S12 - M10: Humility's Right Hand

[Tekin Nevir]

First Officer's Log,

After a bit of a detour, the Discovery has finally made it to Starbase Columbus after an extended mission into the edges of the Delta Quadrant.  While we missed out on a persistent pain in my side, we have brought the civilian Dan Damian Adams and the criminal Johan to the Starbase for... hopefully completely separate paths ahead.  Our science Chief is having second thoughts, and may have to recuse herself as a witness to the court-martial of her former superior.

And to top the cherry, Captain T'Ra Jones has decided that she too wishes to relinquish her post, leaving the Disco without a Captain, and a medical officer when she takes her husband with her.  I wish T'Ra the best, and I am glad to call her friend.  Of course the expression 'don't thank me yet' is really coming to mind....

With the ship on shore leave, Nevir's destination was to the administration offices within the operations section of Columbus.  While the Discovery went through some vastly needed refits and security upgrades, the ship was left with a starbase skeleton crew. There were whispers of a crew shake up, and it seemed like no one on board would be safe from transfer.  Well... almost no one.

Nevir entered the office with a PADD in hand, holding his new transfer orders.  Sort of... Apparently T'Ra's secret mission paid off, and Nevir was offered what he never thought he would get... command.

With the secretary waving him through, Nevir walked through and stood at attention with the PADD behind him, in front of Admiral Adeyemi.  Here is where he would find out if these were real, or a joke.

"Admiral, Commander Tekin Nevir, reporting as ordered, sir."

[Don Damien Addams]

[starbase - promenade]

His kitten, Smitten was tucked in his jacket. A small duffel bag hung from his right shoulder. He had said good byes to his second best friend, the computer on the USS Discovery.

Sadly, he was down on his knees looking at Anna, the little Autism Asian girl. Her condition was unique for her stage of special case of autism. Her mother was standing aside watching sadly as her daughter had to say bye to a person she grew attached too.

Saying good byes was not one Don's favorite things. His eyes looked down at the ground as he was trying to figure on what to say. There was a soft whimper cry from the girl. Don lifted his head to her. "Hey, little pumpkin pie. None of that," he told her stern. "You taught me you are strong and perfect. Remember?" He was trying to sound strong. Deep inside, he was hurting all lot. He had to stay strong and show it. Not only for Anna, Even for Anna's mother who he had admired and started had a feeling for her.

"Yes," Anna muttered with big pouty lips. "B-but I will miss you." They both were holding each other, and Don puller her in for a tight hug. Anna's mom quickly turned away cause this was breaking her motherly heart. Don had said his good byes to her all ready, but he knew a special bye to Anna was needed.

Steve was there on the side too. Anna had loved Steve like all kids on the Discovery. "Hey, why don't you take this," Don said, pulling out the model of his recent destroyed ship. "You got the program to fly it. It is yours now."

Anna stood there staring at it. Afraid to take it. However, she did with gentle and care. Then she undid herself from the hug. Giving Steve his turn to say bye.

"Hey, Buddy," Don piped up to the dinosaur. The Dinosaur gave a sad purring sound. "Yeah, I hear you. Your place is on the Discovery." He placed his head against the ancient dino hologram returned the affection in return.

Then Anna shoved herself in his arms. Steve backed away as she did but the three all hugged. Then Don's brown eyes caught Anna's mom staring at him. He gave her a small nod and held her stare. Could he really walk away?

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

With the ship on shore leave, Nevir's destination was to the administration offices within the operations section of Columbus.  While the Discovery went through some vastly needed refits and security upgrades, the ship was left with a starbase skeleton crew. There were whispers of a crew shake up, and it seemed like no one on board would be safe from transfer.  Well... almost no one.

Nevir entered the office with a PADD in hand, holding his new transfer orders.  Sort of... Apparently T'Ra's secret mission paid off, and Nevir was offered what he never thought he would get... command.

