Mission: You Can't go home again Day: 2 Stardate: 2444.06.02 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< (NX-1672- Bridge- CONN, ENS JG Trip Williams - 07:16) (USS Mystique - Deck 7 - Science Officer- Ensign Sienna Williams-Verin- 0725) (Mars Facility – Admiral’s Office - CO Admiral Remae Ktell – 1055) (USS Hades – Bridge – Science Officer, Ensign Sienna Williams-Verin – 1118) (Mars Base – Staff Room 2 – Medical – Medical/Counselor Officer – Ensign J.G. Quinna Solace – 13:07) (Mars Facilities - Staff Room 2 - ENS jg Couselor Ariel Trei - 13.15) (Mars Facilities - Staff Room 2 – MO Ens(jg) Ailynn Bracken - 13.18) (Mars hangar – M03 hangar bay – Pilot - Ensign (JG) – Petrova,A. - 1400) (Mars hangar – M03 hangar bay – Pilot - Ensign (JG) – Ravok Shara - 1400) (Mars hangar – M03 hangar bay – Pilot - Ensign (JG) – Ravok - 1402) (Martian Ground Facilities – Ground Vehicle Pool – Engineer – Ensign JG Keira Merek – 1410) (Mars Base, Enlisted Quarters 1410 Hours) (Martian Surface - Main Sensor Array - Engineer - Ensign JG Keira Merek - 1440) (Martian Surface -Engineering Lab 4 - PO3 Castile 1500 Hours) (Mars Surface– Martian highway – CONN - Ensign (JG) – Trip Williams and MO - Ensign (JG) - 1600) (Mars Surface– Crazy Cale’s Crafty Emporium of Fun– CONN - Ensign (JG) – Trip Williams and MO - Ensign (JG) - 1630) (Mars Surface– Martian Highway– CONN - Ensign (JG) – Trip Williams and MO - Ensign (JG) - 1700) (Mars Facilities - Counseling Center- ENS jg Counselor Ariel Trei - 17.00) (Mars Facility – Admiral’s Office - CO Admiral Remae Ktell – 1710) (Mars Base, Admiral Remae's Office, Sec/Tac Ensign jg Taya, 1711) (Mars Base, Security Center, Sec/Tac Ensign jg Taya, 1733) (Mars hangars -M03-53012-1117 Peregrine attack fighter –pilot - ENS JG Ravok -1800) (Mars Facility – Admiral’s Office - CO Admiral Remae Ktell – 1805) (Mars Base- Science Annex- Level1, Lab 3- Science Officer- Ensign Sekal- 1800) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities, Officer’s Mess, Ens Trip Williams and Ens Taya, 1900) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities -1st Fighter Wing of Mars Briefing Room –CONN - ENS JG Trip Williams -21:00) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities -1st Fighter Wing of Mars Briefing Room –Pilot – Ensign (JG) - Ravok - 21:05) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities -1st Fighter Wing of Mars Briefing Room –Pilot – Ensign (JG) - Alexandra Petrova - 21:05) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities -1st Fighter Wing of Mars Briefing Room –Pilot – Ensign (JG) - Ire Williams - 21:05) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities -1st Fighter Wing of Mars Briefing Room –OPS, ENS JG Alexandra Petrova - 21.08) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities -1st Fighter Wing of Mars Briefing Room –pilot, ENS JG Ravok - 21.08) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities -1st Fighter Wing of Mars Briefing Room –CONN, ENS JG Trip Williams - 21.08) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities -1st Fighter Wing of Mars Briefing Room –pilot - ENS JG Ravok -21:10) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities -1st Fighter Wing of Mars Briefing Room –Pilot – Ensign (JG) Ire Williams - 21.12) (Martian Orbit – Peregrine Fighter 13 – Pilot – Ensign (J.G.) – Ire Williams – 2332) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< (NX-1672- Bridge- CONN, ENS JG Trip Williams - 07:16) Trip was working diligently at the OPS station of the Exeter cataloging what the ship was missing.She was in much better shape than most of the other ships in the shipyards as being constructed after the Andorians left, nothing had to be ripped out of her. The problem though was that she was still missing a lot of items essential for her to function. He made a note that she was missing a warp core, a deflector dish, tractor beam, there were no compliment of support craft present, but escape pods had been installed. Her computer systems would need to be update, and while there were phaser banks and torpedo bays completed, none of the supporting software for any of the weapon systems had been installed. Sickbay would also need to be looked at, but he had put Ailynn in charge. Of course she was now back on Mars, with Trip working alone, trying to come up with a wish list before he returned to Mars to take a nap as his caffeine had been wearing off. He was also waiting to hear back from the civilian air traffic control office acknowledging that they had received notice that there would soon be fighter patrols leaving from Mars base and that, pending approval from the rest of the flight ops senior staff, would operate on a four shift rotation. This would help the civilian authorities regulate the departure and arrivals of civilian craft and transports. Though Trip theorized that at some point these would be fully taken over by the security staff, as of right now, he wanted to play nice with Mars Air and Space Traffic control, especially because he had plans of trying to poach some personnel and get them to enlist and work for Mars base instead. He stood and tapped his commbadge signaling the runnabout down in Hangar 2 that he wanted to be beamed back to the surface he felt a tugging a scream yelling out at him. ::Sy, Sy, is that you, Sy respond?:: Before he could get any response back, he felt two things, a separation, a void, an absence, he could no longer feel his sister's presence. This would have scared him, except for the second thing, a rush of psionic backlash right at the moment the transporter beam engaged. As he re-materialized on mars he quickly fell to his knees and clutched his head in pain. Standing up he barely made it to the on-call room in the hangar that had a few bunk beds, all the while calling out for his sister, but he could not feel her. He figured that there was something up there blocking her. He felt in his heart she would be ok, she was with security after all, but it made him uneasy. The psionic backlash was also causing him to lose focus and right as he made it to the on-call room, he sat down on one of the bunks, closed his eyes in pain and passed out until he woke up naturally two hours later. (reply none) (posted by Will Banowsky) (USS Mystique - Deck 7 - Science Officer- Ensign Sienna Williams-Verin- 0725) Several long moments of pure pain passed as the non-telepathic members of the team took care of the two incapacitated telepaths. Sienna was almost angry at Sekal that he could handle this without the drugs that suppressed her telepathic abilities. Her head pounded, her heart was thundering, her mouth tasted like the sourness of adrenaline. She felt battered, physically and mentally. Was she ok he asked her eventually. Sienna's dark betazoid eyes focused on the security officer who was speaking to her, and the security officer helped her off the deck plate that her body had forcibly intersected. "I..don't know. I hurt. Everything hurts. I feel like I went on a sparring competition in the last few minutes with the Academy champion." She tried to put it in a way that the security officer could understand. Her head rang. "That..." said Sekal "...was a psionic attack of extensive magnitude and strength." He gave a twitch of his head and a blink of his eyes at another painful flare which he willed away. "The drug you gave her has suppressed her telepathic abilities so that the entity can no longer affect her and so she is shielded from the pain." She cast her eyes over towards Sekal as he spoke, "Yes, but who or what is on this ship that could cause -that- ?" She asked, emphasis on the last word. The team moved off, heading towards the turbolift as Sekal followed, using his tricorder to scan. "Do you think it's safe to take the turbolift towards the bridge?" Sienna used her own tricorder to scan as the security people likely did so as well. Then Sienna tried a new tactic. "Computer, how many people are aboard the Mystique currently and what are their locations?" The computer answered that there were four and that they were in the locations of the away team. Sienna frowned, and spoke aloud. "The Bridge, I guess?" She approached the turbolift and it didn't open. "Computer, open the turbolift doors." Sienna tried her command codes, but they of course did nothing to get the computer to obey her order to open the turbolift doors. As Sienna turned back towards her group, a loud, very vocal, extremely angry voice screamed, "NO." Sienna's headache got worse, and she raised her hands to cover her ears. "No?" Someone spoke in what would be a soft tone after that shout. (reply sekal, peters, flagg) (posted by Mel) (Mars Facility – Admiral’s Office - CO Admiral Remae Ktell – 1055) The Admiral was talking to Alyl, at least, Remae knew him as an Ensign, but it looked like someone hadn’t told the Trill officer yet. He was dressed in his casual clothes and he looked lost and he felt to try and make it up to him. "…After all, up until yesterday, I was dead.", he said and the Bajoran considered what was being said for a moment but he didn’t say anymore. "How should I feel?", he said, and the answer was there was no answer but that didn’t matter. Remae considered for a moment. “You should see my family reunions.”, he said before smiling and adding, “We will have to look into the psychological impact on your trauma so I want you to attend regular counselling sessions, I know that isn’t exactly going to thrill you but as an ex-Counsellor myself, it can help.”, he said before grabbing a PADD. This was a first, on the PADD, he consulted the medical reports sent by Ensign Bracken and how the details of how the Trill had been recently upgraded to alive… “With Trill having left the Federation, what happens to you now is up to you but for now, I could use your help here, I hope that is acceptable to you?”, he said and he continued. NRPG: I know it is, I already asked ! RPG: “Computer, reinstate the commission of Jaton Alyl to the rank of Ensign (Junior Grade) with all the rights and responsibilities therein.”, he said the computer beeped a couple of times. [[ Confirmed : Ensign (Jg) Jaton Alyl had been reinstated. Command codes verified and activated ]] “Ensign, find Ensign Sekal and assist him and the senior science teams in any way possible. Until you find your feet again, I recommend you take it easy and take lighter duties, for now, check in the with the Counsellor and Medical on a regular basis.”, he said handing the PADD to the Ensign. “I’ll speak to all involved and we’ll take this one step at a time. How does that sound, oh and Ensign, you are out of uniform.”, he said stretching his hand. (Reply from Alyl, Any) (Posted by Anthony Keen) (Mars Facilities - Staff Room 2 - ENS jg Couselor Ariel Trei - 13.15) She tried the pastry on the table. It was delicious. She knew of similar pastries back on Betazed. Allyn wanted a report so she gave one. "The Counseling Center is as good as can be expected. There are several couches that will serve the purpose. A few rooms could be added for one on one sessions but we will deal with what we have at the moment. (Reply Any) (Posted by Edward) (Mars Facilities - Staff Room 2 – MO Ens(jg) Ailynn Bracken - 13.18) Solice replied carefully. “I have finished clearing out the secondary storage. Most everything there was waste to be recycled. Basically, we have an empty storage closet. I will have to tackle Primary Storage tomorrow.” “I’ll give you a hand with that.” Ailynn said, “I quite enjoy rooting around in store rooms.” “I can certainly use some help, but after you see it, you may not want to help. It is worse than the secondary storage and that took me half a day. Going to spend half a day recycling the rubbish back into the replicator.” Quin said but abruptly stopped. Trei spoke next, "The Counseling Center is as good as can be expected. There are several couches that will serve the purpose. A few rooms could be added for one on one sessions, but we will deal with what we have at the moment.” A thought crossed Ailynn’s mind, something that Trip had mentioned, “put aside anything that is tradeable, but we can’t use. We have an unconfirmed lead on something, going to try to see if we can’t secure an additional source of materials and parts.” (Reply Kasion, Solice, Trei) She picked up another pastry, and bit into it, her mind busy. Swallowing the mouthful, she spoke once more, “we seem to be using tech that was dated when our parents were our age, you had free reign? What would you need? There’s