Season 11: Episode 2 - Diplomatic Disaster

[Kyle Briggs]

Bridge

Captain's Log

After a short stay at Starbase Columbia for repairs and crew assignments, the Discovery picked up a Federation Diplomat and her envoy and has been dispatched to the Dazasan Sector for a first contact mission. It took eight days to arrive and another three before the Dazasanians would come aboard. They have now been meeting for almost a full week. Things seem to be going well for the Diplomats but the boredom of the crew can be felt every where I go. I'd almost wish for some action but you know that old Earth saying, "Be careful what you wish for." For now, slow and steady will suffice and the Science Department can get some readings of the area.

Kyle stood to stretch his legs and walked over to his new Chief Science Officer. "Finding anything interesting Mister Tekin?" he asked.

[James A. Hawke]

[James' Quarters]

James sat in front of his desk looking intently at the wedding ring he had in his hands.  The ring made out of solid 24karat yellow gold looked traditional and simple. Engraved inside of the ring was the name of James and his spouse with the year of their wedding 2395.  It almost seemed weird to hold something that was created in the "future".  Hawke wondered how the ring would register in carbon dating.

In reality, Hawke spent the entire night staring and looking at his wedding ring.  His eyes showed their evidence with some bags and gray circles.  He could not help wonder how different his life was, yet at the same time things are similar.  However, the details were different and the devil is in the details.

The Starfleet Officer stopped looking at the ring.  He held said ring into the palms of his hand and proceeded to close his hand with a tight fist.  He placed his fist into his heart and thought to himself.

"I am sorry...I am sorry"

As he finished he grabbed the ring and placed it in a lock box on top of his desk.  He did not want anyone to see it.

He turned his chair around and grabbed an Engineer's Kit that was lying on the floor.  He had been working almost every extra shift that he could find.  He wanted to keep busy for two reasons.  And one of them he had to address right now.

He placed the Engineer's Kit strap diagonally across his chest with the top of the strap laying in left shoulder and the kit resting in his right hip.  Before leaving his Quarters he requested a message

"Computer....send a Message to Chief Medical Officer Lt Elizabeth Vaughan...low priority.  Please accept my apologies for my fifth cancellation with the Medical Staff; Lt Anton Lichter needed someone to inspect the Bio Neural Gel Pack and once again I picked up another shift.  I apologize for the inconvenience.  Sincerely Lt. Jg. James Hawke."

With that James left his Quarters.

[Jefferys Tube]

James laid on the Jeffrey's Tube. He taken almost everyone shift in trying to keep himself

As he opened the compartment the bio neural packs were revealed.  Hawke knew that two of them failed and it was highly unusual that such an event would occur.  He turned on his tricorder and began taking readings.

[Lizzie Vaughan]

CMO's Office

Lizzie was going over the medical reports of the crew. Everyone, who was still on-board at any rate, was recovering well from the effects and side effects of the control beam. She had gathered enormous amounts of data and was compiling it, ready to be transmitted to a team of Doctors and Scientists on Earth, who had been assembled to go into the very pressing problem of what had occurred. She went through the full roster, to make sure there were no missing crew-members. There were a few, but most had not been added by accident but one, Lieutenant Hawke, had not even reported for scanning. This concerned her as not only did she need a full picture, but it appeared he had not even sought treatment. She was about to call him on the com when a message came in low priority.

"Computer....send a Message to Chief Medical Officer Lt Elizabeth Vaughan...low priority.  Please accept my apologies for my fifth cancellation with the Medical Staff; Lt Anton Lichter needed someone to inspect the Bio Neural Gel Pack and once again I picked up another shift.  I apologize for the inconvenience.  Sincerely Lt. Jg. James Hawke."

Lizzie frowned. The man was always coming up with excuses why he could not come to sickbay. She had now had more than enough. She tapped her com-badge.

=/\=Vaughan to Hawke. Under Starfleet Regulation 121 Section A, you are hearby releaved of duty effective immediately and you are to report directly to Sickbay. If you do not arrive in sickbay within 30 minutes, security will be dispatched to escort you and a note will be added to your permanent file. Vaughan out!=/\=

Lizzie got up and headed into sickbay to monitor the time. She did not want to involve security, but would do so if he did not report on time.

