S10 - Mission 1: Memorial

[Kirok]

[Captain's Mess]

Kirok stood in his mess hall.  He has invited his senior staff and a few key personal to dinner while they made their way to New Iconia.  There were several new people on the Discovery and Kirok hoped the dinner would give everyone a chance to meet.

The table was set with a wide selection of food.  To look at it, one would think that every culture was represented.  Kirok had done this intentionally to convey his attitude toward diversity.

With a large influx of humans on the ship, it was more important than ever to make sure the non-humans didn't feel the least bit excluded from anything.  With three of the four command staff being Human, he would have to press this issue harder than ever.  This include a spot at the table as well as a an equal chance at any open position on his ship.

[Gabe Crouch]

[Captain's Mess]

Kirok stood in his mess hall.  He has invited his senior staff and a few key personal to dinner while they made their way to New Iconia.  There were several new people on the Discovery and Kirok hoped the dinner would give everyone a chance to meet.

The table was set with a wide selection of food.  To look at it, one would think that every culture was represented.  Kirok had done this intentionally to convey his attitude toward diversity.

With a large influx of humans on the ship, it was more important than ever to make sure the non-humans didn't feel the least bit excluded from anything.  With three of the four command staff being Human, he would have to press this issue harder than ever.  This include a spot at the table as well as a an equal chance at any open position on his ship.

John was still settling in on the new ship and his new officer and quarters. He was looking over the credit so he could get the shift rosters sent out tovthe Department Heads. He then got a message from the captain to meet in his personal Mess. John got up and headed to deck one, he got to the lift and stepped in ans nodded to the crewman in the lift "Deck One" was all he said. The lift stopped and he walked to the door and rung the chime.

[Ilana Telak]

[Officer's Quarters]

Ilana fed the last cube of protein solids to the weeper plant sitting on her table, tickling its petals gently before wiping her hands with an odour removing gel.  Since Sasha was coming up on her next feeding time, so it wouldn't do to go around smelling of food, no matter how good a relationship she had with the snake.

Unfortunately, she couldn't just stay in her quarters or even simply hide away in sickbay.  Captain Kirok, a man she had only had the most fleeting of business with, had called a general meeting for all the senior staff.  As Chief Medical Officer, that included her.  Glancing at herself quickly in the mirror to make sure that she was presentable, she took a deep breath, and left her quarters.

[Captain's Mess]

Arriving at the arranged meeting place, she was surprised to see that she was one of the first to arrive.  Feeling incredibly self-conscious, she kept to the side of the Captain's private mess, simply watching the others.

[Raynor Hughes]

[USS Discovery - Personal Quarters]

As he stepped out of the 'fresher shower and back out into his main living area, Raynor Hughes toweled himself off.  He walked over to his workstation desk, keying on his personal terminal, hoping that orders countermanding the previous had come through.  No such miracle, though.  He was still ordered to report to the captain's personal mess in fifteen minutes.  Sighing, he continued to dry his long hair, looking for a fresh uniform.

It felt a little strange, being invited to these events, especially since he'd assumed formal dinners were something he'd resigned, along with his officer's commission.  Raynor was, however, the seniormost xenobiologist on board, though....so, he supposed that bumped him up on the scale of importance.  There still remained some tension between him and other officers, however...especially at events like this.  He could almost feel their eyes weighing him, wondering why he'd not retained his commission.  Raynor knew damn well that he would have at least been a departmental head by now, had he done so.

With a small grunt, the Klingon finished putting on his uniform and left his quarters, tying up his hair in a tight tail as he did so.

Arriving at the arranged meeting place, she was surprised to see that she was one of the first to arrive.  Feeling incredibly self-conscious, she kept to the side of the Captain's private mess, simply watching the others.

[Captain's Mess]

Raynor's sour mood evaporated, though, when he saw who was hovering around the entrance to the mess hall.  "Are you here to take my jacket?  I am afraid I did not bring one," he said, grinning happily at the sight of his closest friend on the ship.  In life, really.  "I also did not bring a tie...is there one I can borrow?"