With the secretary waving him through, Nevir walked through and stood at attention with the PADD behind him, in front of Admiral Adeyemi.  Here is where he would find out if these were real, or a joke.

"Admiral, Commander Tekin Nevir, reporting as ordered, sir."

[Admin Offices]

Adeyemi favored Tekin with a rare smile. He tended to like Bajorans, despite their non-adherence to the Word of the Lord. They were, by and large, a spiritual people who had suffered much, as he had. It shaped their world view. Diverging origins but the same destination.

"I'm afraid you're the lucky one, son." The admiral said lightly. His black and red uniform was pressed within an inch of its life. The gold on his breast and collar gleamed. Adeyemi was a bit over six feet tall and tipped the scales at around 200 lbs, most of it toned fat or hard muscle. A big boy. In his youth, he'd wrestled and played football, and had been the sports and recreation officer on a starbase. It showed. There was just the barest suggestion of wrinkles on his face and his head was shaved. He didn't look to be 50 yeas old. The only thing that bespoke of his age was the hard brown eyes, constantly wary and shrewd. Those eyes had seen a lot of miles, and it showed.

"You're taking over for Jones. Tekin Nevir, I hereby promote you to the temporary brevet rank of acting captain. Effective immediately, you are to take command of the USS Discovery as its commanding officer." Adeyemi's voice was a strange mixture of accents: working class London, posh Received Pronunciation and lurking underneath that it was flavored with his native West Africa. He stood, and extended a big hand.

"Congratulations, Captain." 

[Ardyn Jaeger]

[Ardyn's temporary quarters, Starbase Columbus]
Ardyn was currently bent over the toilet, still waiting for her nausea and morning sickness to pass so she could get to work, a miserable feeling as her symptoms were finally seeming to catch up to her. She didn't have it for these last couple months, why couldn't her luck have spared her the whole first trimester?

Emptying her stomach one more time, Ardy got up and straightened herself, catching a brief glimpse at the barely visible bump on her abdomen. It was coming, all right. Was she ready? She had no idea. But currently, she had a few more pressing things to be doing
Heading into the bridge of the Disco, she nodded to the crew on duty before running a diagnostic on the flight systems. Boring stuff, as she would have preferred to be off doing some shuttle runs, but someone had to do it, and she sure as heck didn't want Shawhan messing up any of her settings. Looking around, she realized that Steve was off somewhere. He probably was playing with someone somewhere.

[Jebediah Schrock]

[USS Discovery - Bridge]
The Ops department drew straws to choose who would have to man the Ops station on the bridge, and Jeb literally drew the short straw. That's why, while the rest of Ops were wandering the station, he was here "scheduling". Of course, since there wasn't much to be scheduled (most of the crew was on the base), "scheduling" meant "admiring the sleekness of his console and/or staring out at the walls of the spacedock"
Eventually, that got dull, so he peeked over at what the conn officer was doing. A diagnostic, as it happened - a mostly automated task.
So, on a multi-use panel (that was unused) between the two seats, Jeb drew a square grid, 3 squares to a side.
In the central square, he put an X.
Then, he gently tapped the top of the console to get the Conn officer (Lt. Jaeger, was it?) to notice.

[Ardyn Jaeger]

[USS Discovery - Bridge]
The Ops department drew straws to choose who would have to man the Ops station on the bridge, and Jeb literally drew the short straw. That's why, while the rest of Ops was wandering the station, he was here "scheduling". Of course, since there wasn't much to be scheduled (most of the crew was on the base), "scheduling" meant "admiring the sleekness of his console and/or staring out at the walls of the spacedock"
Eventually, that got dull, so he peeked over at what the conn officer was doing. A diagnostic, as it happened - a mostly automated task.
So, on a multi-use panel (that was unused) between the two seats, Jeb drew a square grid, 3 squares to a side.
In the central square, he put an X.
Then, he gently tapped the top of the console to get the Conn officer (Lt. Jaeger, was it?) to notice.