no reason that in the next few months, that we can’t start innovating our own tech, you guys hear of anything that we can work towards?” It was a thought that had crossed her mind a few times as she had roamed the corridors yesterday, they had infrastructure, but little else. (Reply Kasion, Solice, Trei) (Posted by Mark) (Mars hangar – M03 hangar bay – Pilot - Ensign (JG) – Petrova,A. - 1400) The Runabout Samson had landed. Alexandra made a note to send a letter to the flight crew for getting it prepped and ready for its maiden voyage. She had been sucessful in a single orbit and a run to Phobos and back. She did not like the fact the replicator was missing. She was going to have to yell at somebody. She touched down and took off her helmet when her PADD chirped. There was a message. She had just been entered into the flight roster and news seemed to travel fast. She had thought it may have been a good luck note from her dad. But she was wrong. The message read: " Hello Ensign Petrova , I am Ensign Ravok Shara. Let me be among the first to welcome you to the team. I am currently readying my squadron for duty at 1800 . I would like to arrange a meeting with you and Ensign Tripp Williams and also Ensign Ire Williams. " She typed back the following, Ensign Shara, I will attend this gathering. It is safe to assume you are aware of my status. Though in the future I advise you if you are going to behave as defacto CAG, then say there will be coffee. More flyers with coffee then with vinegar. Ens. Petrova ( reply Ire, Tripp, and Shara) (Mars hangar – M03 hangar bay – Pilot - Ensign (JG) – Ravok Shara - 1400) As Ravok was continuing to make preparations for the Warbids first shift starting at 1800 he received a roster update on his PADD. The update was for a new addition to flight squadrons. Ensign jg Alexandra Petrova. Ravok smiled. With his PADD he sent her a message " Hello Ensign Petrova , I am Ensign Ravok Shara. Let me be among the first to welcome you to the team. I am currently readying my squadron for duty at 1800 . I would like to arrange a meeting with you and Ensign Tripp Williams and also Ensign Ire Williams. " (reply Ire, Tripp, and Alexandra) (Posted by davis) (Mars hangar – M03 hangar bay – Pilot - Ensign (JG) – Ravok - 1402) Ravok read the message from Ensign Petrova ~ more flyers with coffee then vinegar? I dont have any vinegar or coffee. Perhaps I should provide her with coffee ? ~ Ravok thought to himself. Ravok typed back in his PADD. " I wasnt aware I had vinegar , I'm sure the replicators have coffee. If you need anything I am in the hangar bays " Ravok scratched his head in confusion. ~ Where was the vinegar ?~ (reply Alexandra) (Posted by davis) (Martian Ground Facilities – Ground Vehicle Pool – Engineer – Ensign JG Keira Merek – 1410) She finished packing the things she thought she would need with her to perform some maintenance and repairs on the main sensor array and secured them into the cargo compartment on the small two seater work truck she was about to take out. The truck was battery powered, with a manual transmission, solar and plug in charging capabilities. The passenger compartment had a transparent aluminum windscreen, was open air with two bucket seats each with a five-point harness for securing a passenger and a parsteel roll cage in the event of a roll over the crew could escape with little to no injury. It had tool boxes lining the sides and a 1.5 cubed meter cargo compartment with Kevlar netting securing the cargo. Four large nearly bulbous inflated wheels held the vehicle aloft. Transporters were still out, and they could function with out them, so she thought to turn her attention to the sensors. With out those they would be nearly blind in a fight. Now that they had the processing power to run them, it was time to make sure it was running at as close to top efficiency as she could make them. She checked the truck’s battery. ~75%, pretty good I’ll make sure to swing out the solar panels to catch this afternoon sun to charge them a bit while I’m working.~ She locked her PADD into the console, downloaded the surface map and linked her music play list to the on-board speakers. ~What to listen to…late 20th Century Terran….~ She settled in the seat and clipped the securing herself in the driver’s seat. She placed the vehicle into a ready status, lights on the dash in front of her indicated current status on all systems. Everything was in the green. She settled the goggles over her eyes now seeing everything in a muted green hue. She tied the shemagh she was wearing so as to keep the sand and dust out of her mouth and hair. She zipped her field jacket up a little bit more, she was still getting used to the temperatures on Mars. She pushed the accelerator down a little harder than she had intended and the wheels squealed out on the smooth concrete surface, leaving a smudge mark. She got a stern look from the chief that had just signed the vehicle out to her with a thumb print. “Sorry!” she mouthed the words to him as slowly moved through the large cavernous door way. She pressed play on her selection and increased to full volume. A very old song immediately blasted an electric guitar introduction as she began to increase speed putting distance between herself and the buildings of the Martian facility. [? When dreaming I’m guided to another world, Time and time again ?] The tires gripped firmly to the loose Martian ground, kicking red dust and dirt behind her. [? At sunrise I fight to stay asleep ? ‘Cause I don’t want to leave the comfort of this place ?] She red-lined the tachometer and shifted gears twice in a matter of a few seconds, her speed increased accordingly. [?’Cause there’s a hunger, a longing to escape, From the life I live when I’m awake ?] As the majestic mountains of the Martian landscape appeared into view and she spotted a hill with just the right angle of ascent she steered right for it. [? So let’s go there ? Let’s make our escape ?] She redlined it a third time and shifted to the final gear to gain speed. [? Come on, let’s go there ? Let’s ask can we stay? ?] She hit the hill incline with the speedometer showing 120 km/h and went airborne. [?Can you take me higher? ?To the place where blind men see ?] Alarms were weakly trying to blare louder than the music but failed. Lights were flashing their warnings: NO TRACTION, ALTITUDE [Impact imminent] came an verbal warning but she couldn’t hear it. [? Can you take me higher? ? To the place with golden streets ?] The several ton machine slammed down on the dirt HARD. Several more alarms went off just as weakly as before, with lights flashing: CHASIS, IMPACT, TIRE PRESS The remaining inertia continued to carry her forward after landing. All the lights and warnings had settled back to nominal. She down shifted back to 2nd gear and pressed the accelerator to continue her journey. ~Wow these things are tough!~ [? Although I would like our world to change ? It helps me to appreciate ? Those nights and those dreams ? But, my friend, I’d sacrifice all those nights ? If I could make the Earth and my dreams the same?] Back up to a more reasonable cruising speed the large dish apparatus that was the main sensors was coming closer into view. [? The only difference is ?To let love replace all our hate ?So let’s go there ?Let’s make our escape ?Come on, let’s go there ? Let’s ask can we stay? ?] Keira hit the break and steered hard to the left. She giggled as the truck skidded to a halt a few meters away from the base of the dish. She keyed off the music, and put the truck on standby. She twisted the release on the harness and all four of the other straps were released from the buckle. She got out and grabbed her engineering kit from one of the side tool boxes. ~Time to get to work.~ She thought as she approached the several story tall dish. (Reply none needed, any if you wish) (posted by Todd) (Mars Base, Enlisted Quarters 1410 Hours) Castile sighed as he sat there reading to the point of eyestrain. It was the Divorce papers that Anna had the JAG corps print out disolving their nearly two decade long marriage. He looked over the paperwork then at Anna. "Sweetheart we can work this..." He pleaded. Anna stood there arms folded. "Damn it Chris, you slept with your captain, not only is that unprofessional, but I don't know what to tell the kids. Dad got you that job with the TMC! If it wasn't for me you wouldn't be here!" She stomped her foot which caused her red hair to fall out of it's bun. Chris felt himself blush and his hair if it could was turning more gray. "Anna, I was in deep space for two years. I got lonely." He said. "Thats the problem with you Christopher, its always been about you. You get lonely so you wander. You can't stay home because you love to dig. Things break and you want to fix them!" She said firmly. "I can fix this!" he exclaimed. "Maybe I am not the malfunction in this equasion. Chris I am just in the Office of Personel Management. I see cases like this all the time. Just sign the papers." She insisted. "Please." His voice sounded hoarse, "I can fix this... I can. Look you know Kelsey." He looked over at La Chance and Schummer who were really wishing they weren't here. "You slept with MY MAID OF HONOR!" Anna threw the papers up in the air and began to storm out of the room. La Chance looked over, "Amour Faux as the cajuns say." Schummer shook his head, "I am German and we all know what my kind has done, I am afraid there are no reperations he can make." Chris followed her out into the hall. Then turned around. He looked weary, he had lost the fight. He looked down at the papers. He was about to sign them when the wall computer blinked and mataince tickets started to print out. He walked over to them. He began to puruse them. "I really crashed and burned, No comission, no Anna, no nothing. Gentlemen this is why I always say you try to stay the course. My kids... I lost my freaking kids." La Chance walked over, "Christ I get it, but throwing yourself into work is what got you into all this. We are off rotation for eight hours. Go sleep, I got some Sominol in my bunk take a dose and sleep dis off. Talk to Anna later." Chris nodded and went to his bunk, not happy with any choices. Today had been one big no win situation. Before he fell asleep he muttered, "End Program." But nothing happened. Then the sleeping meds kicked in and he drifted off. (No Response Needed) (Posted by Robert H and Kaylah A.) (Martian Surface - Main Sensor Array - Engineer - Ensign JG Keira Merek - 1440) Keira had just finished with a level 2 diagnostic checking all the systems and sensors contained with in the dish. It was due its annual level one diagnostic, but she didn't have time and would have to shut down the sensor grid to do it, which isn't something that sounded like a good idea, at least until fighter patrols were pushed out a bit to give them an early warning. She wanted to tackle some of the more delicate internal structures first, but a severe dent in the outer parsteel shell was physically preventing her from accessing it. She guessed it was from a meteroroid strike that was never adressed. The easy fix would be removal and replacement of the panel. The industrial replicators needed to replace a square meter parsteel plate were down. Parsteel was physically very strong, orders of magnitude stronger than old-fashioned carbon steel, but unlike carbon steel parsteel made for a bad spring because it did not retain or resume it's former shape at all once bent. You would have to bend it back. She knew she didn't physically have the strength to fix the bend, strong as she was. ~ Any steel becomes malleable if you heat it up enough.~ She didn't have a forge set up to do such a task. ~ A phaser, set on heat should allow me to bend the dent out with a hammer.~ Someone would have to comeback later, and replace the part, but this could work for now, so she could get at the other pieces that needed replacing. She took the phaser out of her belt holster and set it to heat II & pulled the sledge out of the tool box and set it down nearby where it was easy to grab. ~ Here goes nothing.