Mission 2.1 Plague Lords

[Alexander Wu]

[Lounge]

Since being posted to Columbus on what was advertised as Robidas Island, Alex had pleasantly found himself spending less time behind his desk than even when he was actually on a ship. Of course, this didn't really bode well for the seemingly endless stream of civil complaints that flowed through their office. Hopefully that would soon change with the pilot project that Alex had proposed regarding a civil division which would deal with station and sector matters. Eventually the JAG officers would only focus on Starfleet and Federation related matters, lessening their burden.

One of those matters was precisely why Alex found himself in one of the observation lounges now, raising an eyebrow at the scene which greeted him as he strolled in. Only the former command team of a recently lost starship and two other crewmembers he didn't recognize occupied the large room, although one of them was now sitting on the floor, seemingly having a nervous breakdown. Lieutenant Commander Dylan Torngate. Having spent the past several weeks sequestered for endless hours in stuffy interview rooms and menial conferences, Alex been privy to the details of Athena's final hours, albeit limited to what was recoverable from the heavily damaged records and from what the crew had been willing to divulge. It wasn't entirely surprising that the Chief Engineer was the one who had taken the hardest hit. Still, the man's presence on the ground was troubling, especially for the man who was supposed to be evaluating the senior officers for their current capacity.

"Scientific though- our greatest challenge. These will be the voyages of the starship Athena. Its new mission: to employ fantastic new technologies, to test theories, and to transgress realms of thought where only the gods of old once dared- to boldly go where no man has gone before."

Frowning, Alex didn't reach for the PADD in his pocket, figuring that the crew wasn't technically under his scope just yet; Captain Lafayette was only just starting the big reveal. Staying by the doors as to not ruin the moment, he listened in unobtrusively, a faint smile playing across his face. Realms of Gods and to go boldly. Heady words from the spunky little captain. Hopefully she'll be able to deliver.

[Dylan Torngate]

[Observation Lounge 4]

James quickly looked back to see what was happening. A new Vulcan crewman had arrived, he'd done his due diligence enough to know that this was Mahak, a new transfer to the Athena's crew. He had to wonder what caused Dylan to freak out and quickly figured it out. Swiftly Carter stepped in front of Dylan and began to speak. "Hey, let's settle down yeah? When you leave here you need to get yourself sobered up." He could smell the liquor on Torngate as he spoke. His spoke in a hushed but commanding tone, his authority clear from both his voice and stature. "What you do on your free time is your business, but if it causes outbursts like this it starts being my business." James shook his head before walking over to Mahak and speaking again.

[Obs Lounge 4]

Dylan nodded dumbly at the Commander's remarks before he fell against the wall. He felt a hole in him- and he didn't know what to do. He had no motivation to do anything, no motivation to play baseball... nor even look at the news. He knew what the Subspace Times would be writing about... the cache of Borg tech that had been "Discovered" by the Athena's crew, with no mention that they had lost a ship in the process. It wasn't just a ship... it was home. He didn't have that any more. It was like the Tranquility all over again for him... the freighter he'd lost his home and family to.

He zoned out until the Captain's biting remarks hit him.

[Observation Lounge 4]

"Gentlemen, thank you for coming on such short notice and I appreciate your patience and candidness with with inquiries you have no doubt been subjected to." Constance said flatly, turning to face them. She looked as good as new, which was rather disconcerting considering the state they had left her in.

"Before we begin, there is a small matter of decorum I need to address." She said in her same flat tone, her arms still loosely held behind her back.

"Mr. Torngate. You will be professional or I will return you to the airlock though which I heard you departed the good ship Athena though. I have no problem replacing the drunk or the rowdy with a more capable officer and I expect more from you."

Her tone was not harsh but still stung like a wasp.

"We have been given new orders and I have been asked to pass commendations to both of you as well as the other members of our fine crew." She said, her face all business.

"The efforts we made on the behalf of the Federation will not soon be forgotten, despite the price we paid."

This had been the result of the many inquests and writeups she'd been subjected too, even in her medical state in the last two weeks. The value of the information and technology they had brought to the Federation's scientists was beyond valuable and earned them enough good will to sweep any misgivings they may have had under the rug.

