USS Boudicca

NRPG:

Gone Fishing.  Back Tomorrow

Today's compile index is brought to you by trout:

Day 1

(USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge - OPS Lt (jg) Donald Johnson - 1200)
(USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge- acting CO - Commander Archibald Stakes
- 1302)
(USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge- CEO- Lt. Matthew McLaren-- 1306)
(USS Boudicca - Bridge - acting CO - Commander Archibald Stakes - 1522)
(USS Boudicca - Main Engineering - ACEO Lorimar -1522)
(USS Boudicca - Bridge-AOPS Lt. Tollian Yalix-1525)
(USS Boudicca - Laroon's Quarters - Acting FO Lt. Cmdr. Aleksander Stolev
- Day 1 - 1527)
(USS Boudicca - Ready Room - ACMO Gates - 1705)
(USS Boudicca - Ready Room - acting CO - Commander Archibald Stakes - 1715)
(USS Boudicca - Ready Room - ACMO Gates - 1720)
(USS Boudicca - Corridor - ACMO Gates - 1725)
(USS Boudicca - Corridor - Goat Nanny - 1730)

RPG:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Mission: The Fires of Heaven, Day 1
Stardate: 2407.06.28
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

(USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge - OPS Lt (jg) Donald Johnson - 1200)

Donald had just taken his seat when he noticed Zzt entering, he had
brought with him a small bag of cookies that he had made the night before
for the Gerratlian.  Normally he would have made enough for everyone, but
he hadn't planned on seeing everyone and these were special for Zzt.

Just as he stood to go over to Zzt the door opened to admit the Captain
and a stranger behind him.  But it was no stranger to Zzt, who made his
welcome abundantly clear.  Donald watched the exchange with amusement and
was dismayed when Sevant sent the large fellow off into a corner, his
shiny glasses askew.

Donald quickly walked over to Zzt and said quietly, "Those are quite
dashing."

He reached out and slightly adjusted them, so that they sat properly.  
"These are for you," he said, as he handed the bag of cookies to Zzt. 
"Smile," he said encouragingly, as he smiled himself.

(reply Zzt, Any)
(posted by Kaweo Kanoho)

(USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge- acting CO - Commander Archibald Stakes
- 1302)

"Sir, what did you have in mind?"

Archibald waved Esme to leave as he sat himself down and signaled the two
officers to do the same.

He keyed in a few commands into the computer and the screens in the lounge
showed a sideview of the Keltoi class vessel.

"The other side has taken great length in determining the strengths and
weaknesses of all our ship-classes," he started off.

"Of course since we use the same ships, they same strengths and weaknesses
apply to their ships. In a few cases there have been some improvements
made on both sides or so I am told, but *they* actually went as far as
redesigning a vessel to use those weaknesses against the class that they
feel will be most influential in the upcoming battle."

Archibald nodded at the screen.

"The Keltoi was deemed the most influential ship design and for that they
determined a list of one hundred and three weaknesses, some bigger, some
smaller."

Archibald's face broke into a humourless smile.

"During my 'debriefing' I understood that our side counted one hundred and
seven although I personally fail to see that our waste management system
not using armoured reflux pipes is going to make a big impact. Never the
less the more important ones have been addressed and we need to expect
those measures to be used against us in the battle."

After a few seconds of silence, Archibald continued.

"Then there are the mission specific points. We are to spearhead an attack
on a base which means that we will receive a lot of incoming fire through
the front arc. For anything to the side or aft of us a separate group will
be responsible, so the aft shields will be used least. Therefore the first
task will be to maximise the strength of our forward shields and reduce
the strength of our aft shields. This will involve moving shield
generators from aft to front and increasing the number of conduits in our
forward section."

"Furthermore we will be facing platform hostile action. Some of them, or
probably by now all of them, have been coupled with one another, making it
easier to target one vessel by two or more platforms at the same time.
This is linked to some of the platforms being upgraded to include a full
set or sensory equipment, which they will use to more precisely target
specific ships. A list of known enhanced platforms has been compiled but
that is by now most likely outdated. So we will have to prepare some of
our sensors to listen out for platforms that show more than normal sensor
emissions. These signals must receive priority over others and a separate
link needs to be installed to the tactical stations so we we can pick out
the enhanced ones and silence them. This will be mainly our task as we
will be the leadship, even though the silencing will not be done by us.
Whatever happens, we need to remain on the move, pressing on. *WE* will
dictate the flow of the battle, and we must make sure that the other side
can only react to our actions. As soon as they know where we are going it
will be easy for them to bring in reinforcements, condemning us to a slow
crawl and certain death. We may have the superiority in numbers, but they
have the defensive set up and if led effective, our odds of mission
success will be ten perhaps twenty percent. We *need* them to make
mistakes and the only mistakes they are going to make are the ones we are
going to force upon them."

