Katra Station (Prequel) - The Transfer Notice (Open to Katra personnel)

[Rayek trLhoell]

Prompt -  Sacrifice

SCPO Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Challenger - NCO Quarters - Deck 5]

Rayek read through the electronic notification from Starfleet Command for the twelfth time - and yet still was disbelieving of it's message.  This had to be some mistake or prank.  But every check Rayek ran on the letter and it's source came back as verified.  He covered his gaping mouth with a hand that shook slightly in excitement.  A promotion....to a commissioned officer... and not to some low level Ensign.   Starfleet was finally recognizing his skills!

There was just one catch.  To receive the promotion he had to accept a transfer to a newly built starbase in the Gamma Quadrant.

Some might need time to think over the offer and it's impact.  Not Rayek.  He was experienced enough to realize that opportunities like this did not come along often.   While a transfer to a starbase might seem a bit of a sacrifice -  giving up what was fond and familiar such as close friends and amazing shipmates - Rayek knew he had to accept.  He had sacrificed far more on his path to this point  - family, home, even his precious loyalty to the Empire -  and now with his goal within in sight, there was nothing that would hold the Romulan back.

(OOC feel free to post your own characters reaction to their transfer orders.  However please wait until your transfer has been fully approved.)

[Solluk]

USS Challenger - SCPO Rayek tr'Lhoell's Quarters

Solluk hesitated outside the quarters of the Senior Chief.

Well... Senior Chief no longer.   Rayek had done very well in his Officer Candidacy training, and his extensive experience in service had not been ignored.  Soon he would be not only an officer, but among the most senior of officers at a distant posting.

So the time had come to bid farewell to the Challenger's recent Chief of Tactical and Security.

Yet Solluk wasn't sure if they had developed the sort of working relationship that would make a visitation welcome, even if it was from the ship's XO.  Rayek had always been eminently professional, and that came with a certain professional distance.  Solluk had not done much to close that distance, despite the occasional felt impulse to do so.

But Solluk had been down this path before.  Now, having fostered such an advancement for another, he felt a certain pride in and kinship with the man.

So here was a Vulcan, standing in the corridor of a Starfleet ship, coming to wish a Romulan the best of luck on a new command level assignment.

Perhaps the Galaxy had a sense of humor.

He reached out to touch the door chime with his right hand.   In his left, he clutched a long wrapped package with oddly shaped ends, nearly as tall as Solluk himself.

[Jeric Th'Zan]

[Starfleet Command - San Francisco - Earth]

Jeric Th'Zan relished his position as a civilian. He never had to attend formations, stand at attention, or show up anywhere on time. Officially, if his service to Starfleet could be categorized as such, his position was that of an adviser. There were a few others like him: mostly non-humans who had something to offer. Criminals, code breakers, social outcasts. There were even a few very hush hush former military officers, the kind of people who had done unspeakable things, but Starfleet still needed them. It amused Jeric to no end: the idealistic utopia of the Federation employing a former deserter like himself. At the end of the day, they were just hypocrites who did what they deemed necessary, like any other government.

"Officer Th'Zan?" The pretty young admin assistant said, breaking into his thoughts.

"That's me, gorgeous," Jeric said in a breezy tone. He stood. He was wearing a crisp business suit, the one concession he always made to Admiral McGavin. That, and his lack of a weapon. After a lifetime of carrying one Jeric always felt out of place without it. He supposed that was the good admiral's way of keeping him off balance. The human bureaucrat would have been better off severing one of his antenna. Jeric was just as dangerous without a weapon as with one. He might have been in his fifth decade but his body was still strong and fit, though wiry in build. A dad bod, humans called it.

The admin assistant wasn't impressed by his words or his body. She sighed, used to his tone and disrespect and every other adviser she had to deal with. She buzzed him in.

[Admiral McGavin's Office]

The admiral certainly looked the part, Jeric had to give him that. Even with his chair turned around to face the splendor of San Francisco, McGavin had a depth of presence and a magnetism. An allure. His office also faced the sun at this time of day, and Jeric found himself squinting as he approached the desk. An old tactic, but it worked.

He glanced idly around, not announcing his presence. McGavin liked stone: furniture, sconces on the pre-fab walls. Stone was what he likened himself to. A replica of a paleolithic age throwing stick adorned one wall on a plaque. A Roman scourge on another. An abstract painting depicting a battle on the third. Not for the first time, Jeric was struck by what an odd man his handler was.

