S1E7 Under the Sea

[Olivia Briggs]

Sickbay

Lizzie could not help but laugh at the little boys antics. She quickly gathered up the rest of the sweets and put them back in the bowl.

"Would you like one as well?" She asked Olivia, holding the dish out to her.

[Sickbay]

Liv had given Elijah another piece of the chocolate as Lizzie began to gather the sweets he had scattered in his excitement over getting to play and lightly kissed the top of his head before she was also offered a sweet.

" What do you think ?, should Mommy have one too ?" she asked knowing she would only receive a happy gurgle or smile in return but she did usually allow herself to indulge every now and then well with both her and Kyle having a sweet tooth it tended to be more often but it was soon worked off.

" Actually I will thank you " she said as she picked one from the bowl and quickly moved it out of the way of her son then unwrapped it and ate it.

[Lizzie Vaughan]

[Sickbay]

Liv had given Elijah another piece of the chocolate as Lizzie began to gather the sweets he had scattered in his excitement over getting to play and lightly kissed the top of his head before she was also offered a sweet.

" What do you think ?, should Mommy have one too ?" she asked knowing she would only receive a happy gurgle or smile in return but she did usually allow herself to indulge every now and then well with both her and Kyle having a sweet tooth it tended to be more often but it was soon worked off.

" Actually I will thank you " she said as she picked one from the bowl and quickly moved it out of the way of her son then unwrapped it and ate it.

Sickbay

Lizzie smiled as Olivia took the sweet. She then returned the dish to the shelf where it belonged. Returning back to the bed, she gave both other them a quick look over.

"Well that's you both done. I'll let you know when Elijah's shots are due. Other than that, you are free to get on with your day." She paused before an idea occurred to her. "How about you call by here just before shift change and I will introduce you and Elijah to Alex Monroe and my Daughter. Would that work for you?"

[Olivia Briggs]

Sickbay

Lizzie smiled as Olivia took the sweet. She then returned the dish to the shelf where it belonged. Returning back to the bed, she gave both other them a quick look over.

"Well that's you both done. I'll let you know when Elijah's shots are due. Other than that, you are free to get on with your day." She paused before an idea occurred to her. "How about you call by here just before shift change and I will introduce you and Elijah to Alex Monroe and my Daughter. Would that work for you?"

[Sickbay]

As Lizzie returned the bowl of sweets back to their rightful place, Liv used the time to clean up Elijah and got him ready to leave just as she came back over and told them that they were both done and that she would let her know about Elijah's boosters, she smiled but didn't say anything straightaway as she continued speaking.

Then when she asked about calling back here at shift change to meet both Alex and Lizzie's daughter, Liv knew what her answer would be. " That does work for me Lizzie so we will you see you at the shift change and thank you for everything".

[Dylan Torngate]

[Quarters]

Kyle liked when it was straight talk. No games. No dog and pony shows.

"You're right. I did have my choice of assignments. Hell. I was even offered the Disco again. But I don't WANT the center seat, if that's what you're wondering. I've had my fair share of it. And all the BS and Politics that come along with it. And while there are some great and amazing parts to being in Command, there's also the not so enjoyable pieces of it. Tell me, Captain. How many crew have you lost? How many letters have you had to write home to wives and parents?" Kyle said a little louder than he had intended. He just got really emotional about losing crew. "What ever the number, it isn't the end. And eventually, it takes a toll on you. But to answer your question, I'm here to be your Executive Officer. It's that simple."

Dylan's eyes narrowed at the impudence the man seemingly gave him. He was no longer able to keep his face blank. The commander had struck a nerve, and it showed. Dylan turned on his heel abruptly and brought out a piece of paper. On it was the name, rank, and next-of-kin of every officer he'd lost under his command- From his first Engineering post to current. He set it on the table next to the PADD as he sat back down and stared directly at Kyle.