[Bridge]
Ardy noticed the ops officer come up to the conn and tapped the panel to get her attention, giving her a nice reprieve from the sheer boredom she was feeling. He had drawn a tic-tac-toe board, to which Ardy slyly put an O in the bottom left corner.  Turning to the slightly jumpy man, she gave one of her usual smirks. "Hey, I haven't seen you around all too often. You new here?"

[Tekin Nevir]

[Admin Offices]

Adeyemi favored Tekin with a rare smile. He tended to like Bajorans, despite their non-adherence to the Word of the Lord. They were, by and large, a spiritual people who had suffered much, as he had. It shaped their world view. Diverging origins but the same destination.

"I'm afraid you're the lucky one, son." The admiral said lightly. His black and red uniform was pressed within an inch of its life. The gold on his breast and collar gleamed. Adeyemi was a bit over six feet tall and tipped the scales at around 200 lbs, most of it toned fat or hard muscle. A big boy. In his youth, he'd wrestled and played football, and had been the sports and recreation officer on a starbase. It showed. There was just the barest suggestion of wrinkles on his face and his head was shaved. He didn't look to be 50 yeas old. The only thing that bespoke of his age was the hard brown eyes, constantly wary and shrewd. Those eyes had seen a lot of miles, and it showed.

"You're taking over for Jones. Tekin Nevir, I hereby promote you to the temporary brevet rank of acting captain. Effective immediately, you are to take command of the USS Discovery as its commanding officer." Adeyemi's voice was a strange mixture of accents: working class London, posh Received Pronunciation and lurking underneath that it was flavored with his native West Africa. He stood, and extended a big hand.

"Congratulations, Captain."

[Admin Office]

The Bajoran was stunned.  Not that it did happen, but that it could happen.  He did his best to sign any sign of emotion, but found he couldn't hold back a smile, especially when the hand was held up.  Nevir quickly switched which hand he was holding his orders in order to reach over and shake the Admiral's hand.

"Aye sir... thank you, sir." he said, as it slowly started to sink in.  The Bajoran nodded, letting the hand fall.

"Er... well... it's incorrectly titled, sir, but here is my report from our initial excursions into the Delta Quadrant.  I included a list of recommended upgrades to our main computer and power systems, and request for replacement crew.  I believe our Chief Medical Officer requested to be demoted to medical officer.  And we have Mr. Spielenburg in custody in the Brig, sir.  Oh, and the rescued pilot, Mr Adams.  I didn't bring it up to him, but there looks like a former Starfleet record for him."

[Jebediah Schrock]

[Bridge]
Ardy noticed the ops officer come up to the conn and tapped the panel to get her attention, giving her a nice reprieve from the sheer boredom she was feeling. He had drawn a tic-tac-toe board, to which Ardy slyly put an O in the bottom left corner.  Turning to the slightly jumpy man, she gave one of her usual smirks. "Hey, I haven't seen you around all too often. You new here?"

[Bridge]
The Lieutenant accepted, going for the bottom left. Jeb smiled broadly, his smile emulating a level of confidence he developed. Ardy engaged with him, with what may have been a smirk or a smile. Perhaps more importantly, neither Captain Jones nor Commander Tekin were watching. Jeb wasn't on the spot, and that realization imbued him with a confidence he rarely showed otherwise.
"I've only been on the ship for a few days," he explained, answering Ardy's question. "Crewman Jeb Schrock."
He reached for a handshake with his right hand, while putting an X in the top-right corner using the left. It was quite an acrobatic feat, even with his rather tall frame.
In the background, he faintly heard footsteps, too faint and too rapid to be human, which for the moment he chose to disregard.

[Don Damien Addams]

[starbase - promenade]

His kitten, Smitten was tucked in his jacket. A small duffel bag hung from his right shoulder. He had said good byes to his second best friend, the computer on the USS Discovery.

