Season 1, Mission 10: Standstill

[Lance Krol]

Vex to Krol
Permission to take a shuttle and return to orbit of the station. There is no SAR team in the vicinity of Mr Jameson in the case that he is being kidnapped or harmed, and asking for a prisoner exchange could have been purposefully done to take us out of the vicinity so they could harm Mr Jameson. I would like to take the first SAR team back in a shuttle.

Lance sighed and tapped his badge while Taras figured out how to phrase a non-offensive response to what Krol had just requested.

=/\=Krol to Vex=/\=
I'm sorry if I should recognise your name, crewman, but this isn't a request for me. I'll have to refer you to your department head, who happens to be standing right next to me so I'll know if you actually listened. He's called Lieutenant Taras Cadenza. Hope you're not too inconvenienced.
=/\=Out=/\=

He tapped his badge off and turned back to Taras. "You've got a new recruit, and she doesn't know how the chain of command works. Better look into it."

[Tsira Vex]

Things were going nowhere. It was a stupid and headstrong decision to contact the captain directly. Vex knew this almost immediately as she finished speaking to the captain. Of course, vex was right about keeping a SAR team in the vicinity.

Aye, captain. My apologies.
Vex out.

Mentally kicking herself for breaking the chain-of-command (and thereby losing ground for a formal complaint for a security breach) Vex tapped her communicator again. Looking back on nearly 700 years of wisdom, she knew the best thing for her to do would be to accept responsibility for her rash behavior. Breaking chain-of-command would be among the common negative citations for many Starfleet personnel.

Vex to Cadenza
Permission to take SAR Team 1 on a shuttle back to the station to offer immediate SAR support. Mr Jameson is at risk of being kidnapped, injured, or killed if the Churchill is not present.

Vex waited in the shuttle for a reply, and looked around the passenger area. Five other crewmen sat along the edges on seats that folded out from the wall with their rifles set at vicarious angles between them. One of them was working with the on-shuttle transporter to get an automatic lock on all the crewmen who would be beamed down if necessary. It reminded Vex of the time she had been on a Trill cruiser, transporting medical supplies to one of the Trill colonies in a system near Trillius. At the time, Trill was at war with the Klingons for what was to be the first of many times. Vex was not a soldier at the time; as Vex's second host, Tilota, was third officer aboard the cruiser, but helped launch marines in a shuttles to board Klingon vessels. It was a dirty business, war, and it had not changed much in the more than 500 years since Tilota Vex had been on that Trill cruiser.

[Kirok]

The voyage to meet up with the USS Valiant was uneventful and the Churchill made it in record time.  The prisoners were successfully transferred to the Churchill and then quickly escorted to the brig.  A member of the Security/Tactical department was with them at all times and posted outside the brig.

The Churchill had turned around and was making its way back to the station to rendezvous with Mr. Jameson.  Shortly after they were underway, the ship was hailed.  Valiant to Churchill

Kirok opened the hailing frequency to communicate with the other ship.  Go ahead, Valiant, this is the Churchill he replied.

Mr. Jameson has a small detour for you.  You are to report to a planet in a nearby system and pick up some of the refugees  who have been hiding there.  These are supposedly people who recently escaped from the prison camp awhile back.  The pirates want the men picked up and returned with the other prisoners.  Jameson has agreed to their terms.  I'm sending your new coordinates now someone from the Valiant ship said.

Understood Kirok replied.  He send the new coordinates to Cadenza.  Churchill out Kirok said and then ended the communication.  He looked up from his duty station to make sure everyone had heard the communication.

[Taras Cadenza]

Lance sighed and tapped his badge while Taras figured out how to phrase a non-offensive response to what Krol had just requested.

=/\=Krol to Vex=/\=
I'm sorry if I should recognise your name, crewman, but this isn't a request for me. I'll have to refer you to your department head, who happens to be standing right next to me so I'll know if you actually listened. He's called Lieutenant Taras Cadenza. Hope you're not too inconvenienced.
=/\=Out=/\=

He tapped his badge off and turned back to Taras. "You've got a new recruit, and she doesn't know how the chain of command works. Better look into it."

-------

Taras thought of his response, tactfully and carefully. "Well, I wouldn't say you're being too bad. I think we just need to keep the sarcasm to a slight minimum." Taras stated, gesturing to his Lance's combadge, though not without goodwill in his voice. Lance was at best, in his belief, a very stressed out person in the wrong position at the wrong time.

