<<Shuttlebay, Day 2, 1030>>
Myka (PNPC) leaned casually against a stack of crates in the shuttlebay, quietly watching as a few crewmembers finished loading the runabout they were taking to the colony. The Bajoran was in civilian clothing, grey loose fitting trousers and a sapphire top with gold designs. She had a simple satchel where she was concealing her phaser as well as a few practical items for her mission. Although there were a few Bajorans in the colony, Myka had had a prosthesis attached to hide her nose ridges. All she had to do now was wait.
To that end, Quinn's own patience had worn thin. Everything felt gritty and grainy. And that grated and chafed against the seemingly slow-moving chronometer. Every sight, sound, and touch she took in, every move she made in the past few hours felt like it had a dusting sheen of sand she couldn't shake. Perhaps it was simply due to the sleepless night Elle had just had. The day before the beginning of a new assignment always wreaked havoc on her already only-tenuously-maintained sleep schedule. Thankfully, they would soon be on their way.
She thought she'd have been the first to arrive at the shuttlebay, thinking that the extra time would allow her to work some of the weird tension off via obsessive-compulsively performing, then checking and rechecking pre-flight procedures. But Myka was there already, the first to arrive. As Elle made her way to the controls of the shuttle, she nodded at Myka and began to gesture at the civilian clothing, about to compliment the "costuming" ... before stopping herself. Instead, with a finger already raised, she segued into a "zipping her mouth" motion and winked. While Elle obviously wanted nothing to go awry, she enjoyed playing a part in the skullduggery. And so, Quinn set about the standard pre-flight checks, as others continued to arrive.
Returning the pilot's nod, Myka watched the young woman quietly. Saoirse seemed a bit...frazzled, but perhaps that was simply how she prepared for a mission. Myka didn't really know her well enough to be certain. She considered offering to assist the other woman, but there was likely a method to the madness and she'd only be in the way.
Flanked by the security contingent she'd put together for the away mission, Awen (PNPC) strode purposefully into the shuttlebay. Her eyes surveyed the area, taking in who was present and what was happening. Myka was already there and gave her a brief nod as their eyes met. She had to admit she liked the Intel Chief's plan. It certainly brought her back to her days in the Resistance.
Korath was the next to enter the shuttlebay. His frame towering over the other away team members as he came to a stop next to the craft. He nodded to the security team. "Chief, have you given any thought to which side arms you will be issuing to your security teams? " the Klingon asked.
"I've already issued type II phasers and have some phaser rifles set aside, just in case there are any issues with the local wildlife or simply as a contingency," Awen answered. The type II's theoretically would be plenty for a mission to a friendly colony, but the Bajoran preferred to have the rifles and not need them rather than the reverse.
"I'd like to not give the colonists the impression of a heavily armed away team. I would suggest type 1 phasers. However it is up to your discretion for your team."
Awen nodded, "We'll keep what I've already issued. From what I read, it seems their own security teams carry type II's so it shouldn't be overly concerning for them, sir." She kept her expression and tone neutral, but she was not particularly used to being questioned about her choice of weapon for away teams. Of course, the last Executive Officer had been a Counselor, but Awen was perfectly capable of choosing appropriate gear.
Korath stifled a smirk as he gauged the Chief's response. It was after all well within her duties to assess the situation and assign the appropriate side arm compliment. He nodded approvingly. "Very good." He replied. He liked an officer that would stand their ground. In his experience far too many officers put too much stock in a commanding officers 'suggestions' He liked this one.
<Outside Main Engineering>
Derek Tournneau and Viradia Belad (PNPC) were pushing the last cargo pallet out of Main Engineering. Viradia peered around the stack of containers, ensuring that they did not pancake any fellow crewmates. Tournneau turned towards Viradia. "All right, are we sure this is it? It's a long walk back if we forget something."
"Yes, Derek, for the tenth time, this is it. This pallet has all of the isolinear circuitry, memory chips, and the core processors that we're going to need to repair the the ground station and keep them stocked until their next resupply. They took the longest to replicate, so that's why they're last."
Even with the anti-grav sled, the mass of the containers was unwieldy. Fortunately, the turbolift was just across the hall from the main doors. They crammed the sled into the lift, and stepped just inside the doors as they closed.
"Shuttlebay," Derek said.
Viradia looked over at him. "You know, I hear the planet is supposed to be quite beautiful. Lots of plant life, and even a few oceans. Maybe we can find some time to...get away for a while?" Her eyebrow arched mischievously as she finished her question.