The chair swiveled about, catching Jeric off guard. A man sat in it, not so tall as him, but far wider. His uniform stretched around his frame as if someone had wallpapered a refridgeration unit. He had a gaudy blonde mustache with a soul patch, intense dark eyes, dyed blonde hair. It all was to servce as a distraction for his craggy, lined, scarred face. Scarred too were the square palmed, wide hands that were clasped in front of him on the desk. They looked dangerous, flowed upwards into thick wrists, forearms, biceps to shoulders, all of it corded with an obscene amount of muscle for a man so old. Before he had reached the dubious rank of admiral in Starfleet Intel, the gossip around the replicator was that McGavin had been a dockside thug. Jeric could believe it.

"You're late, officer." The voice sounded like a stone, too, one shattering multiple times as it tumbled down a craggy cliff face.

"I'd say court martial me, but I don't think that'd get you very far." Jeric said with a smirk.

"You know our ways of dealing with wayward advisers, and if you don't, you're a willing fool." McGavin told him, dark eyes unwavering.

Jeric did. It was a subject he would love to change, so he said, "You have an assignment for me?"

In response, McGavin laid a PADD on the desk, and beckoned Jeric forward with a shovel like hand. He kept one sausage like finger on the PADD, nailing it to the surface. His eyes were locked onto the Andorian.

Antennae tilted back in apprehension, Jeric approached. He held out a hand to take the PADD, and found he couldn't remove it from the old admiral's single digit grip. He tugged a bit harder, frowned.

"Can I--"

"This one is a permanent assignment, Th'Zan," McGavin rumbled. "For a flag officer. Not one like me, either. Command. Admiral Rellek. You know the name?"

"Vaguely," Jeric said. "Science officer?"

"Used to be, now she's an admiral. So mind your Ps and Qs."

The Andorian frowned. He hated human idioms, especially those in English. So confusing. He hadn't grown up dealing with humans steadily until a few years back. Well, Commander Cole was human, but was as much a spacer as he was. And McGavin always used slang to confuse him. But in general the admiral's message could usually be boiled down to: Do your job and don't make an utter balls up out of it or I'll break you in half. Jeric could live with that.

"Location?" The Andorian asked.

"Gamma Quadrant."

"Gamma?!" Jeric asked in a disdainful voice.

"You heard me. Starbase Katra. You're to keep an eye on things out there and perform whatever task they set before you."

"I'll have my own office and department, right?"

"You'll have whatever Admiral Rellek gives you. No more, no less."

"You expect me to scrub the deuterium tanks or clean up the mess?!"

"If that's what she wants. After your last assignment on Rigel you're lucky to have this at all."

"Why don't you just throw me out the nearest airlock?!" Jeric wailed. He could see it already: the stuffy admiral, pup cadets, no luxuries of any kind. What kind of starbase could they haul through the wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant, anyway?

"I've been sorely tempted, and no one'd miss you."

"You might. I've made your career so far. Maybe it's time for a promotion?"

"Don't push your luck, old man, it'll run out." McGavin lifted his finger and handed over the PADD. "Your travel itinerary and orders. Off you go."

Great, Jeric thought as he snatched the PADD away from the admiral's big, dangerous hands. Some infested starbase in an obscure sliver of the galaxy. The Gamma Quadrant! What kind of ragtag crew has Starfleet thrown together for this farce?

Apparently, him, and a few other unlucky souls.

[Julia Rellek]

[Admiral Rellek's Office
Jupiter Station - Sol System]

As Julia packed a few remaining things she couldn't help but to look fondly at the time she had spent in her small office buried deep on Jupiter Station. She always knew it was a temporary home but it had given her a nice quiet place to work on research while advancing the Omega projects she had been working on for years. In her time there they had successfully made modifications to the directive to make it stronger than ever and gained a better understanding of the power and beauty of the dangerous molecule. As her final classified PADDs went into the secure case she looked around the room one last time.

"How could i forget you?" She mumbled to her self with a small grin as she noticed the old beat up tin coffee mug on her desk. It was Starfleet standard issue from the tempest but it had been through a lot with her. As she picked up the mug memories flooded with it. She ran her hand over a small dent near the top of the handle. It was a clear as her hand in front of her; she could see the mug falling from a spot near her chair aboard the Tempest during the final battle with the Tzenkethi. She smiled as she recollected K'Lizh's rant regarding the stain it created on the carpet of the bridge. On the bottom of the mug was another dent along with a black scuff mark where it had fallen from the side of the Harmonic Resonance Chamber aboard the Challenger. With a warm smile from the stories the cup held she placed it in a small bag along with a few other personal belongings and turned as she started to exit the office. Her love for cosmology and the cosmos had littered the office in the forms of books and other personal effects however, the office had transformed back into a clean and sterile environment for its next inhabitant.