~ She leveled the phaser at the plate and pressed the firing mechanism with her thumb. Orange colored energy lanced out mercilessly pouring raw heat into the meter square piece of metal. She passed the beam side to side to ensure even coverage as the metal started to glow, first a muted red and eventually a soft amber. She released the trigger and the beam stopped. Quickly she holstered the weapon and picked up the hammer. A couple test swings to deduce how the metal was going to move, then gradually putting more force behind it. Each blow made a sound similar to hitting clay but with a slight dull ring. She worked quickly to ensure she didn't have to reheat the metal causing more stress than what was required. ~ Now to quench. ~ She dropped the hammer and retrieved the 20 liter water jug from her vehicle. She positioned herself out side of the tower to avoid a violent release of steam inside, unscrewed the top of the jug and placed the lid to the side. She lifted jug by one of the side handles and used her other hand to grip the bottom. ~ That plate still has to be over 800 Celsius easy.~ She backed away to ensure she didn't get hit with the steam and she threw water on to the parsteel plate, using about 1/3rd of the water. The splash of water evaporated instantaneously with a hiss steam erupted from the hot metal, which was now a reddish color. She let the steam clear, then she did it again, using most of the rest of the water. The plate now showed a dull grey color. Experience had told her, just because it's not glowing doesn't mean it's not hot. She decided to let the cool Martian breeze bring the metal temperature down some more before she continued working in the antenna. She took the opportunity to measure out and cut ODN cable off the spool to replace some that had overtime taken a beating. ( Reply any, Security if internal sensors are back up) (Posted by Todd) (Martian Surface -Engineering Lab 4 - PO3 Castile 1500 Hours) Castile awoke with a jump from the cot. Dreams had overtaken him of him in a room full of folks and he had no arms. They didn't notice him or who he was. La Chance was working on an exocomp. Schummer was working on an industrial fabricator. "Ja you know Chris ve could start up a small mining operation. I have been scanning soil samples and rich ore is right at the edge of the base ve could create a smelting facility and create metal on base not needing to..." He was interupted by La Chance jumping away from the exocomp as it sparked up. Castile looked at one thing, the stack of papers on the table, *THE* papers. He picked up a cigar he had been saving for the get together with Anna, but it turned out it was more of a surrender now. He signed them. "I am going outside." he said. (No reply needed) (Posted by Robert H) (Mars Surface– Martian highway – CONN - Ensign (JG) – Trip Williams and MO - Ensign (JG) - 1600) Even in the age of shuttlecraft and transporters, there were some who still enjoyed driving ground vehicles and the rush it gave them. So when the opportunity arrived to go into town Trip jumped at the chance to drive something more terrestrial. He had cleared is adventure with security and both be and his traveling companion were dressed in civilian clothing. They were headed to visit a junk shop run by a ferengi trader. Rumor had it that he had acquired and old Constitution class refit deflector dish and the design specs could be easily adapted to the Exeter prototype. Ailynn was traveling with him in case there might be surgical equipment. As they drove Trip spoke up to pass the time. "Hey Lynn, random question?" Ailynn lifted her head off the headrest and pulled her attention from the scenery that sped past. "Shoot" she said smiling at the company, the chance to leave her hands free and let her mind wander. The wind whistled passed, she shook her head, and pulled a lock of hair that had become stuck in her collar. "Do you believe in an afterlife?" "One of the big ones eh? She answered, her face was thoughtful for a moment. "I'm a surgeon. A woman of science and evidence." She paused, "give me your hand." She reached out and pulled gently on his index finger, pressing it at her brow. "I'm also Bajoran, in part anyway. I feel a pull to the lessons of the Prophets, but honestly, I don’t know." “Umm Lynn, I already knew you were part Bajoran.” Trip said with a smile. He then took his hand back and placed it on the steering wheel of the vehicle. Ailynn laughed gently, “I always forget how much you know about me.” She sighed, “Where’s this coming from?” “It’s just something, I’ve been pondering for a year you know. It’s like, feeling Rae’s death, you know, the fear, the uncertainty, the disappointment, as if she just knew she’d blink out of existence, but never be there anymore. I felt that fear, that anger, the rage, that sort of sadness of feeling that you were about to cease to be, and it got me thinking, which is dangerous, because when I think usually something stupid happens.” She wasn’t an empath, but she’d seen this enough times over the years, especially since she started Medical School, that a brush with death sometimes gave people a need to think about the eternal, or a life beyond. She knew far better than to tease him or make light of what he was going through. “Thinking about…” “I have spent a lot of time researching a lot of different religions out there, and I found one thing in common. Those belief systems that have a profound believe the afterlife, the ones who die confident in something beyond, die more peacefully, more accepting of doom.” She sat back quietly, listening to him opening up. “And I want that, I’m jealous of that. I know what if feels like to die without hope. That is the thing that kills me every time I revisit the emotions Rae had when she died. She died hopeless, and I don’t want that for me. I want to believe that there is something else, something outside of linear time. I want to believe I will see her again, but I don’t know if I can convince myself of it.” “Different peoples believe in assorted variations of the same thing, but its not something I know about more than a basic knowledge.” “Klingons have So-vo-Kor, Vulcans believe the Katra lives on, Ferengi with their great treasury. The old earth religions had some semblance of an afterlife, and I desperately want to think that there has to be more to this life than just the physical right. Look at the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, who posited the concept of the unmoved mover. Everything in motion was set in motion by something else, so he theorized that there was something before the universe, that existed before the universe that set everything in motion. So like if something set the universe in motion, that existed outside of time and space, that has to mean something right.” Ailynn nodded, “depending on if you assume that a creator made everything or if everything happened as a result of cosmic...happenstance, but yeah I understand.” “You know they used to do experiments right, trying to see if they could figure out if there was a soul and how much it weighed. So they would place someone on the verge of death on a large scale, and if the person decreased in weight at the moment of death, the difference was the weight of the soul.” “Sounds horrifically undignified.” Ailynn said, the medic in her revolted by the thought of people having such undignified treatment in their last moments. “You’ll forgive me for saying this, but is it possible that you're just projecting your own fears?” “I don’t know, I just, I don’t want to die without hope. It crushes me that Rae did. Maybe I just can’t see myself not existing, that in my mind, death without an afterlife is just me conscious in a black void all alone.” “Trip, I can’t begin to understand what you’ve gone through, but here’s the thing; I’ve watched people die, some of them have been terrified, and I’ve held their hand, and comforted them as they’ve passed. I know that they drew comfort from me as they went on whatever journey they’ve gone on.” “I pray that you never do feel it.” “You felt Rae’s fear, and that’s natural, and understandable, but let me tell you, she would have taken your strength, and love, and been comforted by that.” Her voice was gentle, hopefully calming, she drew on every bedside skill she had ever picked up. “I know, you’re right.” “I’m not saying that you have to move on, as I know that you can’t yet, and to say that would be an insult. What you do need to do however, is try not to go down this road. I’ve seen what happens to people that do, I’ve seen the descent into madness as loved ones of those passed have refused to let go, and clung to every possibility of an afterlife, that they’ve stopped living this one, and it’s killed them.” “And I’ve seen the hope of something better, something eternal, cause others to live their life to the full. There is an element of faith to everything, and sadly faith is in short supply. Just look at the Federation.” Ailynn knew where he was coming from, “Mum looks tireder every time we speak, she’s looking her age, and it’s clear the worry is starting to get to her. She was always so positive about everything. Now she and Dale are fighting to move anything forward.” “People lost sight of the mission, the purpose, focused only on preservation and not the mission, lost faith in our mandate, now look at us.” “The very thought that it’s us thats the future of the Federation is a bigger worry than you can imagine.” “But that’s a conversation for another day. We’re here.” Ailynn sighed gently, pulling herself out of the vehicle as they stopped, taking in the frontage of the facility in front of them, “Well, you know how to treat a lady, what comes after? A quick smooch at the point overlooking the breakers yard?” Smiling to herself as they walked in. (Reply none) (Posted by Will and Mark) (Mars Surface– Crazy Cale’s Crafty Emporium of Fun– CONN - Ensign (JG) – Trip Williams and MO - Ensign (JG) - 1630) Crazy Crale’s Crafty Emporium of Fun was a business run by a Ferengi named Rook who had purchased the shop from the original owner, a man by the name of Cale Drexel about 10 years ago. Rook had learned how much humans liked by useless junk and though that owning a one-stop shop emporium could have some benefits. Business had been slow, but he figured with the movement that had been seen going in and out of the dilapidated mars base there might be business to be had. Not everything can be acquired legally, but Rook had a guy for everything. Which is why he added the tag line to the shop of, “If it’s something you want, we can make it happen.” As Trip and Ailynn entered the shop, Rook quickly darted from the counter to meet them at the door. The shop was pretty standard and looked a lot like an outlet warehouse. It wasn’t that big, but most of the items that were of the ‘special’ variety were kept off site or would be acquired as needed. The rest of the shop, the public side, was more of a front to make business seem legitimate, selling all kinds of souvenirs, tchotchkes, and what have yous. “A hewmans, come in come in,” Rook said with that sly Ferengi smile, “What can I do for you today.” “Well we were hoping you could help us discreetly acquire some items.” Trip said presenting Rook with a list. “Well, if you need it, I can get it, for a price. And we take latinum here, not credit or for free. You know if the Federation still had currency I bet it wouldn’t be on life support.” Rook smiled as he looked at Trip’s list. “Let’s see, Constitution refit deflector dish, assorted parts for Peregrine fighters, cyberwarfare suite. Yeah I can get these for you, again for a price.” Rook then looked at Ailynn, “And what about for the pretty lady, what can I get for her.” Rook said as he creepily smiled at Ailynn taking her in like a long drink of water on a hot summer’s day. Ailynn felt the Ferengi’s eyes run unashamedly over her, making her skin crawl, sickening her by his look alone. Time was that she would have ignored it, time was she would have taken it on the chin, or left embarrassed. Not now. She felt her temper rise, the sickness that she felt from his odious glance distilled from irritation, and growing as his eyes ran over her. “Doctor...and you’re going to discover, I’m not a lady.” Ailynn’s voice was deceptively calm, she stepped, carefully, slowly around, casting her eyes over the shelves of apparent tourist junk on one wall. “I see, doctor huh, well if you ever need a patient to practice on, you can always call me.” Rook said. She shouldn't have reacted the way that she did, but the conversation on the ride down had been pleasant, and Trip had not once ever been disrespectful to her, few people had. It had come as a shock of revulsion that someone did so openly. Her mind snapped, she strode forward and grabbing the first thing off his counter that she reached, grabbed