S12 - M2: Transformed: A new Captain, ship, and mission!

[Lennox Ainsley]

[Bridge]

The turbolift was finally working its way up because the flashing button became a solid white. She lowered her hand, her brow climbing at EQ's fumble, and watched him shuffle away. Normally, she'd have a quip or something flirtatious to lighten the mood, but today was an off-day. She simply didn't have it.

"Ah, don't worry about it, EQ," she called out a bit hastily, more kindly. It wasn't anybody's fault of her PTSD trigger. That was something she was forced to resolve with her counselor, if she ever had one she could approve of.

Once the turbolift doors open, Kali traversed halfway through it when Lennox dogged her steps. She turned when he cleared his throat, openly curious. "Going down, Len?"

[Bridge > turbolift]

He gave her a tight lipped smile, nodding. "Thought te join ye, Kali." Though he was supposed to be sitting behind the sec/tact station, they wouldn't probably miss him too much if he quickly spoke to Kali about a certain event.

"Hey, ye know if ye need te get somethin' off ye chest...Kali, I'm 'ere te listen." His voice had softened, his Scottish accent though unforgiving in such circumstances. Perhaps it was nerves of asking someone above his rank to open up about what she had seen, though, through experience and of his sister kicking him up his backside - eventually, he opened up.

Though, this perhaps was not going to be so easy.

[Kali Reyes]

Kinley nodded sympathetically with Kali. The last mission had taken a toll on the both of them. "Yeah. I get you. It hasn't been easy for me to deal with that either. What do you say after we get off-shift, we hang out in the 10-forward? On me." She grinned slightly. "Might help with the Monday at least."

[Bridge]

"Sure. It's been awhile since we've hashed some girl-talk out," Kali agreed with a shadow of a grin. She wondered if she was just getting older or maybe Kinley is and she just didn't realize until now. Technically, the new young woman before her outranked her. What a sobering thought.

Nah, she decided inwardly. I'm definitely still gonna treat her like a greenhorn. "Back to the viewfinder for you," she quipped lightly when Kinley made her way back to her station.

[Bridge > turbolift]

He gave her a tight lipped smile, nodding. "Thought te join ye, Kali." Though he was supposed to be sitting behind the sec/tact station, they wouldn't probably miss him too much if he quickly spoke to Kali about a certain event.

"Hey, ye know if ye need te get somethin' off ye chest...Kali, I'm 'ere te listen." His voice had softened, his Scottish accent though unforgiving in such circumstances. Perhaps it was nerves of asking someone above his rank to open up about what she had seen, though, through experience and of his sister kicking him up his backside - eventually, he opened up.

Though, this perhaps was not going to be so easy.

[Turbolift]

She waited until the turbolift doors slid shut behind them, his words deserving more than an audience. Kali was thoughtfully quiet for a moment as she remembered that Len had been on the away team as well and witnessed what happened on Trallis. None of them had the chance to visit Medical about it - not when they were quickly spirited onto another ship rechristened.

Her gaze finally drifted up to meet his eyes. God, they've been orbiting each other since they were both young crewmen. Suffice to say, Len was one of her oldest, cherished friends. But her swift promotion to Chief of the Boat had kept her so busy keeping the ship together that it's been so long since she and Len just sat down for a breather.

And he was uncharacteristically stopping by not for orders, but to open up. Suffice to say, she didn't have the strength to casually brush it off and play the big honcho in charge.

The next sentence was soft and entirely reminiscent of being simply Crewman Reyes. "I think I miss you," she said, her voice cracking. "I can't remember the last time I sat and had a beer with you." She knew he wanted her to say something about Trallis, because yeah that was part of it, but what she really missed was just being a crewman without all this responsibility. And she missed being on his level. And she hated the fact that being Chief kept her from meeting him halfway like before.

[Kirok]

[Bridge]

As promise, the Liberated Borg went directly to the Ops Station and logged in.  Although the process only took seconds, the Liberated Borg was impressed my the multi safeguards the new ship.  There was no way an intruder would be able to take over the ship - at least not without inside help.

"Shifting power to propulsion, navigation, stellar cartography, and helm, Commander.  I've got non essentials at minimum.  Any other orders, Commander?" EQ called out.

[Kirok]

[Ready Room - Bridge]

Kirok placed the padd on his desk.  It would be safe there for now.  Or at least until Mr. Tekin asked to have it back.

With that done, Kirok walked out onto the rear of the Bridge.  He could feel the slight rumble to the engines in his feet.  And he could see that the crew were all working well together, like a well oiled machine.

As he looked around, he could see that one one person was not there.  A person who he wanted to talk with.  So he tapped his com badge and asked the computer to locate Kali Reyes.