[Tekin Nevir]

Bridge

Captain's Log

After a short stay at Starbase Columbia for repairs and crew assignments, the Discovery picked up a Federation Diplomat and her envoy and has been dispatched to the Dazasan Sector for a first contact mission. It took eight days to arrive and another three before the Dazasanians would come aboard. They have now been meeting for almost a full week. Things seem to be going well for the Diplomats but the boredom of the crew can be felt every where I go. I'd almost wish for some action but you know that old Earth saying, "Be careful what you wish for." For now, slow and steady will suffice and the Science Department can get some readings of the area.

Kyle stood to stretch his legs and walked over to his new Chief Science Officer. "Finding anything interesting Mister Tekin?" he asked.

[Bridge]

Ineligible for Command

Those words haunted his record more than the court-martial he received.  Official court-martial that is.  In essence he was one probation, and it was stressed that his actions would reflect on Captain Briggs.  It was also a stipulation that he had restricted access to non-essential information.  They were really taking these accusations seriously.

In the meantime, he was back doing what he loved.. studying the planets in the system.  Specifically the one they were orbiting.  He was working on the database for the records, including using information their science administration had gathered on their planet.  Some interesting information was how they channels natural events to protect the population, but also recognizing when the land needed to be rejuvenated.

"There is a lot of volcanic activity in the southern hemisphere.  One of their plates is moving at an astonishing centimeter per minute.  A storm system on their north eastern continent is producing some good sized storms.  And the core is gaining momentum slowly following their last reversal.  Otherwise... about the same as yesterday.  And last week, for that matter." he said, trying to hide the boredom that seemed to rub off the crew.  He had stuff to do, but it was tedious when it was the same kind of changes.

It also didn't help that he was feeling very lonely with recent events... and that he felt like a pariah on the ship.

[Jiseth]

[Jiseth's Quarters]

There was a sense of magnificent desolation in a place that was supposed to be a warm and inviting living space. She had no time to return home to reclaim her personal items, what little remained anyway. Her family on Earth was told the likelihood that she would return nearly nonexistent. Such is to be expected when shuttles explode, then hit the ground and explode again.

The Romulan did, however, find a registry for her own grave site and watched a recording of a funeral which allowed her loved ones to cope with her disappearance. After seeing her own distraught mother and sister finally having a sense of closure as well as her brother giving a surprisingly stirring eulogy, for now she thought it best to remain dead to them. At least for this first mission. It was a gamble in the hopes no one was peaking at her record and seeing her assigned to a new ship. A new identity would have been nice though people in Hell surely want ice water and no one can have everything.

Her left foot was propped up on her desk while her right was bent back onto the cushion of her chair while she fiddled around with the internal mechanics of her leg. Jiseth had gotten used to the sight now of what appeared to be flesh covering metal and circuitry. She could barely hear the sound of the tiny socket wrench clicking as she tightened a carbon fiber tendon to its servo arm. The room was full of jazz music to help shut out all other noise. The screeching saxophone solo made sure of that and she would not be surprised if when she was called to the bridge that her ears would have a slight ring in them.

Until such a time as she was needed, she remained on reserve and fine tuning her mechanical limbs. Her left hand was preoccupied as well which held the smoldering cigar that had been burning away for quite some time. There was a vacuum of sorts on her desk sucking in the smoke she exhaled to keep from setting off the fire alert system. Not exactly regulation, but certainly easier to get away with than drinking before a duty period.

Finishing her chore, she tossed the tool from her right hand onto the desk before closing up her lower leg and pulling her pant leg back down to her ankle. Her right foot went around and came up onto the desk to sit atop the left as Jiseth leaned back in her chair and let out another jet of dragon's breath smoke into the vacuum nozzle. Her focus was now on the far side of the desk top where right corner was a picture of Zero with Callion.

"Computer, pause..."

The big band was suddenly silenced as only the whirl of a small fan sucking in grey wisps was audible. That and a slight ringing in her pointed ears. The isolation from adrenaline was going to drive her mad at this rate. Then an idea. A devious idea. A wonderfully Romulan, devious idea. Quickly she twacked her comm badge.

Jiseth to Bridge. Requesting permission to take an Argo and away team for atmospheric observation.