Derek chuckled. "Well, let's make sure they have things like, oh, air-con and running water first - but that does sound promising."
<Shuttlebay>
The door to the lift hissed open, and the two engineers pushed their sled out of the hallway and onto the shuttlebay deck. Crewmembers from each department were there, finishing the Xuanantunich's preflight and loading the last containers on the shuttle. Tournneau called out to the quartermaster. "Ms. Sorenski (NPC), we've got one more load here and we're good to go."
Sorenski turned and groaned at the sight of the sled. "Oh good - more boxes! You lot are going to be sitting on them if you bring anything else, sir!"
Derek put his hands up in mock surrender. "This is the last of it, I promise. Probably. Maybe." He grabbed his personal effects from the top of the stack, and Viradia joined him as they boarded the Flyer-type shuttle. He tossed his bag in an underseat storage bin in the rear compartment. With all the cargo that was stacked in the center of the compartment, there was just enough room to walk into the ship and around the edges of the compartment where the crew benches were.
Quinn continued with the pre-flight checks on the shuttle craft, confident that her slight tweaks to instrument calibration would serve them well planetside. It still struck her as strange that, contrary to the data they had about the storm season being over, sudden spontaneous swells of charged particles continued to crop up in the atmosphere, almost in reaction to their sensor sweeps... and sometimes in anticipation of them?
Speaking of anticipation! Elle realized that in preparing for a longer stay away from the Malinche, she'd left a memento she'd brought along, left it sitting in the shuttle cargo compartment! "It" was a tiny turbolift servo-connector that Doug Kinkaid had gifted her upon his *un*-anticipated departure. That broken bit of machinery from Outpost 8013 had failed, causing the turbolift Elle was in to halt between floors. That in turn had pressed Kinkaid into post-shift repairs, which in turn caused Quinn and Kinkaid to meet. It was a bittersweet souvenir at best. And really, the more she thought about it the more Elle thought she shouldn't have brought it at all. Nonetheless, she didn't want anyone thinking the item was trash. Best to go grab it now before that happened.
As she made her way back toward the cargo compartment, she heard the shuffling sound of people boarding the shuttle. There she saw Derek and Viradia squeezing into the tight confines. Not one to let a social situation pass without making it more awkward — unintentionally, of course — Elle smiled. Having heard whispers of their romantic involvement, Elle tried her best to let the two engineers know that, not only did *she* know about them and that she was happy for the pair, but also that she was confident they'd continue to excel in their duties, while maintaining professionalism — something she briefly, wistfully recalled she'd never had the chance to even test with Kincaid before his departure.
"So, uh, kind of cramped back there, might have to sit on each other's laps, haha — I mean, not that, you know, you would *want to* or anything." Don't wink. Fortunately, she didn't. Unfortunately, Elle's mouth kept at it. "Or that you shouldn't be able to! Or that you'd not *not* want to, or couldn't help yourselves. I mean, Engineering access corridors can be a tight squeeze already is all. Close quarters and all that." Wow, stop it. "Uh... okay." Finally, Elle stopped talking.
She suddenly snatched what looked like a random bit of detritus from off of one of the crew benches. Then, after a long moment of silent fidgeting, Quinn flashed them a sheepish grin and turned away to face the flight controls.
Derek and Viradia looked at each other, both wearing the same perplexed expression with eyebrows raised. The Mali’s new flight controller was certainly verbose, but well-meaning. After Elle clambered up the ladder and into the forward compartment, they broke their silence.
“Well, what does that make, seven? Eight?” Viradia asked.
Derek sighed. People had already been dropping hints well before they started dating, and now that they had begun the crew had become especially preoccupied with the pair. “I’m not sure - although, I suppose we should expect this sort of thing for a while.”
Viradia sat down on one of the benches. “So, should I sit in your lap, or should you sit in mine?”
“Shut up,” Derek said wryly. He patted her bare head as he stepped up the ladder to follow Elle. He walked through the midsection and on to the flight deck. He strode around the rear engineering console and took his station. “So,” he said over his shoulder to Elle, “Is this your first time flying a Flyer?”
Elle quickly palmed and pocketed the small bit of scrap she'd retrieved from the cargo compartment, before turning to see if Tournneau had seen her do so. Though it didn't appear so, either way, she was relieved that the new topic at hand was one she was genuinely excited about.
"It is!" she said, with a smile. "Outside of the simulations anyway. But I'd reviewed all the specs long before that — my Dad taught starship and shuttlecraft design at the Academy. The Flyer's a great... uh, amalgam, you know? And all those conflicting design notes on the prototype! I'm inclined to agree with Mister Paris on this one — a 'Hot-Rod' is right. I hope it's as responsive in real life as its reputation. Here's hoping I won't need to push pedal to the metal."
