[USS Charon] SD241001.31 || "Phys-Ed" Bvt. Lt Brent Warren & Savant

Colin Pinnell <pinnellcb@thehiddenkingdom.com> wrote to charon@ucip.org:

Brent really hated giving these kinds of speeches. They seemed boring,
pointless, and most of all tedious for him and his men. However they
did need to be kept informed as to what the rest of the ship was doing
and how they were supposed to fit into that little niche they had carved
themselves out.

"Oh by the way all of your inventories are terrible. They look like my
youngest sisters coloring jobs out of kindergarten. Since you all seem
to be so damn remedial when it comes to forming coherent sentences and
proper notation, I have called in a specialist. Savant?"

he asked turning to his left, and the computer complied. A hologram
appeared beside the Brevet Lieutenant, an image of Savant in Marine
greens, with tough black combat gloves and the sort of shiny mirrored
sunglasses that are exactly not what the Marine Corps consider part of
the battle dress uniform. The hologram smiled a winning smile at the row
of Marines.

"Savant is a new addition to the crew, as such I expect you to behave
yourselves and listen to what she has to say regarding your inventories."

The hologram nodded once to the Lieutenant before turning back to the
assembled Marines, at ease. "Each of you has Equipping Schedule E9A and
B, and Personal Maintenance Schedule MSA-1 waiting for you to complete.
I expect the equipping schedule to be completed today, and the MSA-1 to
be completed by the end of the week."

"Cursory inspection shows that you've been a little lax in the
maintenance of your battle kit. Given how deep we are in uncharted
territory, this can't be allowed to continue. I am going to arrange
surprise inspections with the Lieutenant, beginning next week."

"None of this should be difficult - you all show as having excellent
records. I'm sure that it's all nothing more than a little brush-up on
the basics. Questions?"

"Man now the computer gets to give us orders? What the hell is this,"
one of the privates in the back of the room muttered under his breath to
a fellow marine. The words and the following snickering drew Brent's
attention. "Well if there's a joke to be told kids then lets all hear
it," Brent said eyeballing the private who he knew had given lip.

"Nothing sir no joke. It's just a Marine's life to take orders from
everyone here. Evidently including the computer now," he said motioning
over at Savant.

The hologram smiled, one of those big, broad, toothy smiles that a drill
instructor could conjure up at a moments' notice. The sort of smile that
preceeded a horrendous fate. Her tone was sweet. "You've got it quite
wrong, Private Millebank. I'm just an advisory program. I don't give
orders. He does. I just relay them to you."

Ah, heightened levels of seretonin, increase in autonomic synapse
activity. The Private was starting to doubt himself. Savants' synthetic
smile widened, to make him squirm a little more, and then she glanced at
Warren. "I believe the Private has a problem with your orders, Brevet."

"Apparently since Private Millebank here thinks that the Computer is out
to steal his job perhaps he should prove his worth so I dont replace him
with someone like Savant. 10 laps around the ship Millebank. Savant
will be running along side of you. If you fail to keep ahead of her for
the entire lap you will have two more added onto your total," Brent said.

The private apparently didn't quite believe Brent was serious and didn't
get up. "Something wrong Private? On you feet get your boots on.
Start thanking your gods that I don't make it with a full goddamn pack.
Now double time it!" Brent yelled at the Private who got up immediately.

Savant let her smile mellow and flexed her hands; apparently that was
all the stretching she needed before a jog. "Don't worry, Private. I'm a
wimp. I'm sure I won't be a challenge." The rest of the Marines seemed
to avoid looking at the offensive private, less they get themselves in
more trouble. "Now. The rest of us will work on your inventory forms.
Any questions," the Lieutenant asked casting his eyes about. There of
course was none.

Savant saluted to the Brevet, already jogging on the spot as she
generously let the Private have a broad head start. She would
communicate with him to see how hard she should *actually* be on the
poor soldier, but for the moment let the illusion ride that he was
racing against an implacable, tireless, imperturbable opponent.

She caught up to him in a burst of speed, snapping her knuckles against
his flank playfully as she ran. The holoprojectors' integral pressor
beams provided just the right amount of a prod to make it seem real. She
could be heard as they exited the brief, "Come on, Millebank, we just
started!"

Brent grinned as he watched Millebank run off into the corridor.
"Alright! Now that the fun is over with shall we get back into the
inventory?" he said looking back between the men as they all withdrew
the PADDs from in front of them and began to work on their inventory now
in earnest. Less they wind up on the wrong end of the Lieutenants wrath.

[USS Charon] SD 241001.31 || Duty Log || Lieutenant Dlya (ASec) || "Holodeck blues."

[Holodeck 1, Deck 6]

 

Runo stood outside the holodeck and queried the computer. Sure enough, the holodeck was empty and he had ten or so minutes before someone would be showing up for their scheduled holodeck time. He walked closer to the double doors and upon his approach, they slid open to reveal the well lit holodeck grid covering every surface in the large but completely empty room. Strolling in and hearing the door close behind him, Runo paused a moment as he looked around. There should be a control panel somewhere. But the lieutenant's search bore no fruit. There was not one single programmers inferface to be found. Walking back over to the doors and off to one side, he manipulated the wall console there to generate a workstation in the middle of the holodeck. With a shimmer and a low hum, the console appeared. "That's more like it." Walking over to the newly made console, Runo looked over the controls a moment before his fingers set to work, accessing files. Shortly afterwards, a hologram shimmered into existence with a blank expression on her face. "Lieutenant Dlya, you are attempting to access my activation protocals. State your intentions."