Archibald fell silent for a second.

"Also I want the Boudicca to have a low intensity third regenerative
forward shield, to be placed between the main and auxilliary one. Its task
will be to dull any enemy torpedoes that will come in thick and fast. The
explosion forces of the torpedoes can then be led safely away by the
auxiliary shield. And make no mistake, gentlemen, they *will* come thick
and fast. If you know the outer shield set up of a specific class then you
know exactly where the weakpoints will be and use that to ensure that the
shields can be temporarily breached at specific places for instance where
a torpedo is supposed to hit. Luckily this requires the torpedoes to be
much more complex in order that they not only hit a ship but also hit it
at a very specific time and place and to my knowledge most of those
torpedoes are held by only a few ships. BUT if I were in charge, I would
have made sure that some of the platforms would receive them as well as
they will most likely be facing Keltoi's."

Archibald fell silent for a third time and regarded the screen in front of
him.

"Those are the main points for now," he concluded, "and probably enough
for you to make a start with, mister McLaren. But rest assured, once these
alterations are done, there will be plenty of others. I will send you both
a full list of weakpoints and the list of proposed improvements. In the
meantime, Mister Stolev, we need to make sure that the human factor will
not fail the mechanical one. As soon as one area has been changed, the
crew will need to be trained on the new requirements and they must be able
to use them with their eyes closed. That will be your main focus."

Archibald looked at his hands.

"Remember, gentlemen. A ship can only be effective if both ship and crew
are adequately prepared and enhanced. Unfortunately, you only have one
week to make it happen."

(Reply Stolev, McLaren)
(posted by Adrie Geuken)

(USS Boudicca - Observation Lounge- CEO- Lt. Matthew McLaren-- 1306)

Stakes waved out the yeoman, his daughter, then keyed a coded sequence
into the computer.

The display screens in the lounge came to life displaying the lateral view
of the Keltoi class starship.

"The other side has taken great length in determining the strengths and
weaknesses of all our ship-classes," he started off.

~No surprise there.~ McLaren mused mentally.

"Of course since we use the same ships, the same strengths and weaknesses
apply to their ships. In a few cases there have been some improvements
made on both sides or so I am told, but *they* actually went as far as
redesigning a vessel to use those weaknesses against the class that they
feel will be most influential in the upcoming battle."

Archibald nodded at the screen.

~A Keltoi Killer?~

"The Keltoi was deemed the most influential ship design and for that they
determined a list of one hundred and three weaknesses, some bigger, some
smaller."

Archibald's face broke into a humorless smile.

"During my 'debriefing' I understood that our side counted one hundred and
seven although I personally fail to see that our waste management system
not using armored reflux pipes is going to make a big impact.

Nevertheless the more important ones have been addressed and we need to
expect those measures to be used against us in the battle."

Matthew nodded. So far the reasoning was sound.

After a few seconds of silence, Archibald continued.

"Then there are the mission specific points. We are to spearhead an attack
on a base which means that we will receive a lot of incoming fire through
the front arc. For anything to the side or aft of us a separate group will
be responsible, so the aft shields will be used least.

Therefore the first task will be to maximize the strength of our forward
shields and reduce the strength of our aft shields. This will involve
moving shield generators from aft to front and increasing the number of
conduits in our forward section."

