Athena Mission 2.9: Perfect Paradise

[James Carter]

[Captain's Quarters]

Carter followed his daily routine to a tee. Wake up, shower, get dressed, read his messages, and prepare for his next shift. At the end of the routine was a part that he'd been doing long before he joined the Athena, and he assumed he'd do long after he'd retired. He grabbed his wrist watch and clicked the metal band tight. Thus time though, his eye caught something sitting on his dresser that he hadn't noticed before. A decanter full of whiskey with no note in front of it. He could only assume that it was Admiral Lafayette's last gift to him before she departed. Something he'd have to ask about later. But now, he had a ship to run.

[Bridge]

It didn't take long for the captain to step onto the bridge, the biggest perk of living only two decks down. The officer sitting in his chair rose and began to move out of the way until James motioned for him to stay. The closest turbolift stop to his ready room was the bridge, so he tended to just cut through.

[Ready Room]

It still took getting use to that this was now HIS office. His office before was fine, but a Captain's ready room was something people dreamed of in the Academy. Not Carter though. When he went through officer training he just wanted to serve for a few years and return home. The now-Captain stumbled into responsibility all throughout his career. Something he reflected on every time he took his seats both on the bridge and in this office.

Captain's Log,

The Athena is on a routine patrol of the gamma quadrant. As far as missions go, this one serves the least amount of opportunities for something remarkable to happen. After the countless missions we've had now, these are the ones I find most trying. The boring ones. I can't even find enough to say about this mission to fill out a normal log. Sometimes I wonder why we have to do these.

End Log

[Susan Venator]

Mess Hall

Suzie entered the Mess Hall after finishing her morning exercise and meditation. Looking at the chronometer she saw she had plenty of time to eat before her shift started. Picking up a tray, she went over to one of the replicators.

"4 rashers of smoked, rind less bacon, 3 lean Lincolnshire sausages, 3 poached eggs, 4 half grilled tomatoes, cooked mushrooms and baked beans. Also a rack of wholewheat toast, low fat spread and marmalade. A pot of tea and a large glass of cranberry juice." She ordered.

Seconds later her order appeared. She loaded it onto the tray and collecting cutlery she took a seat at one of the empty tables. She had managed 5 miles in the gym that morning and she was ravenous. Settling down in her seat, she began to eat.

[Katheryn Brighton]

[Deck 2 - Caleb & Katheryn's Quarters]

With her not having to be on shift for another couple of hours, Katheryn could found on the bed she shared with Caleb trying to entice Buddy their kitten with his favourite mouse on a stick toy but he was having none of it as he laid across her abdomen. She had to admit his little warm body and the sound of him purring against her was both cute and comforting in a way and wasn't about to move him.

Ever since the last mission he had been a little more clingy than usual especially with Katheryn and she didn't know whether it was because they were busier than they normally would due to the infestation of spiders and other creatures that had plagued the ship or whether he had sensed that she hadn't quite been herself lately. If it was the latter than she had put it down to her role as Chief of Security. She had considered talking to her husband to be about how was feeling knowing that he would have one of his jungle remedies to help her but at the same time didn't want to worry him.

Another reason why she hadn't was the fact that they were finalising the details of their wedding which was due to take place in just over four weeks and maybe that was a factor in how she had been feeling to with the excitement of finally becoming Mrs Brighton. Whatever the cause no doubt if it got worse she would do something about it. Plus she wanted to celebrate her recent promotion to Lt Commander which had been a pleasant shock and hoped that they could have time together to do that whether if it was in the Mess Hall or their quarters.

But maybe she could ask him that when she visited him as she did promise to call by his office. With them often being on different shift rotations, they made the most of the time they did get to spend together and never broke a promise to one another. It was then that she checked the chronometer and realised that she needed to get dressed and head down to Sickbay so carefully picked up Buddy and placed him in the pet carrier and gave him one of his treats. Then she got up and pulled out a fresh uniform before getting ready stopping for a moment to pin her new pips on her collar and brush her long blonde hair.