 

Runo sighed as he leaned on the console, one of his arms resting on top of the console. "Look, ALICE, I wasn't even any where near your matrix or programming so lay off will you?" The security officer shook his head in the negative and sighed again as he went back to work. "I've got two of my officers stationed outside of the main computer core and a few more around Engineering. Those are the main spots Marcus is worried about but I am leaning more towards the computer core. If a hostile force was to overrun Engineering, we can still lock down the consoles and critical systems from a different location but if the computer core is captured, then we are royally screwed."

 

The human expression didn't register to the hologram as she tried to place it in her subroutines. "Please be advised that 'royally screwed' is not a recognizible reference in my database. Would you care to elaborate lieutenant?" ALICE bore a straight face but she was as aware as Runo was that her linguistic's database was almost as large and extensive as the Charon's computer cores programmed knowledge. Mainly because she shared an uplink to the computer core and access to the data inside. ALICE had been tracking crew movements for a while, storing it for further reference, just in case it would come in handy. "I have been notified of the security details. However, your attempts at accessing the computer core's internal processing 34 minutes, 19 seconds ago, caused the security lockouts to activate. They were designed to protect the core from outside influences."

 

Runo slammed his hand down on the console. This interface really knew how to annoy him. "But not from pre-authorized sources. Commander Marcus was concerned that the security around the computer core, not just physical, was insufficent. After all, Romulans practically invented hacking." When he realized that his use of old 21st century vernacular was only going to be met with the same, annoying preprogrammed response, he waved off the hologram when her mouth opened to speak. "Nevermind what I said. I triggered the lockouts when I tried to integrate modifications into your survelliance and electronic countermeasure subroutines. Since I couldn't do anything there, I figured I would confront the source." The human male sighed a moment and looked the hologram in the face. "Look... I know you don't like me for some reason and I share the opinion but for the sake of...." He struggled to find a common point that she would agree on. "... The commander, at least try to work with me here. Now... I've uploaded the list of proposed changes, crew roster changes and security logs that I would like you to review on and get back to me okay?"

 

ALICE stared at the human and tilted her head slightly, as if she was confused by what he was saying and not understanding. "Lieutenant did you shrink 2 centimeters? Your physical parameters are not consistent with the medical scans we have on file." It was as if she had completely tuned him out. Her unblinking eyes looked to the console and she then gave a very good impression of a sigh, highly theatrical. Runo gritted his teeth. This is what you get for giving a hologram personality and then hooking it up to a starship's computer core. "Very well... I will look over your revisions and get back to you as soon as I finish. Be avised lieutenant that the next time you attempt to access anything I deem you unauthorized for, without appointed supervision and someone that knows my matrix sufficently..... well, you know the story." Runo stormed out of the holodeck, typing away on a PADD and checking that his officers had intend made it to their destinations around Main Engineering and the computer cores. ALICE watched the back of the human recede until the doors of the holodeck slammed shut, like the lid of a coffin. "It is such fun to toy with you Dlya. Now, lets see how much you've screwed up my home." She muttered quietly to herself as she walked over to the console.

 

[Deck 6, hallway outside of holodeck 1]

 

Stepping out of the holodeck and allowing the doors to close behind him, Runo took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He personally loathed the security program and wished it had never been installed on the Charon. Unfortunately for him, ALICE was good at what she did and they weren't likely to just do away with her. Throwing a glance at a nearby time-piece, Runo frowned. He had asked the computer to send a notice to Eliszabeth Johnson, the engineer that Marcus was about to wed, about maybe meeting up and discussing ALICEs programming for possible revisions in the intention to increase security without it being very obvious but he hadn't gotten any reply to that. Wasn't Indi supposed to give me a shout when she got off her shift? "Computer locate lieutenant (jg) Bai." His words were heard by internal sensors and the computer scanned for her combadge.

 

"Lieutenant Bai is on deck 2, Eris section."

 

Runo smiled slightly as he realized she must have finished her holodeck program early but he wanted to check something else. "Computer locate lieutenant (jg) Johnson." When the computer replied that the second lieutenant junior grade was also on deck 2, Runo's eyebrow rose just a fraction of an inch. Could it be coincidence that the two people he was looking for, although for different reasons, were together in the same spot? Maybe but only time will tell.

 

=====END LOG=====

Lieutenant Runo Dlya

Assistant Security Officer

USS Charon

 

with the appearance of....

 

ALICE (NPC) APB Richard

 

 

[USS Charon] SD241001.30 || Joint BackLog || Cdt Aayla Bre'accoria, Voran and some other pointy ears

<<Takes place the day before departure>>

 

 

[USS Charon, Astrophysics]

 

The five Vulcans silently floated through the doors, trailed by a less than enthusiastic yeoman who had drawn the short straw this day – or so his sour face suggested.

Immediately, a tall, dark haired male steered towards a brightly lit console to study readouts while another in rust colored robes made for a screen on the other side. And the old crow in charge didn't so much as blink. It was a bad day for Brzinski, to put it mildly.

And to top it all off, the only officer present was a Cadet.

 

"Afternoon, ma'am." The dark blonde human nodded towards the female and then blinked when he realized what species he was looking at. "Got some Vulcans for you. Esteemed councilwoman V'Laz, who seems to be in charge while the other one's not around, shellmouthed T'Kal over there and their entourage whose names I can't remember for the life of me. They've asked for a tour, which means they're going to poke their noses into everything within sight and if you could help me shepherding them I'd be eternally grateful. Rehu's going to blow a gasket if they start fiddling around with stuff and… HEY!" the latter was directed towards Voran who had lightly touched a panel and brought up sensor scans of Yy'a nebula in astonishing detail. "What did I tell you about touching stuff."