"We are to depart immediately. Our new ship has just arrived, fresh from the Antares Ship Yards." She explained, giving them a nod.

"Her Captain is to be myself with Mr. Carter serving once again as my first officer. Mr. Torgate, despite your state, you will remain on as our Second Officer. You will find all the paperwork and specs on your PADDs. However..." She said and turned back to look at the giant Vesta class before them, "I believe you will find our ship rather familiar. And you will no doubt become all the more familiar with her changes on her shakedown cruise."

As she spoke she turned to watch the Vesta class ship turn and begin to depart the station. She swung slowly out and jumped to warp, leaving the station behind. In her place, previously obscured by the monstrous Vesta class vessel was a small ship. She had the sleek, round, lines of the Intrepid class but sported a thinner profile in her secondary hull. Her nacelle supports were wider and the nacelles themselves sported two downward turned "fins" that would stand vertically when they were brought into their raised position for warp.

"Gentleman. I give to you the USS Athena - A. She is an Intrepid refit- the first of her kind. She was designed, from the ground up, as a research and development ship and features the latest advances Starfleet has to offer."

Constance was now beaming, a rare expression for the dower Captain.

"Scientific though- our greatest challenge. These will be the voyages of the starship Athena. Its new mission: to employ fantastic new technologies, to test theories, and to transgress realms of thought where only the gods of old once dared- to boldly go where no man has gone before."

He flinched as the Captain spoke, her words digging deep into him. They also aroused a certain... kick in the gut that he'd been needing. He nodded, mumbling loud enough for her to hear, "Aye sir." before falling silent as the Captain gave her speech. When the Captain began talking about their new ship, Dylan ran down the possibilities. With this big of a loss, he definitely expected something...smaller. A nova class if they could manage it. One did not simply blow up a whole ship.

As the Captain spoke, Dylan stood, walking to the window as, almost as if it had been coordinated, the giant Vesta class peeled out toward the spacedock doors, leaving in her wake a smaller, beautiful sight- an Intrepid Class Starship. "I'll be damned..." he said, as he looked, tears welling in his eyes as his unpredictable emotions did a loop-de-loop in his gut. He stared out at the ship. NCC-31415-A. USS Athena.

Home

[Race Warez]

Starbase Columbus was one of Race's favorite places in the galaxy. He had come in with the rescued crew. Everyone had been checked and debriefed. In the whole mess of hearings, he had only been called for one follow up interview. Even then the brass were predicable...
How did I think the Borg cube mission went?(As expected.)
Did Captain Lafayette do anything wrong?(No.)
Was Ash responsible for the actions of the creature called Danny?(No.)
Did I think self-destructing the Athena was worth killing the Borg cube?(Yes.)

After that the lower officer and crewman ranks were mostly forgotten, reassigned. Some even transferred.

He was pleased to find his old office and lab area on deck 313 was still available to him. Lt.(jg) Warez had almost fallen back into his old routine in the last week or so. He'd even gotten to do some of programming work on the new adaptive shield matrix. The power potential was boggling.

That morning he was trying to solve a tricky problem in subspace fluctuation patterns when his computer interface beeped. "Message of interest on Station audio. 2 persons of interest identified."

"Not now, computer!" Race barked. Sometimes that machine had the worst timing.

"This is my third attempt to relay information. Your own protocols require..."

"Fine! Play message then computer." Race interrupted.

[Starbase Columbus]
A boatswain's whistle sounded "Lt. Commander Torngate, Commander Carter. Please meet your party in observation lounge 4." the voice over the intercom said.

The Latino man jumped up from his seat. His mood instantly reversed. Math problem forgotten.

"About time!" he cried out to the computer terminal.
"Sign me off, Computer! Save, close and lock all files." Race called back over his shoulder as he headed out the door.

The turbo lift slid open and he practically jumped in. If this is what he thought it was, the Athena crew still on the base were in for a surprise.

"Deck one." He squeezed the control level and counted all three hundred and twelve floors.