[Fala Awen]

[Bridge]

Awen's eyes followed the Vorta a few more seconds as he moved away. How would she get used to having one on board a Federation starship, let alone one with her on it? It just felt unnatural. But what could she do? She certainly didn't want to leave a bad impression with the senior staff or earn a bad reputation. Most likely it would simply be better if she concentrated on her work.

Kinley felt the ship slowly move out of the base as she addressed Awen. "I trust your judgement. Anything of interest?"  She said, moving to the science station

Awen nodded at Kinley, then looked down at the console, to see what the scan results were thus far. "Nothing of note just yet, ma'am, but we're still close to the starbase. Mostly I'm concentrating on scanning for any major particle build-ups and any possible spatial bodies not previously charted or spatial anomalies which could create problems for us."

As she waited to see if the Chief Science Officer had any additional instructions or orders for her, the Bajoran glanced around the bridge. Everyone seemed to be settling in fairly well, other than a few crew who had left via the turbolift. Awen wasn't the only less experienced crewmember on the bridge, either. The other female Bajoran, Arjay, had been given the honor of taking the ship out.

If Awen had had line of sight from the secondary science station, she would have tried to get her attention to give a nod of acknowledgment to her fellow Bajoran. Arjay was, rightfully, concentrating on flying the ship and probably enjoying being the first of the crew to do so.

Thus far, everything had been going well, but they had only just left. On the one hand, with a new ship one would think that everything should be in prime condition and running smoothly, but there was always the chance that there were some...kinks...to work out of the ship's systems. That was probably why Nevir wanted to 'stretch her legs'. They could ensure everything was alright and get a feel for the new ship before heading for their ultimate destination.

OFF: Tag Kinley/bridge

[Lennox Ainsley]

[Turbolift]

She waited until the turbolift doors slid shut behind them, his words deserving more than an audience. Kali was thoughtfully quiet for a moment as she remembered that Len had been on the away team as well and witnessed what happened on Trallis. None of them had the chance to visit Medical about it - not when they were quickly spirited onto another ship rechristened.

Her gaze finally drifted up to meet his eyes. God, they've been orbiting each other since they were both young crewmen. Suffice to say, Len was one of her oldest, cherished friends. But her swift promotion to Chief of the Boat had kept her so busy keeping the ship together that it's been so long since she and Len just sat down for a breather.

And he was uncharacteristically stopping by not for orders, but to open up. Suffice to say, she didn't have the strength to casually brush it off and play the big honcho in charge.

The next sentence was soft and entirely reminiscent of being simply Crewman Reyes. "I think I miss you," she said, her voice cracking. "I can't remember the last time I sat and had a beer with you." She knew he wanted her to say something about Trallis, because yeah that was part of it, but what she really missed was just being a crewman without all this responsibility. And she missed being on his level. And she hated the fact that being Chief kept her from meeting him halfway like before.

[Turbolift]

For it felt like forever since they had been young crewmen, fighting holograms and drinking with one another on the holodeck.

And, here they were, standing in a lift - having witnessed a genocide in front of their eyes. Lennox had not summoned enough courage to have headed down to medical, a part of him still seething and a part of him scared to have his brain picked. They did not need to rush, at least not for a while.

He had picked up on Kali's voice - how it cracked and reminisced. A soft smile gracing his lips, "I miss ye too, lass," Len nodded at the next part, seemingly an overdue drink still standing. He hoped for a day to sit down, chat like the good old days. "Playin' poker and fightin' Orion, tryin' not te beg fer trees."

Of course he wanted to go back to those days, but this was the reality that they faced. Or were soon to face. Lennox was there to talk to, wanting a friend - not just the Chief of Boat visiting him for room inspections, as fun as that was.

[Alexander Wu]

[Bridge]

As the Discovery went to warp, Alex maintained a careful watch over the helm systems, as well as the engines. She was certainly smooth, although he still felt the comforting thrum under his boots. Even so, the Prometheus class had the distinction of having not one, but three, warp cores, and they all worked in sync while the ship was in the combined configuration. If anything went catastrophic with just one, they could be in some serious trouble. Alex didn't envy Engineering's job at all.

"MVA systems are reading nominal, sir." Alex stated as the diagnostic results streamed onto his console. "Secondary and Tertiary Hull battle bridges report staffed and ready for separation maneuvers."

[Tekin Nevir]

12 hours later....

With a flash of light and a return to normal space, the Discovery arrived in the Hershing system.  They were about 10 light years from the edge of the quadrant.  This wasn't the Voyager mission; they were taken to the far side of the Delta Quadrant, and with the use of the Borg transwarp windows, they avoided the full chunk of the Quadrant near their border.  It was ironic that Starfleet had accurate data on the far side of the Quadrant, but nothing right next to them.