Then Taras received the call. "Not neccesary at this present moment, crewman... Mr. Jameson is in no real danger at this present moment, in time..."

The voyage to meet up with the USS Valiant was uneventful and the Churchill made it in record time.  The prisoners were successfully transferred to the Churchill and then quickly escorted to the brig.  A member of the Security/Tactical department was with them at all times and posted outside the brig.

The Churchill had turned around and was making its way back to the station to rendezvous with Mr. Jameson.  Shortly after they were underway, the ship was hailed.   Valiant to Churchill

Kirok opened the hailing frequency to communicate with the other ship.   Go ahead, Valiant, this is the Churchill he replied.

Mr. Jameson has a small detour for you.  You are to report to a planet in a nearby system and pick up some of the refugees  who have been hiding there.  These are supposedly people who recently escaped from the prison camp awhile back.  The pirates want the men picked up and returned with the other prisoners.  Jameson has agreed to their terms.  I'm sending your new coordinates now someone from the Valiant ship said.

Understood Kirok replied.  He send the new coordinates to Cadenza.   Churchill out Kirok said and then ended the communication.  He looked up from his duty station to make sure everyone had heard the communication.

"Coordinates received!" exclaimed Taras, albeit a little perturbed by the new detour. He adjusted the course to compensate but still... He had his concerns.

[Connor Price]

-------

Taras thought of his response, tactfully and carefully. "Well, I wouldn't say you're being too bad. I think we just need to keep the sarcasm to a slight minimum." Taras stated, gesturing to his Lance's combadge, though not without goodwill in his voice. Lance was at best, in his belief, a very stressed out person in the wrong position at the wrong time.

Then Taras received the call. "Not neccesary at this present moment, crewman... Mr. Jameson is in no real danger at this present moment, in time..."

"Coordinates received!" exclaimed Taras, albeit a little perturbed by the new detour. He adjusted the course to compensate but still... He had his concerns.

Connor lounged in Engineering, waiting for a communication, an order, anything. As the ship was all being run from the bridge, there was literally nothing for the chief of engineering to be doing. He looked out over the Engineering bay, calmed by the blue glow of the warp core, the mathematics that held in the power of the universe from destroying the ship in a microsecond. He wandered over to his console. "Computer, set up a visual feed to the bridge." Instantly, one screen displayed what was happening on the bridge while another showed whatever the viewscreen on the bridge was showing.

[Joval]

Joval steps out from behind the and steps onto the turbo lift. "Engineering" he says to the computer. As he steps off of the turbolift he sees Lt. Price spying on the bridge. He wonders what he was doing but keeps quiet. He steps towards a console and activates it but keeps an eye on the Lieutenant. He enters his authorization code and begins finishing some upgrades he had started earlier.

[Michael Ferdinand]

Alyssa stayed behind the railing of the center chairs and watched the bridge crew work. She had never truly taken the time to be on the bridge, but she found that she enjoyed it much more than the bridge of the Discovery. There was something about this bridge, something that was soothing to her. The stations were in sound locations, not scattered every other direction. But that was not what her attention was shifted to, it was what the people were saying over the comm lines. "Did I hear something about prisoners?" she asked loudly so that people could hear her. Of course no one told her about them. She was the last one to be told anything on any starship. Maybe she should establish a "Keep Alyssa in the dark" day, so that way, everyone can take a day off while avoiding her. Frakking morons.

[Kirok]

Alyssa stayed behind the railing of the center chairs and watched the bridge crew work. She had never truly taken the time to be on the bridge, but she found that she enjoyed it much more than the bridge of the Discovery. There was something about this bridge, something that was soothing to her. The stations were in sound locations, not scattered every other direction. But that was not what her attention was shifted to, it was what the people were saying over the comm lines. "Did I hear something about prisoners?" she asked loudly so that people could hear her. Of course no one told her about them. She was the last one to be told anything on any starship. Maybe she should establish a "Keep Alyssa in the dark" day, so that way, everyone can take a day off while avoiding her. Frakking morons.