Race quickly crossed the deck to Observation Lounge number four and stepped in...

"What did I miss?" he smiled.

[Anastasia Volzhin]

[Observation lounge]

She didn't spend that long in active duty, and she spent all of two weeks on Starbase Columbus, that they already announced that their new position was going to be. Unlike many of the other survivors of their run-in with the Borg, she didn't spend much time on it and hence couldn't be as attached to the ship as the other veterans of the ship. Yet, upon hearing the description of exactly how they were going to boldly go where no one has gone before, that is, employing (and perhaps testing) fantastic new technologies/theories and transgress realms of thought where only the gods of old once dared, she realized that she might overstep her bounds and her need to know actually did not extend beyond the scientific equipment, but that might be of interest to engineering personnel. Not that she spent that much time on the old equipment, but unless the past 20 years failed to provide with some scientific equipment otherwise unavailable to the early units, or that sensor arrays were refitted multiple times, there is going to be a difference.

"Captain, you said that our new posting, the USS Athena-A, will be on a refitted Intrepid-class ship. Excuse me, but how is this refit going to affect the sensor array? Like the astrometrics equipment, lateral sensor pallets and laboratory equipment? How this equipment was going to be enhanced compared to the old equipment we were using is going to affect our ability to employ fantastic new technologies, testing new theories... I'm sure Lieutenant Warez will have a better ability to gauge the improvements from the old equipment to the new one, but the specifications of scientific equipment is going to be relevant to how the whole science team will perform its duties"

But the ship's ability to transgress realms of thought that only the gods of old was going to be more of a function of the crew's skills than their equipment, at least in her mind. In that respect, a ship was truly only as good as its crew. Yet she knew that, sometimes, additional sensitivity is going to be necessary especially when it comes to collecting data used for testing new theories, and at others, inadequate equipment is going to be a hindrance.

[Constance Lafayette]

[Observation lounge]
"Captain, you said that our new posting, the USS Athena-A, will be on a refitted Intrepid-class ship. Excuse me, but how is this refit going to affect the sensor array? Like the astrometrics equipment, lateral sensor pallets and laboratory equipment? How this equipment was going to be enhanced compared to the old equipment we were using is going to affect our ability to employ fantastic new technologies, testing new theories... I'm sure Lieutenant Warez will have a better ability to gauge the improvements from the old equipment to the new one, but the specifications of scientific equipment is going to be relevant to how the whole science team will perform its duties"

[Observation Lounge 4]
Constance offered a slight smile as Anna asked her verbose question. She remembered when she was a young officer, thrilled by every little technical aspect of the ship. She'd gain some perspective during her time in surgery and, despite the odds against it, she recalled her time in Unimatrix Zero.

"I'll answer your question with a question Ensign. It is something I was thinking on while I was resting after my recent surgery." She answered the bright young officer's energy with her normal dower smile, but it was more upbeat than normal.

"Hypothesize with me for a moment. Let's say you have a tea cup. Its internal dimensions allow it to carry 6 fluid ounces of tea. I served you tea in such a vessels while you were holding it. I serve from my tea pot that contains 32 fluid ounces of tea at a temperature of 162 degrees Fahrenheit. What would happen if I poured it all out into your tea cup at a steady rate?"

Constance phrased the question like a science instructor asking a highschooler a question on volume, hoping for a correct response.

[Leonard T. Scott]

[Promenade - Truffles]

Leo had been at a lose for quite some time. Between the Athena being sacrificed and a bit of a rough patch between him and Cat, the past few days had seen him spending time delving into the paperwork and a scotch.

The experience for him thinking more about getting his career accelerated. He started to look toward the past for examples. He settled on Admiral Riker.

One difference between the two, though, was that Leo didn't care to much for being known as a lady's man. He wanted to get things fixed with Cat, but he knew he was in no position currently to fix things. He didn't know if she was either.

[Starbase Columbus]
A boatswain's whistle sounded "Lt. Commander Torngate, Commander Carter. Please meet your party in observation lounge 4." the voice over the intercom said. It had been two weeks weeks since the situation with the Athena. After the USS Kandahar had recovered their escape pods the remains of the Borg Cube... and the USS Athena.