him round the chin and pushing him against the wall that he stood by, twisted his head around slightly. “Surgeon. You ever...ever...look at me like that again, and I will remove your left eye with this…” She lifted up her hand and shook it’s contents, she could feel the Ferenghi’s pulse quicken under her second finger, she could see his focus flit between the falling ‘snow’ in the scene in the globe, and her own eyes. “...snowglobe.” Trip stepped up next to Ailynn and whispered calmy in her ear, “Lynn, let him go.” Releasing him, she smiled gently, and warmly, “now that we’re all friends, I’d like to see any scalpels...scanners sorry, scanners that you may be able to get, and diagnostic firmware.” The Ferengi hurriedly went to a computer terminal in the back to check his stock. Returning he nodded, “I have everything you need, both for you,” He said looking at Trip, “And for the good surgeon who so greatly took pity on me.” “Show me your lists, there’s stuff I want to take away.” She said with a gentle smile. “I’ll pay, of course.” “Now everything will cost latinum, and I’ve included it all on this PADD here, but I’ve marked it all at a discount.” The Ferengi smiled greedily, “I’d be more than happy to offer all of you from the base a nice discount if you come to me with all your, special needs.” Rook knew that with the old Mars base being such a dump, he could make a killing as a procurer for special and hard to find materials. “And as an act of good faith, and to convince your good Boss to approve the funds, I’ll throw in a free Captain’s yacht. A bit in disrepair, but good for parties.” “That works for me, what about you Lynn?” “I need a set of focal rings, and an insertion kit, the new firmware and a standard room set of the type 6 holoemittors. One bar, if you throw in 5 of those Kassa Fabrication surgical kits. She opened her bag, which was horribly heave to be honest, and pulled out one bar of gold-pressed Latinum and placed it on his counter. “I’ll wait in the car.” “When you approve payment, I’ll get you your order, until then I’m gonna hold off on procuring the order.” Trip nodded as he and Ailynn headed towards the door. Before Trip could make it to the door,Rook called him over. “Hewman, come here a moment.” Trip nodded to Ailynn as a sign that he would meet her in the car. When it was clear that Ailynn had left the store, Rook looked at Trip with a lustful smile. “I approve of your choice of woman, strong and feisty, I bet she’s a firecracker. Thank you for calling her off before she could take out my eye. But I ask you, if you bring her back, please keep her on a leash or a muzzle. I don’t take kindly to being threatened in my own shop.” Trip turned and stared at Rook, his black eyes made it hard to see the rage burning inside him. “Listen creep, I’m going to give you one warning here, because frankly we need what you can provide to get things up and running. But I swear, if you ever, and I mean ever, disrespect my friend, and she’s just that a friend, but if you ever disrespect her to her face or in front of me again, …” Trip paused and grabbed a snow globe, then looking at Rook crushed it with his bare hands. “This will be your head.” Trip then turned and left the store. (Reply none) (Mars Surface– Martian Highway– CONN - Ensign (JG) – Trip Williams and MO - Ensign (JG) - 1700) The first part of the drive back was in silence. Trip could tell that Ailynn was upset. He didn’t need to be an empath to see she was pissed off, and he tried to respect her privacy by not using his powers to read her emotions. He also was trying to hide the fact that the glass from the snowglobe had cut his right hand and that he had been wiping the blood on his black pants to hide it from her. Ailynn was a strong woman, she didn’t need Trip to defend her, stand up for her, or fight her battles. Still Trip needed to send a message in the best way he knew how. Don’t mess with my friends or I will crush you. “You okay Lynn?” Trip asked softly. “Do you want to talk about it?” "No…" She snapped slightly and then she pulled herself back together. Before speaking to him properly, her voice sad and cracking. "Yes." Motioning to an upcoming rest stop she spoke gently "pull over. We'll talk while I fix your hand." “Oh, you noticed I was cut. I guess I’m not that great at hiding things.” Despite herself, despite her low mood, her sense of humour rose to the occasion. She rose a single eyebrow, and winked. As the vehicle pulled up, Ailynn pulled out a small medkit from her bag, and removed her sunglasses, she’d put them on not to shade the sun, but to hide the tears. "We know each other too well, here let me look." She took his hand, enjoying how his strong fingers felt in her delicate ones. "Glass in the wound. Hold still" she picked up a pair of forceps and began to pick the glass out the cut. "Look, I love and trust you so you can read me if you want" she smiled gently, hoping that he understood that anything she had to say wasn’t against him at all.. “Do you need a tricorder, I think there is one in the back.” Trip knew he had permission to read her emotions, but it wasn’t something he wanted to do. He had a love/hate relationship with his abilities and he felt better if he could just suppress them. "I don't need a scan, I can see." She spoke gently, a sad quality to her voice. As she worked she carried on talking. "I'm sorry about back there....Look here's the thing, no one looks at me and sees me. No one looks at me and just sees a girl. I've always been the strong one, friend, confidante, big sister, Doctor, Captains daughter. Here's the thing, I'm not that strong really not deep down. Like I said earlier all I want is a guy, or a girl to look at me and want to get to know me for me, to love me, fall in love with me, for me. Not for how I help them or because they think I'm pretty. And I know you love me that's not what I'm meaning. “I know, my love for you is platonic, friendly. It’s different.” Trip said. He felt bad, he was the one who invited her to accompany him in the first place. "I've never been made to feel so cheap. Sure guys look at you and some try and turn you into another notch, but they at least keep the learing to a minimum." “I know, and I wanted to slug him right in the face for it. He’s a pig, and I shouldn’t have stood there and let you be treated like that. Had that been Sy instead of you, I’d be getting ready for my court martial date.” Ailynn made a noise, “If he’d have leered at her while I was around...well...better not finish that sentence…” Once more she sighed deeply, all too aware that her mood was sinking, although she’d given him permission to read her, she hoped that he wouldn’t, she was far too ashamed of how she was feeling. Trip could see something was off, he knew he didn’t want to use his powers, but he reached out anyways. Sensing her emotions, he could see a great sadness, anger, she felt small, as if she was put into a box, and he could sense a great deal of tiredness. “When was the last time you slept?” Trip knew he was one to talk, he was running on caffeine and fumes.But it wasn’t about him right now. She laughed, bitterly, as she removed the last of the glass out the wound, and opened a water bottle to irrigate it before picking up the dermal regenerator, once she was certain that the wound was free from the glass. “Had about an hour last night. I’m okay at the moment, I’ve been more tired on ER shifts.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, she knew she needed rest, but she had been more tired and still worked a shift. “Well, promise me you’ll get some rest tonight ok, I mean we both need it. Hell, I’m supposed to be flying tomorrow, lord knows I shouldn’t go up there unless I get a solid eight hours.” “I know the feeling, honestly.” She looked up, “Look, I’m sorry, I’ve messed up your contact, I shouldn’t have come.” She sighed once more, aware that she’d been doing that a lot recently, in herself, she normally wasn’t so negative a person as this. “Lynn, promise me you’ll take care of yourself ok. I worry about you.” “I promise.” She turned his hand, her trained gaze watching the flow of every tendon and muscle. “All clean. You ever do something that stupid again, I’ll have your guts for garters.” she winked, impishly. "I did it for you." Trip said sheepishly, "I'd do all sorts of stupid things for you. Ailynn felt her daemons subside, under their contagious good nature, long had it been between them, they had always drawn from each other’s innate better moods. She punched him amiably on the shoulder. “Nice moves, wrong chick Ace.” She opened the case, and stashed away the medkit. Trip then waited for her to put the kit back before getting back on the road. Trip smiled. There was something different about Ailynn this time around. He hadn't felt her emotions in ages, but there was something there that he felt that filled him with warmth. "I'm tired of your nobody loves me bullshit by the way. Your nobody sees the real me pity party you've been having for the last few months." “Are you now.” She retorted, actually a tiny bit hurt, but she suppressed that, alone of all the galaxy, Trip and Sy where the only two people she’d ever allowed to speak to her so openly. “You want to go here? Really?” She smiled, glad that they still had this relationship. “Yeah I do,” Trip said bluntly, “Because you have no idea, you just have no idea how I….” Trip paused. “Look, I’ve never pigeonholed you as just one thing. Not ever. I’ve always ever viewed you as a whole and complete person. Truth be told, I nearly got kicked out of high school, because the boys in your class kept categorizing you, and I nearly broke Tommy Conicky’s nose.” “Tommy Conicky would have tried to hit on someone in a hall of mirrors....what’s your point?” She actually felt invigorated by the proverbial slap across the face. He knew her far too well. “The point is, other than the fact I now realize I may have anger issues, is that I just wish you could see yourself how I see you.” ~Of course I also wish I knew how to categorize how I see you.~ Trip thought to himself. ~Because honestly I’m not sure if I know anymore.~ “Grrrr. Bloody males....Trip...I love you...more than anything… but...we had this bloody conversation before…”She genuinely laughed. Perhaps inappropriately, all things considered. Trip smiled. Even though they grew up in the same neighborhood, he found it interesting that he maintained his father’s family’s Texan accent, and hers was unmistakably British. “Hold your horse, there sally,” Trip said giggling. “I didn’t mean anything romantic like. It’s a confidence thing, its a kindness thing. Look, I may have dealt with a lot of shit over the last year to get to this point. But we don’t need how people look at us in a romantic way define who we are. It’s how the little people see us, how those we impact the most see us, that is how we should define the opinions that matter. I mean hell, yeah it’s great to feel loved, wanted, craved, by someone in a way were they want to be everything to us, and complete us. But it isn’t everything, that love can be gone in a blink of an eye, or a flash of a….” Trip paused to compose himself and breath hoping not to trigger an anxiety attack, “well you know. But that shouldn’t, the fact that you can’t find anybody who wants you for who you are and not just to conquer mount Bracken, well that doesn’t matter. What matters is what I think, what Sy thinks, what Rae thought about you, what the people who actually care about you think.” Her manner saddened slightly, but she pressed on, “I get that, I do, you, Sy, it isn’t fair mentioning Rae, but I get that too I do, and truly, you’re right. You are. However I’d like a chance at that failure. Do you know how many dates, I’ve been on Trip?” “thirty -two and a half.” Trip said, it was the first number that popped into his head. “I don’t know, I never asked. I never really questioned your love life, because, I, well I figured if there was an issue you’d tell me.” “Two.” “Well I got the two part right.” “The first, somewhat ironically, was Tommy’s best friend Vince. You remember - him with the hair? Spent the whole night talking about….actually not sure. Second was a girl from the tridimensional chess club. Date lasted 16 minutes, I destroyed her at chess and she wanted to go home.” She stopped and thought about where her head was going. “My point is this, I was always too much the brain for the cheerleader clique, and way too clever to be let in to the science nerds. Then I hit the Academy and work took over my life. All I want is a chance. Intellectually I get that people love me, you, Sy, Rae...prophets bless her, but do you get what I…” Trip cut her off, “Lynn, I am going to tell you something, that I’ve never told you, and I’ve been holding this in since high school.” “Vince, swooshy hair Vince, told me about your date. He said….he said he really liked you, but that you, you seemed to cut him off at every turn, like you were keeping him emotionally distant at every turn, and so he didn’t ask you out a second time because he thought you didn’t really like him. He said, ‘I wanted her to let me in, but it was like her heart door was locked, so I moved on.’ Then immediately after Tommy Connicky called you and Ice Queen and I, well, you know almost broke his nose.” ~Parrises squares...he spent half the night talking about….~ “I never told you, because I thought he wasn’t good enough for you, and it was better that, if just couldn’t understand you, that he just moved on. But, maybe I should have helped him understand you better.” ~He played ramp...I remember.~ She sighed, “Trip, we’re bickering about bloody high school. I could tell you how I spent the entire of my finals year keeping Tammy duBois from...well…” She tilted her head. "Tammy double duBois, with the blue eyes and the perfect...well you know, twins. That Tammy?" “Yes really, and believe me...No!” She laughed at the ridiculousness of the entire conversation. “You’re an oaf Trip Williams. You always lighten my mood.” "I'm a loveable oaf." “We both need sleep. Try that hand out, let’s get back before...hell, I don’t know.” "Shouldn't be much longer, oh you would be conqueror of great peaks, you." ~Oh Lynn if you only knew how adorable you were you would be unstoppable.~ Trip smiled. It was overall a good road trip. Ailynn was about to open her mouth to reply, when the vehicle started moving forward once more. The air, lifting and cascading her hair. Once more she slipped on the sunglasses, this time, not to hide the tears; it was to hide the smile. (Reply none) (Posted by Mark and Will) (Mars Facilities - Counseling Center- ENS jg Counselor Ariel Trei - 17.00) She entered the main area of the center and looked around. It was way too quiet in there so she authorized the computer to play random soft classic rock mid to late 20th century Terra. The computer complied and a good song by the Doobie Brothers filled the room. The song is called Black Water. It is a loose reference to the song Summertime. She went over to the replicator and ordered a large ice tea, a medium-sized salad with bacon bits and ham bits mixed in. She liked Spanish olives so she ordered that too pitted she specified. She ordered a large bowl of a certain beetle that had a nice nutty taste. Her father enjoyed munching on these beetles so she acquired the taste. It did not need to be mentioned that the beetles are live. They had a most desirable crunch. She read some reports as she waited for anyone to come in for counseling. (Reply Any) (Posted by Edward) (Mars Facility – Admiral’s Office - CO Admiral Remae Ktell – 1710) "Ensign Taya reporting for duty, sir!", said first of this late afternoon's arrivals. Ensign Taya stood to attention at the far side of the Admirals’ makeshift office and he waved her in the general direction the chair at the end of his desk. It wasn’t every day an Andorian walked towards him and Remae considered the Ensign as she sat down, there was a moment’s pause as he read the PADD in front of him. The Ensign’s name was going to cause the Admiral, he knew the simplified one would be easier and although he was going to have a lot of trouble, he gave it his best try, “Ensign sh'Mila'aa, welcome to Mars.”, he said probably getting the sound of the surname about half right. “I see you are assigned as a Security Officer here on Mars, well – its good time, we need all the help we can get at the moment.”, he said and he began to explain the need for additional security. They had started the screen everyone leaving and coming from Mars and that was working as well as could be expected. “For now, Ensign, we’re concentrating on securing Mars. Of course, Starfleet personnel are coming and going but the sheer amount of people coming in from offworld and leaving again is intense…”, he said before adding, “Anything you can do to assist them, would be most welcome.” “My best advice for you is to find the rest of the senior team, check-in and see how things are progressing and let me know if I can help.”, he said. “Any questions, Ensign?”, he asked and he sat back in his chair waiting for anything further from the Ensign. (Mars Base, Admiral Remae's Office, Sec/Tac Ensign jg Taya, 1711) "Ensign Taya reporting for duty, sir!" She sat after the admiral motioned toward a seat. She was in the forward part of the chair, with her back straight. "Ensign sh'Mila'aa, welcome to Mars," said Remae. Taya smiled at the respect given to her as the admiral tried to say her Andorian name. "Thank you, sir." "I see you are assigned as a security officer here on Mars," said Remae. "Well, it's good time. We need all the help we can get at the moment." Remae explained the need for additional security and the importance of securing the entire facility. "Anything you can do to assist them, would be most welcome," said Remae. "I'll do my best, sir," said Taya. Remae advised her to find the rest of the senior staff. "I'll be going directly to the security center. I'm eager to get started, sir," said Taya. "Any questions, Ensign?" Taya thought for a moment, her antennae moving in slow circles. She wondered if the admiral expected her to say something, but she didn't have anything to ask. If she said no, what would Remae think? Should she toss out something, just so he would think she wanted to learn? She felt nervous in her stomach. "No, sir, I don't have any questions. I'm looking forward to getting to work and meeting the security team." (reply Remae iyw) (posted by Rob B.) (Mars Base, Security Center, Sec/Tac Ensign jg Taya, 1733) Traveling through the base from Admiral Remae's office to the security center, Taya got more odd looks. It had actually gotten to the point where she was enjoying it. Growing up, she knew she was different, so being different here on Mars, fit in with who she was. Taya was surprised at how much cleaner and prepared the security center was, though it shouldn't have. There was a sense of order to security and tactical personnel that wasn't in other departments. She noticed that there were five offices. Not knowing if any of them were available, she looked for someone to ask. A group of enlisted were huddled together and whispering. When they noticed she was looking at them, a petty officer approached her. "Good afternoon, ma'am. Can I help you with anything?" "I'm Ensign Taya. I just arrived, so I need some help getting settled." "I'm Petty Officer Kirby. Office five is available now." "Now?" "Yes, ma'am. We had a Vulcan ensign that used office five, but he got a call from the Vulcan consulate on Earth to report to them immediately. A transport ship came and he beamed aboard." Kirby shrugged. "No one knows why." "What was his name?" "Sanok." "Sanok?" said Taya. "How about that!" "Ma'am?" "Years ago, before I was born, my mother was a nurse on the Rosenante. Sanok was her captain. I would have loved to have introduced myself to him." Kirby didn't say anything. "Ah well. Such is life," said Taya. "So, Mister Kirby, do you have specific duties here?" "No ma'am. I'm part of the general staff." "I need an aide. You interested?" "Yes, ma'am, I am." "Then the job is yours." "Thank you, ma'am." "Let me get settled in and we'll talk later." Taya smiled and walked into her new office. Office five was small, with a desk facing the door. There was a computer, two extra chairs along the wall on the right and a replicator on the left wall. In the corner of the ceiling above the replicator, was a scorch mark. She stared at it a few moments, then shrugged her shoulders. She also saw how clean the office was. Definitely a Vulcan used it before she did. Taya set her backpack on one of the extra chairs and sat at her desk. She created her personal account and input a password. Opening the files of the other senior officers in security, she began reading. (reply any) (posted by Rob B.) (Mars hangars -M03-53012-1117 Peregrine attack fighter –pilot - ENS JG Ravok -1800) " 3rd Mars orbital defense to mars ground control " Ravok said " go ahead " responded ground control " Warbirds are taking flight our flight paths have been transmitted and air space in the flight areas are clear ,please relay to all incoming vessels " replied Ravok " All clear " Ravok and Crewman baker are inside their Peregrine attack fighter with the other eight attack fighters on their 6 " Ravok to all fighters . We are running battle simulation 2 . Team 1 and 2 switch all weapon systems to simulation mode . Team 3 you will take standard real defensive formation and patrol the skies. Stick to flight paths team 3 " Team 3 breaks away from the formation and goes into high orbit. Each team has 3 attack fighters . Teams 1 and 2 proceed to the approved air space for battle simulation 2. Team 2 has the objective of defending the Mars base facility. Team 1 has the objective of successfully destroying vital areas of the mars facility, all a simulation of coarse. " Good luck team 2 " Ravok stated " aye sir" Responds the team 2 leader The teams run the simulation 4 times 3 out of 4 times team 2 failed in their objective. Successful shots were fired upon the Mars facilities. Ravok was proud of both teams in their flight performances. "Ravok to team leaders , let's head into standard patrol mode. Switch weapons systems to ready. " The warbirds take off into high orbit . " Crewman Baker, you did good down there . You make one hell of a weapons officer " Ravok said to Baker . " thank you sir " baker responded Ravok looked out the window and down to the Martian surface . The thrill of being in a fully functional attack fighter made his grey romulan heart race. " Sir you have a message from Ensign Williams coming in " Ravok Read the message . Tripp wanted to have a meeting. " well baker we are headed back " Ravok stated. Ravok Heads back to the Mars hangar and lands his attack fighter in M03 hangar bay. Both Ravok and Baker exit the vessel. He turns to Crewman Baker " keep an eye on things for me." Ravok says " yes sir " says Crewman baker . Ravok walks off towards the meeting with his fellow officers. ( reply any ) ( posted by davis ) (Mars Base- Science Annex- Level1, Lab 3- Science Officer- Ensign Sekal- 1800) The Vulcan was bone weary as he entered the now scrubbed chamber and gazed around at what had been wrought in the largest lab on this floor. Gutted diagnostic equipment and trash had been removed and the few remaining usable ones now lined the walls along with those transported down by the runabout. The technicians had staged things decently but he would be taking some time early the next morning to arrange the lab to his specifications. Then there was the fact nothing had been hooked up as yet, powered up, tested or calibrated. Sekal shook his head at the mountain of work they were still facing but the technical staff would nearly double on the morrow. Those who had been busily working here today were just knocking off at his orders, he had come in to find them still industrious though fatigued and ordered a general exodus. They had thoroughly combed two ships, been subjected to psionic attacks which he had been forced to bear for an interminal period, a temporal anomoly and then visits to the Admiral and medical staff. To say that his day had been busy was not even roughly analogous. He stopped at a table and consulted his PADD to check tomorrow's incoming arrivals and noted another name had been added to the senior staff roster at shortly after 1000 hours. Apparently this had slipped Ktell's mind during their meeting. He was weary but this could not wait so he tapped his combadge. "Ensign Alyl this is Sekal with the science senior staff could we meet at 1830?" (Reply: Alyl) "I understand it is late but myself and Ensign Verin have been unavoidably detained today and there is much to be done tomorrow. I would welcome your input. Whatever location is most convenient for you." (Reply: Alyl) (Posted by Charles Gatling) (Mars Facility – Admiral’s Office - CO Admiral Remae Ktell – 1805) Remae was