the present. She looked at her terminal to see a senior staff meeting request from the Captain.

Smith returned from leave. He had hoped to have some more time with Fray, but he got the feeling that maybe she wasn't interested in him, even the new counselor didn't appear interested. So he spent most of his leave in one of the local bars and gambling establishment, drinking and gambling, which he was very good at.
He dropped his bag in his quarters, jumped in the shower and changed into a new uniform. Then he headed to engineering.

Anje, having finally found time to herself, had finally also found time to start her makeover. She was caped, her hair washed and combed out and Christie was about to 'go nuts.' Anje took a deep breath and readied herself, it was time for something new.

"You ready, hun?" Christie asked, "And are you sure about giving me carte blanche?" She laughed as she indicated her blonde extreme pixie.

"Hell yes." Anje replied, she was already committed to this, too late to turn back now.

As Christie stepped forward, spinning her scissors, her comm rang, "Hold on a second, honey." She smiled, "Hello? Really? Crap..." Turning back to her client, "Hey, I got to go pick up my kid, he's sick at school. Can you wait about an hour?"

Anje, midway into saying yes, received a message on her PADD, recalled to the ship, "Um, apparently not." She sighed, getting up from the chair to leave, "Weeks of nothing going on, but let me try to get my hair done, whole damn galaxy comes unglued..."

The past few days were eventful for Varis. While the bulk of the crew took shore leave he decided to get acclimated to the new ship and crew. So when the order came for everyone to return to the Elysium there was no rush for the DTI agent, someone for whom time was always of the essence.

Liselle had volunteered for transporter duty, helping to bring needed supply restocks onto the ship. Stepping foot off the Elysium didn't feel right. Not yet. Instead she had decided to keep herself surrounded by the bulkheads of the ship she had always thought of as home. Seeing her fellow crew members come back aboard filled her with a sense of hope and renewed purpose. For the first time since she had been returned to her duties, she felt like the universe was moving in the right direction once more.

Materialising on the transporter pad with an audible groan S'hib looked up to see Liselle behind the operating console. "Why... why does a hangover get worse, when you transport." He said as he uneasily stepped down off the transporter pad.

She gave him a sympathetic smile. "Honestly? I once heard that it was a Vulcan scientist who intentionally included the flaw deep in the core design of the original transporter phase coils. I like to think of it as a giant disappointed shake of the head at us fun-loving aliens that echoes throughout the centuries."

"Not gonna lie." S'hib groaned with squinted eyes. "I can feel that disappointment right now..." He said as he slowly walked towards the exit, his hooves which usually clicked delicately now thudding along apathetically.

Kaylee walked up the gangway with EX floating beside her. “Well, here we go again. Let’s hope those command staff people on the bridge don’t keep us too busy” she said to EX, who simply gave a few beeps in return.

---- ---- ----

Senior Staff were summoned to the bridge after they had stowed their gear.

Naxea arrived at the bridge, seeing she was the first to arrive, among the other senior officers, she nodded at the Captain, wondering why a meeting would be held at the ship's central nerve center and not a meeting room as was normal procedure. "Captain." Naxea stood off to the side as she waited for other to arrive.

Gallia walked in and took a seat beside Naxea, shaking her head, "Bloody hell, I shouldnae let Anje drop Ops on meh. Especially y'ar Jarheads, Captain." Gallia laughed, showing the Marine her PADD, "Starbase One Ops didnae bother lookin' at nothin' befar they assigned them provish-nal karters, ya gotcha a Card-ashin an' a Bajaran sharin' a room, didnae go nay better than ye think, naither. Ah moved them ta diff'ernt rooms, but ye may wanna look at move'nem ta different platoons."

Naxea stood, blinking at the woman she had met shortly after being assigned and fast becoming a woman she trusted. "Wait, there's a spoon head in my Detachment?" She hadn't gotten a chance to meet all of the new Marines yet.

"Aye, Captain." Gallia replied, a little taken aback by the Marine's use of the word 'spoonhead.' She'd almost had a second brother, one who would've been younger than her, an orphaned Cardassian boy but he didn't make it through his medical problems and passed before her parents could officially adopt him, "Thar's a Card-ashin in yer unit."

Lia nervously entered the bridge, she politely nodded at the people there. Lieutenant Norris was speaking but Lia found her accent hard to follow, she hoped with time she might understand it. She made her way to her console, but on sitting down still remained silent.

Anje came in next, a little slowly having twisted her ankle slightly to get here on time, and leaned against the console beside Lia, whispering into her ear, "You okay, beautiful?" and squeezing her friend's hand slightly.

Anje's statement caught Lia on the hop, "Ah yes thank you, I never really thanked you for your trouble on the Star Base. Your taking my hand helped, thanks for that."