"Computer, lights off." She said as she passed through the doors and headed for the docking bay. It would be a long trip to Deep Space 9 followed by a quick jaunt through the wormhole and onto the next chapter in the young Admirals life.

[To Be Continued]

[Jeric Th'Zan]

[Transport Ship Defender - Lounge]

The Defender was the least aptly names ship Jeric had ever been. From the outside it resembled a squashed ice worm, long and narrow and flat. Even he had never grown over six feet tall and his build was skinny he had been banging his head on beams or onto bulkheads. It made his moods even darker and more confrontational.

Jeric moved his glass of human style coffee across the gritty table, looking like a perpetually hung over rock star in his scarf, tight pants, and open throated black shirt. Last night had been an ice melter. There was another Andorian aboard, Shreck. They had a bottle of ale each among them, but before they could be friends they had to fight. Such was the way with Andorians.

Shreck was young, green and strong, and Jeric was old, experienced and quick. It had been quite a battle. His eye still hurt, drawing and aching in its socket, and his ribs had taken a thumping. Even breathing hurt. Still, Jeric had left the other man with a dark blue bruise on his thigh and a bloodied lip. Tradition was then satisfied, each one had proven their mettle, and the drinking could begin.

The coffee swirled and steamed. Black. Jeric's belly couldn't handle human milk without making him sick  and it tasted sour and flavorless to him anyway. Coffee was all the Defender had, it was a human civilian ship. And so he eased his aching head with caffeine and slumped in his chair, wishing for a hole to crawl into and die.

"Seat taken?"

Jeric glanced up, expecting Shreck, which was strange since the other Andorian would have simply joined him, not asked. But it wasn't Shreck, it was some wet behind the ears Starfleet ensign. Human, female, earnest faced and wide eyed. She wasn't bad looking, though awfully young. The red of her uniform did set off her dark hair well, though. Openly, Jeric ogled her. She was unwrinkled and innocent looking, and her body was slight and frail. He grunted in mild dejection. Not his type.

It was on his lips to say "piss off", but he found himself kicking out the table's other chair, nearly colliding with the human's shins. A Starfleet officer on a ship like the Defender was rare, and Jeric needed to know why. Duty. It never leaves us. Even when we're hungover.

"Whoops, ok, thanks," The human said as she sat. The young woman  nearly dropped the plate of food he was balancing with one hand, slopped a little coffee out of a mug with the other. She got herself situated finally.

"I'm Ensign Stewart, Jessica P," She said, smiling slightly. "Bound for the new Starbase Katra."

Now that was interesting. Jeric rose his eyes from his coffee grudgingly, studying her again.

"Jeric." He told her. His teeth ached where Shreck had landed a good one. He frowned. "Also headed for the Katra."

"Is that so?!" Stewart exclaimed. "Why? Are you out of uniform?"

"I'm a civilian." By choice. "I don't report to you people."

His tone was throwing her off. The smell of the food from her plate was turning his stomach. Who could eat at a time like this?

"What...what will you be doing on the Katra, Jeric?" Stewart asked. "Setting up a shop? A restaurant?"

"Do I look like some shopkeep to you, ensign?!" Jeric said in an arrogant voice. "I'm a contractor."

"Jeez, sorry," Stewart said. Jeric wished she'd hurry up and eat. Her food still reeked, upsetting the delicate balance of comfort he was getting from resting and caffeine.

"Jeric, Jeric...how do I..." The human was saying. "Wait, I know!"

Stewart reached into her pocket, digging around in it, causing the Andorian renegade to nearly upend the table and alarm. Was she going for a weapon?

No, it was a PADD. She handed it to him. Reluctantly, he took it and activated it. It was a crew roster.

"We'll be serving together!" Stewart said in a high pitched, excited voice, causing him to wince. Heedlessly, she went on, "I'm your pilot, sir. We are both in Flight Control! What kind of piloting experience do you have?! In the Academy my instructor used to pilot a cargo skimmer on Pacifica! I learned a lot about maneuvering in an atmosphere, I can tell you that! Were you in the Guard? Sir, what's your stance on formations? 0500 is fine by me, I—"

It was too much. Jeric shuffled to his feet, banged his head onto a beam. He cursed it and Ensign Stewart and the good Admiral Julia Rellek and the whole of Starfleet and the Federation. He was on quite a streak before he started repeating himself and finally made his exit.

