S1-M7 The Danger of Secrets

[James A. Hawke]

[Captain's Ready Room][Alpha Shift]

James saw a replicated soda appear in the replicator.  The soda was dark brown and it contained ice it was served in a cold glass.  James picked up the soda and took a sip of the sweet beverage.  It tasted sweet similar to the original Coca-Cola back at Earth.  As he took a sip he tried to remember the last time he had been to his home planet.   It has been a while.

Hawke walked to his desk and gently sit down the chair.  He picked up Padd with the Starfleet daily report.  In the report, he noticed his ship was given surprisingly a low-level assignment.

To: Captain James Hawke
Commanding Officer, U.S.S. Shran

From: Starfleet Command, Earth

RE: New Assignment: Priority: Low

The U.S.S. Shran has been asked to do a low priority inspection on Civilian Research Outpost Beta 12.  You are to inspect their defensive capabilities and evacuation protocol to make sure they conform to Starfleet Standards.  This is a low priority assignment.

Sincerely,

Starfleet Command

As he finished reading the padd,  James gently placed it down his desk.  Truthfully, most Starfleet Captain hated routine assignment such as the one given.   He raised one of his eye brows and figured this was going to be one of those boring missions.

James stood from his desk and began issuing orders.

This is Hawke to Bridge, please set a course to Research Outpost, Beta 12, Maximum Warp

Hawke to Ser and Ardy, please review Starfleet Evacuation Protocols and change into White Dress Uniforms, Hawke Out

Hawke to K-5 and Crewman Kimball, please review Starfleet Standards regarding civilians weapons capabilities, you are also ordered to wear white uniforms

Hawke to Warring and HÁƒ¤llstrom, can you both select a diplomatic gift to be given to the leader of the Research Outpost?  As for the content of the gift, I will leave that to your discretion. Also when we arrive there to make sure to give them any spare parts or items at our disposal

Hawke to Doctor Trea, are you feeling up to evening of drinking and dining with strangers?

Hawke to Engineering, once we drop out of warp, we won't be going anywhere for the evening, we will be doing a routine inspection.  You can either invest the time on a project or I can give time off, the choice is yours

Hawke to Commander Jones, do you mind reporting to my ready room?

[T'Ra Jones]

[Personal Quarters]

For the third day in a row, T'Ra found herself hunched over the bathroom sink in the early hours of the morning. It wasn't nightmares, those had finally begun to subside again, and she smiled to think of the comforting presence of Evan who was still asleep and keeping the bed warm. But then another wave of nausea washed over her, and she closed her eyes as she waited for it to pass.

Thankfully it didn't seem like anything was going to come up today, so she made her way back towards the bed, wondering if it was worth trying to go back to sleep. Though her stomach had settled, it didn't feel like she would actually be able to fall back asleep. She was halfway through pulling her uniform over her head when Evan began to stir, groggily posing a question as to what she was doing. "Na?"

"Na," T'Ra replied in kind before adding, "I'm heading down to the science labs to get an early start on things. You can keep sleeping."

"But Schatz," he countered. "Bleib doch."

[Captain's Ready Room][Alpha Shift]

Hawke to Commander Jones, do you mind reporting to my ready room?

"Nevermind," Evan mumbled, turning over and pulling the blankets back up.

T'Ra tapped her badge to reply, =/\=On my way, sir.

[Captain's Ready Room]

Not one to dilly dally, it didn't take T'Ra long to reach the ready room. Stepping inside, she was greeted by a faint sugary aroma and Hawke holding a padd. "I take it there's something new on the agenda for today?" she asked.

[K-5]

Hawke to K-5 and Crewman Kimball, please review Starfleet Standards regarding civilians weapons capabilities, you are also ordered to wear white uniforms

[Crewman's Quarters- K-5]

K-5 was just coming out of her reset cycle when the Captain's voice filled her quarters.

Aye, captain.

She sighed and got up, finding the white uniform and preparing herself for the day. It was Alpha shift still, so she wasn't in a huge hurry. She pulled her hair back into a high ponytail, leaving her bangs loose, and finished her routine in the bathroom.

As soon as she finished, she looked up the Starfleet standards for Civilian Weaponry on the ship's database. She pulled the database up on a Padd and left her quarters for the Captain's Quarters, to see what the excitement was about. 

[Kirok]

[Crew Quarters]

Zex entered the door to her new quarters.  They were a bit bigger than the last assignment.  But then again, the Shran was a bigger ship.

