S2 M3: The Okekai

[Isabella Waters]

[Mess Hall]

Isabella couldn't help but laugh as K'lizh called her 'whatever really.' "I suppose I walked into that one huh?" She said still smiling. "And yes, Dr. Kintiss and I met just shortly after I arrived on board during the last mission." Her face returned to it's standard resting position as she turned off the screen of the PADD and laid it on the table. Her eyes glanced over to Jada and Solluk and lingered for a few moments. Another tiny smile appeared on her face as her eyes scanned the two of them. Solluk she recognized from what she read in prior counselor's notes, but the Orion woman, she didn't recognize at all. Her eyes fixed on Jada a moment as she tried to get some kind of read in her, but her attention was cut short as she snapped back to the people nearest to her. "So, K'lizh, what department do you work in?"

[Ian Galloway]

[Bridge]

"I would imagine that all of the "character" is underwater, Lieutenant." Julia chuckled.

[Bridge]

Ian's face scrunched up as he processed the captain's statement and he shook his head as he replied.

"I believe I shall remain skeptical Ma'am about that, but I do agree, this should be an interesting assignment. I'd like ta volunteer ta pilot one of these aquashuttles that Mister Rylu has configured. Pilotin' is pilotin' and with Solluk turnin' coat on flight ops, you'll be needin' someone you can rely on at the helm Ma'am."

[Olivia Briggs]

[Ten Forward]

After familiarising herself with the inventory for Ten Forward, Olivia had moved onto arranging a staff meeting so she could meet everyone properly, not wanting it to be too formal after all she was the kind of boss who was fun but fair and always listened to and cared for those who worked for her. Once she was done with that she secured the PADD beneath the counter just as Tomas approached her.

" Olivia I've updated the menus with the Kitchen staff and Yanos in particular loves the idea of theme days although insists that you show him how to make Irish Stew and Colcannon"He said with a hint of a smile.

" I'm glad that he does and sure tell him I'll happily show him how to make it " She replied hoping that the crew would enjoy some of the family favourites she had learned to cook during her time in Ireland.

" He will be happy to hear it and it's good to have you finally here boss "He said making Olivia smile and as Tomas left for the Kitchen, she returned to behind the main counter ready to serve and chat to however wanted too.

[Naga Rylu]

[Bridge]

"I would imagine that all of the "character" is underwater, Lieutenant." Julia chuckled.

[Bridge]

"Excellent." Julia commented as she picked up a PADD and handed it to Naga. "I'll go ahead and add them to the team. I'm glad to hear your preliminary work is going so well. I still haven't decided who will be leading this mission, but these are the shuttle modifications that starfleet engineering recommended. I thought they may help your team make decisions."

Julia heard the door and looked up seeing a Commander in gold step off of the Turbo lift.

"Ahh Commander, welcome to the bridge." She noticed he seemed to be hanging back a bit. "Please commander, join us." Julia's face cringed a bit at the term Sir. Although she had grown accustomed to it she never really embraced the term. "I prefer Captain, if you don't mind."

Julia gestured to Naga. "Chief this is Commander Briggs. He is going to be taking on the role of Chief Engineer and he will also be in charge of those shuttle modifications that we discussed." Looking back to Kyle. "Dont worry Commander. We will discuss it at length here in a moment and this is CPO Naga Rylu, our Chief Science Officer."

[Bridge]

"Thank you, Captain."  She said, her spines twitching in pleasure before she turned towards the new arrival on deck.  Commander Briggs, a man she recognized, by scent if not by sight.  She'd met him briefly... a year ago?  On the Station.  "Commander Briggs."  She offered a clawed hand to shake as she dipped her head.  "It is an honor to be working with you, sir.  Would you care to look over the equipment list for this mission as well?"

[Kyle Briggs]

[Bridge]

"Ahh Commander, welcome to the bridge." She noticed he seemed to be hanging back a bit. "Please commander, join us." Julia's face cringed a bit at the term Sir. Although she had grown accustomed to it she never really embraced the term. "I prefer Captain, if you don't mind."