A jury rigged Starbase with this ensign serving under him. In the Gamma Quadrant. What a lot in life. Jeric had thought to go back to his quarters, but his feet were finding their way to Shreck's. Day drinking was a thing among humans, why not Andorians? Tradition demanded that they square off again, but despite his head and ribs and eye Jeric didn't mind. Right now, he needed to hit something more than he needed a drink.

[Mondo'li Nari]

USS Shran - Enlisted Quarters

"I don't think I've actually been inside any enlisted quarters before," Ensign James Grant said, glancing about briefly before returning his gaze to Irene.  She had the most startlingly blue eyes he'd ever seen.

"Aye, slummin' it a bit, aintcha?" Crewman Irene O'Connor said, teasing the senior officer.  Her accent drifted between Irish and Scottish, thanks to her mixed heritage.

To James, it was as magical a sound as a mythical Pan's flute.  He could listen to her talk for hours.  "Not at all.  There's important work done here in the lower decks."

Irene's eyes twinkled mischieviously, "Is that so?  And aren't there a rule or two about fraternizing with we lower folk?"

James stepped closer to her, snaking a strong arm around her petite waist, "Well... I won't tell if you don't."

Irene found herself on her tiptoes, her pink lips slightly parted to receive a kiss.

And then the door to the quarters slid open, and Mondo came stomping in.  "Good Morning, Irene. Ensign Grant."  He proceeded to the room's computer terminal, tapping his PADD once on the terminal display as a signal to transfer his secure correspondence from the ship's computer to the handheld device.   Such a gesture wasn't strictly required, but he enjoyed the tactility of the act.   The PADD bleeped obligingly, indicating his mail had been downloaded.

James practically dropped Irene when Mondo appeared, straightening his uniform and clearing his throat.  "Well, thank you for your assistance, Crewman O'Connor.   Hello, Crewman Nari.   I was just leaving.  Good day."  And with that, the Ensign departed the room.

Irene stood, gape-mouthed, before marching over to Mondo and giving him a swat on his forearm.  It might have been intended to be his shoulder, but the height disparity between them was too great to easily allow such a feat from the comparatively diminutive Irene.  "Yer a right big Galoot, do ye know that, ye Galumping Giant?!"

Mondo blinked, surprised at Irene's ire.   But before he could inquire further, she went out of the room in pursuit of her startled paramour.

Shrugging his shoulders, Mondo lifted up his PADD and read the first message.

"BY ORDER OF STARFLEET COMMAND, AND AS DIRECTED BY THE COMMANDER OF THE TENTH FLEET, YOU ARE HEREBY REQUESTED AND REQUIRED..."

Mondo blinked again as he continued to read, surprised anew.

Katra?  What was a Katra?

Some kind of outpost, apparently.  This was terrible news.  Going from a ship to a fixed base was the opposite of what interested him.

He read further.

This base... it was on the frontier!

He was being transferred to the farthest edge of everything.  To the very cusp of the unknown.

He was going to be seeing things... doing things... that had never been seen or done by anyone in the Federation before.  Even the Ferengi Alliance had barely seen such reaches in their eternal quest for profit.

Excited to tell someone, Mondo went back out into the hall to see if he could catch up to Irene.

But then he paused, finding Irene and Ensign Grant engaged in a deep, passionate embrace.

"Oh..."

Well... perhaps another time...

Returning to his quarters, he sat down in front of the room's dedicated terminal.

He would tell Irene later.

He would tell grandfather now.

As he recorded the message, he beamed with pride.  He had joined Starfleet to serve the Federation, much as his grandfather served a wealthy Ferengi Daimon.   But at times like this, service truly was its own reward.

[Jebediah Schrock]

[Jeb's Dorm Room - Starfleet Academy, San Francisco, Earth]

Jeb, after his brief tour of duty on the Discovery, had signed up for training to become an Officer. That meant, for the first time, that he was based out of San Francisco.