The Captain, if she still was that, had been taken away upon arrival at the station and had been rushed to medical. Since then she had been segregated from the crew, which had been politely detained on Starbase Columbus. A great effort was underway there- the recovery of the technological scraps from the cube were sparking new discoveries and advancements by the hour all across the Federation. The data scans the away team had been able to take were some of the deepest yet of Borg technology and the advanced that would come where sure to be game changing.

Still, a sour note hung in the air. The USS Athena had been lost and though everyone had made it out, save the security officers killed by Danny, two brave engineers, and one andorian operations officer- it still felt like a loss. The Battle of Wolf 395 had seen the lost of almost 40 ships but still this somehow felt more painful.

"Well, I guess I better get going," he thought to himself.

He gathered his PADD and made his way to the observation lounge.

[Observation Lounge 4]

[Observation Lounge 4]

"Gentlemen, thank you for coming on such short notice and I appreciate your patience and candidness with with inquiries you have no doubt been subjected to." Constance said flatly, turning to face them. She looked as good as new, which was rather disconcerting considering the state they had left her in.

"Before we begin, there is a small matter of decorum I need to address." She said in her same flat tone, her arms still loosely held behind her back.

"Mr. Torngate. You will be professional or I will return you to the airlock though which I heard you departed the good ship Athena though. I have no problem replacing the drunk or the rowdy with a more capable officer and I expect more from you."

Her tone was not harsh but still stung like a wasp.

"We have been given new orders and I have been asked to pass commendations to both of you as well as the other members of our fine crew." She said, her face all business.

"The efforts we made on the behalf of the Federation will not soon be forgotten, despite the price we paid."

This had been the result of the many inquests and writeups she'd been subjected too, even in her medical state in the last two weeks. The value of the information and technology they had brought to the Federation's scientists was beyond valuable and earned them enough good will to sweep any misgivings they may have had under the rug.

"We are to depart immediately. Our new ship has just arrived, fresh from the Antares Ship Yards." She explained, giving them a nod.

"Her Captain is to be myself with Mr. Carter serving once again as my first officer. Mr. Torgate, despite your state, you will remain on as our Second Officer. You will find all the paperwork and specs on your PADDs. However..." She said and turned back to look at the giant Vesta class before them, "I believe you will find our ship rather familiar. And you will no doubt become all the more familiar with her changes on her shakedown cruise."

As she spoke she turned to watch the Vesta class ship turn and begin to depart the station. She swung slowly out and jumped to warp, leaving the station behind. In her place, previously obscured by the monstrous Vesta class vessel was a small ship. She had the sleek, round, lines of the Intrepid class but sported a thinner profile in her secondary hull. Her nacelle supports were wider and the nacelles themselves sported two downward turned "fins" that would stand vertically when they were brought into their raised position for warp.

"Gentleman. I give to you the USS Athena - A. She is an Intrepid refit- the first of her kind. She was designed, from the ground up, as a research and development ship and features the latest advances Starfleet has to offer."

Constance was now beaming, a rare expression for the dower Captain.

"Scientific though- our greatest challenge. These will be the voyages of the starship Athena. Its new mission: to employ fantastic new technologies, to test theories, and to transgress realms of thought where only the gods of old once dared- to boldly go where no man has gone before."

(Old Ship vs New)
(Athena A)

As the ship was revealed, Leo let out a long, single note whistle.

...
"Captain, you said that our new posting, the USS Athena-A, will be on a refitted Intrepid-class ship. Excuse me, but how is this refit going to affect the sensor array? Like the astrometrics equipment, lateral sensor pallets and laboratory equipment? How this equipment was going to be enhanced compared to the old equipment we were using is going to affect our ability to employ fantastic new technologies, testing new theories... I'm sure Lieutenant Warez will have a better ability to gauge the improvements from the old equipment to the new one, but the specifications of scientific equipment is going to be relevant to how the whole science team will perform its duties"

...