Julia gestured to Naga. "Chief this is Commander Briggs. He is going to be taking on the role of Chief Engineer and he will also be in charge of those shuttle modifications that we discussed." Looking back to Kyle. "Dont worry Commander. We will discuss it at length here in a moment and this is CPO Naga Rylu, our Chief Science Officer."

Kyle stepped down closer to the center of the Bridge. "Thank you, Captain." he said, using her preference. He looked as if he were missing something until she said they would discuss the modifications momentarily. He then turned his attention to the other officer that was present as he was introduced to her.

"Thank you, Captain."  She said, her spines twitching in pleasure before she turned towards the new arrival on deck.  Commander Briggs, a man she recognized, by scent if not by sight.  She'd met him briefly... a year ago?  On the Station.  "Commander Briggs."  She offered a clawed hand to shake as she dipped her head.  "It is an honor to be working with you, sir.  Would you care to look over the equipment list for this mission as well?"

"Chief. I believe we met briefly once before back on the Columbus. It's good to see you again. And to have the opportunity to work together." he replied. "Send it over if you would." he said of the equipment list, as he lifted the PADD he had brought with him

[Julia Rellek]

[Bridge]

Ian's face scrunched up as he processed the captain's statement and he shook his head as he replied.

"I believe I shall remain skeptical Ma'am about that, but I do agree, this should be an interesting assignment. I'd like ta volunteer ta pilot one of these aquashuttles that Mister Rylu has configured. Pilotin' is pilotin' and with Solluk turnin' coat on flight ops, you'll be needin' someone you can rely on at the helm Ma'am."

[Bridge]

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Lieutenant." Julia noted with a slight chuckle. "I had intended to volunteer you had you not stepped up. Will this be your first submarine?" She added.

[Bridge]

"Thank you, Captain."  She said, her spines twitching in pleasure before she turned towards the new arrival on deck.  Commander Briggs, a man she recognized, by scent if not by sight.  She'd met him briefly... a year ago?  On the Station.  "Commander Briggs."  She offered a clawed hand to shake as she dipped her head.  "It is an honor to be working with you, sir.  Would you care to look over the equipment list for this mission as well?"

"Thanks chief. I'll make sure the commander here sees to the shuttle prep for you. Why dont you go ahead and head for the shuttlebay. Start collecting the instruments you and your team needs to complete the research. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to invoke my 'Captains prerogative' and join you. I'd love to get a glimpse under that ocean for myself." She tapped Naga on the arm gently. "You can only learn so much from the sensors. Science is as much an  exploration of the senses. I want to see it!" She said leaning in and softening your tone. "Anyway, i'm going to have a brief word with the Commander in private. He'll catch up to you shortly in the shuttlebay." Julia added.

Kyle stepped down closer to the center of the Bridge. "Thank you, Captain." he said, using her preference. He looked as if he were missing something until she said they would discuss the modifications momentarily. He then turned his attention to the other officer that was present as he was introduced to her.

"Let's step into my ready room. We can discuss the shuttle modifications along with a few other things." She said with a warm smile as she gestured towards the door in the corner of the bridge.

"Ian, can you please take the bridge." Julia asked.

[Naga Rylu]

[Bridge]
Kyle stepped down closer to the center of the Bridge. "Thank you, Captain." he said, using her preference. He looked as if he were missing something until she said they would discuss the modifications momentarily. He then turned his attention to the other officer that was present as he was introduced to her.

"Chief. I believe we met briefly once before back on the Columbus. It's good to see you again. And to have the opportunity to work together." he replied. "Send it over if you would." he said of the equipment list, as he lifted the PADD he had brought with him

"Yes sir."  She replied, sending him a copy of her list with a flick of a claw.

[Bridge]

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Lieutenant." Julia noted with a slight chuckle. "I had intended to volunteer you had you not stepped up. Will this be your first submarine?" She added.

