S12 - M11: Awakening

[Tekin Nevir]

Captain's Log, Stardate 73520.7

The Discovery is en route to the Federation's oldest outpost nearest the Delta Quadrant.  Starfleet has dispatched us to answer a distress call from the planet Zacrim V.  It seems the previously dormant world has suddenly become very much seismically active in the last month, with increasing frequency and intensity.  We have been tasked with evacuations, and to see if we can find out why it has suddenly destabilized.  We have been authroized to exceed Warp 5, so I have us at Warp 8 to get there as soon as possible.

The loss of my First Officer was sudden and unexpected, leaving a current vacancy.  I have sighted my candidate to fill the role, but it has to be fully approve through the brass before I can make it official.  Instead, Lt. Commander Ian Galloway is serving the role once held by Alex Wu, both as Flight Officer, and as Second Officer.  Adeyemi has refused the role in any capacity, stating he was happy serving his current role until it was time to return to Columbus.

On advice from some friends, I have been giving the holodeck some more time.  Currently I have been interested in Earth's 18th century, and the struggles of one of their former nations, the United States.  The parallels between their war and our Occupation are surprisingly, and I have found interest and enjoyment looking at those figures from the past....


[Bridge - USS Discovery]

"It's called a peruke... or a powdered wig.  For two centuries, humans wore these to hide their hygienic problems and as a status symbol.  Apparently the era I'm in they were going out of fashion, and some members of the Congress were back to what they naturally had." Nevir said, sitting in the Captain's chair with a recently replicated ancient hairpiece in his hands.  He was just about to head to the holodeck following his shift on the Bridge.

"The program puts you in as a middle-colony member of the upper d'jarra, so that I can get the full experience without the stigma of being poor.  It's... interesting... seeing humanity using a class system compared to the humans of today.  SO many old beliefs and ideals that frankly would have kept Earth out of the Federation for centuries had it remained that way." he said, before leaning back.

"It really does give you an appreciation for the advancements that we have today.  Its like... watching the human race before it awakens.  You can see the potential, but you can also see the sleep still there."

The turbolift doors swept open and the next shift was coming onto the Bridge.  "Excellent." he said, standing up.  He watched as the other stations filled, except for one.  Engineering.  She must have been lost in her project again. 

"Ardyn, let Stark know what time it is.. she should be on bridge duty. Oh, and Miss Jaeger.. since I know it was you, warn me before you let Steve get into the holodeck program with me.  History is confusing enough as is without a raptor in a powdered wig."

[Kali Reyes]

[Discovery - Ops Department]

Kali was managing the oversight of comm relays. The next mission had them visiting an unstable planet and anything from magnetic fluctuations to something as simple as a wandering satellite can spell hell for any away team down planetside if their comms were getting interference. See, she could be a good girl - doing good, productive things. So while they troubleshoot and modify comm relays, Kali scrambled the crew shifts again on her PADD.

Alex left on his big return as an XO on another ship. On another day, she would have pouted or complained about losing another familiar face, but she's clocked in enough hours to be unphased. Just a simple pat on the back and watch another officer fill his career track up as it should be. Most of her favorite rookies were long since on other ships and that meant more of the family broken up.

Kali no longer flinched at the thought. She took another casual sip of her coffee and trudged on. Tekin was still here at least and in a coveted Captain position he wholly deserved of. Most of the crew she wasn't much familiar with yet - considering her first day back they had broken the ship into thirds for space combat. Crewman Scurrn had complained earlier that day that Ops was boring so she made him compile the damage report to fill his time. That was nice.

As she inhaled her third cup of coffee and kept a close eyes on maintenance reports, an ever looming cloud was hanging over her head determined to tell her something; something she had inherently missed because her people need her back to Risa blah, blah, blah. It was only when she double-checked the roster again did the coffee stirrer between her teeth slipped out and clattered foreboding on the metal floor.

"What's the admiral still doing on the ship?" she asked incredulously, prompting a wandering ensign to answer helpfully.