He couldn't wait to get out of there and back to space.
San Francisco was crowded, and loud, and smelly. Even in the 24th century, there seemed to be no way to get rid of the smell of human waste that overpowered the nose when crossing some districts, such as the Embarcadero. It made Jeb miss the smell of cow and chicken poo, which he found to be preferable.
His courses were rather boring - mostly theoretical stuff, including a course in a dead language (Intro to French, taught over telepresence by a condescending science officer who seemed to struggle with her Rs in Standard) - and gave him much time to tinker with software and hardware (knives on Roombas included).

Jeb socialized some, which was cool, but there was only one thing he really loved about city life: his Segway. Not a hover Segway - a Segway with wheels. He loved to ride it around San Francisco, weaving through pedestrian traffic without a care in the world.

It brought him considerable joy to receive an assignment on the Starbase Katra, in cargo management. That meant he'd be going around the base, conversing with cargo captains and helping to solve their needs. This was golden! He could even bring his Segway!

Jeb almost squealed. This was bound to be awesome!

[Kirok]

[USS Lirpa]

EQ was on the Lirpa.  He was in the middle or near the end of a mission.  Once could never tell with these things.

He was in between dispatching repair teams when his data padd rang.  He pulled it from his holster and read the message that awaited.  "The Katra" he thought absently as he returned the padd to it's home.

Kimball had bounced around from ship to ship as needed.  He was an enlisted guy and did not complain.  But he was kinda happy about the prospect of serving on one place for a few months - even lookng forward to it.

[Hrafn Falleg]

[Hrafn's Office - Sciences, USS Tempest]

Hrafn took a deep breath... this one was going to be hard to play down with what had gone on with Cmdr. K'lizh and convincing everyone that it really wasn't anything to do with that.  Simply that Admiral Rellek had asked her to be Chief Science officer and well... it was what she was born to be.

The USS Tempest had a perfectly wonderful CSO in Judy, and even the rather inept Dihiq, they really didn't need her, and a base would be good for the kids and the cats, somewhere safer, stable.... somewhere that possibly they could see their Dad more often as he might potentially put into the base.

Either way she now had to acquaint both Judy and James at the very least with the information, and then go see Ozu, Malik, Govorov and Jada, the other people who had really made her time on the Tempest more bearable, especially since the incident.  She and Cmdr K'lizh had managed to make a working relationship without rancour but they could hardly be called 'friends'!

Looking at the transfer orders she was pretty sure that James would know already but it would be polite to go see him, first though, Judy.  She wanted to explain to the woman who had become a very dear friend...

[to be continued...]

[OOC I'm including this in a post on Tempest so I can tie up loose ends there]

[Bonnie Moors]

Waterside Cafe - San Francisco, Earth

The past couple months for Bonnie had seemed to be a series of trials and tribulations set up to try and make her trip and drown in a pool of her own mess. She could feel herself at biting point at one point but struggled through, eventually coming out the other side for the most part unchanged. Things could've gone much more tragically for her, she was just glad it worked out. And 'What was it all for?', she asked herself, failing to come up with any answer which seemed to make logical sense. Truth was, nothing had come out of any of it other than her losing 2 months of her time.

The series of unfortunate events started when her father passed and she was called to Betazed to clean up the estate he had left behind, timely followed by her mother resurfacing from obscurity. Her mother attempted to make contact with her and Bonnie did best to entertain her as much as she could, but after some thought she realised it wasn't what she wanted. Bonnie bid farewell to her mother and told her to reach out again. It closed a book which had been left open for so long, and Bonnie felt herself freed a bit from the grip of a shadow which had clung onto her for so long. She still had something to remember the both of them though, their wedding rings, both placed on her left ring finger.

Bonnie had managed to find herself a nice place to sit down and have a drink before she made her way onto what would presumably be chaos if the Challenger was anything to go by. A new adventure was just what Bonnie felt she needed, and being back in medicine was the icing on the cake. She would miss the Challenger though, a great deal in fact. She had reinvented herself on the ship and started fresh, it was an experience she would never forget.

Turning away from the waterside and refocusing her attention to the PADD placed on the table she begun to skim through the assignment orders again. Things looked promising, she was finally in medicine, she was placed in an area of relatively unknown space and with a new crew. The idea of new crew excited her a little, a contrast to before she was in Starfleet. Granted, she would still be the shy one, but it was certainly an improvement.

Picking up a mug of warm coffee which was placed on the table in front of her, she took a sip, revealing a small grin after. 'This will be interesting.' She thought to herself.