"Furthermore we will be facing platform hostile action. Some of them, or
probably by now all of them, have been coupled with one another, making it
easier to target one vessel by two or more platforms at the same time.
This is linked to some of the platforms being upgraded to include a full
set or sensory equipment, which they will use to more precisely target
specific ships. A list of known enhanced platforms has been compiled but
that is by now most likely outdated. So we will have to prepare some of
our sensors to listen out for platforms that show more than normal sensor
emissions. These signals must receive priority over others and a separate
link needs to be installed to the tactical stations so we can pick out the
enhanced ones and silence them. This will be mainly our task as we will be
the lead ship, even though the silencing will not be done by us. Whatever
happens, we need to remain on the move, pressing on. *WE* will dictate the
flow of the battle, and we must make sure that the other side can only
react to our actions. As soon as they know where we are going it will be
easy for them to bring in reinforcements, condemning us to a slow crawl
and certain death. We may have the superiority in numbers, but they have
the defensive set up and if led effective, our odds of mission success
will be ten perhaps twenty percent. We *need* them to make mistakes and
the only mistakes they are going to make are the ones we are going to
force upon them."

Archibald fell silent for a second.

"Also I want the Boudicca to have a low intensity third regenerative
forward shield, to be placed between the main and auxiliary one. Its task
will be to dull any enemy torpedoes that will come in thick and fast. The
explosion forces of the torpedoes can then be led safely away by the
auxiliary shield. And make no mistake, gentlemen, they *will* come thick
and fast. If you know the outer shield set up of a specific class then you
know exactly where the weak points will be and use that to ensure that the
shields can be temporarily breached at specific places for instance where
a torpedo is supposed to hit. Luckily this requires the torpedoes to be
much more complex in order that they not only hit a ship but also hit it
at a very specific time and place and to my knowledge most of those
torpedoes are held by only a few ships. BUT if I were in charge, I would
have made sure that some of the platforms would receive them as well as
they will most likely be facing Keltoi's."

Archibald fell silent for a third time and regarded the screen in front of
him.

"Those are the main points for now," he concluded, "and probably enough
for you to make a start with, Mister McLaren. But rest assured, once these
alterations are done, there will be plenty of others. I will send you both
a full list of weak points and the list of proposed improvements. In the
meantime, Mister Stolev, we need to make sure that the human factor will
not fail the mechanical one. As soon as one area has been changed, the
crew will need to be trained on the new requirements and they must be able
to use them with their eyes closed. That will be your main focus."

(reply Stolev)

Archibald looked at his hands.

"Remember, gentlemen. A ship can only be effective if both ship and crew
are adequately prepared and enhanced. Unfortunately, you only have one
week to make it happen."

Matthew considered each point as they were delivered. He already had a
couple of alternate suggestions that might save them time and achieve  the
same goal, especially where the shield generators were concerned.

"Sir, if I may offer a refinement to your first requirement?"

(reply Stakes)

"When we were last at Geneva, I had the refit team take aboard an
additional 6 primary shield generators and 2 auxiliaries. Originally I had
planned to use them to replace any shield generators that might be knocked
out in the course of our pursuant missions. We haven't needed to use them
at all. They are, in fact, stored in Engineering Support as we speak.
Rather than remove any Generators from the Aft Quadrant, I could simply
install two or three of the spare primaries, and Operations could simply
juggle between them as needed with the power distribution side of things.
I figure that will give us the full capability to restore aft shields to
full power- if you need to and still give us the ability to enhance the
forward shields as you've requested.  This should save us a great deal of
time, since we won't have to remove anything from the aft quadrant for
relocation. I'd still have to run the conduit and do the final
installation, but it would still be faster than a complete move. And we
would not be able to run all the shields simultaneously or we'd risk a
power failure."

A slight pause.

"Additionally, I can install a second primary which you can run at reduced
power instead of another auxilliary between the forward main and
auxiliary. It should be able to handle the strains just as well, if not
better, and can be strengthened as needed to even cover a larger portion
of the forward arc as needed. With our engine refits and the improved EPS
taps, we shouldn't have any problems powering that unit and maintaining
needed power levels elsewhere on the ship. I can then install the two
additional Auxiliaries to reinforce the Bridge and Main Engineering They
will also act as a shield inhibitor in the event that the ship's primary
shields should fail. That means no boarding parties could beam directly to
either of those areas. That's a lot of power consumption, so Operations
would have to be up to the task of shifting power as needed."

"This solution gives us 2-3 primaries in stock, should we need them or
need to cannibalize them for parts. The other tasks I'll have to look into
in more detail and I'll need some specifics on what type of sensor
information I'll need to be looking for. But all of that is doable inside
a couple of days if we work the department hard using shift and a half
rotations."