[Ilana Telak]

[Captain's Mess]

Raynor's sour mood evaporated, though, when he saw who was hovering around the entrance to the mess hall.  "Are you here to take my jacket?  I am afraid I did not bring one," he said, grinning happily at the sight of his closest friend on the ship.  In life, really.  "I also did not bring a tie...is there one I can borrow?"

[Captain's Mess]

Ilana looked up at the sound of a familiar voice, allowing a slight smile to tug at the corners of her mouth.  "H-h-hello t-to y-y-you t-too, R-R-Raynor," she said warmly.  "I am afraid th-th-that I am h-h-hiding.  It w-w-was n-not m-m-my idea of a g-g-good evening t-to s-s-spend it w-w-with m-many p-p-people I d-do n-n-not n-necessarily kn-know."

[Raynor Hughes]

[Captain's Mess]

Ilana looked up at the sound of a familiar voice, allowing a slight smile to tug at the corners of her mouth.  "H-h-hello t-to y-y-you t-too, R-R-Raynor," she said warmly.  "I am afraid th-th-that I am h-h-hiding.  It w-w-was n-not m-m-my idea of a g-g-good evening t-to s-s-spend it w-w-with m-many p-p-people I d-do n-n-not n-necessarily kn-know."

[Captain's Mess]

Raynor smiled one of his soft smiles, rare as teeth on a glob fly.  "Well.  If it makes you feel any better, I don't know most of them, either," he said, foling his arms across his chest.  "I probably won't like them, either," the Klingon grinned, rather wolfishly.  "Eh," he shrugged, "if it starts dragging along, I can always stab someone.  Now...that's a dinner party."

He nodded toward the main area.  "Shall we make ourselves presentable?  I went through all the effort of wearing a fresh uniform, and all..."

[Kirok]

John was still settling in on the new ship and his new officer and quarters. He was looking over the credit so he could get the shift rosters sent out tovthe Department Heads. He then got a message from the captain to meet in his personal Mess. John got up and headed to deck one, he got to the lift and stepped in ans nodded to the crewman in the lift "Deck One" was all he said. The lift stopped and he walked to the door and rung the chime.

[Captain's Mass]

"Come" Kirok called out.  As the doors parted he saw his new First Officer.  Kirok offered him a slight bow.

"Aw, Mr. Harriman.  It is optimal that you are the first to arrive.  I wanted to convey my apologies to you for the secretive way I handled your appointment tof First Officer.  You arrived a bit earlier than I expected and I did not wish to create any misunderstandings with the my former First Officer" Kirok said.

"But that is behind us now and there is always new work to do.  In fact, your first official assignment can be helping me greet our guest.  You no doubt know many of them better than I" Kirok added.

[Captain's Mess]

Raynor smiled one of his soft smiles, rare as teeth on a glob fly.  "Well.  If it makes you feel any better, I don't know most of them, either," he said, foling his arms across his chest.  "I probably won't like them, either," the Klingon grinned, rather wolfishly.  "Eh," he shrugged, "if it starts dragging along, I can always stab someone.  Now...that's a dinner party."

He nodded toward the main area.  "Shall we make ourselves presentable?  I went through all the effort of wearing a fresh uniform, and all..."

[Captain's Mess]

Kirok moved to the door and pressed the button to open it and leave it open.  "Mr. Hughes, Dr. Telek" Kirok said and then bowed slightly to them.  "Please come in and make yourselves comfortable" he suggested.   

[Scott010178]

Personal Quarters

Scott sat on the bed and was observing his dress uniform, that's all he was doing too. It simply hung in his closet and wasn't in any danger of moving. The Captain had invited the senior officers to dinner, but Scott really didn't want to go, something about being amongst strangers was very unappealing to him. As with transfers or changing jobs, strangers seldom remain that for very long. The reason for his not wanting to be around new people, was most likely from his days as a captive on Alpha 343. He'd been rescued by the crew of the Churchill and the real him. The transition from Captive to someone with a life and purpose in life had been a long bumpy road. It got so bad at one point, that Scott even contemplated ending his own life. But thanks to Amy, he hadn't gone through with it and found out how much people really cared about him, in particular Amy it seemed. Everything began to look up for Scott, that was until the transfer to the Discovery. Now the whole, ill felt process would start all over again.