 

The Vulcan turned slightly, fixing an expressionless gaze on the fidgeting human and then quirked a brow at the Cadet who had found herself at the focus of the yeoman's attention.

"Greetings, Cadet. Might I ask what prompted this repeat analysis of plasma eddies?"

 

Aayla didn't turn around to answer the Vulcan, but instead nodded her head to address his question. "Good morning, and the analysis of plasma eddies in Yy'a was to look for a wormhole that may or may not exist." Aayla explained, refocusing the screen to turn to the stellar nursery the Vulcans were so hyped about. "And this is the stellar nursery you wanted us to see." 

 

"Wormhole? Fascinating."

To the yeoman's chagrin, the flock of Vulcans immediately dispersed and every single one steered towards some screen or other.

"May we offer assistance in analyzing and filing the data?" for the first time during the tour, the willowy lady named V'Laz spoke up, standing politely in front of a console.

 

"If you'd like, but most of the Astrometric sensors are down due to repairs on the adjacent relays, so our sensor arc is fragmented." Aayla explained. "And this something you've been dying to study for years...." Aayla said, refocusing the long range sensors to an area of space she knew so well. "...Vre'allia." 

 

The twin suns of the system glistened in the darkness of space around it. The mists shone brightly today with the swirling blue-green expanse wisped against the background of dense stars and nebula.

 

"That will present no problem." V'Laz replied evenly and within seconds, the screen in front of her changed from displaying a host of incoherent data to reorganizing itself into a stream of shimmering light. A few more taps at the console caused a translation matrix to activate and from this point on a band of drunken Klingons might have invaded the lab, none of the Vulcans fixated on various screens would have so much as twitched a brow.

 

All except T'Kal who kept an interested eye on the analyses her colleagues were running but stepped up to the display the Cadet had produced to let a level gaze linger on what the long range sensors could project at this distance.

"Indeed we would much prefer to study the stellar nursery. However, at this distance the data is fragmented at best, no?" While the optical representation was quite impressive, the datastream accompanying it could best be described as incoherent. No wonder T'Pelar was so intent on leaving, the potential for scientific discoveries one could anticipate even at this distance was … extraordinary. But they would have to get much closer before being able to do anything meaningful with these readouts.

"Will the repairs be completed in time for departure, then?"

 

While Aayla's ears were hidden behind the strip of cloth that wrapped around her head, covering her empty eye sockets, her sensitive ears perked up at the mention of departure. "Departure for where?" She asked.

 

Quirking a mildly bemused bow at the young Cadet, T'Kal turned back to appreciate the swirls of a green golden nebula being displayed on one of the secondary screens "Your original destination, of course. The Stellar Cluster which Charon was sent to investigate. I have been given to understand that we will proceed there without further delays."

 

Aayla turned to T'Kal. "Well thats........ great, I wasn't aware we would get there so soon, I've charted the outer layers, it's a class three globular cluster, much like the Vree Cluster, I've designated it Charon for now because of its dimensions, one hundred eleven light years across and eighty three developed stars." Aayla explained exuberantly. "Here is my charting before the attack." Aayla said, bringing up her data on the Charon cluster.

 

The Vulcan stepped onto the platform, studying the holographic representation floating before her with a practiced eye. Silently as a Le-Matya stalking across the hills, Voran had moved to her side and pointed at a blue supergiant, frozen in time, hovering over the smooth, dark surface of the platform.

Nodding slowly, the elder woman made a sweeping gesture towards a T-Tauri object with an impressive accretion disc. What might be hidden behind those swirls, rendered in crimson and gold by the information Charon's sensors had been able to collect?

"Fascinating." Voran murmured, and suddenly his eyes narrowed at a dark speck showing in the middle of a crimson cloud.

"Cadet, would it be possible to zoom in on this area?" He pointed towards the protostar, as openly curious as a Vulcan can possibly be.

 

"Lets see....." Aayla said, switching off the database scans and moving to the Borg/Starfleet sensors used on all Starfleet ships with Astrometrics labs since the return of Voyager. "...yes." She said zooming in on the protostar. "My sensors indicate that based on the method developed by the stellar cartographers on the Enterprise-D forty years ago, this star will form into a SOL type star." Aayla explained.

A sudden beep at the Astrometrics console opposite Aayla made her slowly turn around.

"Now that's a scientific find." She said looking at the data.

 

If they hadn't been Vulcans, they might have frowned at the fact that all they had to work with was this image, a long range scan taken weeks ago, little more than an archive picture despite all its unmoving splendor. But by and large, they have a reputation for being a patient race, T'Pelar's recent flights of fancy notwithstanding.

So T'Kal merely nodded at the Vree Cadet, casting this unusual being a curious glance which was brief enough to not be intrusive and nodded affirmation.

"We expect a great number of those, Cadet." She stated levelly and watched young Voran with an indulgent air about her.

The younger Vulcan had joined the Vree and was engaged in a murmured debate concerning the possibility of this massive swirl becoming a G-Type and possible time frames.

Her gaze however was drawn back to the dark spot looming amidst colors.

An inaccurate rendering of the sensors due to the great distance? Or something else?

 

Behind T'Kal, analyses were conducted, theories spun and discarded, and the low hum of Vulcans having a grand time (though they'd rather drop dead than admit it) permeated the cavernous room.