[Julia Rellek]

[Deep Space 9 - Habitat Ring]

Julia stepped onto the habitat ring and was immediately struck by the hustle and bustle of the busy hub. She had been on the station several times before. Deep Space Nine had always been a logical stopping point for any ship going through the wormhole. In fact, one could argue that the wormhole made this place the hub it had become. With her bag over her shoulder she made her way towards the familiar replimat for a quick snack and coffee before the last supply ship left. She knew she'd be eating on the fly as she only had a few minutes before departure. She had boarded the station quietly and foregone the normal humdrum of an Admirals arrival.

This trip would be a special one for Julia. Not only would it take her to the newest addition to her task group but she would also get to meet her Executive Officer on the trip. The selection process had been quick and although they had exchanged communiques they had yet to actually meet. However, they would get plenty of time while enroute to their new home.

[Supply Vessel]

With her scone and ever important coffee in hand she made her way towards the docking station housing the supply vessel. With haste she ate her scone leaving just her coffee in hand as she passed through the airlock and boarded the vessel. She looked around for a familiar face but didn't recognize anyone. With few options for where to pass the time she made her way to a small lounge on an upper deck of the vessel. As she entered the lounge she was immediately struck by the basic nature of the accommodations. The room was nearly empty and only offered a replicator and a smattering of tables and chairs that seemed arranged with little logic or thought. In the corner she saw a table surrounded by three empty chairs facing a window. She smiled as she realized she'd be able to get some work done with some stunning views of the womrhole. 

[Rayek trLhoell]

Lt Cmdr Rayek tr'Lhoell

[Transport to DS9]
The transport from the starbase where the Challenger put in for repairs to DS9 gave Rayek plenty of time to look over the Katra's roster.  The first name he noted was of course the Commander.  Admiral Julia Rellek.  Rayek recalled working with her about 6 months back.. in the mission that officially never happened.  He wondered if Katra was going to more of the same and the command of a starbase in the gamma quadrant was just a cover for something more classified?  Time would tell he supposed... though he made mental note to keep a close eye on things.  He didn't want to be caught unawares by yet another Omega incident.

Moving on, he read over the department heads.  Security was a..  oh?  Lt. Tanibak Black.  The name gave him pause a moment.  Surely it was just a similar name.  Rayek hoped to do a background check on the man, but the file he'd been given only contained the sparsest of information.  The man, like Rayek himself, was Romulan, now under oath to the Federation and Starfleet.  Neither of them were the first or only Romulan's to have 'made the move' to the Federation and Starfleet - especially after losing the homeworld.

It was the name however that raised alarm in Rayek. Tanibak.  Could it be the same man that trained him just over 10 yrs ago?  Unfortunately his file on Lt. Tanibak was conspicuously missing a photo of the officer.  Rayek would have to wait to check on the name later, once he'd arrived at either DS9 or Katra herself.

Still somewhat concerned at this potential threat, Rayek continued on.  Engineering - Lt Cmdr Becker... a quick skim of the man's information showed nothing of note to the former security chief... as XO Rayek supposed he'd have to get to know the man better.  Next Operations - Lieutenant Yulia Regenkov.  Again nothing of concern or note caught his attention about the officer.

The Chief of Science - Lt Hrafn Falleg - seemed a competent much like the others, but what caught his attention was her familial details.  She was the mother of 4, ranging in ages from 10 months to 14 yrs, and had requested living quarters to house the entire family.  There was no mention of a spouse that he could find her dossier.  Curious.

He moved on to the last of the department heads - Chief of the Medical Department.  Rayek broke into a smile at seeing Dr. Bonnie Moors name listed there.  A Lieutenant junior grade now.  She'd risen quickly in a short span of time.  He wondered what she might think of his own rise in rank.

Regardless she was a welcome name - someone familiar from Challenger.  Perhaps this mission would not be quite so solitary as he had first imagined it would be.  Rayek was still troubled by worry for Lek.  Who would keep the Chief Engineer from overworking himself?  Perhaps he should write a missive later to Dr. Vaughan asking her to keep an eye on him - as a friend not as his superior? He wondered if Lek would ever consider meeting up with Liz to have coffee at midnight when Alys was having a sleepless night.  The thought of Lek playing with Liz's daughter brought another smile to his face.  He really was going to miss his friends aboard Challenger...