In fact, it was the biggest ship in the fleet.  The newest one.  And the flag ship no less.

The Deltan dropped her bag off.  Looked at the bare walls which would likely remain bare.  Then turned back toward the door so that she go go meet her new boss.

[Ardyn Jaeger]

[Ardyn's Quarters]

Ardyn was recalibrating Steve. After the little glitch he had on the Holodeck, Ardyn had been working out some of the bugs in his system. It was painstaking work, but a welcome distraction from her mind, and everyone else's. Being a quarter Betazoid did have its advantages, but some days, it just sucked. Rebooting, Steve came up to her and nuzzled her hand. She never would have admitted it to the counselor, but it was really nice to have Steve around. Lazily scratching his head, she felt her commbadge vibrate.

Hawke to Ser and Ardy, please review Starfleet Evacuation Protocols and change into White Dress Uniforms, Hawke Out

An inspection? Not the most exciting thing she had done all day, but it was something to do.  Pulling out her dress uniform, she looked at Steve with some resignation. "Guess I have to get in these. Not my favorite uniform, but I guess we have to put on a show and do some evac procedures. Yay." Steve tipped his head curiously, then hopped with a squeak on her bed as she changed into the white outfit.

Picking up a PADD with the procedures, she walked out the door, with Steve trailing her. "Steve! Go bother Ensign Murphy's mallard, will you?" The little Velociraptor didn't listen, and kept following her to the bridge.
She still hadn't broken his annoyingly endearing habit of following her everywhere yet.
Making her way to the bridge, she smiled wryly. " ready for the inspection?"

[James A. Hawke]

[Captain's Ready Room]

As James finished giving his order he reached across his table and grabbed his drink.  He took a sip of his sugary drink and wondered how to break the news to his first officer.  After all, the Shran was a state of the art ship, years ahead its time.  There is only a handful of its class or caliber that would rival the ship, in the Galaxy, it seemed like a waste of time.

He reached his drink on his desk and T'Ra walked into his office.

[Captain's Ready Room]

Not one to dilly dally, it didn't take T'Ra long to reach the ready room. Stepping inside, she was greeted by a faint sugary aroma and Hawke holding a padd. "I take it there's something new on the agenda for today?" she asked.

As James noticed his first officer walk in he smiled and responded to her question "There was a recent development.

He gently placed his drink back on his desk and then looked at T'Ra.  He then looked at her seriously.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me? Y'know tonight dinner" James asked, as he finished he tried his best to remain serious but he cracked a small smile.

He waited for her response for a couple of seconds and then said "At ease, Commander"

He then grabbed the PADD with his order and handed it to T'Ra "T'Ra, our orders are simple we are asked to inspect a Civilian Research Outpost for their Defensive and Evacuating capabilities.  Protocols dictate that we have a dinner to them an account the results of our inspection.  Which almost always is a passing grade.  Pretty much we need to wear our dress whites for this event.  So you are ordered to attend and have fun, Commander.  Just keep me Company, should be a simple assignment.  It would help having someone with a strong science background on the inspection team"  James said with a smile.

"We probably need to change"  James commented.

[T'Ra Jones]

[Captain's Ready Room]

As James finished giving his order he reached across his table and grabbed his drink.  He took a sip of his sugary drink and wondered how to break the news to his first officer.  After all, the Shran was a state of the art ship, years ahead its time.  There is only a handful of its class or caliber that would rival the ship, in the Galaxy, it seemed like a waste of time.

He reached his drink on his desk and T'Ra walked into his office.

As James noticed his first officer walk in he smiled and responded to her question "There was a recent development.

He gently placed his drink back on his desk and then looked at T'Ra.  He then looked at her seriously.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date with me? Y'know tonight dinner" James asked, as he finished he tried his best to remain serious but he cracked a small smile.

He waited for her response for a couple of seconds and then said "At ease, Commander"

He then grabbed the PADD with his order and handed it to T'Ra "T'Ra, our orders are simple we are asked to inspect a Civilian Research Outpost for their Defensive and Evacuating capabilities.  Protocols dictate that we have a dinner to them an account the results of our inspection.  Which almost always is a passing grade.  Pretty much we need to wear our dress whites for this event.  So you are ordered to attend and have fun, Commander.  Just keep me company, should be a simple assignment.  It would help having someone with a strong science background on the inspection team"  James said with a smile.

"We probably need to change"  James commented.