In front of her, their destination beckoned.

If only they would not arrive too late.

 

Aayla continued to debate with Voran about the time frame of the star coming into full bloom, but they both agreed on a time between 750,000 and 1.2 million years from now. (She have to wait a while until she was proven correct.). T'Kal stood behind her, looking at a place Aayla had initially shoved off as an inaccurate sensor reading, but maybe T'Kal saw something more.

 

Aayla and Voran continued their debate for the remainder of the afternoon and T'Kal offered her input of a nod or cocked eye brown once in a while, but besides that, she just stood there behind Aayla and Voran, looking at a seemingly unimportant patch of space in the Universe.

 

 

[End Log]

 

Cdt Aayla Bre'accoria

Stellar Cartographer

USS Charon

 

Voran, V'Laz et al

Vulcan Science Council

 

 

 

[USS Charon] SD241001.29 Joint Personal Log XO Cmdr. Katris & ASec Cmdr. Falcon - " Past in the Past"

     ------- Start Joint Log -------

     Eithne looked around the bare holodeck as she waited for Jade to arrive. She had sent him the message to meet her here after her shift a few hours ago, she hoped he had gotten it. A soft smile came to her lips as she waited for him to walk through the doors to the deck.

     Part of her wondered how he would react to what and why she had called him here... Mainly, they needed to talk... But, at the same time... She needed to be with him.

     Jade was not about to stand Eithne up.  Whether the message had gotten to him directly or not, in all likely hood he would have found it at some point throughout his shift.  Between hunting Romulans and considering picking a fight with the captain, he had not gotten a lot of time to do catching up.  At least he had been able too spend time with Sera since they had returned.  He worried about her.  Not exactly a normal childhood, but not a neglectful one either by any means.  He walked through the holodeck doors, not knowing what to expect.

     A soft smile formed on her face as she looked over towards Jade when he entered. Though he was there, she did not move to meet him, she simply waited for the doors to close so that she could enter her lock code into the console before she said a word.

     " Jade... I asked you to meet me here so that we would be able to speak in private... Our lives over the last few years have been very separate... And much has happened to us both... I feel that it is time we tell each other of our separate journeys... So that they may become one again..." She stopped and let him speak.

      Jade returned her smile with one of his own.  He had missed her so much.  To see her smile again was a dream.  Jade wanted to catch up as well.  For her to tell him of her life while he was away, tracking down the best part of his, their daughter.  "I think that's a good idea," he replied.

     She simply nodded before she turned her back to him and started working on the console to bring up the program she selected for them to catch up in. Her hands working the console to bring the program back to life. " I could think of no place better then here..." She started up the program, and soon, it was in existence around them.

     A familiar cliff, towering above a magnificent coastline. Below them could be heard the gentle crashing of waves against a rocky coastline. The air was cool with ocean mist, and the sun shined above, its rays soothingly warm, but not too warm. " Do you know where we are?" How could he forget? She thought.

     Jade nodded to her.  "I proposed to you here, years ago.  Simpler times, weren't they?"  He turned to look to her, his face a canvas of emotion.  This place meant many things to him.  "How could I forget this place?  Such would be unthinkable."

     Tears came to her eyes as she remember that day, the day he made her complete in so many ways. " Aye... I could never forget this place.... It hold so much meaning for both of us..." She moved over to the cliff and once again she looked down towards the water, the breeze sending her dark curls flying about.

     Finally, after taking in the crisp air, she turned to look at him. " Jade... After you did not return... I went to Starfleet Headquarters and had your status changed... First to Missing in action... And then Killed in action... I can only assume what kind of paper work that was for Jolias when he found you..."

     Against all logic and reason, the idea of Jole having to do mountains and mountains of paperwork was just ridiculously funny.  Jade couldn't help up giggle.  The giggle turned into a chuckle.  She could always make him laugh.  "If only I could have been there for that.  Eithne I understand.  You couldn't know."

     She was serious when she was speaking with him, but she did empathize with him when he chuckled and smiled a bit more. " I am glad you are alive and well... So much so that I am left confused as to what to do next... I was devastated when I realized that you could more then likely be dead... That would would not be coming back..."

     She paused. " I left Command of the Warrior.... Then my emotions sent my telepathic abilities through the roof which resulted in a severe brain hemorrhage... I was in such a pit of depression I never thought I would recover...But... I did recover... And now I don't know how to react now that you are back... I think I am scared."

     Jade wanted to lie and tell her he understood, but the truth was that he didn't.  He had gone his whole life without knowing fear until Seraphim had been born.  Then she had disappeared and he was terrified he would never see her again, but Eithnes fear was different from that.  "I'm not going to tell you that you're wrong for feeling the way you do.  I don't blame you.  It's like starting over."
        
     Tears came to her eyes as she nodded, " It was so hard... Waking up everyday without the pitter patter of little feet... Without your warm body next to me..." It was hard reliving the memories, but she had to tell him what happened to her. " It was just a emotional hole that I fell into... I know you did not mean to.."

     " But to lose both you and our daughter... It broke me...." She finished as she finally moved over to him and slipped her arms around him and held him close. Taking in a long breath before she spoke. " Nothing could fill a void that only you can fill...You are and always will be my soul mate."
        
     "You wanted me to find her.  To track her down and bring her back so she could be with us.  I couldn't come back without her.  My heart wouldn't let me."  He wrapped his arms around her, embracing her with an urgency that spoke of their time apart.  Of longing that was finally fulfilled.  He was ready to heal.  He prayed she was as well.
        