dealing with the mounting PADDs in his office… he was bearly keeping up with them. He threw one across the room, it spun onto the floor, skipping like a stone on the water, coming to an end near the door just as it opened. "Ensign Petrova reporting as ordered, Admiral Jopek. I also have a copy of today's operational reports.", reported the new arrival and Remae looked at yet another PADD again to refresh his memory about the new report and gestured to the empty chair on the other side of his desk. “Ensign, welcome to Mars.”, he said taking the reports from the pilot but not looking at them for now. “I see you are reporting in as a pilot, Ensign – this is excellent, we have a great need for pilots to assist in securing Sector 001.”, he looked down at the PADD. “Welcome aboard.”, he said and then added, “I am sure you are all ready to get out there so unless there are any questions?”, he said and waited a moment for to Ensign to ask anything she wanted. (Reply from Taya, Petrova, Any) (Posted by Anthony Keen) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities, Officer’s Mess, Ens Trip Williams and Ens Taya, 1900) As Trip entered the Officer’s mess hall, he noticed that, even though it was relatively empty, there was one ensign sitting and eating alone. He wondered if she just wanted to sit by herself, which to Trip eating by one’s self unless they were doing so while watching some form of entertainment seemed depressing, or if people were actively ignoring her because she was Andorian. Given that curiosity killed the cat and would probably one day kill Trip, he decided to see for himself. That and because he had never actually met an Andorian before. He had heard there was one at the academy, but he never crossed her path. You’d think one would find a way to run across the only Andorian on campus, but Trip never did. He saw her at graduation, but was too busy to introduce himself. So here was his chance to meet an Andorian. While Taya was in her office, her stomach gurgled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten all day. Her office had a replicator, and she considered eating there, but going to the officer's mess would give her an opportunity to begin meeting more people. There were only a few others there, so after ordering a meat platter and a glass of ice water, she sat alone at a table. She turned on her PADD and continued her studies. “Mind if I join you?” He said with the cheesy extroverted grin that both his grandfather and father wore as badges of honor. Before she could even say yes or no, Trip plopped down into the seat in front of her. “Name’s Trip, flight ops, I think we both graduated from the academy the same year, but I don’t know if we had any classes overlap.” Taya turned off the PADD and set it on the table, studying the man that just sat down. Proper manners dictated that she give her consent first, but Andorians were impulsive by nature, so she understood. She noticed Trip had black eyes, meaning he was at least part Betazoid. Taya had no experience interacting with telepaths, so she didn't know what to expect. "I'm Ensign T'ay'ia sh'Mila'aa. I arrived a few hours ago." Taya chuckled inwardly at giving her full Andorian name. “It’s nice to meet you T’aisha, no that doesn’t sound right. Tay’osha, no ummm Tataya, umm T’ay’ia. Sorry for butchering it.” Taya chuckled. For some reason, she enjoyed listening to others trying to pronounce her name. “The shortened name is Taya.” “Well, welcome to Mars. She’s not much, but she’s home. So Tayshea, what department are you in.” “I’m security,” said Taya, chuckling again. “I haven’t met the other senior officers yet, so I’m waiting to get caught up on what we need to do here. I’m surprised Starfleet let the facility get so run down.” She sipped some water. “ Flight ops, eh? Does that mean you’re going to pilot one of those ships up in space dock?” “Yeah, I’m flight ops, I’m certainly not wearing red because I’m in charge of anything,” Trip said jokingly as he pointed to his solitary black pip. “Bottom of the barrel here. Or at least I should be.” “We’re all new,” said Taya, “but that doesn’t mean we can’t do the job.” “We’ve got a run down base and a bunch of fresh faced newbies, myself included, running around trying to turn this place into a reclamation project. As for the ships, it’s more of a graveyard up there than a shipyard, which is a shame, there are some real beauties up there. Plus, I should be wearing a blue uniform anyways.” "Tell me about that," said Taya. “I majored in Stellar cartography, I always wanted to be a pilot, but I knew that majoring in a science field would give me more versatility. Plus stellar cartography was a create compliment to my piloting electives. I do get to fly some fighters though, we’re builiding a fighter wing from scratch.” "Sounds fun," said Taya. "We don't have fighters in the Imperial Guard. In Earth history, I learned jet fighter pilots would sometimes be allowed to take civilians for a ride. Once things are more secure here, maybe you could take me on a trip through the system." "Though maybe I shouldn’t tell you, in case you are an Andorian spy.” Trip paused, “Sorry that was a little insensitve.” Taya picked up her fork and held it like a weapon. "Maybe I am." She smiled. “Well you very well could be, but then I’d have to poke inside your head.” Trip jokingly held his fingers to his temple as if he was going to probe her mind and then began laughing. “Nah, I can’t do that. I’m only half Betazoid. Can’t read minds, only emotions.” When Trip acted like he was going to read her mind, Taya tightened the grip on her fork. She didn't want someone looking into her private thoughts, but would she actually stab him if he did? To be safe, she set the fork on the table and placed her hands in her lap. “So, don’t mean to pry, actually, I do mean to pry, ummm, but I thought Andorians weren’t allowed to leave their sector. I mean until you showed up at the academy, I don’t think an Andorian had set foot on Earth since they left the Federation.” Taya considered if she should tell Trip her story. They had just met and she didn't know anything about him. For all she knew, he could be the one doing the spying. Then again, he could just be one senior officer meeting another or a guy on the prowl looking for sex. Since they would be working together to restore the UFP and they all had to trust one another, she chose to give him the short version of her tale. "Andor isn't a dictatorship," said Taya. "We can leave our immediate sector. We just weren't allowed to come here. My family has served in the Guard for generations. My mother was in Starfleet on the Rosenamte and the Hades. When I asked to join Starfleet, my family influence led to me getting permission. Leaving the Federation happened before I was born, so I never got into the politics behind it." “I wish they’d come back. The Federation is stronger with Andoria, right now we’re as strong as scared puppy cowering in the corner. And I’m afraid that if we keep getting kicked into the corner, rather than become the adjusted dog we used to be, we’ll become, vicious, abusive, mean, violent, and lose sight of the values, the true values, that the whole damn thing was founded on. Sorry I’ve been on a bit of a philosophy kick today. Which totally doesn’t mesh with the flyboy image.” Taya shrugged. "I don't know what to say about that. For now, I want to do what I can to help, but I also want to experience the adventure." “Adventure, that would be nice. To actually go out and explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before. Sometimes I wished I grew up in that era. But we can’t choose when we are born.” "No, we can't." Taya was reminded of the stories her mother told her from the time she was old enough to understand. Those stories were why Taya was here now. “And the past isn’t always a bed of roses. My dad was an officer during the Federation civil war, spent time as a prisoner of war. I guess that is why he wasn’t too burdened with the Federation going down hill. He already experienced the worst of what it was capable of, so he knew to focus on what he felt really mattered, family. Family to him was the one thing that kept him sane seeing the Federation he knew shrink.” Taya didn't know what a bed of roses was, but she could tell it was something good. "I agree about family. Even if you've done something they disapprove of, or you make bad choices in life, they're the people that will love you and take you back." “Who knows, maybe we will get to explore and bring things back to the way they were. I don’t know. But I’m sure I’ve taken to much of your time.” Trip then got up. He looked at his watch. He needed to catch the admiral before it was too late and see if he would be willing to pay for the items on his shopping list with the shady yet oddly trustworthy Ferengi Rook. “I’m sure our paths will cross again. Have a good one Tatertoya.” Taya laughed. "Now you did that on purpose." Trip took three steps away from the table and turned back, “Yeah, I’ll stick to Taya, I may never be able to pronounce your name right.” He then nodded and left the Mess hall replicating a sandwich on the way out and eating it on the go. When Trip was ot of sight, she thought about everything he said, especially the joke about her being a spy. Was that the general feeling about her? Only time would tell. Not in the mood to eat anymore, she recycled her meal, grabbed her PADD, and headed out herself. (reply none) (posted by Will B. & Rob B.) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities -1st Fighter Wing of Mars Briefing Room –CONN - ENS JG Trip Williams -21:00) ~Another meeting~ Trip thought to himself, ~Dad warned me about this. Haha, I can hear him now. 'Son, you're going to spend more time in meetings then you will ever spend doing anything else, get used to it'~ Trip looked around the assembled officers, they had been given a new ensign for the flight squadron, which meant there might need to be reshuffling. Though at least it solved the problem of putting someone in charge of R01. ~We don't need ensigns, dangit, send us someone with authority to take control of this freaking thing and tell us what to do.~ Trip was seated at one end of the table. He had a mug of hot chocolate in one hand, and a chocolate chip cookie in the other. While he didn't inherit the full scope of Betazoid psionic abilities, he did inherit the insatiable craving for chocolate. "Well, I guess we need to redo all the planning we did from earlier huh." Trip said with a smile then taking a giant bite of a cookie.. "Well, intros out of the way, my names James Williams III, everyone just calls me Trip. " (Reply Ire, Ravok, Alexandra) "Anyways, you can find on your PADD the squadron breakdown. I think probably the best thing to do, the easiest thing, might be to do a little switching around. If you don't mind, I'm just going to go ahead and update my squadron designation from M02 to R01, and take the Republic squadron, still using the name Red Dragons. Ire, you'll stay M01, Ravok M03, Alexandra, we'll change R01 to M02, and you'll take them. You can come up with a squadron name at you're leisure." (Reply Ire, Ravok, Alexandra) "Lastly, just a quick update, been working with one of our engineers. By 0600 tomorrow the electronic warfare and surveillance suites in the type 11's should be up and running. So if that is enough for business, I brought cake." (replu Ire, Ravok, Alexandra) (reply Ire, Ravok, Alexandra) (posted by Will) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities -1st Fighter Wing of Mars Briefing Room –Pilot – Ensign (JG) - Ravok - 21:05) Ravok enters the room as introductions were happening . He notices Tripp eating cookies . He listened to Alexandra introduce herself , he words cold ,calculated and direct. " I am Ensign Ravok. " he said to her and looked at Tripp and Ire " I hope none of you brought any vinegar with you " "Anyways, you can find on your PADD the squadron breakdown. I think probably the best thing to do, the easiest thing, might be to do a little switching around. If you don't mind, I'm just going to go ahead and update my squadron designation from M02 to R01, and take the Republic squadron, still using the name Red Dragons. Ire, you'll stay M01, Ravok M03, Alexandra, we'll change R01 to M02, and you'll take them. You can come up with a squadron name at you're leisure." Tripp stated "That is not any of our calls." Alex said flatly before continuing. "I know that