Dylan recited a passage he'd memorized. "General Order 17: The commanding officers of Starfleet vessel and installations are to consider the lives of their crew members and/or civilian population as sacred. In any potentially hostile situation, the captain will place the lives of his crew above the fate of his ship." he said. It was an order he'd failed far too many times.

He forced himself to lighten his tone and face. "Welcome onboard the Challenger, Commander."� he said, pulling up a new file on the PADD. "Have you any questions about how this ship is run or our mission?"� he asked, thinking as to their next moves. "Have you had a chance to study the crew roster yet?"� he asked, slipping back into a more standard welcome-to-the-ship speech.

[Lizzie Vaughan]

[Sickbay]

As Lizzie returned the bowl of sweets back to their rightful place, Liv used the time to clean up Elijah and got him ready to leave just as she came back over and told them that they were both done and that she would let her know about Elijah's boosters, she smiled but didn't say anything straightaway as she continued speaking.

Then when she asked about calling back here at shift change to meet both Alex and Lizzie's daughter, Liv knew what her answer would be. " That does work for me Lizzie so we will you see you at the shift change and thank you for everything".

Sickbay

Lizzie smiled again.

"Great. I'll see you both later then Olivia. Oh and tell Kyle hi for me if you see him before I do. It's been a while but we've served together before." She replied.

As the two got up to leave, Lizzie began to clean up ready for the next patient.

[Kyle Briggs]

Dylan's eyes narrowed at the impudence the man seemingly gave him. He was no longer able to keep his face blank. The commander had struck a nerve, and it showed. Dylan turned on his heel abruptly and brought out a piece of paper. On it was the name, rank, and next-of-kin of every officer he'd lost under his command- From his first Engineering post to current. He set it on the table next to the PADD as he sat back down and stared directly at Kyle.

Dylan recited a passage he'd memorized. "General Order 17: The commanding officers of Starfleet vessel and installations are to consider the lives of their crew members and/or civilian population as sacred. In any potentially hostile situation, the captain will place the lives of his crew above the fate of his ship." he said. It was an order he'd failed far too many times.

He forced himself to lighten his tone and face. "Welcome onboard the Challenger, Commander." he said, pulling up a new file on the PADD. "Have you any questions about how this ship is run or our mission?" he asked, thinking as to their next moves. "Have you had a chance to study the crew roster yet?" he asked, slipping back into a more standard welcome-to-the-ship speech.

Kyle loosened up a bit. General Order 17 was something he too was way too familiar with. He could see the CO had had his fair share as well. It was something no Commanding Officer took lightly. And it always hit a sore spot when mentioned. This kid's gonna be a great officer. he thought as he was asked several more questions.

"Thank you, Sir." he said to the welcome. "I look forward to serving with you." He relaxed a little more and sat further back. "I had a chance to read up on the ship specs and the mission on my transport over. The mission seems pretty straight forward. Archeological expedition on an oceanic planet." He paused to think about his last mission on the Tempest. It too was on an oceanic planet. What's with all the damn water planets? he thought. "The ship is well, a little older than I'm use to but I'll get her down." He recalled some of the crew jackets he had read. All in all, the Challenger seemed to have a very good crew. He looked forward to serving with them and getting to know them as well. "I'm still familiarizing myself with the crew." he admitted. "You seem to have quite a bit of talent aboard."

[Dylan Torngate]

Kyle loosened up a bit. General Order 17 was something he too was way too familiar with. He could see the CO had had his fair share as well. It was something no Commanding Officer took lightly. And it always hit a sore spot when mentioned. This kid's gonna be a great officer. he thought as he was asked several more questions.

"Thank you, Sir," he said to the welcome. "I look forward to serving with you." He relaxed a little more and sat further back. "I had a chance to read up on the ship specs and the mission on my transport over. The mission seems pretty straightforward. Archeological expedition on an oceanic planet." He paused to think about his last mission on the Tempest. It too was on an oceanic planet. What's with all the damn water planets? he thought. "The ship is well, a little older than I'm used to but I'll get her down." He recalled some of the crew jackets he had read. All in all, the Challenger seemed to have a very good crew. He looked forward to serving with them and getting to know them as well. "I'm still familiarizing myself with the crew," he admitted. "You seem to have quite a bit of talent aboard."