His thoughts returned to the dinner invitation after a few moments and whether he should go or not. If he decided he wasn't going, then he was running the risk of being anti social. But if he did go, perhaps the process of meeting new people wouldn't be too painful. It was only a handful of officers he'd met, the main ones were the Captain and Exec. The meet with the Captain was very brief and the time spent with the XO, well that was something Scott would have preferred to forget.

"Oh what the hell do I do?"

[Gabe Crouch]

[Captain's Mass]

"Come" Kirok called out.  As the doors parted he saw his new First Officer.  Kirok offered him a slight bow.

"Aw, Mr. Harriman.  It is optimal that you are the first to arrive.  I wanted to convey my apologies to you for the secretive way I handled your appointment tof First Officer.  You arrived a bit earlier than I expected and I did not wish to create any misunderstandings with the my former First Officer" Kirok said.

"But that is behind us now and there is always new work to do.  In fact, your first official assignment can be helping me greet our guest.  You no doubt know many of them better than I" Kirok added.

John nodded to Kirok.

"I understand it would look bad on you. I would also be happy to talk to all the crew."

That is when crewmembers started to come in. He walked over to  Ilana  and a young Klingon came in. He walked over to them and spoke.

"Hello Ilana, it is good to see you again." he turned to the young man." Hello I am Commander John Harriman I am the new XO, and you can call me John off duty."

[Ilana Telak]

[Captain's Mess]

Raynor smiled one of his soft smiles, rare as teeth on a glob fly.  "Well.  If it makes you feel any better, I don't know most of them, either," he said, foling his arms across his chest.  "I probably won't like them, either," the Klingon grinned, rather wolfishly.  "Eh," he shrugged, "if it starts dragging along, I can always stab someone.  Now...that's a dinner party."

He nodded toward the main area.  "Shall we make ourselves presentable?  I went through all the effort of wearing a fresh uniform, and all..."

[Captain's Mess]

The scales above Ilana's eyebrow shifted slightly.  "I th-th-thought th-that K-Klingons d-did n-n-not k-kill anyone at th-th-the d-d-dinner t-table?" she replied to Raynor with a slightly teasing smile.  She thought that she knew him well enough to know that, unless he was extremely drunk, something not likely to happen at this particular social occasion, he wouldn't pick a fight just because he was bored.

John nodded to Kirok.

"I understand it would look bad on you. I would also be happy to talk to all the crew."

That is when crewmembers started to come in. He walked over to  Ilana  and a young Klingon came in. He walked over to them and spoke.

"Hello Ilana, it is good to see you again." he turned to the young man." Hello I am Commander John Harriman I am the new XO, and you can call me John off duty."

The Cardassian turned as she heard a new voice or, more particularly, that of their new First Officer now that Commander Tre'el had transferred off to take command of the Gettysburg.  That news had come as something of a relief to her.  She was terrified of the other Cardassian.

She inclined her head a little nervously in greeting and said respectfully:  "C-C-Commander."

[Raynor Hughes]

[Captain's Mess]

The scales above Ilana's eyebrow shifted slightly.  "I th-th-thought th-that K-Klingons d-did n-n-not k-kill anyone at th-th-the d-d-dinner t-table?" she replied to Raynor with a slightly teasing smile.  She thought that she knew him well enough to know that, unless he was extremely drunk, something not likely to happen at this particular social occasion, he wouldn't pick a fight just because he was bored.

The Cardassian turned as she heard a new voice or, more particularly, that of their new First Officer now that Commander Tre'el had transferred off to take command of the Gettysburg.  That news had come as something of a relief to her.  She was terrified of the other Cardassian.

[Captain's Mess]

"Well," Raynor grinned happily, "it all depends on whether or not bread has been broken, yet.  I mean...we're not savages, you know," he winked - a very un-Klingon-like gesture.