Sadly, he was down on his knees looking at Anna, the little Autism Asian girl. Her condition was unique for her stage of special case of autism. Her mother was standing aside watching sadly as her daughter had to say bye to a person she grew attached too.

Saying good byes was not one Don's favorite things. His eyes looked down at the ground as he was trying to figure on what to say. There was a soft whimper cry from the girl. Don lifted his head to her. "Hey, little pumpkin pie. None of that," he told her stern. "You taught me you are strong and perfect. Remember?" He was trying to sound strong. Deep inside, he was hurting all lot. He had to stay strong and show it. Not only for Anna, Even for Anna's mother who he had admired and started had a feeling for her.

"Yes," Anna muttered with big pouty lips. "B-but I will miss you." They both were holding each other, and Don puller her in for a tight hug. Anna's mom quickly turned away cause this was breaking her motherly heart. Don had said his good byes to her all ready, but he knew a special bye to Anna was needed.

Steve was there on the side too. Anna had loved Steve like all kids on the Discovery. "Hey, why don't you take this," Don said, pulling out the model of his recent destroyed ship. "You got the program to fly it. It is yours now."

Anna stood there staring at it. Afraid to take it. However, she did with gentle and care. Then she undid herself from the hug. Giving Steve his turn to say bye.

"Hey, Buddy," Don piped up to the dinosaur. The Dinosaur gave a sad purring sound. "Yeah, I hear you. Your place is on the Discovery." He placed his head against the ancient dino hologram returned the affection in return.

Then Anna shoved herself in his arms. Steve backed away as she did but the three all hugged. Then Don's brown eyes caught Anna's mom staring at him. He gave her a small nod and held her stare. Could he really walk away?

[few day before the event in Don's quarters]

Anna was visiting Don in his quarters. Before she came in he was working on possible ideas on requesting coming back to Starfleet. He had the screen on and she had her eyes on the screen. One of her gifts was perfect photographic memory. It goes away, but it showed up in her memory later. Most times, when she does not need it. Scientist was unable to fix her or adjust it. Her case was a riddle to science and doctors.

[Present on Starbase]

Mom, who was a nurse took her daughter her by the hand. "Anna, we need to go," she told the her daughter. Steve took that as a sign to run back to Ardy. It was time to guard duty.

"Okay," Anna said leaving with her mom. Later, the little girl had recalled everything she saw on that computer screen. So she re-written at their quarters. Then sent as Don's request to rejoin which he did not do. It was sneaky, but hey Anna was like that. Clever.

It was a forge, however the one problem the dates are off. She put the address of the day she seen it, but the computer sent the time it was created by her and where it was sent from. The small details left out for a perfect crime.

So, Don gathered himself back up on his feet and headed down the Promenade. There was ship was about to leave in few days. Before the Discovery was finished.  He was going to see he could to free lance a job to get on it. He had needed to get away before he he falls apart.

[T'Prina]

[Starbase Columbus - Neural Core]

T'Prina sat calmly, downloading lesson plans and other learning related activities into the central console. ANaLYN, the starbase's AI, was sprawled across the floor, in the midst of a loud tantrum. Small arms and legs flailed about, in the focused yet effortless manner of a young child. The Vulcan showed no emotion, other than a small line between her swooped eyebrows. Whether this was caused by amusement or irritation was anyone's guess.

"Mama Prina, you can't goooo!" The little girl wailed between high pitched sobs. "You just got back and it's not fair! Mack'em is leaving too!"

T'Prina considered the file on gormaganders that she had added in with the rest of the lessons. The population of the so-called 'space whales' had been brought back from near extinction recently. While not one of the aquatic beasts that usually captured her charge's attention, it was still a fascinating creature the girl might find interesting. Certainly the methods for preservation and re-habitation would be useful in future scenarios, from a xeno-zoological view point. She spared the distressed child a glance then.