Once finished she picked up the pet carrier and headed out of their quarters and into a waiting turbolift.

[Sickbay - CMO's Office]

After a short lift ride, Katheryn got out and walked along the corridor to Sickbay and as the doors swished back spotted Wendy, Al and Edward, greeting them all with a friendly wave and Hello as they carried on with their duties before walking across the med bay to Caleb's office where she pressed the door chime and waited.

[Naira]

[Executive Officer's Office]

Naira had spent much of the last few weeks in her office going through paperwork and duty rosters. The insects that had infested the ship had not only done a number to the ship's systems, but they had also put a number of the crew temporarily out of commission as they recovered from various bites, stings and other injuries. The Computer Core had to be rid of a mass of dead organic material, the ventilation system had to be scrubbed and Sickbay had to be completely disinfected. Normally, not that ridding the ship of the aftermath of an infestation was normal, they would have had a full crew to do so, but as it was, they had been seeing to most of the repairs and cleanup with only half the crew.

She had been busy trying to keep track of who had been injured, who was still recovering and who was fit for work. Regular shift rotations had been thrown out of wack as members of the crew were being reassigned day-to-day to fill in for any missing gaps where a team member was still out of commission.

It was tiring work, but as she told herself, someone had to do it.

Luckily, things were starting to return to normal. Naira had gotten little sleep during the recovery effort and as she realized just then, she had been going hours without eating and even letting her light therapy treatments go by the wayside. It was no wonder she wasn't feeling well. Inwardly, she chided herself as a doctor she knew how important it was that she take care of herself, but as usual she was putting the well-being of her fellow crewmates above herself.

I'll take just a quick break, she said to herself.

She pushed her chair back, stood up and left her office.

Mess Hall

Suzie entered the Mess Hall after finishing her morning exercise and meditation. Looking at the chronometer she saw she had plenty of time to eat before her shift started. Picking up a tray, she went over to one of the replicators.

"4 rashers of smoked, rind less bacon, 3 lean Lincolnshire sausages, 3 poached eggs, 4 half grilled tomatoes, cooked mushrooms and baked beans. Also a rack of wholewheat toast, low fat spread and marmalade. A pot of tea and a large glass of cranberry juice." She ordered.

Seconds later her order appeared. She loaded it onto the tray and collecting cutlery she took a seat at one of the empty tables. She had managed 5 miles in the gym that morning and she was ravenous. Settling down in her seat, she began to eat.

[Mess Hall]

When she entered the Mess Hall, she was assaulted by a number of very pungent smells from an assortment of different foods the various officers and crewmen were currently eating, combined with whatever was cooking in the kitchen. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea. Her stomach grumbled and while the strong aromas made her feel sick, she knew she needed to eat something. Hopefully, the Mess Hall manager would have had time to familiarize herself with one of the nutritional shakes that she had come to depend on.

She approached the counter and waited patiently for someone to take her order.   

[Ashlynn Ren Morgaine]

[Mess Hall - Kitchen]

Ash crouched by the shelf and slid a heavy crate towards the front, clicking open the latches and rummaging through the contents in search of something. With a few seconds, a bit of digging, and some muttered phrases, the mess hall manager eventually extracted her arm, holding a small canister labeled "Cinnamon." Hopping to her feet, she moved to the counter and started humming a lilting tune under her breath. She then uncapped the canister, and shook out a healthy dusting of cinnamon over the tray in front of her. She did the same for three more trays, then finished the job with a flair of the wrist, sending a final arc of fragrant powder into the air before closing the canister with a snap.

Leaving the cinnamon on the table, Ash picked up the trays and slid their cinnamon-coated contents into bowls, which she placed on a tray that was already half-filled with bowls.

Grabbing the finished product, Ash backed into the kitchen doors and slid out into the dining room of the hall. Noticing the Orion woman waiting at the bar, Ash walked over there first, carefully setting down her tray upon arrival. "Hello, you must be the new Commander. I met your daughters already... Can I get you anything?"