"Ahem," Elle cleared her throat. "And... sorry about that, back there. I didn't mean anything by it — and I had *nothing* to do with that 'Romance in the Jefferies Tubes' meme-thing going around on the PADDs. Honest. And I only ever saw the one." Elle gritted her teeth, as she belatedly realized there was the distinct possibility neither Tournneau nor Lieutenant Beladd had set eyes on those.
"Uh... yeah, the Delta Flyer Type," Ell said, trying to change the subject back to safer ground she's unwittingly abandoned, "I wouldn't have minded dynametric tailfins."
Tournneau snorted derisively. “Oh, yes, the memes.” His staff thought he didn’t know, but he knew. They had been trading doctored images with stupid witticisms written in bold, capital letters across the top and bottom. The images had been kept innocuous - for the moment - but the texts were becoming increasingly suggestive.
Derek turned his seat to face the cockpit. “My favorite one so far is where I’m asking Viradia to realign my hydrospanner.”
Elle stifled a laugh, trying to keep a straight face.
“Oh, don’t worry - I know *exactly* who’s been pushing them to PADDs on the ship. Let’s just say that Fields is in for a *lot* of manifold scrubbing duty when we get back.” Derek turned back to finish his checks on the console. “In the meantime, he’s going to find his replicator can only make gagh, and his sonic shower can only play the Bee Gees; and oh no! Everyone who can fix it is planetside, gee what a shame.”
And at that, Elle burst out laughing. And it was the kind of rip-snorting laughter she'd not given herself over to in a long while.
Fields had indeed been the culprit. She herself would not have known, had the Chief not "accidentally" sent an image to everyone still lingering at the lounge after hours. Elle of course had been unable to sleep, and though she was initially uncomfortable with the "joke" being at Tournneau's expense, she was glad to have been on the inside of the joke for once, rather than locked out of it, or at best, on the outskirts. It was a relief to know Tournneau was now wise to it too.
Korath stepped within earshot at the wrong end of the conversation, hearing the last few exchanges. Momentarily setting aside wanting a status update, the thought of replicated Gagh made him cringe. "I would not inflict burnt gagh on Feklar himself. I trust the pranks will not get out of hand." The Klingon let the open ended statement linger for a moment as he checked over the reports on the colony one final time.
Derek chuckled, "Of course, Korath - nothing permanent, anyway."
Elle's posture straightened immediately, as she tried covered the ebbing laughter with a series of (unfortunately obviously fake) coughs. "Sir. Heh. Yes, sir." She cleared her throat, "And pre-flight checks are complete. On my end at least, we are good to go!"
As the others boarded the Xuanantunich, Myka, Awen, and the security team joined them. While the other security officers remained behind, the two Bajorans continued on to the flight deck. "Everyone is on board and everything is loaded as far as I'm aware," Awen confirmed.
"We should depart as soon as possible," Myka said. "If at all possible, Ensign, I would like you to give us a good flyover of the colony and then I'll need beamed down on the outskirts outside of view before you land in the designated area." It would give her a good initial feel for the current situation and might help her decide on her entrance point after being beamed down.
"Aye, sir," Elle responded, with as stern and professional an expression as she could muster.
Tournneau turned back to his console and made his final readouts. "Flight systems: RCS, impulse, warp drive are nominal...fuel intermix ratio is good...ECS is running...secondary systems are green...we are go for launch, Ensign."
Elle nodded at Tournneau, with half of a crooked, suppressed-but-still-lingering smile resurfacing. Then she turned back to her console and turned her eyes to the forward viewport, "Hang on to your hats, ladies and gentlemen. Flash holography is allowed, but try to keep your hands and feet inside the shuttle," she said, "we're takin' the scenic route!"
OFF: TBC
JP brought to you by:
Ensign Saoirse Quinn
Flight Control Officer
and
Lieutenant Commander Derek Tournneau
Chief Engineering Officer & 2XO
and
Lieutenant Viradia Beladd (PNPC)
Asst Chief Engineering Officer
played by Tournneau
and
Lieutenant Commander Korath
Executive Officer
and
Lieutenant Turren Myka (PNPC)
Chief Intelligence Officer
played by Kersare
and
Lieutenant Commander Fala Awen (PNPC)
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
played by:Statistics: Posted by Kersare — Wed Jul 10, 2019 8:35 pm
]]>