     Nodding into his chest she continued, only she did not pull away, she just spoke into him. " I know... And I am thankful that you have found her... That you are both alive... It is just an odd feeling... To have lost everything you ever wanted... Only to have it suddenly back in your life again."

     She chuckled and looked up at him. " It is a little... Overwhelming..." But she hoped they could be a family again, though she was not sure what kind of paper work would need to be completed now that he was back and alive... She could only assume that since no divorce was made, they were in fact still married.
        
     Jade nodded in agreement, a shiver of emotion coursing through his body.  He found it hard to express himself like that, a product of his upbringing and early years of adulthood, but every now and then something would leak out past that sardonic shell of a personality.  "Overwhelming, but we can make it, I think."
        
     A nod and a gentle kiss to his neck preceded what she had to say to that. " Honestly... We have been through space pirates, battles with klingons, romulans, unknown races, explored the vast plain which is this universe, and both looked death in the face only to live to tell about it.. Do you think a simple bout of being overwhelmed will stop us?"    

     He smiled.  It was a broad, genuine smile as though he knew they would be just fine.  "Somehow I don't think this little sidestep will be a problem for us."  While he couldn't know what was to come, he knew that he was happy now.  He squeezed her tightly against his chest, savoring the feel of her body against his, her heat calling to his flesh, her closeness calling to his soul.  "I love you, Eithne.  Lets start again."

     ------- End Joint Log -------

Commander Eithne Katris
Executive Officer
USS Charon

&

Commander Jade Falcon
Assistant Security Officer
USS Charon

--

[USS Charon] SD241001.29 || Joint Log "Departure with a glitch" || Capt Shiarrael t`Rehu, Lt Cmdr Sakarra Tyrax, Voran & Nohtho the Fvai

 

[USS Charon, Deck Two]

 

The sound was unmistakable. Paws, moving at astonishing speed on a carpeted floor. However, there seemed to be no sign of pursuit.

Mildly bemused, the lithe figure of the lone Vulcan roaming the corridor turned to see a large creature cheerfully bouncing towards him. Amber and white, vaguely resembling a terran canine though extraordinarily large, and it was wearing a collar. Before the animal could swoop past Voran, a hand darted out and caught the leather around the fvai's neck.

Obviously, the animal had not expected to be brought to such an abrupt halt by the biped and paws scrambled futilely for a few more seconds. But the sharp violet gaze entirely failed to impress Nohtho who resorted to gently nibbling at his newfound pal's arm, drenching the sleeve in slobber.

"Ah. I presume you are lost?"

 

The PADD in the Vulcans hand was beginning to get drenched as well and he made the mistake of trying to remedy the situation. A brief flurry of fur later, the fvai was prancing past two yelping crewmembers, right through the open doors of a turbolift. Voran could have sworn the animal was grinning, despite the fact there was a PADD stuck between its teeth.

"How unusual."

Shaking his head, the young Vulcan walked up to the wide eyed petty officers and pointed his chin towards the lift "May I inquire as to where the lift was headed?"

"The last place you want such a beastie to go, mate."

"Indeed."

 

 

[USS Charon, Bridge]

 

Eyes focused on the console, Sakarra was deeply gratified to finally be back in the helmsman's chair. More than that, the steady hum of Charon's engines was back at last, breaking a silence that had lasted much too long.

Coordinating with the Galae flight ops proved to be less of a challenge than she had expected, although there had been a slight hiccup in resolving a difference concerning protocols. She watched as the mooring clamps finally retracted and gently brought the thrusters online.

 

Waiting for the command from her CO, the young Vulcan was surprised to hear the sound of turbolift doors and a few startled sounds instead. A brief glance over her shoulder turned into a look of astonishment when a large quadruped came bouncing onto the bridge, cheerfully chewing on … well, it must have been a PADD once – which it promptly dropped into Shiarrael t`Rehu's lap.

 

Shiarrael had been sitting quietly in the Captain's chair, her eyes on the viewscreen focused on the Guardian which was now breaking orbit from I'Rak Prime.  She had contemplated asking Aiden to take the children away- take them to be with his mother.  It was too dangerous on the Charon- but her own selfishness prevented that.  In such an isolated and violent place, Ael and Nnoil were all she had.  Without them she was nothing.  Slowly the Guardian twisted away from the planet and her heart with it.  A moment later the Guardian's nacelles flashed and the ship stretched into oblivion before disappearing.  A light sigh escaped her lips- her chest tightened, she missed him already.  With a deep breath she closed her eyes and collected herself.  The sound in the turbo lift immediately caught her attention and her eyes darted open as her head twisted around for a better look. When the slobber laced PADD hit her lap Shiarrael was stunned by the abruptness

"Nohtho, what are you doing here?" She grabbed the animal's reins and stood up.

 

If Sakarra's brows could have climbed any higher, they might have at the sight of what the next arriving turbolift produced. A familiar face to be certain, although the dark tunic was covered in slobber and an abundance of honey-amber fur. Still, she could have sworn there was a brief sense of amusement laced with just a bit of exasperation emanating from the young male before mental shields locked into place and sharp, violet eyes settled on her for the duration of a heartbeat.

 

"My apologies for intruding upon the bridge at this time, Captain." Voran's deep baritone sounded from the turbolift which he had not yet left "However it seems your … animal found it prudent to bring you a gift. As it is, I would ask that I might retrieve it."