(Reply Stakes, Stolev)
(posted by Daniel Greene)

(USS Boudicca - Bridge - acting CO - Commander Archibald Stakes - 1522)

With an ease that could only come from years of practice, Archibald
remained rooted in his chair, with an occasional glance around him, when
the klaxons started howling and the red lights came on. First duty of
anyone in command, he had considered a long time ago, was to show calm in
the face of danger.

"Captain," the on duty OPS-officer spoke up "Operations department is
standing to for Battle stations, all power from nonessential ship's
systems is keyed for reallocation. Shuttle bay reports all auxiliary craft
secured for battle. Cargo bays report similar status for their material. I
will report the readiness of each department as they check in."

Stakes nodded, not taking his eyes of the file he was reading on his
computer.

"Very well, Mister Yalix," he commented dryly, resisting the urge to bring
up the reporting log. It was, after all, the duty of the crew to show the
CO and FO their readiness and capability, not for him to start looking for
signs that they weren't. Archibald looked sideways and remembered that
Sasha had left the bridge not that long before. He knew that an FO's
position was an awkward one and entailed controlling everything and
everyone. It also meant that he had to find a way to keep abreast of
important issues as well as keep everything else flowing in a timely
fashion. Archibald wondered if Sasha was ready for that. His reactions
seemed to ooze emotionality, which was not a character trait that
Archibald was looking for in a command officer. He narrowed his eyes and
finally looked away from the screen, to consider ways to 'assist' the new
FO with.

"I'm sorry sir, elapsed time for operations, 2 minutes 10 seconds."

Archibald shot a glance at the OPS-officer.

~Perhaps a bit more like him,~ he mused.

As the other departments reported in Tollian read them off including the
elapsed time of their readiness.

"Tactical and Security manned and ready, 2 minutes 25 seconds; Marines, in
position 2 minutes 32 seconds; Medical manned and ready, 3 minutes 22
seconds; Engineering. manned and ready 3 minutes 38 seconds; Sciences,
manned and ready, 3 minutes 42 seconds; Counseling department, reporting
ready at elapsed time of 6 minutes 24 seconds, sir."

Archibald nodded again.

"I believe that that must be a world record for Mister Marsh. I assume
that this time he managed to arrive at the counseling department WITH his
trousers on?" he asked Tollian, then waved it away.

"I expect Mister Stolev will have words with the counseling department.
Perhaps now the chief of counseling will consider the benefit of having a
sleeping arrangement set up somewhere close by. And although the readiness
of the counseling department should not affect the effectiveness of the
rest of the crew, there will not be separate targets for separate
departments. We are ALL, as they say, in the same boat. Please distribute
the scores to the various department heads and convey a message to the
Operations department that I am pleased with their efficiency."

(reply Tollian, any)
(posted by Adrie Geuken)

(USS Boudicca - Main Engineering - ACEO Lorimar -1522)

"Yes, Mr. Lorimar?  Yes, everyone?"

Lorimar looked al-Sharif squarely in the eye and his smile disappeared,
lest it be mistaken for a smirk.

"Aye Aye Lieutenant, clearly understood. Eighteen seconds it is, and ah'm
sure we can shave a fair bit more off that as well."

Bob looked around the deck, making eye contact with any crew that happened
to be facing in his direction. He paused a moment, checking the displays
before him. He turned back to the CEO and then spoke very quietly but
clearly.

"Lieutenant, if I may make a suggestion?"

(Reply Jael, IYW)

Bob nodded then continued with his proposal. "Ma'am, ah'm all for these
drills, they are great practice and will surely help us get ready for what
is tae come." He cleared his throat quietly then continued. "Having said
that, my suggestion is simply this. Rather than mucking about with a few
seconds here and there, What if we ran a simulation *starting* with all
Red Alert engineering crew already at their battlestations? That way, we
could see what the minimum possible ready time would be from the
diagnostic and hardware side. We could see just how fast we could bring
all required systems to ready. Working from there as a bare minimum goal,
we could go backwards and see where, how, and just how much time we could
shave off the human side of the equation. What dae ye think Lieutenant?"

He gazed thoughtfully at his CEO, wondering how she would react to a
totally serious, and he hoped, logical, approach to the problem.