[Captain's Ready Room]

James offered a quick smile when she entered but quickly got right down to business. T'Ra waited quietly for the captain to elaborate on what exactly the development was only to arch a brow in surprise. She certainly hadn't been expecting that, but given the captain's bold nature, it wasn't a complete shock. That being said, T'Ra had to think a moment before replying.

"First a stroll through a raptor infested forest and now a formal dinner invitation, Evan might begin to wonder if we're up to something," she quipped, relaxing her posture. But she knew Evan would understand. As much as she enjoyed working with Hawke and all his crazy antics, her heart would always be Evan's. They were bond now, her katra to his and his to hers. Nothing could upset that. Tilting her head slightly in amusement, she added, "I would be happy to keep you company, sir."

And while science was her field of expertise, her interest lay more in languages. She was intrigued to see how the staff on the outpost would react to the Shran's presence. The information on the padd was more or less as he had said. "Curious that they would ask our ship to carry out that task," T'Ra remarked. "Was there anything else you wished to address regarding the agenda for today?"

[James A. Hawke]

[Captain's Ready Room]

James leaned into the front of his desk and could not help but give a slight smile before hearing T'Ra's response.  He was trying to play a small prank.

"First a stroll through a raptor infested forest and now a formal dinner invitation, Evan might begin to wonder if we're up to something"
"I would be happy to keep you company, sir."

As he heard T'ra's statement James started laughing softly.   His laughter was closer to a giggle as he could not help but be amused by the response.  He expected most Vulcan's would flutter or be nervous, however, she just gave an excellent answer.
"Thank you, Commander, I thought it was common practice in most species to take a girl out to a walk in a forest full a Velociraptors.  Help keep the heart pumping" James mentioned sarcastically.  "That's probably why you are married and I'm not" James commented

James began exciting the ready room as he needed to change into his dress uniforms.  As they headed out he heard T'Ra's comment.

"Curious that they would ask our ship to carry out that task," T'Ra remarked. "Was there anything else you wished to address regarding the agenda for today?"

James then wondered "Strange, I thought it was weird to send a ship like the Shran for a simple inspection, when an outdated Miranda or Excelsior like the Challenger should be able to handle this.  " James commented

He continued walking into the bridge where he continued "Nothing else, this should be a walk in the park, have our teams do the inspection, approve it, have dinner thank them for their hospitality and we go our merry way.  All of us have submitted inspection reports in the past, is just a mundane part of Starfleet"  James commented

[Bridge]

As he entered the bridge he noticed Ardy was there already dressed in white.   Before departing "Excuse me, Commander, I shall see you shortly"

He looked at her and noticed she was wearing her White's which is unusual.  At a lot of formal events humans tend to like to wear dresses, but she was a representative of Starfleet and needed to show her uniform.  Dress White, was created for this situation.

"Lieutenant, do you mind walking with me to my quarters, I need to change into my own whites?"  James asked Ardy

As he began walking he started to explain  "I'm sorry to have you to ask this but I need you to prepare a report on the evacuation procedures, standard stuff make sure they have enough shuttles and pods for their population, make sure to inspect random pods  that they have enough life support and food to survive until help comes"

James then entered the turbolift and ordered it to bring him to his quarters.  As he continued the walked he kept explaining "I'm pretty certain they will pass...they always do but then we have the dinner in which we tell them they pass and thanks them for their hospitality.  Just remember we represent  Starfleet, but they should be hospitable and welcoming"

[In front of James Quarters]

As he finished the conversation he continued.  "Now, I need to go and change really quickly you are more than welcome to come in a have a drink while I change.  I don't know about you but I'll need one before they start kissing my ass and I have to hear them talk none stop about things, that I don't care about.  Hopefully, Commander Jones can keep me out of trouble while you guys do the inspection" James said

As he finished he entered his quarters and began heading into his room.  As he walked in the first thing he did was to remove his black gray shirt and tossed it on the floor.  Exposing his Red Undershirt.

[Kira Wyman]

Deck 32 - Cargo Bay

Miriam looked over to one of the other operations officers dotted around the bay. The department had decided to sort out the stores, put some parts into the right place so it was more organised. Miriam was one of the many people helping out with it all. She looked over to a person who had a random box of parts and Miriam pointed him in the right direction.

Her combadge chirped as he was sorting through everything, it said to come up with a gift for the leader of the outpost. Miriam put the box down and took a moment to think about what they could give to them. She thought about several things, a traditional earth gift or something else. Maybe related to where the leader was from, she thought.