"The Admiral and I both have our orders, little one. We are Starfleet and we go where we are needed." She did not want to state out loud that in her heart, she wished to remain to oversee ANaLYN's growth and development. Not even to herself would she admit she still scanned the crowds in the Promenade, looking for a familiar, worn coat. Teeth worried at her bottom lip as her thoughts drifted back to her recent trip to Vulcan, and what she had discovered there. With a curt shake, she banished the thought back to whence it came. There was no one she wanted to discuss such a personal and disturbing matter with, and it was best ignored for now.

ANaLYN was unaffected by the Vulcan's personal thoughts, as she wasn't privy to them. What she did know, is she didn't want her 'parents' to leave the Starbase. "Mack'em is a boss. Maybe he can make you stay if we ask him nice?" The little girl looked up, cheeks flushed and long brown hair in a tangle, headband and faux Vulcan ears askew. There was a hopeful glint in her slightly damp eyes, though.

T'Prina tilted her head, slightly bemused at her theatrics and sudden attitude change. "I... I do not think that is how this works."

[Ardyn Jaeger]

[Bridge]
The Lieutenant accepted, going for the bottom left. Jeb smiled broadly, his smile emulating a level of confidence he developed. Ardy engaged with him, with what may have been a smirk or a smile. Perhaps more importantly, neither Captain Jones nor Commander Tekin were watching. Jeb wasn't on the spot, and that realization imbued him with a confidence he rarely showed otherwise.
"I've only been on the ship for a few days," he explained, answering Ardy's question. "Crewman Jeb Schrock."
He reached for a handshake with his right hand, while putting an X in the top-right corner using the left. It was quite an acrobatic feat, even with his rather tall frame.
In the background, he faintly heard footsteps, too faint and too rapid to be human, which for the moment he chose to disregard.

[Bridge]
Shaking the man's hand, she eyed his choice, weighing the possibilities before ultimately putting her O in the bottom right, blocking him. "Well then, Jebby, welcome aboard." She said, deliberately giving him the nickname, all the while kicking up her feet on the dashboard. No one could say otherwise, for the moment, so she was pretty safe. "My name's Ardyn, but you can call me Ardy, most people do."

As she watched Jeb before he made his next move, she heard the unmistakable clatter of claws across the hard metal floor. Before she could react, the fuzzy form of Steve came barreling into the bridge at full velocity, straight towards her in a pounce before licking and nuzzling her. "Hey, buddy! Whatcha doing?" she asked as the little fuzzball showered her with affection.

[Jebediah Schrock]

[Bridge]
Shaking the man's hand, she eyed his choice, weighing the possibilities before ultimately putting her O in the bottom right, blocking him. "Well then, Jebby, welcome aboard." She said, deliberately giving him the nickname, all the while kicking up her feet on the dashboard. No one could say otherwise, for the moment, so she was pretty safe. "My name's Ardyn, but you can call me Ardy, most people do."

As she watched Jeb before he made his next move, she heard the unmistakable clatter of claws across the hard metal floor. Before she could react, the fuzzy form of Steve came barreling into the bridge at full velocity, straight towards her in a pounce before licking and nuzzling her. "Hey, buddy! Whatcha doing?" she asked as the little fuzzball showered her with affection.

[Bridge]
'Jebby?' Jeb was a little puzzled by the nickname. He hadn't been called that before. Not that it bothered him much, or that he'd challenge a superior officer over it. He reckoned it could suit him decently well.
As he analyzed the board, and realized that the only way for one to win is if the other made a blunder, the doors came open and in came Steve, a velociraptor moving at top speed (dazzlingly fast for someone who grew up with horse-drawn buggies). Jeb looked up, lost his train of thought, and absentmindedly put an X in the top-left corner. He looked at the bundle of feathers coming at Ardy, and realized that the claws he heard running were Steve's.
"So, Ardy, however did you folks come to have Steve?"
Of all the questions he had about the ship (many of which were more technical), this was the one that fascinated him the most. There was no explanation he had heard so far that was beyond hearsay or that made sense.