(Reply Jael, Any)
(Posted by Russ)

(USS Boudicca - Bridge-AOPS Lt. Tollian Yalix-1525)
.
"I believe that that must be a world record for Mister Marsh. I assume
that this time he managed to arrive at the counseling department WITH his
trousers on?" he asked Tollian, then waved it away.

Yalix started to reply, then realized it was a rhetorical question.

"I expect Mister Stolev will have words with the counseling department. 
Perhaps now the chief of counseling will consider the benefit of having a
sleeping arrangement set up somewhere close by. And although the readiness
of the counseling department should not affect the effectiveness of the
rest of the crew, there will not be separate targets for separate
departments. We are ALL, as they say, in the same boat. Please distribute
the scores to the various department heads and convey a message to the
Operations department that I am pleased with their efficiency."

"Yes sir," the Efrosian replied. He had always been one for timeliness and
it seemed that Lieutenant Johnson had kept most of the department
standards that Tollian had set in place over the months.

He sent the prerequisite reports as the captain had ordered. It helped
that the Chief Operations Officers battle station could be at either the
Operations office, if off-duty at the time of the alert, or on the bridge.

Tollian was pleased that Johnson had decided to check in from the office.
Of course, the COPs might well make his way to the bridge once the alert
was finished.

He dictated a message to Johnson, conveying the Captain's commendation of
the operations Department's readiness and efficiency as the captain had
ordered. He signed it 'Lieutenant Tollian Yalix, Beta Shift Assistant
Operations Officer, at the request of Archibald Stakes, CO, USS Boudicca.'

(reply Any on Bridge, Johnson iyw)

(USS Boudicca - Laroon's Quarters - Acting FO Lt. Cmdr. Aleksander Stolev
- Day 1 - 1527)

Stolev relaxed his grip on his phaser -- only slightly -- when he saw that
he and Laroon were the only occupants of his quarters.  He noticed that
Laroon had been similarly gripping his own sidearm.

"Sir I know you got me message about the....Captain Rivers affair." 
Laroon looked at Stolev for a second and then started talking.

"I had the computer inform me when it had cracked the security codes on
the traitor acting as Casely's computer. I came to look at what it found
along with the evidence I had uncovered in his quarters to find any
match."

He stopped and looked around for a second and then back to Stolev. "Sir
your going to have to take a look for yourself." He pointed to his
computer screen and then pulled the chair out for the FO to sit.

Stolev frowned as he made his way around the desk.  "I thought we had
determined that the encryption on those files was unbreakable.  I've never
heard of a ship taking three months to break any sort of code."  His mind
was racing as he considered the possibilities.  "The computer has been
working on this non-stop since we discovered it?"

(reply Laroon -- assuming yes)

"Well... cryptographic analysis was never my specialty, but I know a few
of the central tenets," replied Stolev.  "One of those being that if a
modern computer doesn't crack a code within a few days -- a week at most
-- it's considered unbreakable."

Stolev quickly looked through the information on the screen.  His eyes
widened as he read through some of the material there.  It displayed
detailed information of a Doenitz-friendly spy network infiltrating deep
within Freedom squadron, with operatives on nearly every ship, complete
with names, code-names, operational areas, and current assignments.  His
eyes stopped as they arrived at the name of the coordinator of the spy
network for Task Force 19: Archibald Stakes.

According to the document, word had gotten back to Doenitz about the
impending formation of a task force to strike at the heart of Federation
space, and that the Boudicca was the likely lead vessel.  In response, he
had dispatched a highly trusted operative to coordinate operations within
the task force from on board the Boudicca, and Stakes was listed as that
operative.

Despite the contents of this report, Stolev found it hard to believe that
Stakes could be a double agent -- he didn't have the personality for it. 
But then again, spies could be trained to emulate a false persona.  The
possibilities were making his head spin.  He rubbed his chin thoughtfully,
then looked up at Laroon.  "So we must consider the distinct possibility
that someone discovered your decryption program running, altered the
contents of the encrypted file, and then loosened the encryption so that
we would break it.  Someone smart enough to do that would most likely have
removed any evidence of such tampering, but it's worth looking in to."

Stolev leaned back in the chair and gazed out the viewport.  "This file in
and of itself is not enough to warrant taking any direct action against
the individuals listed therein.  Computer files can be too easily
manipulated, modified, or could simply contain false or erroneous
information.  We need evidence to either corroborate or refute what this
file says."