Miriam tapped her combadge and opened a channel to the captain. =^="HÁƒ¤llstrom to Hawke, acknowledged captain."=^= She tapped it once again and this time opened a channel to Will. =^="HÁƒ¤llstrom to Waring, where are you, commander?"=^= The channel closed and Miriam carried on working as she awaited a reply.

[Kirok]

[Bridge]

A few minutes later, Zex arrived on the Bridge via turbo lift.  She looked around at the massive room.  'Wow' she thought to herself as she made were way to the Science duty station.

She sat down and logged in.  She ran a quick diagnostic.  So far everything was looking good.

[Fala Awen]

[Main Engineering]

Caelene walked into Main Engineering, prepared for another ordinary day. Perhaps 'ordinary' was the wrong word... It was probably too late; she had probably jinxed herself with that simple thought. Now everything that could go wrong likely would.

Sighing inwardly, the Trill walked in to find the alpha shift working quietly. They hadn't received their next mission yet, so mostly the staff was doing routine maintenance checks and checking on a few issues that had cropped up.

Caelene made her way to her office and placed her toolkit on her desk. As she was about to check in with her team, she heard James' voice.

Hawke to Engineering, once we drop out of warp, we won't be going anywhere for the evening, we will be doing a routine inspection.  You can either invest the time on a project or I can give time off, the choice is yours

Tapping her comm badge, Caelene answered him, =/\=Engineering to Hawke; acknowledged, Captain.

Quietly she considered her new orders from James. If the ship wasn't going anywhere, a few more thorough diagnostics could be run. In particular, Caelene wanted to take a closer look at the holodeck systems. Some checks had already been done, of course, and she had asked Ardyn to keep Steve away from the holodeck for the time being as well. Perhaps tonight would be a good time to look deeper into the coding to figure out what had happened and how to prevent it.

Caelene nodded to herself. The issue had been bothering her; it made sense to investigate. Moving to the other side of her desk, she slid her finger over the console and went through several selection screens. She needed to put in a maintenance order so she could run some tests without anyone using the systems involved. Hopefully she would be able to get to the bottom of it.

[K-5]

[In front of James Quarters]

As he finished the conversation he continued.  "Now, I need to go and change really quickly you are more than welcome to come in a have a drink while I change.  I don't know about you but I'll need one before they start kissing my ass and I have to hear them talk none stop about things, that I don't care about.  Hopefully, Commander Jones can keep me out of trouble while you guys do the inspection" James said

As he finished he entered his quarters and began heading into his room.  As he walked in the first thing he did was to remove his black gray shirt and tossed it on the floor.  Exposing his Red Undershirt.

[Captain's Quarters]

K-5 dinged the bell for the Captain's door, but, being so caught up in her reading of the Padd files, she didn't wait for a reply. Instead, she walked right into the room and didn't notice Ardyn standing near the Captain.

"Captain, you'll be happy to know I've started reading over the files you requested." She still hadn't looked up, not until she finished the last sentence she was reading.

"I've just come to ask if you have any clue as to-" She trailed off slowly as her eyes met a very shirtless Captain and Ardyn, both of which looked red in the face, either with embarassent or laughter she didn't know. Emotions could get mixed up like that to her. She dropped her Padd and didn't pick it up.

K-5's eyes flickered to Ardyn, then the Captain, then back again twice. She felt her facial panels heating up. After a system check, she found nothing wrong. She then realized she was standing, dumbfounded, in a room, with the Captain and a crew-mate, the captain was shirtless, and she had just barged into the room without waiting for a reply.

"Wha- I- Sorry! I'll come back in a few moments!" K-5 wasn't waiting around for a reply. Her word's couldn't seem to form properly, only adding to this newest emotion's severity. She ran from the room and stopped outside the door, leaning against the wall beside it as the door closed. Her facial panels still hadn't cooled off. Why? What was this emotion? This one was new. She'd have to make inquiries later, after her ordeal was either forgotten or forgiven.

After several minutes of waiting in silence, she returned to the turbo lift and went to the bridge to wait for the Captain to contact her. She went to her station, alone for now, and ran a systems check. Weapons and defenses were all running smoothly, so she just made herself look busy while she tried to get her cheeks to cool off.

Jesus, what did I just get myself into?