[Alexander Wu]

[Bridge]

I don't know who's bright idea this was, but I'm about ready to ram a phaser down their throat. It was with some relief when the turbolift doors opened and revealed the bridge. Two weeks of tedious and yawn-worthy activity had given even the tardiest department plenty of time to catch up on late reports or orientate their new shipmates. As the XO, it had been his job to ensure that the diplomats were happy with everything from their quarters to what colour the tableclothes were in the conference room. His last foray into the mix had to do with coffee; apparently it wasn't strong enough for the Dazasanians' liking.

The only person who Alex reckoned was having less fun than him was Safefta. Newly minted as the SO, she had been taking care of all the security arrangements. Making a note to catch up with her, he stopped by the science station, giving Briggs a wry smile. "Good morning Captain. Mr Nevir. Has the planet decided to grace us with another natural disaster?"

Jiseth to Bridge. Requesting permission to take an Argo and away team for atmospheric observation.

Alex glanced at Kyle, chuckling. "I don't know if you'll be able to keep everyone else onboard if you let her out, but if you do, can I call the right seat? You know...to keep an eye on things."

[Zero Alpha]

Lizzie got up and headed into sickbay to monitor the time. She did not want to involve security, but would do so if he did not report on time.

[Sickbay]

Hearing the door to the CMO's office open, Zero glanced up from her work on a crewmember's genetic profile.  It was a rather fascinating piece, Andorian.  Quite a complex structure compared to the basic and rather unexciting human model.

She tilted her head to one side as she observed the Chief Medical Officer.  Leela had set her the task of observing humanoid behaviour whenever she could and attempt to understand why they did certain things in certain ways.  If Lieutenant Vaughan was out of her office, that meant that she had something to do in the main department that couldn't be done in her office.  Her stance suggested slight annoyance, and she kept glancing at the chronometre, which suggested that she was waiting for something.  Curious.

"May I assist you, Lieutenant?" she asked, employing a more roundabout manner that she had seen many people use in order to determine what someone was doing.

[Lizzie Vaughan]

[Sickbay]

Hearing the door to the CMO's office open, Zero glanced up from her work on a crewmember's genetic profile.  It was a rather fascinating piece, Andorian.  Quite a complex structure compared to the basic and rather unexciting human model.

She tilted her head to one side as she observed the Chief Medical Officer.  Leela had set her the task of observing humanoid behaviour whenever she could and attempt to understand why they did certain things in certain ways.  If Lieutenant Vaughan was out of her office, that meant that she had something to do in the main department that couldn't be done in her office.  Her stance suggested slight annoyance, and she kept glancing at the chronometre, which suggested that she was waiting for something.  Curious.

"May I assist you, Lieutenant?" she asked, employing a more roundabout manner that she had seen many people use in order to determine what someone was doing.

Sickbay

An unexpected voice drew Lizzie's attention from the chronometer. She looked up and saw Lieutenant Alpha. The Medical Officer with the mysterious past. She smiled.

"No thank you Lieutenant." Lizzie gave a smile at the unusual young woman. "I am waiting for Lieutenant Hawke to arrive. After putting is report to Sickbay for the fifth time, I have releaved him of duty and given him a deadline to report here before I take matters further. I am now watching the clock to make sure he gets here on time." She continued, her annoyance clearly showing in her voice.

[Zero Alpha]

Sickbay

An unexpected voice drew Lizzie's attention from the chronometer. She looked up and saw Lieutenant Alpha. The Medical Officer with the mysterious past. She smiled.

"No thank you Lieutenant." Lizzie gave a smile at the unusual young woman. "I am waiting for Lieutenant Hawke to arrive. After putting is report to Sickbay for the fifth time, I have releaved him of duty and given him a deadline to report here before I take matters further. I am now watching the clock to make sure he gets here on time." She continued, her annoyance clearly showing in her voice.

[Sickbay]

Zero allowed herself a brief moment of smug content at having guessed at least partially the reason that Lieutenant Vaugan was standing in the main section of sickbay rather than in her office where she usually was.  However, the chief medical officer was obviously irritated, which put the young woman slightly on edge.

Find some common ground, something to similar to talk about, she remembered Leela saying at one point.  Zero searched her mind quickly to see if there was something else she could say along the same lines as the lieutenant.

"I believe I may be obligated to use a similar tactic on Commander Wu," she mused.  "During his medical, he complained of a dated injury to his shoulder, but has yet to schedule his physiotherapy sessions."