That is when crewmembers started to come in. He walked over to  Ilana  and a young Klingon came in. He walked over to them and spoke.

"Hello Ilana, it is good to see you again." he turned to the young man." Hello I am Commander John Harriman I am the new XO, and you can call me John off duty."

Raynor's attention was drawn by the approach of a man he'd seen once before - briefly, back when the new crewmembers were arriving shipside.  "Commander Harriman," the Klingon nodded.  "Congratulations on the new position.  Raynor Hughes, Xenobiologist.  Good to meet you."

[Gabe Crouch]

The Cardassian turned as she heard a new voice or, more particularly, that of their new First Officer now that Commander Tre'el had transferred off to take command of the Gettysburg.  That news had come as something of a relief to her.  She was terrified of the other Cardassian.

She inclined her head a little nervously in greeting and said respectfully:  "C-C-Commander."

"Well it is great to see you again, I will be by for my check up after this time in the mess." John then turned to the younge man.

Raynor's attention was drawn by the approach of a man he'd seen once before - briefly, back when the new crewmembers were arriving shipside.  "Commander Harriman," the Klingon nodded.  "Congratulations on the new position.  Raynor Hughes, Xenobiologist.  Good to meet you."

"It is noce to meet you Raynor, and thank you it has been a long time since I was on this ship." John had met his first Borg on this very ship.

[Raynor Hughes]

"Well it is great to see you again, I will be by for my check up after this time in the mess." John then turned to the younge man.

"It is nice to meet you Raynor, and thank you it has been a long time since I was on this ship." John had met his first Borg on this very ship.

[Mess]

Smirking playfully, Raynor nodded toward his companion.  "Don't let her know that you haven't been in for one, yet, sir," he laughed.  "She'll pull out a hypo and a tricorder right here and now."  He quirked an eyebrow at Harriman as the other man mentioned serving before.  "I see.  This is my first assignment to this vessel, though it carries a proud tradition.  I have been previously assigned to the Churchill, and..." he added, frowning slightly, the Gibson."  Spacefarers were nothing if not superstitious, and the Klingon was loathe to mention the seemingly-cursed name.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Deck 4 - Counselor's Office]

The silence permeated the small room through and through. The lights were bright and the environmental settings were a great deal warmer than Stafford usually preferred. He only altered it when his patients had the temerity to speak up and complain about how cold and dark it was. They're all so timid and weak. It's a step in the right direction. Breadcrumbs...

Ensign Stephanie Relzer squirmed in discomfort. The lights and heat had been her idea; but Stafford had an inkling that it was the quiet that made her so uneasy. He didn't mind it; it was better to sit and let his mind drift than to hear her endless prattle. She lacked confidence and discipline. She was also the most taciturn woman he'd ever met. The only time she was vocal was when she was complaining.

"I met a new friend today," the officer said in a voice, a whisker above a whisper.

Stafford shifted abruptly in his chair. Her words had brought him out of deep thought. The captain's dinner was fast approaching. Through the door, he could just hear people coming off of their shifts, laughing, chattering. Perversely, he wished he was out there, part of the jam.

Her back was to him because she never liked to look anyone in the eye or be able to see his face during their sessions. Even so, Stafford very carefully snuck a glance at his desktop terminal's chrono. He had hoped to have the time to stop by his quarters and don his uniform. But no, thanks to her he'd have to attend the dinner with the other senior staff and officers in his Starfleet counselor's get up.

"Tell me more."

"He works in flight control."

The counselor inwardly fumed. What was the reason for her lack of confidence? Relzer was a curvy woman, more plump but more desirable of body than most women on the ship. Her hair was a wild, untamed mass of black ringlets that spilled down her pale neck to the middle of her back. Her eyes were an enchanting pale hazel. Even Stafford, who was deep into a self imposed exile of forced celibacy, had noted how attractive Relzer was.