 

"Ah, I see, this is yours?"  She picked up the slobber drenched device with her free hand and waved it at the Vulcan "good."  She held it out for him to take "and since you both appear to be acquainted already" Shiarrael grinned "please take Nohtho back to my quarters and tie him to…" she paused.  What exactly could the animal be tied to?  He was big enough he could drag her furniture across the entire ship lest he get it jammed in a doorway.  She frowned "why don't you watch over him until my shift ends?  Or find mister Warren and have him take the animal off your hands."

 

"I should be pleased to assist, Captain." Taking the CO's gesture as invitation, the young male stepped onto the bridge and bowed politely before accepting the pitiful leftovers of the PADD from the Rihanha's hand. Looking down at the grin on her upturned face, a brow rose in a quite eloquent fashion.

"Unfortunately I am neither authorized nor inclined to access your quarters, nor am I acquainted with an individual named Warren."

Still, he reached for the fvai's collar again and was rewarded with a huge nose poking his ribs.

"I'mavau r'hi."

Oddly enough, the stern voice was indulgent enough to make the animal look abashed and happy at the same time.

"However, I shall … watch over your fvai until such time as you deem fit to retrieve him." Another half bow accompanied the statement and the slobber covered Vulcan pivoted around, striding back towards the lift with a grinning Nohtho in tow.

 

Returning to her chair Shiarrael casually scooped up a big gooey drop of slobber and shook it onto the floor.  Noticing the gazes of the bridge crew she frowned "do you not have enough work?" the question was enough to motivate them to busy themselves.  "Commander Tyrax, set course for the stellar cluster, maximum warp.  Let's finish our business here."

 

Having awaited those very words, Sakarra signaled the station which had given them the all clear several seconds ago and Charon gracefully tipped her bow to port, rotating as she went. Resisting the temptation to offer a farewell beyond the brief technical confirmation of departure, the young Vulcan set their course and Charon's silvery hull shuddered like a racehorse before the bell as her warp engines powered up.

The silver hull gracefully swooped over a Warbird's beak, impulse engines aglow before all that was left in front of them was the vast emptiness of space.  

"Port has been cleared, course plotted and laid in."

 

A brief "Go" and the telltale noise of more slobber being removed from a chair's fabric answered the raven haired woman and she once more found herself experiencing unexpected amusement.

One could certainly never fault the Captain's brevity.

 

 

[Deck Two]

 

Voran felt the shudder as Charon jumped to warp and gave a brief, grave nod. He would have to … expedite contact. Unfortunately, the objective had turned out quite different from what he had anticipated. More difficult and unpredictable, and certainly more … attractive.

Eyes glinting with merriment looked up at the Vulcan and the fvai pulled towards an interesting scent, not at all deterred by the fact that the iron grip on his collar would not budge an inch.

"I agree." Voran nodded "It seems lunch would be in order."

 

 

[End Log]

 

Captain Shiarrael t'Rehu
Commanding Officer

&

Lieutenant Commander Sakarra Tyrax
Chief Helm/2XO

USS Charon

 

Also starring:

 

Voran & Nohtho the Fvai

 

 

 

[USS Charon] SD241001.28 || Joint Log "Science and Covertcy" Part II || Lt Nathaniel Doyle, Ens Thomas Clipper, T'Pelar, Kovel and a host of pointy ears

=/\= USS Charon, Sensor Pod =/\=

 

"We had information supplied to us detailing common engine signatures of such vessels and discovered that when those emissions were combined with the Thoron particles it only took a phototonic burst set to the right wavelength to serve as a catalyst and illuminate the areas where both the engine emissions and Thoron particles were present."

"As the probes used were medium to long range warp capable probes there was a significant amount of matter/anti-matter on board. If the probes signatures managed to get a fix on any of the inputted engine emissions they were additionally programmed to alter course to them and detonate the fuel payload."

"The probes were recalibrated to emit a photonic burst at the wavelength on a countdown. Unfortunately the launch was pre-emptive and the results went largely unobserved due to the boarding action by one of the Warbirds." Thomas finished his recollection of the events; turning back to the lieutenant and nodded in Affirmation he was done.

 

"An interesting approach." T'Kal observed, sharp eyes following the information on the screen with barely so much as a blink. Three of the others were already engaged in a low-voiced discussion about the composition of the nebula while young Voran had wandered towards the screen displaying the probe schematics. If T'Kal knew her assistant, he was already committing every detail to memory, adding modifications and improvements as he went.

Turning towards the young human who had introduced himself as 'Doyle', the tall, willowy woman offered an incrementally inclined head "Considering your recent troubles, the state of the Sensor Pod is quite satisfactory."

 

Seeing as the lady V'Laz was rather busy keeping her company from getting all too enthusiastic and wander off on their own to discover interesting new things, T'Kal decided it would fall to her to deal with the polite young humans. "Tell me, aside from the nebula- and I would certainly appreciate as detailed a report on Yy'a as you can provide – have you encountered any other phenomena of interest in this region?"

 

Kovel and two others had obviously already found an item of interest and beckoned the Ensign with the astonishingly red hair to join them, mindful of V'Laz's watchful gaze.

 

Nathanial motioned T'Kal towards one of the consoles, once she was within viewing distance he brought up a series of reports, together they conversed as he showed her the non-classified details and explained as answered as best he could the questions she asked him. He felt out of place, only slightly, but as if someone had pulled a single hair on the back of his neck. Nathanial shrugged the sensation off and continued their discussion.