"Thanks chief. I'll make sure the commander here sees to the shuttle prep for you. Why dont you go ahead and head for the shuttlebay. Start collecting the instruments you and your team needs to complete the research. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to invoke my 'Captains prerogative' and join you. I'd love to get a glimpse under that ocean for myself." She tapped Naga on the arm gently. "You can only learn so much from the sensors. Science is as much an  exploration of the senses. I want to see it!" She said leaning in and softening your tone. "Anyway, i'm going to have a brief word with the Commander in private. He'll catch up to you shortly in the shuttlebay." Julia added.

"Let's step into my ready room. We can discuss the shuttle modifications along with a few other things." She said with a warm smile as she gestured towards the door in the corner of the bridge.

"Ian, can you please take the bridge." Julia asked.

The seven and a half foot tall reptillian woman was inordinately fond of her Captain by this point in time.  She nodded at her words, then backed up, "Then I will be on my way, Captain, Commander."  She said with a small bow before leaving the bridge, and heading down to the shuttle bay. 

[Ian Galloway]

[Bridge]

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Lieutenant." Julia noted with a slight chuckle. "I had intended to volunteer you had you not stepped up. Will this be your first submarine?" She added.

"Thanks chief. I'll make sure the commander here sees to the shuttle prep for you. Why dont you go ahead and head for the shuttlebay. Start collecting the instruments you and your team needs to complete the research. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to invoke my 'Captains prerogative' and join you. I'd love to get a glimpse under that ocean for myself." She tapped Naga on the arm gently. "You can only learn so much from the sensors. Science is as much an  exploration of the senses. I want to see it!" She said leaning in and softening your tone. "Anyway, i'm going to have a brief word with the Commander in private. He'll catch up to you shortly in the shuttlebay." Julia added.

"Let's step into my ready room. We can discuss the shuttle modifications along with a few other things." She said with a warm smile as she gestured towards the door in the corner of the bridge.

"Ian, can you please take the bridge." Julia asked.

[Bridge]

Ian beamed at the captain's offer, as despite loving his assignment as chief helmsman, he'd yet to have left the ship on an away mission and he was itching to get off the ship for the first time in months.

"I wouldna have it any other way, and aye, it would be my first submarine trip Ma'am."

Ian stepped to the captain's chair and smiled.

"I have the bridge Ma'am."

Taking a seat, he looked across the bridge and thought.

"One day. One day this will be my place."

[Kyle Briggs]

[Bridge]

"Yes sir."  She replied, sending him a copy of her list with a flick of a claw.

The seven and a half foot tall reptillian woman was inordinately fond of her Captain by this point in time.  She nodded at her words, then backed up, "Then I will be on my way, Captain, Commander."  She said with a small bow before leaving the bridge, and heading down to the shuttle bay.

"Thanks chief. I'll make sure the commander here sees to the shuttle prep for you. Why dont you go ahead and head for the shuttlebay. Start collecting the instruments you and your team needs to complete the research. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to invoke my 'Captains prerogative' and join you. I'd love to get a glimpse under that ocean for myself." She tapped Naga on the arm gently. "You can only learn so much from the sensors. Science is as much an  exploration of the senses. I want to see it!" She said leaning in and softening your tone. "Anyway, i'm going to have a brief word with the Commander in private. He'll catch up to you shortly in the shuttlebay." Julia added.

"Let's step into my ready room. We can discuss the shuttle modifications along with a few other things." She said with a warm smile as she gestured towards the door in the corner of the bridge.

"Ian, can you please take the bridge." Julia asked.

Kyle glanced up from his PADD. "Yes, Captain." he replied before looking over at the Science Officer. "I'll be with you as soon as I can, Chief." he said as he began to follow the Captain toward her Ready Room. The doors parted as they approached and he waited for her to enter first. He had continued reading the PADD as he walked and his interest had grown. "This planet sounds interesting, Captain." he said as the doors closed behind them.

[Julia Rellek]

[Bridge]

Ian beamed at the captain's offer, as despite loving his assignment as chief helmsman, he'd yet to have left the ship on an away mission and he was itching to get off the ship for the first time in months.

"I wouldna have it any other way, and aye, it would be my first submarine trip Ma'am."

Ian stepped to the captain's chair and smiled.

"I have the bridge Ma'am."