there is a lack of command level officers, and they more then likely are seeing who is willing to step up and lead, but what you are proposing is a mountain of paperwork, authorizations and so much brass that we would die of metal poisoning to get it all done. I further more suggest we adjustthe schecudle so that we have one squadron rotating out for rest, one on standby and one on patrol. You all seem to have forgotten the Federation is fallen apart and we seem to be ready to be attacked at a moments notice." Ravok looked at Ensign Petrova and nodded his head " I agree Ensign Petrova , we currently have four shifts alpha , beta ,delta and gamma. I have assigned my squadron to Delta shift . And have split the squadron in half to add additional support during the last 3 hours of gamma and the first 3 hours of Beta. " ravok replied as he took a deep breath he looked at each of them . " I didnt come her for hours of litigation, I came here to serve in which ever matter serves the safe and successful operation of this facility. I have a squadron and for that I am thankful. My squadron is currently in the air patrolling and running intermittent battle simulations so that when the real thing happens we are as prepared as possible. My squadron is going to be ready at all times. But while they are up there I'm down here. I have forgotten nothing Ensign Petrova. I have seen the federation crumbling my entire life." Said Ravok Lastly, just a quick update, been working with one of our engineers. By 0600 tomorrow the electronic warfare and surveillance suites in the type 11's should be up and running. So if that is enough for business, I brought cake." Ire smiled to himself as Trips comment and spoke up. “Actually, Trip just one more thing before cake?” Ire looked at Trip and grinned. “I was going to suggest that I change to RO1 as out of the two of us you know who will be flying the Republic and who will be messing around with fighters.” "I believe you played too much Top Gun in the simulators. This is not a contest, not a game, not a simulation running on somebodys desktop. It doesn't matter who gets what honor to do what because at the end of the day we all are covering each other. Better a straw bed then a gold coffin is something my father always told me. Seniority here is measured in hours or days, if that is how we are going to do it then so be it. I am here not to sit in anybodies thruster wake. Nor am I here to impress anybody. So perhaps I may seem cold or at least challenging, it is not my intent. But if we are going into anything off kilter I want it to be done with intelligence and both eyes opened." ~ her words echo my mother's voice . If I close my eyes I would swear her words would be my mothers~Ravok thought to himself. Ravok watched Alexandra get herself a cup of coffee. "A much simpler thing would be for all of us to simply be Mars Base wing, let whoever is Helm on the Republic sort out who gets honor guard detail. Remember running a wing is about administrative skill and not about flight skills. Command will want a crucible in case by the time they get here, we have made choices they disagree with." Alexandra said " my squadron will be ready to do whatever needs to be done. Ensign Petrova your words are direct and true. " Replied Ravok. He turns his head to Tripp and Ire " unity through strength gentleman , now if anyone has anything else to add my squadron needs me up there " Reply Ire, Tripp, Alexandra) (Posted by davis ) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities -1st Fighter Wing of Mars Briefing Room –Pilot – Ensign (JG) - Alexandra Petrova - 21:05) "Well, I guess we need to redo all the planning we did from earlier huh." "Well, intros out of the way, my names James Williams III, everyone just calls me Trip. " Ire turned to and smiled. “My name is Ire Williams but no relation to Trip.” Alex stood there with her swagger stick tucked under her arm. She didn't say anything. She was eyeing the room looking at the Williams duo and trying to figure out if there was something odd going on with them. They were friendly. Too friendly. She then cleared her throat, in a neutral tone that borderlined on cold, She said, "Ensign Petrova. This meeting is not needed, not till we get a C.A.G but the trouble you both seem to have gone through is not unappreciated." (Reply Ravok,) "Anyways, you can find on your PADD the squadron breakdown. I think probably the best thing to do, the easiest thing, might be to do a little switching around. If you don't mind, I'm just going to go ahead and update my squadron designation from M02 to R01, and take the Republic squadron, still using the name Red Dragons. Ire, you'll stay M01, Ravok M03, Alexandra, we'll change R01 to M02, and you'll take them. You can come up with a squadron name at you're leisure." "That is not any of our calls." Alex said flatly before continuing. ~Careful Matrushkya~ She thought to herself. She took in a deep breath recentering herself then spoke, "I know that there is a lack of command level officers, and they more then likely are seeing who is willing to step up and lead, but what you are proposing is a mountain of paperwork, authorizations and so much brass that we would die of metal poisoning to get it all done. I further more suggest we adjustthe schecudle so that we have one squadron rotating out for rest, one on standby and one on patrol. You all seem to have forgotten the Federation is fallen apart and we seem to be ready to be attacked at a moments notice." (Reply Ravok) ~ They still want toplay Wing Commander, alright let them try Alexandra.~ "Lastly, just a quick update, been working with one of our engineers. By 0600 tomorrow the electronic warfare and surveillance suites in the type 11's should be up and running. So if that is enough for business, I brought cake." Ire smiled to himself as Trips comment and spoke up. “Actually, Trip just one more thing before cake?” He looked at Trip and grinned. “I was going to suggest that I change to RO1 as out of the two of us you know who will be flying the Republic and who will be messing around with fighters.” "I believe you played too much Top Gun in the simulators. This is not a contest, not a game, not a simulation running on somebodys desktop. It doesn't matter who gets what honor to do what because at the end of the day we all are covering each other. Better a straw bed then a gold coffin is something my father always told me. Seniority here is measured in hours or days, if that is how we are going to do it then so be it. I am here not to sit in anybodies thruster wake. Nor am I here to impress anybody. So perhaps I may seem cold or at least challenging, it is not my intent. But if we are going into anything off kilter I want it to be done with intelligence and both eyes opened." Alexandra walked over to the coffee machine and poured herself a cup. She took a sip. "A much simpler thing would be for all of us to simply be Mars Base wing, let whoever is Helm on the Republic sort out who gets honor guard detail. Remember running a wing is about administrative skill and not about flight skills. Command will want a crucible in case by the time they get here, we have made choices they disagree with." (Reply Trip, Ravok, any) (Posted by Kaylah.) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities -1st Fighter Wing of Mars Briefing Room –pilot, ENS JG Ravok - 21.08 ) Ravok looked at each of them and walked over to a chair and sat down. And listened to Tripp talk . Ravok leaned forward in his seat and rest his arms on the table. And looked at Tripp. " Just tell me what needs to be done to get us all on the same page . You are right me and Ensign Petrova are at a disadvantage because of our late arrival , but when I arrived I see everyone else has their heads under the water and I refuse to remain ankle deep. I am taking the plunge. By readying my squadron and having everyone at standby. Delta shift is 1800 to 2400. Just tell me what you need me and my squadron to do and I will have it done. I understand your orders from the admiral. Just tell me what needs to be done because I'm not here for a power struggle. I will have M03 support alpha shift as standby. " Listens to the others ( reply Ire, Tripp, Alexandra) ( posted by davis ) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities -1st Fighter Wing of Mars Briefing Room –OPS, ENS JG Alexandra Petrova - 21.08 ) Trip stood up, "Ravok take a seat for a second, I need to clear the air for a bit." (Reply Ravok) "Ensign Petrova, this meeting is absolutely needed. We don't have someone in charge, yeah you're right. We don't have anyone here making the calls for us. Instead four ensigns are being tasked with pulling a fighter wing out of our butts. But if you don't think we have the authority to do this you are mistaken. Ire and I have direct orders from the admiral to get this going. We were told to immediately start a Combat Air Patrol around Mars, coordinate with the new Mars Defense Perimeter and put this thing together, not wait for some higher ranking person to come here and do something. He is putting the Senior Pilot officers in charge of the fighter wing. Guess what, you see the four people in this room, this is it. This is all we have right now. As of yesterday it was just Ire and I, now there is four of us. Great. So do we need to wait for a C.A.G. to make decisions or this meeting, no, we need to go ahead and all get in on the same page, because like it or not, the buck stops with us. This room is it right now, all the officers in the Flight Squadron are in this room. Ire and I were also tasked with putting a fighting a fighter wing on the Republic, well we don't have the man power to do that yet, just a squadron. Republic isn't going anywhere, so her squadron is covering Mars defense, then when we get more people we can rotate her out and start M04, but in the meantime we can still have full coverage of Mars and get a jump start on the Republic wing. What we have right now, is all we have, there are only enough ships and personnel to staff four squadrons, and only enough fighters to put 9 in each. I'm doing the best I can to figure this out. So yeah, you can sit there and say we are playing top gun, or flight simulator and whatever the hell you want. But I'm just following my expressed orders." Alexandra sat there, expressionless. Her hands folded as she calmly listened to the man trying hard to take charge. She waited for him to finish his speech. (Reply Ire, Ravok, if you want) "As for the squadron rotation, we already have that in place, every squadron has 12 hour shifts, 6 on patrol, 6 on standby. So there should always be somebody ready to go on standby at every time. Whether it is a straight 6 and 6, or 3 standby, 6 on, 3 standby, it all needs to be uniform. But we discussed this and put this in place this morning. " Trip then paused, ran his hand through his hair and continued. "Look, all of us here are trying are best, but this is it. But there is no way to say that command disagrees with what we've done, command here is Admiral Remae, and he is trusting four ensigns with getting this done. We're doing what the Admiral asked us to. There are going to be bumps and bruised, and we have to figure it out. I'm not going to sit here and wait for some mythical C.A.G. to get here because my orders are that the four of us are in charge of getting this done. We are in charge of the fighter wing, and we've got to get on the same page." ~ This bravo, macho bull is not impressing me.