He turned back to Laroon.  "As chief of security, that's your job.  Start
by analyzing computer logs for any evidence of tampering with this file. 
Next, you will probably want to set up some discrete surveillance of the
individuals listed in this report, and investigate past recorded behavior
in public areas of the ship, computer usage, et cetera, looking for any
suspicious patterns of behavior.  Keep in mind that even in times of war,
we consider people innocent until proven guilty.  Therefore, you must be
very careful not to violate the letter or spirit of any regulations in the
course of this investigation."

(reply Laroon)
(posted by Aaron)

(USS Boudicca - Ready Room - ACMO Gates - 1705)

Georgia felt her face burning with embarrassment as she was led to a small
room at the back of the Ready Room.

"Oh you poor thing. Was he nasty to you?"

Realising she was still incapable of speech, Georgia shook her head and
let the young woman help her into the alcove. The sight of the small sink
bought forth another round of retching, only this time that was as far as
it went. She tried desperately to pull herself together but found to her
dismay there were tears pricking at her eyes. The young woman with her was
chatting away, obviously trying to make Georgia feel better, but she still
felt mortified by what had happened.

~the worst part is I still have to face him, I can't just leave~

"I want to go home." she groaned, only realising she had spoken the words
aloud when her companions chatting stopped.

Although she hadn't thought it possible, Georgia felt her cheeks flaming
even redder, and quickly splashed water on them, trying to cool them at
least a little. She turned to the young woman beside her, noting she was
around Georgia's own age, and perhaps understood.

"I'm sorry, that was totally unprofessional. Please, just forget I said it."

<reply Esme?>

Something suddenly struck Georgia as her mind cleared.

~she called him Dad! this couldn't get any worse. She'll tell her beast of
a father what I said and I'll look even more inept~

She glanced toward the Ready Room where she could almost sense him laying
in wait, and then back at Esme.

"Thank you for your kindness. I guess the trip and my nerves shook me up
worse than I thought. I should probably go back out there."

She pulled her uniform straight, and took a few steadying breaths. There
was no way out of it. She would have to go back and stand in front of this
man and no doubt be humiliated for her behaviour. But with any luck it
wouldn't last too long and then she could go. She had been through worse.

Georgia had barely left the safety of the alcove when she felt her cheeks
beginning to redden again. She presented herself, once again, in front of
the Captains desk, and did her best to avoid looking him in the eye.

"Ensign Gates reporting for duty Sir."

(reply Stakes, any?)
(posted by Wendy)

(USS Boudicca - Ready Room - acting CO - Commander Archibald Stakes - 1715)

"Ensign Gates reporting for duty Sir."

With a nod of his head, Archibald sent Esme out again and waited for the
door to close behind her.

"Better, Ensign, much more ... acceptable."

His gaze went to the area of accident and then went up to look at the
young female's face and frowned as he found her not looking him in the
eyes, her cheeks already reddened. He shook his head for a second as he
looked at the PADD in front of him. Everything told him, no screamed at
him, that this Ensign was not ready for service on board a starship.

~The academy must be really scraping the bottom of the barrel now,~ he
considered, ~if these are the new officers that they ship out.~

He looked back up at her face.

"I'm down here, Ensign," he suddenly said, feeling satisfied when at least
for a fraction of a second their eyes met.

~Somebody is going to be in for a rough ride,~ Archibald thought with an
inwardly sigh. He was considered sending her away again but knew that they
were too hard pressed with medical staff. On the other hand, what good
would she do? If she behaved similarly whenever there was an obstacle, she
would do more damage than good.

Thinking about it for a few more seconds, Archibald made a decision.

"Welcome on board, Ensign Gates. Your assistance will be greatly needed in
our medical facilities."

He did not get up to offer her a hand as he imagined that that might be
the worst thing to do with her already being unbalanced.

"Unfortunately, Ensign, we have been without a Chief Medical Officer for
quite some time and you will have to double up to fill all the niches that
haven't been filled for a long time. But you will find our medical
facilities to be outstanding. I would suggest you head over there and see
for yourself how you wish to organise it. I understand that you already
found your quarters?"

Archibald fell silent as he accessed the computer.