[Kyle Bytes]

[computer core]

Kyle had decided to step up the plate to volunteer to help to clean. He grew up being a hard worker. He knew to be more a team player you help more. It was a good way to keep your mind wondering back to the insects. He was very lucky. So he did not want to think on it. Avoiding the mess hall was helping as not sleeping much too.

Work was the best medicine. Work keeps you alert. But being awake made you hungry too. The bugs had made him want to skip food. Hot food. He was afraid of insects coming out.

He took up the extra shift for operations on the bridge. It was cool to be on the bridge too. The opportunity was there he took it. Just hope he does not pass out from not much sleep.

[Bridge]

The turbo lifts had opened. The Ensign stood there was his eyes traced the bridge on the right to the big screen. That was a awesome site. The sight was almost good as the mess hall. The bridge was a sweet location.

Fighting a yawn, he went to the Operations console to relieve the crew member there. He sat down to go to work. It was something he was good at. He could not stop stealing looks to outer space and the Captain's Chair. He would never be fit for it, unless he was the last survivor on the ship. He would not had to stutter orders out. It was a handicap that he had hated but still could not over come it cause the implants in his head. It was so bad he felt the last Captain ran away from him. It was not true, but in a way deep inside. His low self esteem thinks that.

[Naira]

[Mess Hall - Kitchen]

Ash crouched by the shelf and slid a heavy crate towards the front, clicking open the latches and rummaging through the contents in search of something. With a few seconds, a bit of digging, and some muttered phrases, the mess hall manager eventually extracted her arm, holding a small canister labeled "Cinnamon." Hopping to her feet, she moved to the counter and started humming a lilting tune under her breath. She then uncapped the canister, and shook out a healthy dusting of cinnamon over the tray in front of her. She did the same for three more trays, then finished the job with a flair of the wrist, sending a final arc of fragrant powder into the air before closing the canister with a snap.

Leaving the cinnamon on the table, Ash picked up the trays and slid their cinnamon-coated contents into bowls, which she placed on a tray that was already half-filled with bowls.

Grabbing the finished product, Ash backed into the kitchen doors and slid out into the dining room of the hall. Noticing the Orion woman waiting at the bar, Ash walked over there first, carefully setting down her tray upon arrival. "Hello, you must be the new Commander. I met your daughters already... Can I get you anything?"

[Mess Hall]

"Why yes, I am Commander Naira."

Naira greeted the woman with a smile. She had heard from her daughters about the incident in the Cargo Bay and how they had agreed to help out the medical team in the middle of an emergency. She had been proud of them, even though they had disobeyed her orders. Motherhood had been an interesting experience for her. Her girls brought out a wave of different emotions in her and it felt as if each and every day she was learning something new, both about them and herself.

She casually glanced at the assortment of food that the Mess Hall manager was bringing out. However, the combination of sweet and spiciness of fruit concoction was not something she thought she could stomach. She tended to prefer blander foods in general.

"You wouldn't happen to have received the recipes I sent you for my special nutritional shakes? I can't really stomach most of rich flavors and spices of Human foods. If not, I'd be willing to try any Klingon or Ferengi foods you might have."

It was going to take some getting used to the fact that she no longer had the many varied options of different eateries that the starbase had had. Though most of her food came in the form of liquefied combinations of moss, lichen, algae, fungi and small insects or crustaceans.

[Arrun Dihsar]

[Mess Hall]

Sitting at a table facing the stars, Arrun was studying a PADD of the latest navigational data of the ship's patrol. With Lt. Scott back aboard, the rotations for bridge duty had changed a little and had Arrun back to standby shuttle duty, helm data study, and verification of the course ahead. Most of it would be finalized by Lt. Scott of course, but someone needed to analyze and plot the course; if only to avoid any nasty surprises on the course ahead. Though, given the standard patrol route, it was more difficult to find anything wrong than it was to confirm that the course itself was safe. The odd quasar or nebula would be noted, but nothing quite too outlandish jumped out at him, nor did he think it would.