It appeared that the 12 hour max speed was mostly accurate, though with the engines not having been given that kind of field test, Engineering reduced warp speed after 10 hours.  All in all, a successful test, at least in his opinion.

As the system itself came into view, Nevir stood up, giving a small stretch.  "Alright, we have two days to make sure this ship will keep us safe in the unknown.  Mr. Wu, I'm sure you've been able to study the MVA.  That will be our last test. I want you study it and provide me with a report in 2 hours.  Senior staff will review and set their departments after that.  In the meantime, Ms Garrison, prepare tactical test probes for increasing difficulty, and tactical bring the weapon systems online."

[Kirok]

[Bridge]

Kirok had finished several tasks during the elapsed time.  He walked out onto the Bridge to see how thing were going.  As he did, a hail came in.

"Put it through" Kirok said.  "I just have audio.  And the signal is very weak" came the reply.  Kirok offered a nod.

There was a lot of static on the line.  But a message could be heard.  "Help us, please" it repeated.

"Mr. Tekin.  Please have someone triangulate the signal and find it's location.  Then set a course" he said.

With that done, he tapped his com badge.  -/\-Bridge to Mr. Ainsley.  You are needed at your post-/\- he said before ending the link.

[Kirok]

[Bridge]

Kirok had finished several tasks during the elapsed time.  He walked out onto the Bridge to see how thing were going.  As he did, a hail came in.

"Put it through" Kirok said.  "I just have audio.  And the signal is very weak" came the reply.  Kirok offered a nod.

There was a lot of static on the line.  But a message could be heard.  "Help us, please" it repeated.

"Mr. Tekin.  Please have someone triangulate the signal and find it's location.  Then set a course" he said.

With that done, he tapped his com badge.  -/\-Bridge to Mr. Ainsley.  You are needed at your post-/\- he said before ending the link.

[Bridge]

EQ offered a nod.  He turned to his duty station.  "Diverting power from propulsion to our communication systems" the Liberated Borg called out.

While he let others start taking action, he tapped his com badge.   =/\=EQ to Chief Reyes.  You might be needed on the Bridge soon=/\= he said, but left the link open.

[Tracha Arjay]

12 hours later....

With a flash of light and a return to normal space, the Discovery arrived in the Hershing system.  They were about 10 light years from the edge of the quadrant.  This wasn't the Voyager mission; they were taken to the far side of the Delta Quadrant, and with the use of the Borg transwarp windows, they avoided the full chunk of the Quadrant near their border.  It was ironic that Starfleet had accurate data on the far side of the Quadrant, but nothing right next to them.

It appeared that the 12 hour max speed was mostly accurate, though with the engines not having been given that kind of field test, Engineering reduced warp speed after 10 hours.  All in all, a successful test, at least in his opinion.

As the system itself came into view, Nevir stood up, giving a small stretch.  "Alright, we have two days to make sure this ship will keep us safe in the unknown.  Mr. Wu, I'm sure you've been able to study the MVA.  That will be our last test. I want you study it and provide me with a report in 2 hours.  Senior staff will review and set their departments after that.  In the meantime, Ms Garrison, prepare tactical test probes for increasing difficulty, and tactical bring the weapon systems online."

[Bridge]

After dropping out of warp and checking their position, Arjay took a moment to stretch her arms, roll her shoulders and crane her neck back to look up at the ceiling for a moment. Sitting in a chair for twelve straight hours, leaning over a console would give anyone a stiff, sore neck. Even a brand new, state of the art ship couldn't prevent that. However, it was a small price to pay in the grander scheme of things. Next time, she'd just have to remind herself to take periodic breaks to stretch.

[Bridge]

Kirok had finished several tasks during the elapsed time.  He walked out onto the Bridge to see how thing were going.  As he did, a hail came in.

"Put it through" Kirok said.  "I just have audio.  And the signal is very weak" came the reply.  Kirok offered a nod.

There was a lot of static on the line.  But a message could be heard.  "Help us, please" it repeated.

"Mr. Tekin.  Please have someone triangulate the signal and find it's location.  Then set a course" he said.

With that done, he tapped his com badge.  -/\-Bridge to Mr. Ainsley.  You are needed at your post-/\- he said before ending the link.

[Bridge]

She perked back up at the sound of the hail. Not a moment to rest, but she preferred it that way. Life was an adventure and no great adventure involved sitting around analyzing data when there was work to be done.

[Kirok]

[Bridge]

After dropping out of warp and checking their position, Arjay took a moment to stretch her arms, roll her shoulders and crane her neck back to look up at the ceiling for a moment. Sitting in a chair for twelve straight hours, leaning over a console would give anyone a stiff, sore neck. Even a brand new, state of the art ship couldn't prevent that. However, it was a small price to pay in the grander scheme of things. Next time, she'd just have to remind herself to take periodic breaks to stretch.