[Lizzie Vaughan]

[Sickbay]

Zero allowed herself a brief moment of smug content at having guessed at least partially the reason that Lieutenant Vaugan was standing in the main section of sickbay rather than in her office where she usually was.  However, the chief medical officer was obviously irritated, which put the young woman slightly on edge.

Find some common ground, something to similar to talk about, she remembered Leela saying at one point.  Zero searched her mind quickly to see if there was something else she could say along the same lines as the lieutenant.

"I believe I may be obligated to use a similar tactic on Commander Wu," she mused.  "During his medical, he complained of a dated injury to his shoulder, but has yet to schedule his physiotherapy sessions."

Sickbay

Lizzie listened to the younger woman, it was clear that she was trying to make conversation. She looked at Alpha and she could see clearly that the younger woman had little experience or skill at social interaction.

"Give him a call to remind him. Since the ship is is basically waiting for diplomatic talks to conclude, Commander Wu should be able to spare some time. The only reason I've taken it to the next level with Mr Hawke is because he has kept putting it off and I am sick of it. I don't like doing things this way but sometimes it is necessary." She replied smiling.

[Zero Alpha]

Sickbay

Lizzie listened to the younger woman, it was clear that she was trying to make conversation. She looked at Alpha and she could see clearly that the younger woman had little experience or skill at social interaction.

"Give him a call to remind him. Since the ship is is basically waiting for diplomatic talks to conclude, Commander Wu should be able to spare some time. The only reason I've taken it to the next level with Mr Hawke is because he has kept putting it off and I am sick of it. I don't like doing things this way but sometimes it is necessary." She replied smiling.

[Sickbay]

"I was once stationed on a ship where the captain had developed postponing her medical interventions into a form of art and mastered it," Zero replied with a faint smile.  "Ensuring that she reported for her physicals required significant preparation on the part of several members of the crew."

The thought of simply putting in a call to the first officer had occured to her, but since he had assured her that he would get round to it, she had accepted his word at its face value.  She gave a slight sigh and tapped her commbadge.

=^= "Alpha to Commander Wu, you failed to schedule your physiotherapy sessions.  I require your presence promptly in order to rectify this situation." =^=

[Kyle Briggs]

"There is a lot of volcanic activity in the southern hemisphere.  One of their plates is moving at an astonishing centimeter per minute.  A storm system on their north eastern continent is producing some good sized storms.  And the core is gaining momentum slowly following their last reversal.  Otherwise... about the same as yesterday.  And last week, for that matter." he said, trying to hide the boredom that seemed to rub off the crew.  He had stuff to do, but it was tedious when it was the same kind of changes.

It also didn't help that he was feeling very lonely with recent events... and that he felt like a pariah on the ship.

"I understand, Lieutenant. I'm pretty bored with this myself. Just keep pushing through and hope they reach an agreement soon." Kyle said.

He could see the look in Nevir's face. "Listen. If you ever wanna talk, I'm here, okay?" he offered.

As he headed back to his seat, he got a call.

Jiseth to Bridge. Requesting permission to take an Argo and away team for atmospheric observation.

The only person who Alex reckoned was having less fun than him was Safefta. Newly minted as the SO, she had been taking care of all the security arrangements. Making a note to catch up with her, he stopped by the science station, giving Briggs a wry smile. "Good morning Captain. Mr Nevir. Has the planet decided to grace us with another natural disaster?"

Alex glanced at Kyle, chuckling. "I don't know if you'll be able to keep everyone else onboard if you let her out, but if you do, can I call the right seat? You know...to keep an eye on things."

"I was thinking the same thing myself." Kyle admitted. "Just to get away for a while." He took a second and was about to tell Wu to take the pilot and Tekin, since Jiseth wasn't Science and head out for a bit when there came another call.

=^= "Alpha to Commander Wu, you failed to schedule your physiotherapy sessions.  I require your presence promptly in order to rectify this situation." =^=

"Well. Looks like you have an appointment already." he teased as he turned to the Science Officer. "What do you say, Tekin. Wanna go get some closer readings?" he asked. He knew the Scientist in him wouldn't pass it up, so Kyle slapped his comm before Tekin could reply.