"I think he's overseeing the new retrofit," he replied. "We're also a few officers down in tactical, so I think he's helping with that."

The admiral has no reason to deal with Ops, Kali thought with a nod. Good. Perfect. I'll just lay low until he punches off.

Because, quite frankly, Kali Reyes wasn't exactly the model officer to start with. The last thing she needed was an overstuffed pencil pusher trudging through her territory.

[Bridge]

With a swoosh of the turbolift doors, Kali followed the others to their designated stations with two rounds of coffee in hand. Tekin was in the midst of explaining something in his possession that looked like an over-styled cat or the Federation President's stolen hairpiece.

"Chief Reyes on deck, General Washington," she greeted wryly. She offered him her spare cup like a fancy-schmancy yeoman. "Coffee?"

[Don Damien Addams]

[Bridge]

Don had sent a letter to Alex Wu before he stepped out of the turbolift.

Lieutenant Commander Alexander Wu,

Thank you for bringing me back to Starfleet, sir. Also It was a privilege serving under you, but keep your ship away. For the safety for another crazy crashing stunt. Psst. Don't want Kali rip my ribs out.

Wish you luck on your new post and leadership role. You will be one of the best and when things turn bad. Remember I know you can do it to the best Cause I believe you ARW the best. Don't let Tekin know. He throw me in space lock.

Salute off to you,

Don Damien Addams

"Chief Reyes on deck, General Washington," she greeted wryly. She offered him her spare cup like a fancy-schmancy yeoman. "Coffee?"

[Jebediah Schrock]

[Bridge]
When Chief Reyes wasn't around, Jeb made himself very comfortable in the Ops station of the bridge. Answering hails was simple, monitoring sensors was easy-peasy, and the chair was nice. It was smooth sailing most of the time, and the worst things to happen (Vidiian incident aside) all involved Steve stealing his lunch.

[Bridge - USS Discovery]

"It's called a peruke... or a powdered wig.  For two centuries, humans wore these to hide their hygienic problems and as a status symbol.  Apparently the era I'm in they were going out of fashion, and some members of the Congress were back to what they naturally had." Nevir said, sitting in the Captain's chair with a recently replicated ancient hairpiece in his hands.  He was just about to head to the holodeck following his shift on the Bridge.

"The program puts you in as a middle-colony member of the upper d'jarra, so that I can get the full experience without the stigma of being poor.  It's... interesting... seeing humanity using a class system compared to the humans of today.  SO many old beliefs and ideals that frankly would have kept Earth out of the Federation for centuries had it remained that way." he said, before leaning back.

"It really does give you an appreciation for the advancements that we have today.  Its like... watching the human race before it awakens.  You can see the potential, but you can also see the sleep still there."

The turbolift doors swept open and the next shift was coming onto the Bridge.  "Excellent." he said, standing up.  He watched as the other stations filled, except for one.  Engineering.  She must have been lost in her project again. 

"Ardyn, let Stark know what time it is.. she should be on bridge duty. Oh, and Miss Jaeger.. since I know it was you, warn me before you let Steve get into the holodeck program with me.  History is confusing enough as is without a raptor in a powdered wig."

Jeb was intrigued by the discussion of the 18th century. Many of its values and customs were part of his own Amish upbringing, but many (including the wigs) were not. But what did not fit in either of those buckets was the raptor.
"Not to worry, Captain," Jeb remarked to the commanding officer behind him. "Steve is right here... eating my lunch?"
Indeed, a small velociraptor with a powdered wig was in the middle of devouring Jebby's orange jello.

[Ian Galloway]

[Senior Officers Quarters]

Ian had risen two hours before his shift so that he could finish unpacking. It wasn't that he had a lot of belongings, but he was particular about how they were arranged. The Cernan had rendezvoused with the Discovery late ship time and Ian had just flopped into his bed without bothering to undress.

First thing he'd noticed was his quarters were about a third smaller than he had on the Tempest, but he was on a much smaller ship now, so it wasn't a surprise Actually, the smaller soace made his decorations seem like they covered more area and less empty than in his old quarters.