"No trouble at all." Anje replied, it wasn't entirely true, but she didn't want Lia to feel bad about what other people had put her through, ~If I ever find that Mishka bitch, I'm going to gut her like a sturgeon...~

Gary entered next. He saw Lia, Anje standing together. He nodded to Gallia. Naxea and took the XO's seat on the other side of Lia. "How you doing?" He asked softly while smiling at Anje.

"Ask me when this is over, I'm sitting here waiting for someone to say something", Lia just kept herself quiet. Just how long would it be before her escapade would be mentioned, and how would she react?

"Lia, relax. your tight as a tick. You look like you're going to explode. Please just breathe. We'll get through this." Gary whispered.

Taking a deep breath Lia answered, "I'll try, but this is difficult".

Gary nodded in understanding. "I know but you can do this. Your strong and your not alone. Just remember that. It will all be over soon."

She simply nodded in return.

Gary spoke again, "Lia, take it a minute at a time.. It's nothing you haven't done before." Trying to give. infuse Lia with confidence that everything was going to be alright.

Arri entered the bridge and then spoke. "I do not understand this. A shuttle or a runabout should be sufficient for this diplomat. This is vanity." She talked to herself. "... and we have greater tasks that require our attention."

The turbolift opened again as the gorn medical chief stepped out of the cylinder. He gave a polite nod to everyone before taking a position on the bridge.

Anje heard Arri talking about some diplomat, scrolled through her PADD, finding nothing, ~Must be going somewhere else then.~ She decided, no way were they actually sending someone to her ship without telling her they were coming, ~That would be ridiculous.~

Gallia heard Arri, too, and had already decided if it was another man coming to hump Kara's leg that she was going to unleash Scottish Hell on somebody, Knowin' mah luck it's that nay good bugger Lovejoy himself...

The summons to return to the ship was no surprise but the summons to the Bridge was a surprise for Varis. He was the civilian Director of the DTI and as such had nothing to to with ship's business unless time was involved. However, he decided that he would go to the Bridge as Directed, this should prove interesting at the very least. He walked off the turbolift and found everyone manning their stations a small feeling of being out of place washed over him. However, he did not show it. Varis had an old fashioned portfolio tucked under his arm. He preferred to take notes by hand rather than on a PADD. "Ummmm, Permission to enter the Bridge Captain." He addressed the center chair. Even though the El Aurian had been summonsed he thought it proper to follow protocol for a civilian.

Anje watched as the new man entered the room, noting he wore a suit and not a uniform, ~Interesting. And what's with the pen and paper? Like this guy stepped straight out of the twentieth or something...~

In engineering, Carter sat at the main console, going over reports and diagnostics that were done during his leave.

Liselle's eyes immediately went to her station as she came onto the bridge. She was eager to set off on another assignment. It was time to do her absolute best to put the past behind her and move forward. And as she ship's pilot, she had the luxury of doing so both figuratively and literally. Her eyes fell over the gathered crew and she quickly found herself wearing a happy smile. Despite being one of the last to arrive she found herself stupidly saying aloud, "Welcome home, everyone."

"Welcome home, Liselle." Anje replied, though seeing Liselle immediately tore at her heart; it was as though she was looking at her beloved Merella again, but wasn't. Add to the mix the fact that a few short days ago she had gone with Liselle and Commander Taylor, fully prepared to kill men over Lia, ~Our relationship certainly has new dynamics...~

Still in engineering, Smith finished reviewing the reports and diagnostics. "Engineering duty log, Lieutenant JG Smith, assistant chief engineer. Upon review of computer readouts, I am dispatching repair teams Charlie, Omega, Delta and Zulu to various locations of the ship, based on the readouts. Computer, send copies to captain and chief engineer. Close log."

Lia heard Liselle, and looked up and smiled. "Welcome home Elle, nice to be back", her words seemed overly loud but now people would know she was there.

Gary heard Lia's reply to Liselle but stayed silent. He moved to his chair. Maybe just maybe getting back to work would help ease his guilt. It was a hope if nothing else.

Phoenix came out of her ready room and paused, looked around and stepped into the command well. She without a word walked to her chair and flipped on the ship wide comm. [["Attention All Crew, Please secure for immediate Departure. I repeat please secure for Immediate Departure."]] She then turned to the senior staff assembled on the Bridge. "Welcome back everyone, time to get to work. Commander Qwyyn, please take the Helm, everyone else to their bridge stations. We have an important guest coming aboard and we need to depart as soon as they are on board."

Avalon appeared. "The Shuttle has landed in shuttlebay 2 Captain. Security are escorting our guest here."

"Thank you Avalon." Phoenix turned and looked at Liselle. "Set the departure clock to ten minutes. And broadcast through the ship."