[Bridge]

She perked back up at the sound of the hail. Not a moment to rest, but she preferred it that way. Life was an adventure and no great adventure involved sitting around analyzing data when there was work to be done.

[Bridge]

Kirok looked over at the eager young crewman.  She seemed poised to take action.  "Stand by, Ms. Tracha.  We will need your expertise soon enough" Kiork said.

"Lonar, can you see if there are any vessels in the area?  Ms. Kinley, any inhabitable planets in the area?  Dr. Riberbed, any indication of life forms that we can detect with our sensors?" Kirok rapid fired questions.

When lives were at state, ever second counted.  So the crew needed to respond with a sense of urgency.  Now more than ever.

[Tekin Nevir]

[Bridge]

Kirok had finished several tasks during the elapsed time.  He walked out onto the Bridge to see how thing were going.  As he did, a hail came in.

"Put it through" Kirok said.  "I just have audio.  And the signal is very weak" came the reply.  Kirok offered a nod.

There was a lot of static on the line.  But a message could be heard.  "Help us, please" it repeated.

"Mr. Tekin.  Please have someone triangulate the signal and find it's location.  Then set a course" he said.

With that done, he tapped his com badge.  -/\-Bridge to Mr. Ainsley.  You are needed at your post-/\- he said before ending the link.

[Bridge]

Well.... looks like they would need to test things in the field.  Nevir nodded to the Admiral, standing up and turning towards the science station.  "Bring long range sensors online, find the the source of that distress signal." he said, staring back at the viewscreen.  There was a frown on his face, as he neared Kirok.

"This is still Federation territory... unless someone came into our space, there shouldn't be any vessels this far out..."

[Lennox Ainsley]

[Bridge]

Kirok had finished several tasks during the elapsed time.  He walked out onto the Bridge to see how thing were going.  As he did, a hail came in.

"Put it through" Kirok said.  "I just have audio.  And the signal is very weak" came the reply.  Kirok offered a nod.

There was a lot of static on the line.  But a message could be heard.  "Help us, please" it repeated.

"Mr. Tekin.  Please have someone triangulate the signal and find it's location.  Then set a course" he said.

With that done, he tapped his com badge.  -/\-Bridge to Mr. Ainsley.  You are needed at your post-/\- he said before ending the link.

[Turbolift > Bridge]

It seemed the moment couldn't last. Their presence was required back at the bridge. He let out an audible sigh, knowing that an order was an order.

"Whenev'r we get some time off, lass. We need te 'ave a chat," He posed it as a option, whether Kali would like to take it up or not, Lennox was always open. "But I guess duty calls, aye?"

Soon enough, he was found on the bridge once more, slipping into his seat, taking up his post. Bummed out that they had not gotten to the meat of the conversation - but, hopefully, time would come where both parties would feel comfortable enough to speak of what happened on Trallis.

"Anythin' ye need me te do, Cap'n?"

[Kirok]

[Bridge]

Well.... looks like they would need to test things in the field.  Nevir nodded to the Admiral, standing up and turning towards the science station.  "Bring long range sensors online, find the the source of that distress signal." he said, staring back at the viewscreen.  There was a frown on his face, as he neared Kirok.

"This is still Federation territory... unless someone came into our space, there shouldn't be any vessels this far out..."

[Bridge]

"Thank you for starting the triangulation, Mr. Tekin.  But I don't think stellar cartography has quite caught up to our current position in space.  Possibly due to speed at which we were traveling" Kirok said.

He tapped a button at the nearest console.  The image cleared up.  "See, we are several light years into the Delta Quadrant.  The delay from navigation to stellar cartography can hopefully be corrected.  Maybe engineering can look into it for us" the half Vulcan said.

[Turbolift > Bridge]

It seemed the moment couldn't last. Their presence was required back at the bridge. He let out an audible sigh, knowing that an order was an order.

"Whenev'r we get some time off, lass. We need te 'ave a chat," He posed it as a option, whether Kali would like to take it up or not, Lennox was always open. "But I guess duty calls, aye?"

Soon enough, he was found on the bridge once more, slipping into his seat, taking up his post. Bummed out that they had not gotten to the meat of the conversation - but, hopefully, time would come where both parties would feel comfortable enough to speak of what happened on Trallis.

"Anythin' ye need me te do, Cap'n?"

[Bridge]

"Yes, Mr. Ainsley.  Please take over Sec/Tac for Lonar.  I doubt we will find anything, but I would like a scan of the area.  I need to know if there are any vessel in the area" Kirok said.

The Tholian bowed his head.  "Aye, Sir" he replied.  Then he stepped away from the duty station.