Arrun barely raised his head when Lt.Cmdr. Naira came in, too focused on his work and pausing only to sip on his jumja herbal tea.

[Sharhira Dravor]

[Turbolift]
Sharhira rang her slender hands over one another, it wasn't like her to be this nervous. She'd been in space plenty of times but this was the first time she'd been on a starship as more than just a passenger. She took a deep breath in and dropped in to the first couple of stances of the Mok'bara.

Suddenly the turbolift doors hiss open and the cadet bolts back to standing to attention in the turbolift car.

[Bridge]
It was fortunate Andorian's didn't blush, and she was fairly sure the embarrassment her antennae displayed would be far from common knowledge amongst those who weren't her people. Still she made a quick beeline straight from the turbolift door to the Ready Room. Tapping the door chime and standing staring at the door, trying not to draw too much more attention to herself.

[Kyle Bytes]

[Turbolift]
Sharhira rang her slender hands over one another, it wasn't like her to be this nervous. She'd been in space plenty of times but this was the first time she'd been on a starship as more than just a passenger. She took a deep breath in and dropped in to the first couple of stances of the Mok'bara.

Suddenly the turbolift doors hiss open and the cadet bolts back to standing to attention in the turbolift car.

[Bridge]
It was fortunate Andorian's didn't blush, and she was fairly sure the embarrassment her antennae displayed would be far from common knowledge amongst those who weren't her people. Still she made a quick beeline straight from the turbolift door to the Ready Room. Tapping the door chime and standing staring at the door, trying not to draw too much more attention to herself.

[Bridge]

Turbo doors had opened and Kyle had to take a look. He saw humanoid bug rush to the ready room. Kyle ‘s heart beat was beating fast cause the antenna on the female head had made him jump conclusions. His right hand smacked his face for the idiot he was.

Stupid me, Kyle thought. Exhausted from lack of sleep had made the Ensign's imagination go off to horror world. He shook it off laughed at his own stupidity and went back to work.

[James Carter]

[Turbolift]
Sharhira rang her slender hands over one another, it wasn't like her to be this nervous. She'd been in space plenty of times but this was the first time she'd been on a starship as more than just a passenger. She took a deep breath in and dropped in to the first couple of stances of the Mok'bara.

Suddenly the turbolift doors hiss open and the cadet bolts back to standing to attention in the turbolift car.

[Bridge]
It was fortunate Andorian's didn't blush, and she was fairly sure the embarrassment her antennae displayed would be far from common knowledge amongst those who weren't her people. Still she made a quick beeline straight from the turbolift door to the Ready Room. Tapping the door chime and standing staring at the door, trying not to draw too much more attention to herself.

[Ready Room]

James sat silently a moment, trying frantically to remember if he had missed a meeting or something worse. There was nothing he could think of...but that didn't mean he hadn't messed up. He shook his head quickly realizing that just sitting and thinking about it was getting him nowhere. "Door's open." He had never really thought about how strange that saying was until now. The door was literally not open, but the phrase in its context still was true. Then on top of that he began to wonder if other species would even understand the saying or if he needed to just rephrase the sentence all together.

[Caleb Brighton]

[ Medical Bay - Caleb's Office ]

In the time since the infestation, work was never ending for Caleb and his staff. After the sterilization of the sick bay, there was an influx of patients who needed medical assistance thanks to the various insects that caused havoc. He was very thankful for his main staff for stepping up while the rest recovered. He knew they were just as exhausted as him, many pulling double shifts initially to make sure patients got the care they needed. He was just finished reading the results of the latest batch if blood tests when he looked up from his PADD. On his desk sat four picture frames. One was of him and Katheryn, his lovely wife to be. One was a photo of the time they were Cal and Kay. The next frame was a split bi-fold frame. One side featured him and his close friend Jenna with their late friend Alice and her brother Mitchel. The other side of the bi-fold was of Jenna and her new girlfriend Molly that was taken at their favorite bar on the Starbase Columbus. The last frame contained a photo of him and Catrin. He was saddened to learn of her departure from the Athena, but made her promise to make it to the wedding.