Finally satisfied, he headed for the bridge, also known as Alpha when the ship was in multi-vector mode. When the turbolift opened, he felt momentarily out of place. He'd had plenty of time to read up on the Prometheus and was very familiar with the layout, it was just jarring that this was just not the Tempest. This made him growl internally.

"Get over it ya bloody numpty! You are nae assigned ta the Tempest anymore. The Discovery is your bloody home now."

He moved to where he could stand in front of the captain at a respectful distance."

"Lieutenant Commander Galloway reporting for duty, Sir."

He made certain he enunciated his Stardard perfectly and stood at the position of attention while waiting to be acknowledged. Perhaps a bit formal, but not knowing the man personally beyond what his Starfleet personnel extract stated, Ian was not about to presume to be as informal as he had been with then Captain Rellak.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

Thank God.Mister Adeyemi, you must learn to pick your spot. A full out attack is the strategy of fools.

[Ardyn Jaeger]

"Ardyn, let Stark know what time it is.. she should be on bridge duty. Oh, and Miss Jaeger.. since I know it was you, warn me before you let Steve get into the holodeck program with me.  History is confusing enough as is without a raptor in a powdered wig."

[Ariste Stark]

[Auxiliary Engineering]


Ariste had had her head stuffed in this damn robot for the better part of two hours. Something had been going wonky with the  android, it had been threatening to short out, spotting random phrases at her, and repeating whatever was said to her. She couldn't find the issue, not in her circuits, cortex, or metaphorical "heart". Even connected to the ship's entire computer system, it couldn't properly diagnose the issue.

Biting her tongue, Ariste took a deep breath, counting to ten. She wouldn't let all this work be for naught, she wasn't going to lose HAPPY.
Straightening her back, she strode back over to her toolbox, plucking out the disk she wanted, before going back over to the empty husk. Now was the moment of truth.

"Serif, initiate download procedure."

"Yes Aristotle."

SERIF's signature Australian accent confirmed. Wrinkling her nose, Ariste let his joking jab at her name slide. For the moment. Opening HAPPY's mental storage compartment, she moved to insert it, when her commbadge rang.

It took a moment for the revelation to sink in. Ardy regularly helped her with her project, so she assumed it was something about that. Until her words clicked.

Crap! She was not only late, she was late AND totally dirty and unfit for duty. Spinning on her heel, she made a mental checklist of what she needed to turn off or on before sprinting back to her room. Localization. Interfacing. Syncing. Scanning. Lights.

Grabbing up anything she immediately needed, she smacked her commbadge.  "Tell the Captain I'm on my way!" she yelled, before closing the connection.

Serif, turn scanning and syncing off. Program 23. Serif turn lights down." she paused, before realizing her mistake. "Computer! Turn lights down!"

"What setting would you like the lights to be at?"

"I don't frigging care, zero!" eyes scanning the room once more, she blanked on anything else she needed to turn off, before leaving the room, full speed. And subsequently smacking her arm on the door, because the lights were at zero by the time she reached the doorframe.

This left her stumbling out, rubbing the now-forming bruise on her left arm, and dodging people as she attempted to sprint through heavy traffic.

[Turbolift]

Slamming her body into the Turbolift, she weakly tried to hide exactly how hard she was panting. For as much as she crawled around in the Jeffries, she really wasn't in as good of shape as she should be. "Deck... ah.. Deck seven!" Sticking her tongue out, she tried to catch her breath. Had to make a short stop at her quarters, change her uniform and wash her blackened and greasy hands and face. Pushing her way out as the turbolift doors opened, she kicked herself into high gear.


[Bridge]


As far as Ariste was concerned, she deserved a medal. Changing and scraping the dirt off her skin took an impossibly short time of just five minutes. Seven to get back into the Turbolift and en route to the Bridge. She'd be damned if anyone could beat that, and now she had a new record time to rub in Ardyn's face. But for now, she needed to actually report in and get to her duty station. Straightening her rumpled shirt and putting on her serious face, she tried to hide her accent, instead putting on a good formal display.