[DS9]
With his transport arriving late, Rayek had to hurry across the whole of the station to make his connecting flight or else he would have to wait til the next scheduled supply shipment the next day.  Perhaps not the worst thing ... as there were lots of things to entertain on the station but as the Admiral had made arrangements for the two to meet prior to arriving on the station, Rayek did not intend to miss this flight.  His long legs strode swiftly across the promenade with his attention focused on finding his route through the stations docking ring, until he arrived at the proper supple vessel.  With him he only had his carry-on.  The rest of his belongs would likely not make it aboard this flight and so would be sent on the next vessel.

He glanced down at his uniform.  Anticipating the late arrival, Rayek had managed to change into a fresh uniform just before departing the Transport.  Now as he made his way through the airlock,  after being cleared by security, Rayek smoothed his short dark hair and straightened his tunic - he might be on the verge of being tardy but he was at least presentable.

[Supply vessel -Day 1]
Rayek was directed to the seating area, or lounge and informed the ship would be launching shortly.  Rayek thanked the helpful crewman and stepped inside the rather sparsely furnished room.  At first Rayek thought the room was empty but on a second glance he spotted the Admiral seated at a table in the corner - hard at work.  Yes, that was what he recalled of the woman - from her brief time aboard the Challenger - very hard working.

Rayek made his way over towards the table, stopping at its opposite edge to assume an 'at attention' stance silently until she acknowledged his presence and offered him the opportunity to introduce himself.  It was overly militaristic for Starfleet but Rayek couldn't quite rid himself of his Romulan Star Navy training. 

[Tess tLhoell]

[Turin, Italy - Earth]

The news of her first assignment have Tess left excited to no end. Starbase Katra in the Gamma Quadrant! This was as far away as she could ever get. Deep in space, so close to the unknown. Though she can't deny, she was a little disappointed at first, when she received the message from Starfleet Command. On a starship, you wake up every day at another location, see new things, see places you've never been. On a starbase, you're stuck in one place and that didn't sound like what Tess imagined for herself.
But as she kept on thinking about the opportunities serving on a starbase in the Gamma Quadrant, the thrill of anticipation took over fully.

As excited as she was, to say goodbye to her adoptive father Fabiano and her younger brother Benjin was not easy for her, knowing it would be a long time until she would see them again. She would miss the long and open talks with her dad in the evening hours with a cup of tea or a glass of wine, the good advice he always had ready for her when she was stuck in a problem or temporarily lost the faith in herself.
And her little brother, he just handed in his application for Starfleet Academy. She would have loved to support him, give him tips and just watch him becoming a Starfleet officer too. To miss all of that made her heart sting with regret. With a "I'll miss you" for her dad and a "Behave yourself" and a grin she kissed and hugged her family goodbye and finally left to start her journey.

[DS9]

It was a long way ahead of her and after several stopovers she finally reached Deep Space Station 9, from where she was bound to take a vessel that would bring her to her final destination, starbase Katra. She expected the thrilling excitement to subside as she travels, but rather the opposite happened. She took in all the impressions and her surroundings like a sponge, getting eagerer to arrive and meet the crew by the minute. On DS9, time allowed her to go for a little bit of shopping on the station and type down a message for her dad and brother while having a coffee.

[Supply vessel - Day 7]

Finally boarding on the vessel that would bring her to Starbase Katra, she took the opportunity to change into a fresh uniform and freshen up a bit, before she made her way out on the corridors. As she walked down the hallways, she wondered if any of her future crew mates or even some of the commanding officers were aboard too.

[Hrafn Falleg]

[Deep Space 9 - Habitat Ring]

Julia stepped onto the habitat ring and was immediately struck by the hustle and bustle of the busy hub. She had been on the station several times before. Deep Space Nine had always been a logical stopping point for any ship going through the wormhole. In fact, one could argue that the wormhole made this place the hub it had become. With her bag over her shoulder she made her way towards the familiar replimat for a quick snack and coffee before the last supply ship left. She knew she'd be eating on the fly as she only had a few minutes before departure. She had boarded the station quietly and foregone the normal humdrum of an Admirals arrival.

This trip would be a special one for Julia. Not only would it take her to the newest addition to her task group but she would also get to meet her Executive Officer on the trip. The selection process had been quick and although they had exchanged communiques they had yet to actually meet. However, they would get plenty of time while enroute to their new home.