Kirok looked up from his duty station.  The prisoners were a secuity issue and seemed to fall into his department.  "Yes, Lieutenant.  They are being detained in the brig" he replied.  "In addition, we will be picking up more prisoners, escapes from the prison colony the Churchill visited when Tobias Masters was still on board" he added.

[Tsira Vex]

-------

Taras thought of his response, tactfully and carefully. "Well, I wouldn't say you're being too bad. I think we just need to keep the sarcasm to a slight minimum." Taras stated, gesturing to his Lance's combadge, though not without goodwill in his voice. Lance was at best, in his belief, a very stressed out person in the wrong position at the wrong time.

Then Taras received the call. "Not neccesary at this present moment, crewman... Mr. Jameson is in no real danger at this present moment, in time..."

Vex took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. She had to follow orders; she would not for the life of her think of taking a shuttle without permission. She looked to the other members of the SAR team and told them to disembark. As the shuttle emptied, Vex considered her options. In order for her to protect Mr Jameson, she had to be near the space station. Cadenza had said the diplomat was not in danger, and that may well be the case, but Vex did not deal with probabilities. She was to behave as if the pirates would do something; it was the only way to plan accurately for a proper SAR mission. The lieutenant's claim was, in this case, irrelevant. So, the lieutenant had prevented Vex from doing her job when it was possible to both collect prisoners and leave a shuttle behind. What was she to do? She could lodge a formal complaint. That would absolve her of responsibility, at least. She was new of the ship, though, and had already broken chain-of-command in a rash jump to get the job done. It would make her look utterly unprofessional, but it also may make her seem professional if she was willing to lodge the complaint, despite her own failings--this was getting more complicated than it needed to be.

Being alone in the shuttle, Vex figured everyone would save face; she tapped her combadge.
Vex to Cadenza
Lieutenant, I need to lodge a formal complaint. Failure to keep Mr Jameson safe, when it is possible to do so, is a violation of the 5th and 29th Starfleet General Orders. It should be noted that I am following your order under protest.
Vex out

Vex left the shuttle and came back into the shuttle bay. There was very little for her to do, now that Mr Jameson was so far away. She hoped the diplomat would survive the ordeal, for the sake of everyone involved.

[Raymundo Salas]

Churchill Security Office: The Brig.

Raymundo taped the adjustment buttons on his chair trying, rather unsuccessfully, to get into a comfortable spot. Not that the terminal post in the brig was made for comfort, but his unease came form more than the decor. In the first cell was the prisoner that had been transferred form off the Valiant. At first glance the man in the cell looked like any other criminal that he had been near. However there was something off about him, he was only a few Centimeters  taller than himself, with a light complexion, and a hard weathered face. He was sitting on one of the benches, left leg curled up underneath him and the other stretched out. All that was not new to him but his behavior was unnerving. As he was sitting he was staring, he had not said a word form the time he lead him to his cell, but now he had been guarding him for a few hours and his gaze had yet to be directed anywhere other than at himself. And his smile, well not a smile but more of a radiated sense of.... anticipation.

Raymundo looked away form the him, knowing he was watched under that piercing gaze. Looking over his file again he tried to piece together his wards past. His name was Regner De Witte, about 30 though his place and date of birth is unconfirmed. He had a string of peaty theft warrants form various systems in the trader space of the boarders of the Federation. It was not till 7 years ago that things changed as he had become suspect of a series of murders, evidence suggest that he had become a hit man for a Ferangi enterprising corporation with their 'Business Acquisitions'. However as the next two years unfolded Mr De Witte seamed to have gotten blood lust and made his murders more and more elaborate. Naturally the Ferangi company wished not to attract this level of attention and ousted him form trader space.

Raymundo looked back at Regner, he had yet to move and if Raymundo did not look closely enough he would believe that he had not even been blinking. Checking the chronometer he got up and made ready the second and third cell to take on the additional prisoners, hopefully they will break this uncomfortable silence 

[Michael Ferdinand]

Kirok looked up from his duty station.  The prisoners were a secuity issue and seemed to fall into his department.  "Yes, Lieutenant.  They are being detained in the brig" he replied.  "In addition, we will be picking up more prisoners, escapes from the prison colony the Churchill visited when Tobias Masters was still on board" he added.

"WHAT!?" Alyssa shouted as her eyes grew larger. "Why wasn't I notified about this?" she asked. This was an outrage. How dare they ignore her! She was going to get the press, call concerned mothers, write a letter to her friend's cat. Mark her words, she was not going to let anyone get away with letting things slip past her again!