[T'Ra Jones]

[Captain's Ready Room]

James leaned into the front of his desk and could not help but give a slight smile before hearing T'Ra's response.  He was trying to play a small prank.

As he heard T'Ra's statement James started laughing softly.   His laughter was closer to a giggle as he could not help but be amused by the response.  He expected most Vulcan's would flutter or be nervous, however, she just gave an excellent answer.
"Thank you, Commander, I thought it was common practice in most species to take a girl out to a walk in a forest full a Velociraptors.  Help keep the heart pumping" James mentioned sarcastically.  "That's probably why you are married and I'm not" James commented

James began exiting the ready room as he needed to change into his dress uniforms.  As they headed out he heard T'Ra's comment.
James then wondered "Strange, I thought it was weird to send a ship like the Shran for a simple inspection, when an outdated Miranda or Excelsior like the Challenger should be able to handle this.  " James commented

He continued walking into the bridge where he continued "Nothing else, this should be a walk in the park, have our teams do the inspection, approve it, have dinner thank them for their hospitality and we go our merry way.  All of us have submitted inspection reports in the past, is just a mundane part of Starfleet"  James commented

[Captain's Ready Room]

T'Ra was glad to see the captain was satisfied with her reply, though it wasn't hard to get a laugh out of him. He was like Evan in that respect. The two men always seemed to be laughing or making jokes about something. So she returned with another of her own. "It may start to become more commonplace since Miss Ardyn has whipped up that holographic velociraptor. Much of the crew seems to be quite taken with Steve." But she did not touch on the topic of being married.

The captain began making his way towards the door, and T'Ra set to follow, to make her way back to her quarters to change again make any last minute preparations. "Mm," she mused, listening to James' last comment, "but sometimes mundane can be good. The crew has probably had more than enough excitement of late and would probably appreciate something going to plan."

[Personal Quarters]

Evan was awake and sitting on the edge of the bed when she walked back into their quarters. He had just finished pulling on one boot and was just about to reach for the other. "So I'm finally up and just about ready to get going, and now you come back to bed?" he scoffed, offering a hint of a smile to make his remark more light hearted. But when T'Ra cocked her head, he added, "I'm just tired. You were tossing and turning all night."

"I'm fine," she replied. "I came back to change into dress whites. We're going to be conducting an inspection of a civilian research outpost, and the captain has requested I accompany him to the subsequent dinner."

"Why that little--" Evan laughed, starting to grin. And when T'Ra threw a pillow at his head, he just laughed even harder.

"You know what I mean," T'Ra scoffed. "Somebody has to make sure James stays out of trouble."

"Sure," Evan chuckled, pulling on his other boot. He stood and kissed her on the forehead. "Keep out of trouble then, Schatz. I've got patients to see. Bis spÁƒ¤ter."

"Bis SpÁƒ¤ter." T'Ra quickly changed into her dress whites, but before she could leave, she had to bend down and scratch the chin of a small black cat, which had been a present to her from Evan when they first transferred to the Shran. "I will see you later, L," she told the cat. And with that she was off to find the captain.

[K-5]

[Bridge]

K-5 sat on the console, staring at nothing in particular. Her systems still shuddered every once in a while from the holodeck issue, but no where near as bad as when the issue had occurred.

She let the shudder pass then did a soft system update. The Captain still hadn't followed her to the bridge or contacted her, so now she knew she needed to go back to the Captain's quarters. She sighed deeply and made her way back to the turbo lift. She hesitated just outside the door, then entered it and went to the Captain's quarters. She rang, this time waiting for a reply before going in.

[Kirok]

[Bridge]

K-5 sat on the console, staring at nothing in particular. Her systems still shuddered every once in a while from the holodeck issue, but no where near as bad as when the issue had occurred.

She let the shudder pass then did a soft system update. The Captain still hadn't followed her to the bridge or contacted her, so now she knew she needed to go back to the Captain's quarters. She sighed deeply and made her way back to the turbo lift. She hesitated just outside the door, then entered it and went to the Captain's quarters. She rang, this time waiting for a reply before going in.

[Bridge]

Zex sad a her station a bit longer.  The various stations buzzed.  It sounded like a small bee hive from Delta IV.

Somewhat relaxing, but the absence of people in the big room was a bit odd.  But then again the Deltan had been focused on her assigned tasks, instead of the people.

Finally she look around to see a lone figure at the Sec/Tac station.  So she got up from her station an approached the woman.  "Hello, I am Zex.  The new Science Officer" she said by way of greeting.