[Alexander Wu]

[Starbase Columbus: Promenade]

The last time Alex had spent any large amount of time on Columbus, he had been newly posted in as her JAG, though he still wasn't sure if it was his ability, or lack thereof, which got him shifted back to an active starship. He hadn't been a father either, or at least the closest thing to one yet. And in Ardyn, that time was ticking down. It was still overwhelming at moments, though he was coming to terms with it.

Pausing infront of a random shop, Alex found himself looking at the storefront merchandise curiously; coincidentally enough, it just so happened to be a children's clothing boutique. Picking up a tiny pair of shoes absentmindedly, he smiled slightly before setting them back down and turning to watch the turbolifts leading to Ops. Somewhere up there, Tekin was picking up their new orders which would inevitably propel Discovery back into the hectic fray she seemed destined for. With those orders, would also be new crewmates, one of whom he had worked with briefly before. "Computer, locate Lieutenant T'Prina?"

"Lieutenant T'Prina is in the Neural Core"=/\=

Well of course she is. There were some family which would be harder than others to say goodbye to. Unwilling to interrupt, Alex continued on his leisurely stroll on the Promenade.

[Ardyn Jaeger]

[Bridge]
'Jebby?' Jeb was a little puzzled by the nickname. He hadn't been called that before. Not that it bothered him much, or that he'd challenge a superior officer over it. He reckoned it could suit him decently well.
As he analyzed the board and realized that the only way for one to win is if the other made a blunder, the doors came open and in came Steve, a velociraptor moving at top speed (dazzlingly fast for someone who grew up with horse-drawn buggies). Jeb looked up, lost his train of thought, and absentmindedly put an X in the top-left corner. He looked at the bundle of feathers coming at Ardy and realized that the claws he heard running were Steve's.
"So, Ardy, however did you folks come to have Steve?"
Of all the questions he had about the ship (many of which were more technical), this was the one that fascinated him the most. There was no explanation he had heard so far that was beyond hearsay or that made sense.

[Bridge]
Ardy smirked, even wider this time, as she tried to rein in the overly enthusiastic raptor "I'm his creator, While I was on the Shran, I got bored when we were mapping a sector of dead-empty space, so I picked up a PADD on the theory of Holographics, and it kinda became a hobby project for me.  Anyhow, Ensign Murphy got a mallard for a pet, so I made Steve as a therapy animal to one-up him." She said, as Steve waggled his tail and purred on her lap. She scratched his head. "I was Intending to keep him on the Shran, but I kinda got attached to him, so he stayed with me. You wanna pet him?"

Before he could answer, she stuck her O in the bottom middle and crossing it. "Checkmate."

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Admin Office]

The Bajoran was stunned.  Not that it did happen, but that it could happen.  He did his best to sign any sign of emotion, but found he couldn't hold back a smile, especially when the hand was held up.  Nevir quickly switched which hand he was holding his orders in order to reach over and shake the Admiral's hand.

"Aye sir... thank you, sir." he said, as it slowly started to sink in.  The Bajoran nodded, letting the hand fall.

"Er... well... it's incorrectly titled, sir, but here is my report from our initial excursions into the Delta Quadrant.  I included a list of recommended upgrades to our main computer and power systems, and request for replacement crew.  I believe our Chief Medical Officer requested to be demoted to medical officer.  And we have Mr. Spielenburg in custody in the Brig, sir.  Oh, and the rescued pilot, Mr Adams.  I didn't bring it up to him, but there looks like a former Starfleet record for him."

[Admin Offices]

The handshake dispensed with, Adeyemi sat and waved for Tekin to do the same. He also waved when the new commanding officer gave his report.

"Good to know, captain," The admiral said, unknowingly giving the other man his due for the first time. He accepted the report. "But she's your ship. Take command, and let me know if you need anything. Dismissed, captain."