[Dylan's Quarters]

He grinned a bit, taking off his commbadge from his chest and dropping it to the table as he leaned back. "If we're gonna have to work together, we might as well be comfortable around each other. Let's talk."� He said, now that he'd gotten a feel for the man. "Ship's old but she has her strengths. And we're gonna need them,"� he said, nodding to himself.

"And don't you believe the knuckledraggers in Spacedock. She's stubborn as a mule and twice as smart. She'll take more than most ships out here can dish out."� he said, defending his ship as if he would his own honor. "Crew's pretty good, got some oddballs, a few outliers, but they all work well. Truth be told, we're understaffed and ill-prepared for this quadrant and Command knows it. We just gotta keep on keepin' on till they figure it out themselves. "Word of advice, don't take the crew by their ranks. I've met harder working Crewmen and Petty Officers on this crew than some Lieutenants I met,"� he said. Just then, his PADD beeped. A status update from PT1-9537. It was a short communique, but it conveyed a problem.
"It appears we've met the science outpost in the middle of hurricane season. This should be fun."

[Rayek trLhoell]

Petty Officer 3rd Class Rayek
[Deck 9 Á¢â,¬"œ Armory]

He signed off the report, grumbling to himself. Stupid mistakes. As he handed the PADD back, he turned his attention to one of the newer members of Challenger's crew. A Romulan.

"Crewman, how's settling in been for you? Any problems to be made aware of?"

Rayek took back the PADD and regarded the other Petty Officer assessingly a moment.  Was the man simply ignorant? Purposely downgrading him? Or was referring to him as Á¢â,¬ËœCrewman'  merely a Terran phrasing that Rayek just hadn't yet caught onto?  For now Rayek assumed the last.

"It's Petty Officer - 3rd class" he corrected mildly with a respectful tone.  "And I am settling fine.  Have you heard otherwise?"
He questioned.

[Bonnie Moors]

Observation Lounge

"Wow!" Bonnie smiled and walked closer to the view screen which looked out onto the vibrantly coloured nebula that the ship had to go through to reach its destination. She was in awe, nebulae were stunning in pictures but Bonnie had never thought they'd look better in reality.

The last mission had been a blur but Bonnie had spent time to reflect on it. However, she still hadn't been to the sickbay to get checked over. She was still having headaches after, however they hadn't been as bad as the one she had during the abduction; Bonnie figured she might be having cluster headaches.

Bonnie had spent the last few weeks helping in Stellar Cartography and reading books on exobiology and hydroponics when she wasn't on shift on the bridge. She'd enjoyed it so far, the change of pace was nice and it was much more interesting than being a GP. She also had considered asking the captain at some point about getting a small hydroponics lab installed. After all, the crew had been through so much that it'd be nice for them to get some fresh fruit and vegetables, but that could come later.

Bonnie stared out at the nebula for a few more minutes, thinking about what the next mission would hold for them. The first mission had been exciting enough, she wondered if the second one could top it. She'd read about where they were heading as well. The Oceanic planet intruiged Bonnie and she looked forward to seeing it when they arrived. She stepped back from the view screen and turned around; she wanted to stay but she had other, more important things to do.

Bonnie tapped her commbadge, finally getting around to going to sickbay. =^="Moors to Vaughan, would I be able to speak to you when you aren't busy, commander? I have a few things on my mind."=^=

[Kyle Briggs]

[Dylan's Quarters]

He grinned a bit, taking off his commbadge from his chest and dropping it to the table as he leaned back. "If we're gonna have to work together, we might as well be comfortable around each other. Let's talk." He said, now that he'd gotten a feel for the man. "Ship's old but she has her strengths. And we're gonna need them," he said, nodding to himself.