"Apologies, Captain, for the wait. Apologies Captain.... Apologies, Captain for the wait. Lieutenant Stark reporting in."

Soon, the turbolift stopped it's ascent, the doors opened, and she strode onto the bridge as if she hadn't just sprinted a half a mile in ten minutes.

"Apologies, Captain, for the wait. Lieutenant Stark reporting in for Bridge shift." No trace of Australian or Brazilian accent anywhere. Just mechanical standard, like a Vulcan. Or a robot.

Swallowing hard, she hoped the Captain wouldn't realize how hard her chest was heaving in labored breathing, or the subtle smudges she'd missed in her hurry. That's when she noted yet another person, standing to attention as they clocked in. Trying not to make it obvious, she squinted at their pips, heartrate skyrocketing as she saw them. Goddamnit! Could she do anything more wrong today? Late to her shift, come in unkempt, and now, interrupt the Commander's report in?

"Excuse me, I'm sorry," she mumbled, almost inaudible as she backed up, backed all the way into the corner her station was in, and then wheeled around. At least here she could pretend she was doing actual work.  And hopefully, not be bothered for the entirety of her shift, especially not for the long-overdue reprimand.

[Don Damien Addams]

[Auxiliary Engineering]


Ariste had had her head stuffed in this damn robot for the better part of two hours. Something had been going wonky with the  android, it had been threatening to short out, spotting random phrases at her, and repeating whatever was said to her. She couldn't find the issue, not in her circuits, cortex, or metaphorical "heart". Even connected to the ship's entire computer system, it couldn't properly diagnose the issue.

Biting her tongue, Ariste took a deep breath, counting to ten. She wouldn't let all this work be for naught, she wasn't going to lose HAPPY.
Straightening her back, she strode back over to her toolbox, plucking out the disk she wanted, before going back over to the empty husk. Now was the moment of truth.

"Serif, initiate download procedure."

"Yes Aristotle."

SERIF's signature Australian accent confirmed. Wrinkling her nose, Ariste let his joking jab at her name slide. For the moment. Opening HAPPY's mental storage compartment, she moved to insert it, when her commbadge rang.

It took a moment for the revelation to sink in. Ardy regularly helped her with her project, so she assumed it was something about that. Until her words clicked.

Crap! She was not only late, she was late AND totally dirty and unfit for duty. Spinning on her heel, she made a mental checklist of what she needed to turn off or on before sprinting back to her room. Localization. Interfacing. Syncing. Scanning. Lights.

Grabbing up anything she immediately needed, she smacked her commbadge.  "Tell the Captain I'm on my way!" she yelled, before closing the connection.

Serif, turn scanning and syncing off. Program 23. Serif turn lights down." she paused, before realizing her mistake. "Computer! Turn lights down!"

"What setting would you like the lights to be at?"

"I don't frigging care, zero!" eyes scanning the room once more, she blanked on anything else she needed to turn off, before leaving the room, full speed. And subsequently smacking her arm on the door, because the lights were at zero by the time she reached the doorframe.

This left her stumbling out, rubbing the now-forming bruise on her left arm, and dodging people as she attempted to sprint through heavy traffic.

[Turbolift]

Slamming her body into the Turbolift, she weakly tried to hide exactly how hard she was panting. For as much as she crawled around in the Jeffries, she really wasn't in as good of shape as she should be. "Deck... ah.. Deck seven!" Sticking her tongue out, she tried to catch her breath. Had to make a short stop at her quarters, change her uniform and wash her blackened and greasy hands and face. Pushing her way out as the turbolift doors opened, she kicked herself into high gear.


[Bridge]


As far as Ariste was concerned, she deserved a medal. Changing and scraping the dirt off her skin took an impossibly short time of just five minutes. Seven to get back into the Turbolift and en route to the Bridge. She'd be damned if anyone could beat that, and now she had a new record time to rub in Ardyn's face. But for now, she needed to actually report in and get to her duty station. Straightening her rumpled shirt and putting on her serious face, she tried to hide her accent, instead putting on a good formal display.