He looked over his office and much had changed since he took over. He kept it professional of course, but decorated it with a few plants he acquired from his time as a jungle doctor at the free clinic. He wanted it to feel like his office back at the jungle. Though he was glad he came back to the Fleet and was glad Ben no longer had any influence over him, he did miss the jungles sometimes. He was glad, however, that the steady pay allowed him to help fund the clinic back home.

After a short lift ride, Katheryn got out and walked along the corridor to Sickbay and as the doors swished back spotted Wendy, Al and Edward, greeting them all with a friendly wave and Hello as they carried on with their duties before walking across the med bay to Caleb's office where she pressed the door chime and waited.

"Come in," He said. He took a sip of his whiskey that was sitting on the table. He was no heavy drinker, but he knew he needed a little sip now and again to de-stress. He was never drunk enough to not perform his duties. While he waited for his guest, he turned his attention toward the door. 

[Susan Venator]

[Mess Hall]

Sitting at a table facing the stars, Arrun was studying a PADD of the latest navigational data of the ship's patrol. With Lt. Scott back aboard, the rotations for bridge duty had changed a little and had Arrun back to standby shuttle duty, helm data study, and verification of the course ahead. Most of it would be finalized by Lt. Scott of course, but someone needed to analyze and plot the course; if only to avoid any nasty surprises on the course ahead. Though, given the standard patrol route, it was more difficult to find anything wrong than it was to confirm that the course itself was safe. The odd quasar or nebula would be noted, but nothing quite too outlandish jumped out at him, nor did he think it would.

Arrun barely raised his head when Lt.Cmdr. Naira came in, too focused on his work and pausing only to sip on his jumja herbal tea.

Mess Hall

Suzie was in the middle of her breakfast when she noticed Arrun sitting nearby studying a PADD.

"Anything interesting?" She asked.

[Katheryn Brighton]

[ Medical Bay - Caleb's Office ]
"Come in," He said. He took a sip of his whiskey that was sitting on the table. He was no heavy drinker, but he knew he needed a little sip now and again to de-stress. He was never drunk enough to not perform his duties. While he waited for his guest, he turned his attention toward the door.

[Medical Bay - Caleb's Office]

Katheryn smiled hearing her beloveds voice and as the door slid back that smile remained as she then walked in still holding Buddy in his pet carrier and if Caleb looked closely enough you could just see the pendant he had given her at their engagement party tucked just underneath her uniform top. She noted the glass of whiskey and that he must be using the gift that he and Catrin had gotten him to celebrate his double promotion and wished Catrin was still aboard the Athena but understood when it came to reassignments and both of them missed her although were glad that Leo had returned.

" Hey my love as promised I'm here to see you before my shift starts along with a certain Kitten who has been laid over my abdomen since I woke up again " she replied as she set the carrier down on his desk before walking round then as she got closer leaned down to kiss him.

 

[Arrun Dihsar]

Mess Hall

Suzie was in the middle of her breakfast when she noticed Arrun sitting nearby studying a PADD.

"Anything interesting?" She asked.

[Mess Hall]

As Arrun looked up to address Venator, she could see a small disc with pulsing lights on his neck -a neurocortical monitor. Since his strange persona switch episode during the insect incident, Arrun's brainwaves were still under remote observation to watch for anouther incident. Though the 'yellow voice' had been helpful during the incident, both Arrun and Dr. Brighton needed to know what exactly they were dealing with.

"Good morning, Lt. Venator," Arrun began as he forced his smile over to her. "Just checking over the ship's flight plan and navigational charts. I would say the Lithol Quasar was especially interesting, if it hadn't been charted by at least two other science vessels." He said as a bit of weak humor. Try as he might, there was still that hint of terror in the back of his mind of what the Prophets had shown him. Being pulled from his work, his mind had drifted into dwelling on it; so instead, he focused on Venator. "How are you this morning?"