Taking a seat, he looked across the bridge and thought.

"One day. One day this will be my place."

[Bridge]

Julia headed towards her ready room and stopped just as she crossed the threshold. She turned back and made eye contact with Ian. "And Lieutenant, can you please hail the Okekai and request permission to enter orbit." She ordered just as she stepped into her ready room.

Kyle glanced up from his PADD. "Yes, Captain." he replied before looking over at the Science Officer. "I'll be with you as soon as I can, Chief." he said as he began to follow the Captain toward her Ready Room. The doors parted as they approached and he waited for her to enter first. He had continued reading the PADD as he walked and his interest had grown. "This planet sounds interesting, Captain." he said as the doors closed behind them.

[Ready Room]

"Thank you Commander." Julia said as she stepped around her desk and picked up her coffee cup. She took a sip and let out an audible sigh of relief. "I don't know what I would do without this stuff." Julia chuckled as she sat the cup back down and sat in her chair. Her desk was in it's usual state, covered in PADDs that spanned everything from duty rosters to the origins of the universe and a fascinating new theory regarding Omega. "Somewhere... on this... desk.... is..." Julia dug through the dozens of PADDs looking for the specifications from Starfleet. "Ah here it is. Pardon the mess Commander." Julia handed the PADD to Kyle. "This arrived yesterday from the Starfleet Corpse of Engineers. It's specifications to convert a type nine shuttle to make it.... well seaworthy. My question is, can we adapt these to a runabout? I want to send more than four people and the runabouts have far better scanning and diagnostic equipment." She knew this would certainly be hard for any engineer but she was knew it would be especially complicated for a new Chief on a galaxy class vessel. It's always difficult to adapt to a new team but Commander Briggs had a team of nearly 200 and he had only met a fraction of them. However, Julia knew from his service record that he wasn't just any chief... He was immensely qualified in every sense of the word and beyond. Not to mention the other leaders in the department were well acquainted with their teams and were strong seasoned leaders in their own respects.   

[Ian Galloway]

[Bridge]

Julia headed towards her ready room and stopped just as she crossed the threshold. She turned back and made eye contact with Ian. "And Lieutenant, can you please hail the Okekai and request permission to enter orbit." She ordered just as she stepped into her ready room.

[Bridge]

"Aye Ma'am! We'll hold down the fort."

Ian waited until the captain entered her ready room, then spoke to the ops officer.

"Please hail the planet and offer the captain's complements. Might as well be friendly and make a good impression."

As he waited for a reply, Ian checked the captain's display to verify all systems and stations were reporting ready, which he knew would be before he looked, but it felt amazing to be sitting center seat and he planned to make the most of it while it lasted.

[Naga Rylu]

[Hallway, on the way to shuttlebay]

"Ensign Franklin, Crewman DeWinter, please finish prepping the cargo for transport and report to the Shuttlebay."

"Yes Ma'am.  We'll see you soon, Chief."

Satisfied, the Gorn picked up the pace, and shortly after arrived at her destination.

She hadn't been here very much over the last year or so.  Too much time dealing with family matters, or experiments, or dealing with trajectory matters during skirmishes.  She found the corners of her mouth curving up in a close-mouthed approximation of a human smile, a habit she'd begun to pick up to help reassure her subordinates they were doing a good job.  Gorn did not bare their teeth in joy, as humans did.  It was a threat, clear and simple.  But, humans were not the best at picking up typical gornish body language for approval.  So, she tried to... adjust her habits for them.  The results were mixed.  The smile was new, and it still needed work.  One new crewman had paled when she tried it on him, and she learned later that she had 'looked like she was wondering how he would taste with ketchup'.  She had to look up the word later.  She did not particularly think this was a good aplication of that idiom, as tomatoes and their by-products were not generally part of a healthy Gorn diet.  Franklin had joked that they'd better leave Italian food off the menu for the annual department party in that case.

She also had to look up Italian food.  She had to agree with his assessment.

She looked over the various shuttles, though she was trying to stay out of the way, and hoped she would be making more frequent trips here in the future.