[Kirok]

"WHAT!?" Alyssa shouted as her eyes grew larger. "Why wasn't I notified about this?" she asked. This was an outrage. How dare they ignore her! She was going to get the press, call concerned mothers, write a letter to her friend's cat. Mark her words, she was not going to let anyone get away with letting things slip past her again!

Kirok's right eyebrow arched deeply.  "The prisoners did not require medical attention" Kirok replied calmly, in his typical Vulcan manner.  "Therefore, there was no reason to notify you" he added.  If he broke protocol, he was not aware of it.  He looked back down at his duty station and looked over the long range sensors.

[Lance Krol]

"WHAT!?" Alyssa shouted as her eyes grew larger. "Why wasn't I notified about this?" she asked. This was an outrage. How dare they ignore her! She was going to get the press, call concerned mothers, write a letter to her friend's cat. Mark her words, she was not going to let anyone get away with letting things slip past her again!

Lance whipped round. "Cool it, Ms. Meadows. We need everyone ready for if and when this situation blows up. Mr. Cadenza, are we there yet?" he turned away and jokingly put on his best petulant child voice.

[Taras Cadenza]

Vex took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. She had to follow orders; she would not for the life of her think of taking a shuttle without permission. She looked to the other members of the SAR team and told them to disembark. As the shuttle emptied, Vex considered her options. In order for her to protect Mr Jameson, she had to be near the space station. Cadenza had said the diplomat was not in danger, and that may well be the case, but Vex did not deal with probabilities. She was to behave as if the pirates would do something; it was the only way to plan accurately for a proper SAR mission. The lieutenant's claim was, in this case, irrelevant. So, the lieutenant had prevented Vex from doing her job when it was possible to both collect prisoners and leave a shuttle behind. What was she to do? She could lodge a formal complaint. That would absolve her of responsibility, at least. She was new of the ship, though, and had already broken chain-of-command in a rash jump to get the job done. It would make her look utterly unprofessional, but it also may make her seem professional if she was willing to lodge the complaint, despite her own failings--this was getting more complicated than it needed to be.

Being alone in the shuttle, Vex figured everyone would save face; she tapped her combadge.
Vex to Cadenza
Lieutenant, I need to lodge a formal complaint. Failure to keep Mr Jameson safe, when it is possible to do so, is a violation of the 5th and 29th Starfleet General Orders. It should be noted that I am following your order under protest.
Vex out

Vex left the shuttle and came back into the shuttle bay. There was very little for her to do, now that Mr Jameson was so far away. She hoped the diplomat would survive the ordeal, for the sake of everyone involved.

"Whereas sending a shuttle back, crewman, could be seen as a threatening manoeuvre, and a sign of distrust. I don't think either of us want to cause his death, but that's space travel for you. We have to take risks. Playing it safe all the time would be, in a word, foolish. Let's not do anything that will square the deal. Cadenza out." told Taras, a little bit more irritated than before. He himself had to take a short breath to remind himself of his own etiquette rules and manners.

Lance whipped round. "Cool it, Ms. Meadows. We need everyone ready for if and when this situation blows up. Mr. Cadenza, are we there yet?" he turned away and jokingly put on his best petulant child voice.

"NO!" shouted Taras, in his own jokingly fashioned voice, with a give-away grin, emulating that of an old 20th to 21st Century Earth fictional character known as "Homer Simpson". Taras had quite an appreciation of old Earth animation. It was always a quaint past-time of his, though he questioned his sanity in thinking about such things right then. "We'll be there in about... 5 or 6 minutes. For sure."

[Kirok]

"NO!" shouted Taras, in his own jokingly fashioned voice, with a give-away grin, emulating that of an old 20th to 21st Century Earth fictional character known as "Homer Simpson". Taras had quite an appreciation of old Earth animation. It was always a quaint past-time of his, though he questioned his sanity in thinking about such things right then. "We'll be there in about... 5 or 6 minutes. For sure."

This caused Kirok to look from his duty station, as any loud utterance should.  He raised an eyebrow curiously, but made no remark about the outburst.  His board chirped with the familiar tone of a hail coming in.  "We're receiving a hail from the outpost, Captain" Kirok called out.