At not having a bridge station, Naxea remained where she was with her hands clasped casually behind her back as she waited to see what was going on. She watched as the others moved to their stations. 'Sure, let me be the odd person out, asses,' she thought amusingly.

Liselle slid into her seat, allowing her fingers to hover above her board for a moment in anticipation of connecting once more with the Elysium. Slowly, she lowered her fingers, allowing her painted fingernails to click down upon the glossy surface. A satisfied sigh escaped her. "Departure synchronized to Avalon's countdown, sir."

"Begging your pardon, Captain." Anje began, "What is this about a guest?"

Varis took the Captain's words as an invite onto the bridge. Either that or she was not a Captain who stood on protocol. As he watched the others take their station and jump to their orders he still wondered why he had even been summonsed. "Captain it seems that I am at a loss. I am not sure why I am here. Is there even a station for me?" Varis stood just in front of the turbolift doors as they closed behind him.

Phoenix looked at the Head diplomat and the assistant Director and gave a half smile. She was about to speak when the lift opened again. She bit back a groan. "Commander Brett, I have the honor of introducing Admiral T'Prel, Head Ambassador for the Federation. We are escorting her to Vulcan."

the Tall Vulcan admiral moved down to the command well. She gave Phoenix a dismissive look and inclinded her head to Brett. "Commander. Ah And Director Varis. I see they assigned you here." The Ambassador said calmly. "A wise choice indeed."

"It's an honor to finally meet you, Admiral." Anje replied in Vulcan, "My aunt has told me so much about you. May your time with us be pleasant and productive."

'Great, a babysitting job,' Naxea thought as she looked the Ambassador over, remaining where she was--letting the diplomats kiss each other's asses.

"Ye know, this may sound wared ta ye, but 'til now I didnae know Anje spoke Vool-can." Gallia said to Naxea, the Marine's facial expressions telling her exactly what she thought about this assignment.

Naxea simply nodded at Gallia, keeping her eyes on the exchange between the Vulcan and Anje.

Lia now glanced at the Vulcan, her blood ran cold. "Aefvadh Lleifven", she muttered under her breath.

T'Prel replied in kind to Anje. "I am sure it will be. Federation Standards have not slipped in that department I see."

"Not at all." Anje smiled, "Though, amongst vessels of the fleet, the Elysium is something of a glamour package."

Varis regarded the Ambassador for a moment. She seemed to have had him at a loss. For he only knew her name and position in passing. Like most Vulcans she stayed off of the DTI's radar. "Peace and long life Ambassador." He said as he made the Vulcan salute.

The ambassador inclined her head politely.

Phoenix gave Varis a quick look. "There is a station over there" She pointed beside science. "Its configured to your department Director." Then she looked at the Helm. "Take us out when ready Commander. Destination, Vulcan."

Gallia, stepping around Anje quickly, made her way to her console, never having thought she would have a job with a bridge station, "Ops rades oll ready, Coptain."

"If I'm no longer needed on the bridge, Captain, I have more pressing matters that require my attention," Naxea replied, annoyed at being called to the bridge for literally no reason when she had training to do with her detachment. She didn't know the Captain very well save for the few times she had seen her aboard the ship and this was the first time aboard the bridge. She had been welcomed aboard by Commodore Mountbatten and not the Captain as she had been captured.

Varis took the station that was indicated. The notion that he a civilian would be on the bridge still caught him off guard. However, here he was staring at the console. A smirk crawled across his face as he dropped his pad onto the console and began writing.

Lia now stood up and approached Phoenix, "Captain, when you have a spare five minutes. I need to talk to about a condition I'm suffering, and my transfer to DS9 until further notice. I will be under Dr. Bashir".

Gary heard Lia. address Phoenix and it was time he added his voice to the mix. he approached Phoenix from the other side effectively bracketing her. "Captain, I request that I be allowed to go with Commander Holmes to help both her condition and support."

"My ready room." Phoenix said mentally lamenting their timing. "now"

==ENGINEERING==

In main engineering, Smith logged in the results from the repair teams he sent out earlier.

Walking over to Carter, Kaylee looked over his shoulder at the results, “everything alright there Lieutenant?”

He looked at her and smiled. "Hello petty officer. Seems that no one had the maintenance teams repair some things that needed repairing, but I sent them out so things seem back to order. And how was your shore leave?"

Kaylee gave a sigh, “I knew I should’ve left EX onboard. He could’ve done most of the maintenance. As for shore leave, it was relaxing. I don’t often get a chance to work on a single project without distraction. EX was in need of a maintenance overhaul himself, plus a few software upgrades”

"Right now...everything seems to actually be running smoothly. I checked the maintenance schedule and did any upgrades that were scheduled." Carter checked the board.