She was smart, too. Tactical Information was a notoriously difficult department for a young officer to work. The Academy courses, exams, and the day to day schedules were long, grueling, and required the nimblest of logical minds. Relzer had worked hard to get where she was, why couldn't she see it?

"It's not Chief Wu, is it?" The counselor didn't smile though he felt like it.

"Goodness, no," Relzer said over her shoulder, horrified. "That'd be terribly inappropriate--"

"I was joking, Stephanie," Stafford hated calling other officers by their first names. "Go on, please."

"His name is Tark. He's a Klingon, and unlike any man I've ever met."

"Tark." Mentally, Stafford tried to recall the man. A Search and Rescue crewmember, a towering, handsome giant. He wondered if poor Tark knew what he was getting into with Relzer. "Wasn't he the one the captain lauded for improving the shuttle's systems?"

"Yes. He's very intelligent when it comes to flight, tactics, and strategy," Relzer sounded pleased. "In fact, that's how we met. Flight and TIC are liaising on a project right now."

"Have you seen him outside of work?"

"Not yet, but we talk about things other than work. He has a fine mind and he's kind. He called me his comrade in arms."

There was a chime from the computer, noting the session's time allotment had expired. Stafford had hoped to be out of here long before now. He forced a smile onto his face so she could hear it in his voice.

"This is an important step, Stephanie. I'm proud of you. Remember what we said? Go into every situation with a new friend as if it's just another equation. You are adept at equations." The smile was a bit more genuine on his face now. "If you do that you will make new friends. I promise it."

"Yes, counselor." Relzer replied crisply.

Stafford hadn't realized it, but he'd framed the last sentence as if it was a command. Too long in sickbay with everyone else following my orders. And not enough time in this chair. He couldn't simply order his patients to feel better about themselves. Every instinct I have with this job is incorrect. Medical to counseling seemed like it would be similar.

"Make a new foray into your friendship. Contact Tark, see if he wants to meet you socially. He's a Klingon, after all. He will be pleasantly surprised if you take the initiative." Another thing with which she needed help.

"Now," Stafford said, purpousefully tapping onto his desktop console so it made a noise. "Are you headed to the captain's dinner?"

"Dear me, no," Relzer took the hint and stood, so Stafford did as well. "It's for senior staff. I don't know what I'm doing after this."

"Contacting Tark," Stafford suggested. "Or take some time and deliberate on it, but not too much. Remember: seize the initiative."

"I will, counselor. Thank you." The woman turned and left.

Stafford had planned on waiting a few moments for her to walk away but realized he was more pressed for time than he thought. He shot out of his office directly after her and didn't attempt to make small talk as his much faster speed walk overtook her more demure, mincing steps. He was late, and he hated being late.

[Captain's Mess]

The counselor entered the mess confidently, like an enemy commander who had recently been surveying his newly captured city.

"Apologies for my tardiness, captain," Stafford told Kirok, pulling off his black gloves. "And more apologies for not having time to change. I was with a patient."

[Gabe Crouch]

[Mess]

Smirking playfully, Raynor nodded toward his companion.  "Don't let her know that you haven't been in for one, yet, sir," he laughed.  "She'll pull out a hypo and a tricorder right here and now."  He quirked an eyebrow at Harriman as the other man mentioned serving before.  "I see.  This is my first assignment to this vessel, though it carries a proud tradition.  I have been previously assigned to the Churchill, and..." he added, frowning slightly, the Gibson."  Spacefarers were nothing if not superstitious, and the Klingon was loathe to mention the seemingly-cursed name.

"The Discovery was my first assignment, then I was sent to the Gibson. She was once a great ship with a great captain and XO but.... nevermind. I also served on the Churchill for a brief time. Also my check up will have to wait till tomorrow."John missed the Gibson he first started on.

[Captain's Mess]

The counselor entered the mess confidently, like an enemy commander who had recently been surveying his newly captured city.

"Apologies for my tardiness, captain," Stafford told Kirok, pulling off his black gloves. "And more apologies for not having time to change. I was with a patient."

John then turned as Luke came in.

"Well Luke it is great to see you mate how have you been?"