 

Thomas was drawn between the conversation at hand and the small breakaway group of visitors. Feeling Nathanial would be comfortable with the conversation with T'Kal, The Ensign excused himself quickly before the conversation required any personal input from himself, inclining his head in towards the other group of Vulcans as confirmation that his assistance was required elsewhere.

Seeing that the group was a small break away Thomas hoped the three might be linked to a specific field or interest. The Ensign enquired to the group. "I hope the tour is proving satisfactory, is there anything specific you were hoping to see while aboard?"

 

"Indeed there is." A surprisingly small young female glanced up at the human, pointing at a star which was currently being observed by Charon's powerful sensors "The detail is quite impressive. However, the readouts on the magnetosphere appear somewhat … what is the term… fuzzy?" Dark brown eyes regarded the young officer with benevolent interest while behind the young woman a dark clad figure moved on to another screen, tapping away at a console with an air of complete self-absorption. In the general milling about of Vulcans in full inquisitive mode, no one noticed that the same male continued to another console, nor that for a brief time he seemed to have disappeared altogether.

 

Thomas quickly immersed himself in the cause behind the low quality image, it took a few moments in addition to a few helpful suggestions from the scientists he was escorting to correctly identify the interference that caused the problem and recalibrate the sensors to compensate.

After showing a few more functions and demonstrations of the long range sensor array he ushered the breakaway group back to the others. To his surprise it was quite difficult to break Vulcans away from something they wanted to know more about.
The final section of the tour was of Deck C. Its highlight being the sensor control station, while the majority of the tour had focused on the individual components the layout of the sensor station allowed the most comprehensive use of all the systems at the same time.

In addition it was the perfect platform for solid interconnection to the Astrometrics laboratory. The combination of the two facilities made it possible to produce spectacular three dimensional high resolution displays that made the astrometrics facility onboard the vessel so exemplary. While the control station didn't have the integrated holo-technology Astrometics would have been able to offer it still demonstrated the raw processing capacity of the vessel.

With the tour completed the guests were delivered back to the Turbo lift where the tour was formally concluded and farewells completed, Thomas's head was abuzz the points of view and offered comments by the Vulcan's for him had been personally gratifying. While of the information different individuals had offered were from angles he had never considered. in ways he felt he had gotten more out of the tour than the guests it had been designed for.

Nathanial watched the Vulcans leave. As the turbolifts closed he turned to Thomas.
"Was it just me, or did something feel out of place there, I swear one of my hairs was standing stiff on the back of my neck?"
"Only one?" Thomas joked
"Yeah, either the others are on strike, or it must have been only something small out of place"

"The strangest thing was I think I got more out the tour than the majority of our visitors did. The way some of them approach and diagnose a problem is amazing. I also never knew how engaged a Vulcan could become when shown something new and to take one of their phrases 'fascinating'. Though I noticed nothing untoward, actually I even think one of Kovel's aides likes you." Thomas finished playfully. He had found the entire engagement enjoyable. If anything suspicious had occurred he was none the wiser.

Nathanial shrugged, he couldn't shake the single hair feeling, but as Thomas said, nothing seemed to have happened. Nathanial had been told that even though science was built on finding fact, that in fact 'fact' came from having no fact to start with! He had always wondered if the word fact was used too much in that sentence, but he knew that if something was out of place, it would not start with fact.

 

=/\= USS Charon, Guest Quarters =/\=

 

He found T'Pelar still pouring over data, but from her demeanor there was nothing in those files complied by the helpful AI that pertained to what the councilwoman was seeking.

As soon as he stepped into the warm, brightly lit quarters, her head rose from the screen and a teal-blue gaze settled on him, asking a silent question.

The Vulcan responded with a simple nod, but if he had hoped for any reaction, be it only an expression of satisfaction, he was disappointed.

 

In a way, Kovel understood the lady's frustration. To be this close, and unable to proceed due to the stubbornness of a ship's commander unaware of the stakes in the matter…

It could not be helped.

He walked over to the window where Warbirds silently hovered among cold, silent stars. What if they indeed already suspected? Telling t'Rehu might serve to hasten matters, but it was likely the outcome would be disastrous.

Webs within webs. There were times when Kovel wondered whether it had been wise to trust T'Pelar's judgment without question.

 

 

=/\= End Log =/\=

 

Lieutenant Nathanial Doyle

Chief Science Officer

USS Charon

&

Ensign Thomas Clipper

Assistant Science Officer

USS Charon

&

T'Pelar &Kovel (apb I-Chaya)

Vulcan Science Council

 

 

[USS Charon] SD241001.28 || Joint Log "Science and Covertcy" Part I || Lt Nathaniel Doyle, Ens Thomas Clipper, T'Pelar, Kovel and a host of pointy ears

=/\=  USS Charon - deck 10  =/\=


Thomas yawned. Making his way to the sonic shower he couldn't quite recall why he had set his alarm early grabbing a PADD on the way he checked what he had planned for himself, however his recollection of his conversation the night before recalled his task before the device could.
He would be assisting Nathanial in the tour of the Sensor pod, not just for some interested group who found and combination of the latest combination of technological and scientific theories had to offer fascinating. No, in his mind these were going to be people who likely knew so much more about their fields of science that the young ensign could only dream of attaining.

His shift was due to start at 08:00, however today wasn't one about being tardy, he arrived early and had no doubt Nathaniel would have done the same, in fact he doubted the Lieutenant had planned on sleeping last night. After making himself slightly more presentable than normal he made his way to the Turbolift to be delivered to the Pod.