"And don't you believe the knuckledraggers in Spacedock. She's stubborn as a mule and twice as smart. She'll take more than most ships out here can dish out." he said, defending his ship as if he would his own honor. "Crew's pretty good, got some oddballs, a few outliers, but they all work well. Truth be told, we're understaffed and ill-prepared for this quadrant and Command knows it. We just gotta keep on keepin' on till they figure it out themselves. "Word of advice, don't take the crew by their ranks. I've met harder working Crewmen and Petty Officers on this crew than some Lieutenants I met," he said. Just then, his PADD beeped. A status update from PT1-9537. It was a short communique, but it conveyed a problem.

Kyle found himself relaxing more and more. He was starting to believe that he and Dylan would get along quite well. Kyle had been a part of several Command Teams and he had Cayden McConnell to thank for prepping him the way he had.

"She's a tough ship, Captain. She'll hang in there as long as we take care of her." Kyle began. "And I completely understand about the crew. I've seen ships ran by the Enlisted and lower ranks. They seem to know everything that's going on usually before Command does." he joked. He paused as he heard the PADD on the CO's desk beep.

"It appears we've met the science outpost in the middle of hurricane season. This should be fun."

Being from Ireland, Kyle had only ever been in a few hurricanes. But that was enough to know he didn't care for them. "Great." he replied. "How bad can a hurricane be on an oceanic planet?" he added sarcastically.

[Olivia Briggs]

Sickbay

Lizzie smiled again.

"Great. I'll see you both later then Olivia. Oh and tell Kyle hi for me if you see him before I do. It's been a while but we've served together before." She replied.

As the two got up to leave, Lizzie began to clean up ready for the next patient.

[Sickbay]

" You will and if I do I'll pass on your hello " she replied smiling back as she got up to leave and picked up Elijah. It had been good to meet Lizzie and knowing that she once served with her husband gave a bit of familiarity especially with Liv being new on board. She already had a good feeling about serving on the Challenger and for a moment as she walked out into the corridor remembered the first Challenger she had been assigned to after Kyle was made XO and how she had surprised him by getting a transfer a few weeks after their relationship had started.

With a happy and content Baby rested on her hip, Liv stepped into a waiting lift and called out for Deck 2 and the lift ascended was looking forward to seeing her husband but her next stop would be their quarters unsure if he would be there or not yet couldn't wait to see his reaction with her arriving earlier than scheduled.

[Briggs Quarters]

Out of the lift and again they walked the short distance along the corridor to their new home and once the doors swished back entered and smiled seeing how spacious it was. She then placed Elijah on the floor near the sofa with some of his toys and began to unpack the smaller boxes.

[Rhymus Cleroux]

Petty Officer 3rd Class Rayek
[Deck 9 Á¢â,¬"œ Armory]

Rayek took back the PADD and regarded the other Petty Officer assessingly a moment.  Was the man simply ignorant? Purposely downgrading him? Or was referring to him as Á¢â,¬ËœCrewman'  merely a Terran phrasing that Rayek just hadn't yet caught onto?  For now Rayek assumed the last.

"It's Petty Officer - 3rd class" he corrected mildly with a respectful tone.  "And I am settling fine.  Have you heard otherwise?"
He questioned.

"Crewman in the general form, Petty Officer. We're all crewmen aboard this ship. I ask because it is exceedingly rare, given your people's history, to find a Romulan serving outside of the Star Empire. That is, when they aren't undercover agents. Some people may find it... unnerving. I expect any problems you may encounter with other members of the crew to be reported immediately to the Department Head, be that either myself or Lieutenant Taray. Understood?"

Disdain for the Romulan species was common throughout the Galaxy, even in Romulan space. It would not do to have that enmity aboard this vessel. And under no circumstances would it be allowed. Not while Cleroux was kicking.