"Ah yes, our transporter chief was so good to assign them to you. Good,
that is sorted then. I know that you will be bsuy, Ensign, so unless there
is anything that you would wish to bring forward?..."

(Reply Georgia, room for more)

As the young Ensign left his ready room, Archibald blew out a deep sigh
before he accessed his comm badge.

"Stakes to Ensign Marsh. Mister Marsh, I have a job for you."

(reply Georgia, any)
(posted by Adrie Geuken)

(USS Boudicca - Ready Room - ACMO Gates - 1720)

Georgia wasn't sure if the Captain was enjoying himself making her feel so
small, or whether he was that arrogant that he had no idea.

"Unfortunately, Ensign, we have been without a Chief Medical Officer for
quite some time and you will have to double up to fill all the niches that
haven't been filled for a long time. But you will find our medical
facilities to be outstanding. I would suggest you head over there and see
for yourself how you wish to organise it. I understand that you already
found your quarters?"

Georgia cleared her throat and tried to keep her voice from shaking.

"Well no actually, I haven't, but I think, that is, my bags were being
sent there."

>From what she could tell without looking directly at Stakes, he was
looking at his screen.

"Ah yes, our transporter chief was so good to assign them to you. Good,
that is sorted then. I know that you will be busy, Ensign, so unless there
is anything that you would wish to bring forward?..."

~like the rest of my meal?~

She almost, almost, looked him straight in the eye, to see if he was
mocking her, but at the last minute found she couldn't.

"No Sir, I think, no there's nothing Sir." She replied lamely, wondering
when the torment would end.

 (USS Boudicca - Corridor - ACMO Gates - 1725)

Departing the Ready Room, Georgia felt totally humiliated. The worst part,
if in fact one part was worse than any other, was when he had made her
look him in the eye. As if being sick in front of him wasn't enough, she
then had to be treated like a naughty school girl in the principals
office.

~stupid, hateful man, and that poor girl, having a father like that!~

Deep down she knew she was being abit unreasonable and possibly making
snap judgments, but the way his daughter had spoken it sounded like her
father was in the habit of upsetting people.

~and his poor wife, what sort of a woman marries someone like that? she's
bound to be some poor downtrodden thing who spends most of her time in the
counsellors office hiding from her husband~

The further she got from the Ready Room, the better she began to feel. It
was over at least, something she hopefully wouldn't need to do again in a
hurry.

The further she got from the Ready Room, the better she began to feel. It
was over at least, something she hopefully wouldn't need to do again in a
hurry. Being so caught up in her thoughts, Georgia didn't notice the small
black and white blur as it raced around the corner and collided with her
legs. Although the impact wasn't huge, it hit at exactly the right point
to cause her to lose her balance and fall forwards in a heap on the floor.
Feeling slightly stunned she looked behind her, and found a small hairy
face peering intently at her. Without stopping to think, she opened her
mouth and began to scream.

(reply any)
(posted by Wendy)

(USS Boudicca - Corridor - Goat Nanny - 1730)

It had been a long day and the human had not returned.  They wanted to go
exploring and it was a simple matter of arranging the necessary things. 
Such as walking over and pressing the wall, which opened a hole in the
wall that lead outside the enclosure.

They had left her to wander on their own and Nanny decided that she could
call them if need, so she had proceeded to have her own adventure.  Some
sweet sounds drifted toward her and she wandered in that general direction
until she came upon a thing making notes.  Nanny stopped and leaned her
head to the side.  Suddenly the pleasant noise stopped.  Nanny suddenly
became aware of the thing staring at her.

~Danger!~ her horns said.

Nanny turned and moved quickly, as she heard quick footsteps following
her.  Nanny dashed in and out of the bunches of tall things that looked
like her human and others not.  She turned the corner and came to a
screeching halt, as a tall thing tripped right over her.  She stopped and
turned.

~The poor thing~ her horns said.

Nanny went to its head and licked its fur and face.  ~Less hurt~ her horns
said.

(Reply Gates, Arania, Any except for Stakes because these are not to
become goat steaks)
(posted by Punny Kaweo)

NRPG:

He went fishing?  What the heck is going on?  Fishing?  I thought he was
allergic.  Did you tell him anything?




-USS Boudicca, NCC 49901
Star Trek: Freedom - http://www.startrekfreedom.com