"Apologies, Captain, for the wait. Apologies Captain.... Apologies, Captain for the wait. Lieutenant Stark reporting in."

Soon, the turbolift stopped it's ascent, the doors opened, and she strode onto the bridge as if she hadn't just sprinted a half a mile in ten minutes.

"Apologies, Captain, for the wait. Lieutenant Stark reporting in for Bridge shift." No trace of Australian or Brazilian accent anywhere. Just mechanical standard, like a Vulcan. Or a robot.

Swallowing hard, she hoped the Captain wouldn't realize how hard her chest was heaving in labored breathing, or the subtle smudges she'd missed in her hurry. That's when she noted yet another person, standing to attention as they clocked in. Trying not to make it obvious, she squinted at their pips, heartrate skyrocketing as she saw them. Goddamnit! Could she do anything more wrong today? Late to her shift, come in unkempt, and now, interrupt the Commander's report in?

"Excuse me, I'm sorry," she mumbled, almost inaudible as she backed up, backed all the way into the corner her station was in, and then wheeled around. At least here she could pretend she was doing actual work.  And hopefully, not be bothered for the entirety of her shift, especially not for the long-overdue reprimand.

[Tekin Nevir]

[Bridge - USS Discovery]

As Kali walked onto the bridge with her address to him, he raised his eyebrow at her acknowledgment.  "General Washington was never actually part of the Continental Congress." he said, though the smirk that appeared on his face as he took the spare coffee was evidence enough that he was not offended, just amused.  He took a sip and then grinned at her.

"Thank you.. I'm surprised you didn't drink this one too.... Janeway." he chided playfully, before being alerted to Steve's presence by his other Ops officer.  The holographic ancient earth reptile looked up at him with what he could only describe as a look of smugness. 

"Mr. Schrock, it is completely unnecessary to bring any amount of food to the bridge.  You live on one of the most advanced ships in the fleet... you don't even need to leave your quarters.  Let's keep the food off the bridge." he said looking down at the mug in his hands.  "Drinks are an exception." he said, sighing.

He moved to where he could stand in front of the captain at a respectful distance."

"Lieutenant Commander Galloway reporting for duty, Sir."

"At ease, Commander. Welcome to the Bridge.  Not as large as the Tempest, but the Captain's chair rivals it on comfort.  You're starting the next shift; we should be a few hours out from the planet."

Adeyemi to Tekin. Sir, I've been doing research in the lab and I've had as much as I can stand. I'd like to go over the rescue procedures with the security and flight teams. "

Nevir was a bit amused at the idea of the Admiral in the science lab... but then again, he was a science officer, and a planetary scientist at that.  He didn't need to visit the lab for information.    "Understood, coordinate your efforts with Galloway. 

With that, and the raptor trying to act adorable around the Captain, he sighed again.  "Ardyn, you really should be cautious with how much self-programming controls you give him.  Acting like a portable replicator for loose food, or stepping into other's programs will rub some people the wrong way.  I know he's enjoying the fact that he can roam anywhere on the ship without restrictions, but keep him at his programmed purpose... otherwise you'll wake up with Steve gaining sentience while having full access to the ship systems.  You can start with a permission protocol for active holodeck programs."

He turned to the turbolift when Ariste suddenly came through, clearly in a rush.  Nevir raised his free hand to signal her to relax and catch her breath.  "I only ask that you try to keep an eye on the time.  I've been in your shoes before, I know how easy it is to cut out the rest of the world.  Go ahead and take your station.  Commander, Alpha shift is over, Beta shift is now on duty.  Now, if there is nothing else, I'll be in Holodeck 1."

[Kali Reyes]

[Bridge - USS Discovery]

As Kali walked onto the bridge with her address to him, he raised his eyebrow at her acknowledgment.  "General Washington was never actually part of the Continental Congress." he said, though the smirk that appeared on his face as he took the spare coffee was evidence enough that he was not offended, just amused.  He took a sip and then grinned at her.