[Rayek trLhoell]

PO3 Rayek
[Deck 9 - Armory]

"Crewman in the general form, Petty Officer. We're all crewmen aboard this ship. I ask because it is exceedingly rare, given your people's history, to find a Romulan serving outside of the Star Empire. That is, when they aren't undercover agents. Some people may find it... unnerving. I expect any problems you may encounter with other members of the crew to be reported immediately to the Department Head, be that either myself or Lieutenant Taray. Understood?"

Disdain for the Romulan species was common throughout the Galaxy, even in Romulan space. It would not do to have that enmity aboard this vessel. And under no circumstances would it be allowed. Not while Cleroux was kicking.

Rayek stifled the urge to smirk at the man's words.  Rayek could deal with his own Á¢â,¬Ëœsocial issues' he didn't require or want his superior's sitting on babies for him.

"There is nothing to be concerned about, Sir. The crew thus far has been nothing but professional in their associations with me."

[Lizzie Vaughan]

[Sickbay]

" You will and if I do I'll pass on your hello " she replied smiling back as she got up to leave and picked up Elijah. It had been good to meet Lizzie and knowing that she once served with her husband gave a bit of familiarity especially with Liv being new on board. She already had a good feeling about serving on the Challenger and for a moment as she walked out into the corridor remembered the first Challenger she had been assigned to after Kyle was made XO and how she had surprised him by getting a transfer a few weeks after their relationship had started.

With a happy and content Baby rested on her hip, Liv stepped into a waiting lift and called out for Deck 2 and the lift ascended was looking forward to seeing her husband but her next stop would be their quarters unsure if he would be there or not yet couldn't wait to see his reaction with her arriving earlier than scheduled.

[Briggs Quarters]

Out of the lift and again they walked the short distance along the corridor to their new home and once the doors swished back entered and smiled seeing how spacious it was. She then placed Elijah on the floor near the sofa with some of his toys and began to unpack the smaller boxes.

Sickbay

Lizzie smiled as Olivia left. It would be good to have another young mother to talk to and as their children were not too far apart in ages, they would make good playmates.

She went over to the main console and began checking a few things. She could see that Kyle was due for a physical but as he was newly arrived on board, he would have plenty to do as the XO. She would see him one way or another within a day or two.

[Dylan Torngate]

[Dylan's Quarters]

Kyle found himself relaxing more and more. He was starting to believe that he and Dylan would get along quite well. Kyle had been a part of several Command Teams and he had Cayden McConnell to thank for prepping him the way he had.

"She's a tough ship, Captain. She'll hang in there as long as we take care of her." Kyle began. "And I completely understand about the crew. I've seen ships ran by the Enlisted and lower ranks. They seem to know everything that's going on usually before Command does." he joked. He paused as he heard the PADD on the CO's desk beep.

Being from Ireland, Kyle had only ever been in a few hurricanes. But that was enough to know he didn't care for them. "Great," he replied. "How bad can a hurricane be on an oceanic planet?" he added sarcastically.

He nodded. "I'm glad you understand. Too many commanders have ignored the local talent or ideas from the people, and ran themselves the worse for it,"� he said. He didn't care who the best ideas came from, all he cared was that they came from somewhere. Besides, it seemed the man was aware of the Petty Officer Underground.

"Indeed... it seems in Engineering they always knew what drills I wanted to run before I did. Damn good crew."� he said, omitting what ship he worked on, partially on accident, and partially to see if Kyle knew his previous service history aboard the Athena. Tough ship, but Dylan belonged to Challenger now.

Dylan pursed his lips as he replied. "This planet is basically the same size as Earth. Now, hurricanes on Earth never get as big these because once they hit the shore, the brakes get put on. Without as much landmass to slow it down here, it's just, uh, gaining momentum."� he said, imagining. "This is probably the extreme end of oceanic weather. Better bring an umbrella."�

He mulled it over himself. "Truth be told, I have never been in a hurricane, or know how to swim. Not in my history, but there's no time like the present to learn."