[Supply Vessel]

With her scone and ever important coffee in hand she made her way towards the docking station housing the supply vessel. With haste she ate her scone leaving just her coffee in hand as she passed through the airlock and boarded the vessel. She looked around for a familiar face but didn't recognize anyone. With few options for where to pass the time she made her way to a small lounge on an upper deck of the vessel. As she entered the lounge she was immediately struck by the basic nature of the accommodations. The room was nearly empty and only offered a replicator and a smattering of tables and chairs that seemed arranged with little logic or thought. In the corner she saw a table surrounded by three empty chairs facing a window. She smiled as she realized she'd be able to get some work done with some stunning views of the womrhole.

[DS9 - Habitat Ring - 2 days after the CO left.]

It had been a tearful and emotional farewell to her friends on the Tempest.  They were few that she called true friends but Judy, Malik, Jada and Ozu were definitely amongst them and she hoped she'd hear from them in the future.

The twins were another matter.  While Hrafn herself was mature enough to shed a few tears, then have a private bawl to herself in the bathroom, the almost 4 year old twins were having a full on melt down.

"Tidu, Nerys, hush will you, it's bad enough that we have Mr Mestopheles and McCavity hissing at each other and mewing like their world is going to end but your vying with them to make the most noise is not helping matters.  You should be setting a good example to your baby brother.  And you promised Daddy you'd make him proud by being good, I don't call this being good... hmm?!"

Nerys, always the more mature of the two sniffed back the tears, wiping her nose and eyes on the sleeve of her princess costume, little Bajoran ridges furrowed on her nose even more with the concentration of not crying more.

"But Mu-mummy... you packed Miss Puppydog, you know I can't fly without Miss Puppydog!  She protects me!"

"Oh Nerys I wouldn't do that look... here she is!" Hrafn swiftly took the dog plushie off the top of the bag of toys that she had indeed tossed the toy towards, head in a muddle and not thinking.  "Now take your little brothers hand and help him."

"Yes Mummy, c'mon Lamar you have to be big and brave boy for Mummy now!"

Hrafn smiled at her brood.  She was proud of each of them in their way.  Nerys for being a serious little girl, a true beauty that would make hearts break in about 12 years or so but for now still turning heads with the cute mix of nose ridges and spots.  Tidu the quiet one that was always thinking behind the piercingly blue eyes that he had, and Lamar who was almost 10 months and going to be spending his first birthday on a new base, holding firmly to his older sister's hand and looking at Hrafn with wide eyes not fully understanding everything that was going on. He was just starting to take some steps but the Nanny had the pushchair ready with teddy if he really didn't want to move under his own steam!

"Come Tidu you take Nanny's hand and be a big brave boy for Mummy!" Crista the nanny, a big bumbling woman of colour that the kids all loved.  It was a bit of a home-coming for her since they'd picked her up there looking for a job once when their previous nanny had left to get married.

Hrafn smiled gratefully and they walked to the area for the Supply Vessel.

[Supply Vessel]

Appeased with a jumja stick apeice the kids had calmed down and walked pleasantly onto the ship, Nerys giggling when the Security Ensign winked at her.

Hrafn gave him a bemused grin, nodding and giving their particulars before finding a seat in the Lounge area with a view out of the window for the curious Nerys to take in everything whilst clutching Miss Puppydog in one hand like she was going to loose her toy again.

The Trill let out a weary sigh... running the Science Department was going to be easier than wrangling 3 small kids from a ship to a base as a perma (as much as postings were permanant!) move rather than just putting into base for a few days!

Looking around she pulled out her personal PADD and drafted a message to Nevir.  He would likely find out on the Fleet News but she thought she'd better let him know personally and then do a video call when they both had the time.  She did try to do that once per week with the kids so that he 'saw' them as much as possible.

With Nerys nestled in the crook of one arm gazing out of the window, Lemar and Tidu playing on the floor under the table she'd sat at with Crista keeping an eye on them, Hrafn found where she'd left off in the novel she was reading and settled down for the trip.

[Jebediah Schrock]

[Supply Vessel - Lounge]

Jeb was downright giddy with excitement. Finally, he was out of the hellhole that he considered San Francisco to be, and on his way out to unexplored space, where he longed to be.

Being a friendly type, Jeb spent a lot of his travel time making conversation. Now was no exception. He had made his way to the lounge, gotten a very large bacon cheeseburger with mushrooms, lettuce, tomatoes, hot sauce, and arugula along with a side of very greasy fries, and now looked for someone to talk with.

He sighted a red-headed trill with a few children around her, and pulled up a chair nearby.

"Mind if I sit here, ma'am?" Jeb asked, smoother and more confident than he was in the past.