~ Alexandra thought. She said nothing out loud, just gave him the chance to finish his speech, again being respectful. (reply Ire, Ravok, if you want) Trip then stood up, "Right now, the problem is, we all have no one to blame but ourselves if things go south, and nobody wants that target on their back. That's what paralyzed the Federation, everyone wanted someone else to make the hard call, put their neck on the line. Instead we had a bunch of bureaucrats and officers so focused on advancement that nobody was willing to take risks that might make them look bad. Now look at the Federation, she's a shell of herself and we are sitting in the shadow of her graveyard. So tell you what, we can sit here and wait for someone to come in and take charge that may or may never come, or we can follow the Admiral's orders that the Senior flight officers are in charge and get something done. And I'll even make one better. You want to put someone on the crucible if things don't work. Blame me, put all of this on my back. As for the paperwork for changing designations around, there was no fighter wing on Mars until yesterday, this is the 1st Fighter Wing of mars both in name and historically. The admiral was very clear with Ire and I that there had never been a fighter wing here before. We're building this from scratch. So changing designations around is as easy as a press of a button. Why? Because they never existed until today. I know you and Ravok are at a disadvantage, you got here later, and you missed the initial briefing. Things here are a lot more wild west than military precision. Everything is basically being built from the ground up. We are lucky that the thirty-six Peregrines we have are actually able to fly. Those things are about as old as all of our ages put together. We have to trust each other here, we have to do this together, and we have to be on the same page. A C.A.G. isn't coming. The Admiral is in charge of Mars and he put us in charge of building this. This is day two of the fighter wing's existence. We have to be on the same page here or this doesn't work, we have to be on the same page or we're dead in the water. So I'm asking everyone here, all four of us, we have to band together, we have to do this together, and we need to leave this room trusting each other to watch each other's backs and to get everything done. So trust me when I say this, I'm not playing a game here, none of us are playing a game. We're building a fighter wing from the ground up and if we don't leave this room on the same page, then we're already behind.” It was then Alexandra cleared her throat, “Alright you have said your peace then?” (Trip response please) “Because you got here first gives you seniority. I am an Operations officer. I look at this job with an adminstration eye. I will address the points you have made.” She stood up, “I am Russian I understand about building things from nothing, and I am trying to make my point clear. If we are going to build this step one needs to be who is in charge, you want that job, alright I have no objections. But I have expectations. A rotation is important because of flight regulations, A pilot can only log 60 hours per week. I expect that nobody will be sent off on their own, they take a wingman or another squad with them if possible. We need to factor in other duties expected from us, VIP shuttle flights, escort detail, bombing runs, search and rescue duties. The Peregrines are useful enough but we need to get organized. I am going to insist that you appoint a strong second to enforce regulations and be able to handle debriefings. I am also going to insist that we get a crew chief that being said, I believe Petty Officer Castile would make a fine crew chief. He is a tech here who managed to build a medical replicator out of spare parts.” ~ Besides stealing the Samson's replicator~ “So this is flatly the page I am at, We will need to set up specific missions sets and configurations for fighters. We will need to drill, we should have an operational squadron, a squad that does recon duty possibly search and rescue. A group that handles planetary defense and a squadron that handles heavy lifting. Since you are Wing Leader, You will be escorting the ship.” She stared at each person. “So with that being said, I have been involved with Mars most of my life, I lived here, I know the locals. This is my home. I will happily take a position to defend it. Make no mistake, I am a firm person, I operate under the assumption that everybody here is capable of reason and skilled at the duties they perform. So we have passed the first hurdle of who is in charge. The next step is to get fighters online and actually fly a few missions. I would recommend Midnight Manuevers as well.” (Response Any) “It is when you take those under your command for team building by dancing on the lines opf regulations. Seeing how far we are willing to bend. How far we are willing to risk things. But that is the page I am on. I hope that clears things up.” She went and got another cup of coffee wishing she had vodka. (reply any) (posted by Kaylah) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities -1st Fighter Wing of Mars Briefing Room –pilot - ENS JG Ravok -21:10) Nrpg : using some our RPGs ideas here since we are all in agreement lol Rafter listening to them all very carefully begins typing on his PaDD . After a few moments he sends each of them a proposal. Ravok clears his throat " I have sent each of you a proposal on duty rotations based on Tripps earlier model " ----0600-1200 (Ire up, Petranova standby) 1200-1800 (Petranova up, Ravok Standby) 1800-2400 (Ravok up, Trip Standby) 2400-0600 (Trip up, Ire Standby)----- , "I would like to suggest that each of us take turns as CAG . The standby officer should handle that responsibility. All the paperwork and administrative stuff, you know the finer things in life . Meanwhile the on duty sqaudron officer would have time to focus on their squadrons objectives unhindered by any of the paperwork. While on duty your squadron is yours to command as you see fit as long as your perform the basic duties and drills we agree upon as a committee. I have taken time to study your records and I pay attention to details...fine details. There is no reason we can not make this work. " Ravok Takes a breath So this is flatly the page I am at, We will need to set up specific missions sets and configurations for fighters. We will need to drill, we should have an operational squadron, a squad that does recon duty possibly search and rescue. A group that handles planetary defense and a squadron that handles heavy lifting. Since you are Wing Leader, You will be escorting the ship.”Said Alexandra Ravok looks at her " I like your idea as well. Every squadron should have experience with those duties and we can rotate those duties through our squadrons and drill and I mean drill hard until we can do these things in our sleep " (Reply Ire, Tripp, Alexandra) (Posted by davis) (Starfleet Martian Ground Facilities -1st Fighter Wing of Mars Briefing Room –Pilot – Ensign (JG) Ire Williams - 21.12) Ire sat looking between Trip, Ravok and Petrova in . The conversation had taken a rather rapid turn “……………..I'm not playing a game here, none of us are playing a game. We're building a fighter wing from the ground up and if we don't leave this room on the same page, then we're already behind." ~What the hell a game~ He paused for a moment before butting in. “Okay everyone takes a moment and calm down.” He paused for a moment before carrying on. ~Okay sensible and calm~ “Me and Trip may have had one day more then the both of you but that’s it. I only went up nine hours ago because the Admiral said we needed a CAP as soon as possible. Was that a good idea probably not but I am as new to this a possible and learning on my feet.” He looked at all of them again. “I am not supposed to be the commander of a squadron. I am supposed to be the most junior pilot of on the flights in the wing. I am supposed to learning from my flight leads and squadron commanders and what do I get, me in charge of ten aviators, eleven flight officers and forty support personnel. Me who three days ago was chatting up the nurses in medical and worrying about my emergency orbital ejection test. But I am and we are in positions where are not supposed to be with no support or guidance trying to get a wing off the ground.” He paused for a moment realising he was not as calm as he wanted. ~Breath and calm down~ “But the thing that we need keep in our minds is that is we don’t get our act together and we are dead. I don’t just mean us four I mean everyone, here and on earth because we are the only kind of the defence in the system. The fleets non existent even with the Republic we are awfully underman. “ ~well that plan went out the window~ “So, no I am not playing I am shit scared of messing up so badly that I get my squadron killed along with everyone else.” He stood up and walked over to the replicator. ~Smooth Ire Smooth~ “Dam it and I was supposed to be the calm one.” (Reply Trip, Ravok, Petrova) (Reply Trip, Ravok, Petrova, any) (Posted by Robbie) (Martian Orbit – Peregrine Fighter 13 – Pilot – Ensign (J.G.) – Ire Williams – 2332) Ire settled into about another orbit of mars. He had been up there for a while orbiting with 13. He had needed time to think about the meeting earlier and also get his squadron sorted but most of all he wanted zero-g. He floated in his restraint harness and put down the PADD. His brain was hurting dur to all the complicated human resources, logistics, requisitions, schedules but he though that he had cracked it. He would leave Tyrol as in charge of the support staff, only an idiot would remove him from that position. He had moved two ensigns who were the most senior qualified below him to fill the lead aviator and flight officer and he was planning to send them up with the squadron tomorrow to see how that would do on their own. As he would be posted to the Republic when she left orbit, they needed to be ready to step in when he was gone. He leaned back and closed his eyes, tapping into 13s sensors through his link with the fighter’s computer looking out across mars as another sun rise raced towards him. He liked the fighter, but it had caused him problems by the time they had landed after the first patrol it had already began to develop some small system errors in the computer but when Tyrol had checked and rechecked the system he could not find the cause. This was also why he was orbiting to see if any other problems appeared but there had been nothing. He had seen the fighter’s files and it had survived two crash landings and an unexplained oxygen leak which killed the crew every time. This was the main reason no one wanted to fly it and why it had been placed in storage until he had been given it. “Come on you have been up here long enough.”’ He activated the comm system. “Martian Orbital Control this is Lucky 13. I am going to begin my decent to ground side.” =^=Copy that Lucky 13 descent corridor is clear. You may proceed when ready=6= “Thank you, Martian Orbital Control Luck 13 out.” He re-orientated the fighter into the descent corridor and began to head to the ground. He made a powered descent and watched as the altimeter began to spool down. There was a slight bump as the fighter hit the atmosphere and began to heat up. He was compensating for the vibrations when suddenly the port thrusters jammed open and the starboard stopped along with the main engines. Ire was slammed into his restraints by the sudden and unexpected manoeuvre. His retinal display went red with warning signs and he saw that they were spinning out of position ~Ow crap~ “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. This is Lucky 13 I am in an uncontrollable spin descending rapidly port thrusters are jammed open and starboard and main engines are not responsive.” =^= This Martian Orbital Control we copy your mayday and we have you on sensors. We are waiting for you to clear upper atmosphere before we can get transporter lock=^= His hands moved over the control trying to make anything work but nothing changed he turned power off, on. He tried to rest the computer, fire the starboard thrusters or engines. ~Nothing is working~ He looked at his altimeter as it began to spool faster and faster. He was being squashed into his seat as the fighter’s small internal dampener failed ripping his hand away from the control. He tried to keep his breathing controlled as he waited to clear the ionisation of an uncontrolled decent. He clenched his thighs together to try and force the blood back to his brain. His vision was blurring, and he knew that he was slipping away. =^=Luck 13, Lucky 13 we can’t get transporter lock is negative, repeat transporter lock is negative. Eject, Eject=^= Ire tried to reach the eject button, but it felt like an elephant was sitting on his body. “No this way.” He said through gritted teeth. He sent a command down the mini data port cable which initiated the ejection system. The whole canopy section of the peregrine fighter was ripped away as the explosive bolts fired. A split second later he was launched into air as he was ejected from the spinning fighter. The last thing he thought about before he blacked out was that he failed his first two simulated emergency orbital ejection test and he hoped that it was not going to be a fatal score when had to do it for real. (Reply none) (Posted by Robbie)