[Observation Lounge 4]
Constance offered a slight smile as Anna asked her verbose question. She remembered when she was a young officer, thrilled by every little technical aspect of the ship. She'd gain some perspective during her time in surgery and, despite the odds against it, she recalled her time in Unimatrix Zero.

"I'll answer your question with a question Ensign. It is something I was thinking on while I was resting after my recent surgery." She answered the bright young officer's energy with her normal dower smile, but it was more upbeat than normal.

"Hypothesize with me for a moment. Let's say you have a tea cup. Its internal dimensions allow it to carry 6 fluid ounces of tea. I served you tea in such a vessels while you were holding it. I serve from my tea pot that contains 32 fluid ounces of tea at a temperature of 162 degrees Fahrenheit. What would happen if I poured it all out into your tea cup at a steady rate?"

Constance phrased the question like a science instructor asking a highschooler a question on volume, hoping for a correct response.

Leo couldn't help but chuckle at the exchange. First time he had in a week. It felt good having the crew together again. He couldn't wait until he got the chance to sit behind the console again. Maybe test a few limits of the shiny ship.

He turned his head and saw Cat. He had hoped she would still want to remain on board.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Observation Lounge 4]

James quickly approached and came to stand directly in front of Mahak. "Crewman Mahak I would presume. I'm Commander James Carter, I've read over your file and wanted to welcome you to the most resilient crew in the galaxy."

[Starbase Columbus]

Mahak had stood to present himself before the Executive Officer just as he had in front of the second, but Carter seemed equally casual. He was also wearing civilian clothing. The Vulcan glanced down at his pressed within an inch of its life mustard yellow uniform and the tiniest bit of breath escaped from his nostrils in an inaudible sigh.

"It is agreeable to be here, sir." Mahak said. He had served with humans long enough to know when they were being emotional. Right now the crew of the Athena was in deep mourning. Doing so for a ship did not make much sense to Mahak, but he had enough sense to be elsewhere, fast.

"Where will I be assigned to, sir?" The Vulcan asked. He wanted to be anywhere but here.

[Anastasia Volzhin]

[Observation deck]

"You're probably alluding to data overflow: true, there comes a point where one takes into account too many variables. As for the question you just asked, the cup would fill out progressively until the remaining 26 ounces would overflow at a steady rate, too, and the areas receiving the excess tea would either heat up at the expense of the tea or cool the tea down at the expense of the areas receiving the excess tea, depending on their temperature. Then again, I may be overthinking things" Anastasia responded to the captain.

Gospazha Volzhin was a little disturbed by the question she received in response to her inquiry. That did nothing for her own comfort, and she rather expected to direct her to the relevant sections of the operational manuals, specifically those sections that highlight the changes that the refits entail. She knew that sometimes data overflow was a problem especially the more data that could be acquired and determing what was noise and what was the signal is a perpetual problem that was in the design of sensory equipment. Perhaps the captain was alluding to data overflow. But keeping an eye on the big picture, how the duty could be performed, and what tools they had at their disposal to do so, was key for her to survive in her role on a scientific exploration ship like that one. She was one of those crew members that made a scientific exploration ship what it is. But she knew that said crew did not work in a vacuum. Yet she has the impression that the question was more metaphorical in nature, with multiple possible interpretations of the metaphor.

"Or perhaps there are so many enhancements that I wouldn't possibly be able to take full advantage of those. It's just that there are so many interpretations for that metaphor"

[Catrin Maddux]

[Starbase Columbus - Promenade]

Cat mindlessly wandered the Promenade. The trauma of their last mission, the loss of the Athena and the subsequent questioning she had been subjected to, had taken its toll. Her patience was stretched thin and she felt like she was walking the edge of a knife. One wrong step, or word and her relative calm would shatter like glass. Her jagged emotions had scratched out at Leo, more than once. She'd been purposely avoiding him, not wanting to damage their relationship any further.

She rubbed at her temples, a headache spreading. The dull roar of emotions that accompanied the crowded Starbase did nothing to ease her tension. If she couldn't get herself under control, she had no business trying to help others.