=^=Briggs to Jiseth. Meet Lieutenant Tekin in the Shuttle Bay in ten minutes. If you're gonna go do sciencey stuff, might as well take a Scientist with you. Briggs out.=^=

He turned back to Tekin. "Better get a move on." he said with a grin. He hoped this would make him feel a little better.

[Arlan Opran]

[Ship's Lounge]

The so-called "Lounge" of an Akira-class vessel was small compared to that of a Nebula-class.  But Arlan was gradually getting used to this tiny ship, even as he regularly wished for the transfer to come through that would take him back to a class of vessel he knew and could work with well in a fight.  But he sat with a PADD and a cup of tea - he couldn't even handle synthehol, given the unfortunate nature of his biology (though he really felt like he could use a drink).

He wondered again about the possibility of asking Sickbay to help him out with that, because his inability to drink and likelihood to avoid situations where it would come up distanced him from the crew - even the men he needed to have respect him if the torpedo room would run smoothly.

And this damn boredom of doing precisely Jack all week didn't help.  So a bunch of guys were talking, why have a warship looming above?  Why not put something more appropriate on-station to pick the diplomats up?  Hell, a runabout could do the same work.

He dropped the PADD frustratedly and sighed, staring out the window into the stars - away from the planet beneath them.

[Leela Kaz]

[Ship's Lounge]

The so-called "Lounge" of an Akira-class vessel was small compared to that of a Nebula-class.  But Arlan was gradually getting used to this tiny ship, even as he regularly wished for the transfer to come through that would take him back to a class of vessel he knew and could work with well in a fight.  But he sat with a PADD and a cup of tea - he couldn't even handle synthehol, given the unfortunate nature of his biology (though he really felt like he could use a drink).

He wondered again about the possibility of asking Sickbay to help him out with that, because his inability to drink and likelihood to avoid situations where it would come up distanced him from the crew - even the men he needed to have respect him if the torpedo room would run smoothly.

And this damn boredom of doing precisely Jack all week didn't help.  So a bunch of guys were talking, why have a warship looming above?  Why not put something more appropriate on-station to pick the diplomats up?  Hell, a runabout could do the same work.

He dropped the PADD frustratedly and sighed, staring out the window into the stars - away from the planet beneath them.

[Lounge]

Leela walked into the crew lounge. She had a few extra minutes before going on duty so she decided to stop for a hot cup of Vulcan Tea. It didn't take long for her to recognize a familiar face that seemed lost in the stars. With her tea in hand she stepped up to the table and stood over Arlan's shoulder. "You look like your mind is ten thousand lightyears away. Mind if I join you? I have a few minutes before I have to report to engineering."

[Jiseth]

=^=Briggs to Jiseth. Meet Lieutenant Tekin in the Shuttle Bay in ten minutes. If you're gonna go do sciencey stuff, might as well take a Scientist with you. Briggs out.=^=

"Yes! And best of all the chap from Science isn't Van Gelder!"

The Romulan's words were practically a hiss, but no less triumphant as she hopped to her feet and bolted across the room, as best she could without losing balance, removing her uniform as quickly as possible before throwing the components onto bed... respectfully. Her closet door was already open and she reached for her light grey flight suit. This was easier to get on now that she had a bit more experience balancing with her legs, but the boots still required her to be seated while she locked the pressure seal on each.

With half of her time limit gone to suiting up, Jiseth took hold of her helmet and cradled it as she jogged out of her quarters and into the corridor. She had made only a few appearances outside her quarters and though she had plenty of opportunity for socializing, there was also the possibility her every move would be under the microscope. As such, she would probably keep the aerobatics to a minimum on this trip. Mostly...

[Deck 10 - Shuttle Bay]

Jiseth walked around the Argo-class shuttle that she had selected for the mission if that is what it could be called. Looking over the outer hull, she saw no dents or leaks. The recessed bussard collectors had no cracks nor did the view ports. The folded wings were flush with the hull and the landing gear appeared to be carrying their load just fine. Even the name badge on the side of the hull looked immaculate. Theseus.

With her pre-flight checks complete, she moved towards the rear of the craft to the lowered loading ramp. Waitng. Her attention shifted between the aft shuttle bay doors and the fore ones. It was a flight officer's wet dream to have a whole section of ship pretty much with a runway through the length of the vessel. If something went wrong they could simply fly out the other end without causing any damage to the ship. Buzzing the tower here, however, was sure to earn her a court martial.