"Thank you.. I'm surprised you didn't drink this one too.... Janeway." he chided playfully, before being alerted to Steve's presence by his other Ops officer.  The holographic ancient earth reptile looked up at him with what he could only describe as a look of smugness.

 

[Bridge]

"Well, well, someone's taking me to school on ancient history," Kali said with a cheeky grin. "But don't be fooled. Eugenics Wars or bust, Captain. I'll give you a history lesson to run from - pending after my next round of coffee."

This was the fourth time today someone has compared her to Janeway. "If you mention anything about wrinkles, Captain, I may have to confiscate that." She thoughtfully took a swig of her drink that had much too much sugar and cream to be properly called a coffee and seriously considered looking the woman's dossier up for once, until she was distracted by a velociraptor on deck scarfing down jello.

"Huh. You don't see that every morning."

"Mr. Schrock, it is completely unnecessary to bring any amount of food to the bridge.  You live on one of the most advanced ships in the fleet... you don't even need to leave your quarters.  Let's keep the food off the bridge." he said looking down at the mug in his hands.  "Drinks are an exception." he said, sighing.

Kali made a sound of triumph on her way to the Ops station.

He turned to the turbolift when Ariste suddenly came through, clearly in a rush.  Nevir raised his free hand to signal her to relax and catch her breath.  "I only ask that you try to keep an eye on the time.  I've been in your shoes before, I know how easy it is to cut out the rest of the world.  Go ahead and take your station.  Commander, Alpha shift is over, Beta shift is now on duty.  Now, if there is nothing else, I'll be in Holodeck 1."

"So long as it's not holodeck 4, Captain. It's still under maintenance!" Kali said over her shoulder, then crossed her legs and admired the viewscreen. It had really been awhile since she properly chilled at her station without worries about red alerts or unwanted boarding parties. "I'm going to regret putting myself on this shift today." Beta shift was such a drag.

[Ian Galloway]

[Bridge - USS Discovery]

As Kali walked onto the bridge with her address to him, he raised his eyebrow at her acknowledgment.  "General Washington was never actually part of the Continental Congress." he said, though the smirk that appeared on his face as he took the spare coffee was evidence enough that he was not offended, just amused.  He took a sip and then grinned at her.

"Thank you.. I'm surprised you didn't drink this one too.... Janeway." he chided playfully, before being alerted to Steve's presence by his other Ops officer.  The holographic ancient earth reptile looked up at him with what he could only describe as a look of smugness. 

"Mr. Schrock, it is completely unnecessary to bring any amount of food to the bridge.  You live on one of the most advanced ships in the fleet... you don't even need to leave your quarters.  Let's keep the food off the bridge." he said looking down at the mug in his hands.  "Drinks are an exception." he said, sighing.

"At ease, Commander. Welcome to the Bridge.  Not as large as the Tempest, but the Captain's chair rivals it on comfort.  You're starting the next shift; we should be a few hours out from the planet."

Nevir was a bit amused at the idea of the Admiral in the science lab... but then again, he was a science officer, and a planetary scientist at that.  He didn't need to visit the lab for information.    "Understood, coordinate your efforts with Galloway. 

With that, and the raptor trying to act adorable around the Captain, he sighed again.  "Ardyn, you really should be cautious with how much self-programming controls you give him.  Acting like a portable replicator for loose food, or stepping into other's programs will rub some people the wrong way.  I know he's enjoying the fact that he can roam anywhere on the ship without restrictions, but keep him at his programmed purpose... otherwise you'll wake up with Steve gaining sentience while having full access to the ship systems.  You can start with a permission protocol for active holodeck programs."

He turned to the turbolift when Ariste suddenly came through, clearly in a rush.  Nevir raised his free hand to signal her to relax and catch her breath.  "I only ask that you try to keep an eye on the time.  I've been in your shoes before, I know how easy it is to cut out the rest of the world.  Go ahead and take your station.  Commander, Alpha shift is over, Beta shift is now on duty.  Now, if there is nothing else, I'll be in Holodeck 1."