The counselor leaned against the wall and attempted a breathing exercise she had learned back at the Academy. It sometimes worked to calm her anxiety, even if the only thing she could control was her oxygen intake. It was then she heard the summons and to make her way over to the Observation Lounge.

[Observation Lounge 4]

Cat edged her way into the room, in time to hear the Captain's speech and saw the reveal of the ship. She was happier to see that Constance both looked and sounded to be in good health and spirits. It helped ease some of the knot of tension at her center.

X[Observation Lounge 4]

He turned his head and saw Cat. He had hoped she would still want to remain on board.

Speaking of tension, she inwardly cursed and quickly turned away. She hadn't meant to catch Leo's eye. There wasn't enough time to mentally prepare herself for whatever it was he would want to talk about. As she backed away overly quick, she tripped into a chair someone had left pushed away from the table.

She went down in a quiet flail of limbs. Her face burned brighter than her flaming red hair. Oh, now that was really bloody smooth, sguthan. Cat arose gracelessly and shuffled for the exit.

[Constance Lafayette]

[Observation Lounge 4]

Constance gave a patient smile,
"It's a Zen koan Ensign. It means that you are asking for too much much information before you're in the right mindset to receive the answer to the question." She explained with a nod.
"If you want a literal answer- you can find it in the ship's technical manual- which should be distributed to your PADD once you enter the ship." She said politely, "But I'd encourage you to get in the right headspace. Feel out the ship's personality when you get aboard."

Something had changed in Constance. Maybe it was for the better. If you asked her what a ship's personality was a year ago she'd have pulled up the technical specifications and pointed out the minor details herself. But... she was a bit different now. She'd grown. Letting herself get attached to people, letting them in, causes one to mature (and have a few near death experiences sure didn't hurt).

The ship pulled up and the airlock door opened. She smiled,
"Come now Ensign. Let's see what she has in store for us."
Then, taking the privilege of the first on the new ship, she stepped on to the USS Athena-A.

[Leonard T. Scott]

[Starbase Columbus - Promenade]

Cat mindlessly wandered the Promenade. The trauma of their last mission, the loss of the Athena and the subsequent questioning she had been subjected to, had taken its toll. Her patience was stretched thin and she felt like she was walking the edge of a knife. One wrong step, or word and her relative calm would shatter like glass. Her jagged emotions had scratched out at Leo, more than once. She'd been purposely avoiding him, not wanting to damage their relationship any further.

She rubbed at her temples, a headache spreading. The dull roar of emotions that accompanied the crowded Starbase did nothing to ease her tension. If she couldn't get herself under control, she had no business trying to help others.

The counselor leaned against the wall and attempted a breathing exercise she had learned back at the Academy. It sometimes worked to calm her anxiety, even if the only thing she could control was her oxygen intake. It was then she heard the summons and to make her way over to the Observation Lounge.

[Observation Lounge 4]

Cat edged her way into the room, in time to hear the Captain's speech and saw the reveal of the ship. She was happier to see that Constance both looked and sounded to be in good health and spirits. It helped ease some of the knot of tension at her center.

Speaking of tension, she inwardly cursed and quickly turned away. She hadn't meant to catch Leo's eye. There wasn't enough time to mentally prepare herself for whatever it was he would want to talk about. As she backed away overly quick, she tripped into a chair someone had left pushed away from the table.

She went down in a quiet flail of limbs. Her face burned brighter than her flaming red hair. Oh, now that was really bloody smooth, sguthan. Cat arose gracelessly and shuffled for the exit.

[Observation Lounge 4]

Leo watched, helplessly, as Cat fell. He made his way over to help her up.

"Cat, are you ok, lass?" he said as he let his accent slip.

[Catrin Maddux]

[Observation Lounge 4]

Leo watched, helplessly, as Cat fell. He made his way over to help her up.

"Cat, are you ok, lass?" he said as he let his accent slip.

[Observation Lounge 4]

Cat made to swat him away, but stopped mid swing, upon hearing his voice. The light Scottish brogue that snuck into his words always made her melt. Her hand lowered and brushed at the skirt of her dress.