[Kyle Briggs]

[Ready Room]

"Thank you Commander." Julia said as she stepped around her desk and picked up her coffee cup. She took a sip and let out an audible sigh of relief. "I don't know what I would do without this stuff." Julia chuckled as she sat the cup back down and sat in her chair. Her desk was in it's usual state, covered in PADDs that spanned everything from duty rosters to the origins of the universe and a fascinating new theory regarding Omega. "Somewhere... on this... desk.... is..." Julia dug through the dozens of PADDs looking for the specifications from Starfleet. "Ah here it is. Pardon the mess Commander." Julia handed the PADD to Kyle. "This arrived yesterday from the Starfleet Corpse of Engineers. It's specifications to convert a type nine shuttle to make it.... well seaworthy. My question is, can we adapt these to a runabout? I want to send more than four people and the runabouts have far better scanning and diagnostic equipment." She knew this would certainly be hard for any engineer but she was knew it would be especially complicated for a new Chief on a galaxy class vessel. It's always difficult to adapt to a new team but Commander Briggs had a team of nearly 200 and he had only met a fraction of them. However, Julia knew from his service record that he wasn't just any chief... He was immensely qualified in every sense of the word and beyond. Not to mention the other leaders in the department were well acquainted with their teams and were strong seasoned leaders in their own respects.

Kyle accepted the PADD and began scanning over it as she continued to talk. It was very intriguing and different form anything he had ever done before.

"Well. Room won't be an issue, Captain. The Runabout is bigger than the Type 9 so we can send as many people as you want. The space for equipment and modifications is there as well. I don't see anything here that we can't replicate and modify to make it work. With your permission, I'd like to get started right away." he said. "It may take a day maybe 2 and we're already arriving. I'm sure you'll want to get started right away."

The Captain dismissed him to get his teams started. He slapped his comm badge after exiting the Ready Room. He new exactly who he needed in this one.

=/\=Lieutenant Solluck. This is Commander Briggs. Meet me Engineering right away.

[Engineering]

A few moments later he entered Engineering and went straight to one of the wall consoles so he could bring up the schematics in a bigger image. He knew Solluck would be there shortly.

[Solluk]

[Ten Forward]

Lieutenant Solluk. This is Commander Briggs. Meet me Engineering right away.

Solluk shifted his gaze from Jada and tapped his badge, "Acknowledged and en-route."

He'd have to patch things up with her later.   It seemed that his first official duties as an Engineer were about to begin.

[Engineering]

Shortly thereafter, Solluk strode into Engineering and sidled up next to Commander Briggs, whose eyes were upon the largest displays, viewing a rather remarkable schematic.

"Adjusted Structural Integrity fields, additional structural braces along key points in the hull, new hydraulic pumps in a revised airlock system, the addition of hybrid fuel regulators and hydro-magnetic nozzles for the reaction-control-thrusters... I had wondered how we were getting to the underwater domains of the planet."

He glanced to the Commander, "Have I mentioned that I recently rebuilt a Type Six shuttle from the ground up in order to keep my skillset honed?"

He clearly wanted the assignment of helping to modify one of the Tempest's craft for aquatic operations.

[Klizh]

[Mess Hall]

Isabella couldn't help but laugh as K'lizh called her 'whatever really.' "I suppose I walked into that one huh?" She said still smiling. "And yes, Dr. Kintiss and I met just shortly after I arrived on board during the last mission." Her face returned to it's standard resting position as she turned off the screen of the PADD and laid it on the table. Her eyes glanced over to Jada and Solluk and lingered for a few moments. Another tiny smile appeared on her face as her eyes scanned the two of them. Solluk she recognized from what she read in prior counselor's notes, but the Orion woman, she didn't recognize at all. Her eyes fixed on Jada a moment as she tried to get some kind of read in her, but her attention was cut short as she snapped back to the people nearest to her. "So, K'lizh, what department do you work in?"

"Operations," he answered, fearing it would sound like bragging if he stated he was chief. She would find out soon enough. "I am the buffer between all the other departments. While I make sure everyone cooperates, you make sure we are capable of doing so."