=/\= USS Charon - Sensor Pod =/\=

 Nathanial looked at the time, it was just on 08:00, he had been running around the sensor pod for a good two hours making sure everything was in order. It was strange, but he felt as if the Sensor Pod was an extension of him and his team, and as such it had to be in order. He headed to the sensor control station, and to organize the final details of the tour with Ensign Clipper.

Reaching his destination Thomas exited and made his way to the main sensor control station to see who was around.

Nathanial saw Thomas enter and addressed him. "Greetings Ensign, I hope you slept well?"

"Of course Sir, how are we tackling this?" There was no question about what 'this' Thomas was referring too. Today's priority would be the presentation of the sensor pod.

Nathanial picked up a PADD and tossed it to Thomas "I've checked all the systems that we will be showing on the 'tour', the only thing left is to make sure that it all looks spic and span, did you want to take Deck A, I've already done C, so I will take deck B"

"Aye Sir." He responded after he grabbed the PADD mid flight. He opened his mouth to add a quip about the hours the lieutenant had been clearly keeping however decided such truths were best left unsaid. Turning on his heel as he went to go pay his respects to deck A.



=/\= USS Charon - Sensor Pod Deck B =/\=

Nathanial headed up to Deck B, he had already made sure the pod was in displayable condition, but something was nagging him, telling him to perform that second check. Sure he was probably being slightly paranoid, but the Pod was the crowning glory of the USS Charon, is was the latest in scanning technology, in conjunction with the Stellar Cartographers lab, the pod was able to display highly accurate images and scan results from great distances. Alas with the Stellar Cartography lab still in no condition to be used, the tour would consist of just the pod.

It didn't take long to check Deck B, and fortunately everything was in order, his concern had been for nothing, and for that he was happy.

Nathanial headed to Deck C to meet up with Thomas and see how his check had gone.

=/\= USS Charon - Sensor Pod Deck A =/\=

The Dorsal array composed most of the deck; subcomponents to the array defined the rest of it, by luck or the fact that the pod offered little tactical importance compared to say the weapons or shield arrays it had survived the encounters of recent history in good order. Sure its power conduits and assorted attachments had taken a bit of a thrashing due to overloads and all the other things a space faring vessel suffers in active combat however the more sensitive and fiddly components were in good order.

Well they were in good order now after the work operations and engineering had put in. Followed by the days of diagnostics that had been required to confirm those facts. The fruits of those labour meant that his tour of deck A was relatively painless; however now knowing that no obvious traps existed was a weight of his shoulders.

meeting the lieutenant back on deck he returned the PADD. "Deck A is clear and working as intended. I think we are as ready as we are going to be Sir." He affirmed his thoughts vocally, as much to ease himself as well as the Chief of science.

 

 

=/\= USS Charon, Guest Quarters =/\=

 

"How soon?"

"Our departure is scheduled for forty-seven point three v'hral from now, t'sai."

"Then I believe it is time, no?"

"Indeed."

"Sakov has asked to accompany the others."

"Understood."

 

Kovel bowed politely and pivoted around, leaving the lady T'Pelar at her desk, apparently perusing some interesting material. Out in the corridor, he could see the four council members assembled, each trailed by an aide or clerk – naturally, those would seize the opportunity to see a Luna Class Sensor pod when it presented itself. However, the ebony haired Vulcan with the first silver streaks showing at his temples was not too pleased to see that T'Kal and the young one with the unusually sharp violet eyes would be among the group as well. Although entirely unobtrusive and a most efficient clerk, Voran had a habit of … seeing things.

 

"Kovel. Zahal'uh."

"Ha, t'sai."

Being late was unacceptable, and the lady V'Laz was quite correct in advising they should leave. Falling into step behind the esteemed scientists, the dark robed Vulcan silently considered the most logical means to carry out his orders.

 

 

=/\= USS Charon, Sensor Pod =/\=

 

They last group emerged from the turbolift, and V'Laz nodded briefly before turning towards the two rather young humans waiting to greet them. Heavy robes billowing about her impressively tall figure, she led her colleagues towards the Fleet Officers, hand raised in the Vulcan salute.

"I bid you greetings."

 

Welcome to the Charon's Sensor pod" Nathanial replied while returning the salute.
"If you will come this way, we can start our tour" Nathanial and Thomas ushered the Vulcan group to the Sensor Control station. They tried to keep the tour from being too dry, although if their small attempts at humour seemed to go un-noticed. All was proceeding smoothly, Deck A now covered Nathanial and Thomas brought the group to Deck B, first stop the Probe Magazine. Nathanial turned to Thomas and whispered "Some memories here hey Ensign". He then turned to the group. "And here we have our Probe and communications buoy magazine, which also in emergencies can be turned into a makeshift workshop, infact only recently we were able to fashion a probe that would lock onto Romulan signatures and detonate a small payload as well. Ensign would you care to elaborate for our guests"

"Certainly sir." Thomas Replied before he began to expand on the encounter.

Walking over to one of the control consoles he retrieved the data and loadout of the modified probes, bringing it up on the console for the visitors to observe.

"It was during our recent encounter against 4 hostile D'Deridex class Warbirds in the Mutara class nebula known as the Yy'a. The ships sensor arrays were limited to erratic and unreliable readouts due to a combination of damage and interference at the time."

 

 

=/\= To be continued ...  =/\=

 

Lieutenant Nathanial Doyle

Chief Science Officer

USS Charon

&

Ensign Thomas Clipper

Assistant Science Officer

USS Charon

&

T'Pelar &Kovel (apb I-Chaya)

Vulcan Science Council