"I... I'm fine." She stuttered, looking anywhere but his face. Her cheeks and ears still burned crimson. She wasn't sure how to talk to him, or what she could say to make him understand. It was a lot easier, advising other people on their problems than trying to muddle through her own.

[Race Warez]

His feeling about this ship or at least it's designation (NCC 31415-A); was still accurate. There was something special here. It had existed before Race joined the crew and somehow he knew it had existed before this new ship as well.

Race watched the exchange between Captain  Lafayette and Ensign Volzhin with great interest. The new science officer had done very well one her first mission, he thought. He very much wanted the Captain pleased with the science department. The rumors he was hearing said some new command level blue shirt would be brought in to take over the Athena science department. Á¢â,¬ËœAnd why not?' thought Race. The ship would be the best mobile sensor/computer platform in the sector.

[Observation lounge]

" I'm sure Lieutenant Warez will have a better ability to gauge the improvements from the old equipment to the new one, but the specifications of scientific equipment is going to be relevant to how the whole science team will perform its duties"

"I hope you will help me test those systems Ensign." said the tall human named Warez.

"We have to coordinate the gel systems neural network to take advantage of as many positive feedback loops as possible. Then keep the homeostatic mechanisms aligned each day.

IF we can do all that we should get at least twice the computational speed of the previous system. Maybe more."  His eyes lighted up as he spoke and he smiled tight lipped at the young ensign.

[Observation Lounge 4]

Constance gave a patient smile,
"It's a Zen koan Ensign. It means that you are asking for too much much information before you're in the right mindset to receive the question." She explained with a nod.
"If you want a literal answer- you can find it in the ship's technical manual- which should be distributed to your PADD once you enter the ship." She said politely, "But I'd encourage you to get in the right headspace. Feel out the ship's personality when you get aboard."

"Captain!" Race bowed with a click of his heels. "So relieved to see you up and back in command."
"I believe your koan is also an excellent metaphor for the Athena A's sensors and computers."
He offered. "If I understand it correctly, now that our computers are much faster we should spill less tea." He smiled. "Interesting that zen empty mind and computational patterns have so much in common."

[James Carter]

[Starbase Columbus]

Mahak had stood to present himself before the Executive Officer just as he had in front of the second, but Carter seemed equally casual. He was also wearing civilian clothing. The Vulcan glanced down at his pressed within an inch of its life mustard yellow uniform and the tiniest bit of breath escaped from his nostrils in an inaudible sigh.

"It is agreeable to be here, sir." Mahak said. He had served with humans long enough to know when they were being emotional. Right now the crew of the Athena was in deep mourning. Doing so for a ship did not make much sense to Mahak, but he had enough sense to be elsewhere, fast.

"Where will I be assigned to, sir?" The Vulcan asked. He wanted to be anywhere but here.

[Observation Lounge 4]

James offered a small sigh as he looked over to see the Vesta taking off and realizing that there was a refit intrepid behind it. "Right there. To my knowledge the duty rosters haven't been filled out yet. I think we're probably going to be heading there in a few moments to shove off to her maiden voyage. Report to the bridge when we get there." Carter replied walking to stand next to the captain. "Cap, have we received orders on a new mission yet? I'm ready to get off this station."

[Leonard T. Scott]

[Observation Lounge 4]

Cat made to swat him away, but stopped mid swing, upon hearing his voice. The light Scottish brogue that snuck into his words always made her melt. Her hand lowered and brushed at the skirt of her dress.

"I... I'm fine." She stuttered, looking anywhere but his face. Her cheeks and ears still burned crimson. She wasn't sure how to talk to him, or what she could say to make him understand. It was a lot easier, advising other people on their problems than trying to muddle through her own.

[Observation Lounge 4]

"I'm glad," Leo replied. "I'm not mad at you. I just want to work past this and get back to the way we were. It was a bit stressful and I'm sorry if I came across a bit aggressively. I love you and don't want to lose you."

He hoped his honest would go a long way to smooth things over.

"Now, shall we make our way on board and get our quarters in order?"