[Bridge]

Ian relaxed and replied to the captain.

"Aye Sir, depending on the needs of the locals, with twelve embarked craft and three hulls, we should be able to meet just about anything the locals might need."

The movement and behavior of the creature on the bridge referred to as 'Steve' drew his attention and he had to ask, despite the creture's obvious acceptance by the crew about whatever it was supposed to do.

"Sir, as I am new, this... thing was not included in the specifications of the ship or in the briefing files. What exactly is it's purpose?"

[Don Damien Addams]

[Main Bridge of Discovery]

Ardyn, you really should be cautious with how much self-programming controls you give him.  Acting like a portable replicator for loose food, or stepping into other's programs will rub some people the wrong way.  I know he's enjoying the fact that he can roam anywhere on the ship without restrictions, but keep him at his programmed purpose... otherwise you'll wake up with Steve gaining sentience while having full access to the ship systems.  You can start with a permission protocol for active holodeck programs.

"So long as it's not holodeck 4, Captain. It's still under maintenance!" Kali said over her shoulder, then crossed her legs and admired the viewscreen. It had really been awhile since she properly chilled at her station without worries about red alerts or unwanted boarding parties. "I'm going to regret putting myself on this shift today." Beta shift was such a drag.

[Jebediah Schrock]

[Bridge - USS Discovery]
"Mr. Schrock, it is completely unnecessary to bring any amount of food to the bridge.  You live on one of the most advanced ships in the fleet... you don't even need to leave your quarters.  Let's keep the food off the bridge." he said looking down at the mug in his hands.  "Drinks are an exception." he said, sighing.

[Bridge]
Jeb was rather surprised. Having grown up Amish, and despite 3 previous warnings against doing so, he still saw bringing a bag lunch to the bridge as perfectly natural. However, since he was not one to question authority, Jeb just apologized and took what was left of his lunch (the bag) to the matter recycler.
For a moment he just continued to monitor comm frequencies, until Chief Reyes came to take over. With that, the young Crewman vacated the console, and headed for a replicator outside the bridge to get a lunch.

[Bridge]

Ian relaxed and replied to the captain.

"Aye Sir, depending on the needs of the locals, with eleven embarked craft and three hulls, we should be able to meet just about anything the locals might need."

The movement and behavior of the creature on the bridge referred to as 'Steve' drew his attention and he had to ask, despite the creture's obvious acceptance by the crew about whatever it was supposed to do.

"Sir, as I am new, this... thing was not included in the specifications of the ship or in the briefing files. What exactly is it's purpose?"

On his way out, Jeb passed close to the new officer, Lt. Cmdr. Galloway. The man was understandably baffled by Steve, as Jebby had been earlier, so the young crewman set out to explain to his superior.
"Steve is supposed to be the ship's mascot, Sir. I think he might also have some therapeutic aspects."
This was probably the most flattering reason for Steve's existence that could be given, but it felt right to Jeb.

[Don Damien Addams]

[Bridge]
Jeb was rather surprised. Having grown up Amish, and despite 3 previous warnings against doing so, he still saw bringing a bag lunch to the bridge as perfectly natural. However, since he was not one to question authority, Jeb just apologized and took what was left of his lunch (the bag) to the matter recycler.
For a moment he just continued to monitor comm frequencies, until Chief Reyes came to take over. With that, the young Crewman vacated the console, and headed for a replicator outside the bridge to get a lunch. On his way out, Jeb passed close to the new officer, Lt. Cmdr. Galloway. The man was understandably baffled by Steve, as Jebby had been earlier, so the young crewman set out to explain to his superior.
"Steve is supposed to be the ship's mascot, Sir. I think he might also have some therapeutic aspects."
This was probably the most flattering reason for Steve's existence that could be given, but it felt right to Jeb.

Don over heard the young man. Sad. Even Don knew the new officer was asking the Captain. That kid was tripping over etiquette on the bridge. The Captain was asked and he was supposed to answer. Kid gonna possible dig his own grave. Maybe he can try give advice to the youngster in the future.