USS Rosenante Compile 01 January 2008 - 05 January 2008 Mission: Picking Up the Pieces Stardate: 2407.09.15 (Baci Ristorante - Lieutenant Steven Matrix - 2013) Stardate: 2407.09.19 (SS Traveller - Passenger Quarters - Crewman Shadow to Sretalles - 2345) Stardate: 2407.10.02 (Earth - San Diego, Temporary Starfleet Headquarters, Office of Commander Moretti - Commander Sean Moretti - 0840) (Earth - San Diego, Temporary Starfleet Headquarters, Office of Commander Moretti - Commander Sean Moretti - 0926) Stardate: 2407.10.14 (Earth - San Diego, Temporary Starfleet Headquarters Barracks, Quarters of Lieutenant Christopher Adams - Lieutenant JG Christopher Adams - 1534) (Earth - Houston, Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center, Room of Laverne Cartwright - Lieutenant JG Christopher Adams - 1812) Stardate: 2407.12.01 (Starbase Valhalla - Transport - Sciences - Ensign(jg) Alba Tuk - 1030) Stardate: 2407.12.26 (Andor - Skoveli Spaceport, Skoveli - Crewman Shadow to Sretalles- 1500) (Andor - Outside of Skoveli, Drizzt Clan hall - Shadow to Sretalles - 1543) (Andor - Outside of Skoveli, Drizzt Clan hall - CO, Captain Susan Rivers & MCO Drizzt - 1552) Stardate: 2407.12.27 (Andor - Outside of Skoveli, Drizzt Clan hall - Crewman Shadow to Sretalles - 0630) Stardate: 2408.01.02 (Valhalla- Administrative Offices- FO-Lt. Cmdr. Ahmed Ibn Salid- - 0800) === Compile begins: Mission: Picking Up the Pieces Stardate: 2407.09.15 (Baci Ristorante - Lieutenant Steven Matrix - 2013) It had been a long while since the two had seen one another. Scott Emerson graduated the Academy a year before Matrix and had some excellent tours in his years since. Scott was lucky enough to be posted on the USS Titan, USS Thunderchild and later on the Geneva where the two met again. Scott had explored new worlds and had even been part of an exchange crew with a Vulcan science vessel for just over a year. Scott put down his ale, "So I hear you've been posted on Earth, what are you doing now?" Matrix sighed, "I have no idea. I'm an off-lander and would rather be on a ship!" Matrix continued, "I just reported to a Commander Moretti this morning and will start my new assignment tomorrow. I have no idea what I'll be doing and I couldn't really tell you if I knew. Have you heard of Commander Moretti?" Scott replied, "Hum, Commander Moretti...I've heard of him. If memory serves, I recall he's on of the foremost experts in computational mechanics and theory. I've read a few of his publications while aboard Tal'Kyr. I don't recall the names of the publications, but the Vulcan Science Academy is impressed with his work." Emerson continued, "... And that's good enough for me. Vulcans, as you know, can be very logical and anything with computers is their...well, obsession." Matrix smiled,"You should know being cooped up with them aboard ship for a year." Emerson sat up in a huff, "Now don't knock what you don't understand. Vulcans are...well..unique, but commonly misunderstood by us humans..." Matrix interjected, "...I'm not knocking anyone, I was just surmising that you might have felt out of place being aboard an all Vulcan ship." Scott smiled, "at first perhaps, but they are very warm and compassionate. Besides, you forget my Academy class was nearly 60 percent Vulcan. I was...used to working with such a refined and exacting classmates." Matrix took a drink of his ale, "Refined eh?. I think you've turned into a Vulcan." Scott glared back at Steve. Matrix continued noting he had probably hit a nerve, "To change the subject. Have you heard anything about the Paladin?" Scott sat back in his chair and motioned at the waiter for another round of drinks, "You mean have I heard anything about Alura?" Matrix's face turned slightly red with both anger and embarrassment, "Yes, yes...have you heard anything about Alura?" "No, sorry. I haven't hear anything you haven't already read or heard about yourself. I do know that not all of the causalities have been accounted for. I've inquired on Bajour, but nothing has turned up yet. Sorry old friend. I don't know what happened to Alura." said Scott. "Its almost as through she's disappeared. Nothing in Starfleet about any new assignment, but the good news is she's not appeared on any KIA list." Matrix picked up his ale, "Well that's something I guess. The battle was so chaotic I guess its no surprise that people get lost or shall I say, misplaced?" Scott replied, "I'll keep an eye out and let you know if anything comes up. She may well be just taking a leave of absence somewhere. You might be interested to know that the Paladin is undergoing repairs...well a refit actually. Its going to take a while, but the brass thinks she might be put back in active duty sometime. You and your crew did a great job saving the vital systems." Scott continued,"...you should be proud of your service. You saved not only the Paladin, but you saved a lot of lives." Matrix looked at Scott, "Yea, we did great work. Its a shame to see such a fine ship chewed up in battle." Scott laughed, "Chewed up?...you're Captain did some chewing up of her own. The Paladin did more to win the war that you may ever know...and her crew is...well one of the finest in the fleet. I'm just glad you are okay and this damn war is over." Matrix smiled, "I'll drink to that." "Here here!" said Scott. They clanked mugs and took drank together. (Posted by Steve) Stardate: 2407.09.19 (SS Traveller - Passenger Quarters - Crewman Shadow to Sretalles - 2345) They were keeping their voices down on their side of the compartment since they were supposed to have turned lights out and gone to bed at least an hour and a half ago. But Shun, finding out Shadow seemed to have an endless store of tales and lore had demanded a story. And then another. And another. "This is the last one," Shadow said. Her normal speaking voice was little above a whisper anyway. She didn't think the deaf furless could hear her from across a room with a flimsy separator wall, but why chance it? She encouraged Shun and Loren to keep their voices down. Who wanted to wake Luisa anyway? "This is the story of how CloudShape to Ennien gave us fire." Shadow began, sitting up straight behind the little holo campfire Shun had cobbled together from spare parts. Really, she should have a drum, not her harp, but she had a feeling drum beats would bring Colonel Drizzt's attention faster than just about anything short of a cry for help. Besides, translating from her native tongue to standard while maintaining a song and epic was a bit much for her, especially at this hour. "In the time after the stars sang and before the great hunts, our people lived in the forest's heart. The forest provided everything we needed and we did not need to stray. We had medicine, shelter, food and fun. We had variety of life, song, dance and friends. We had family, we had birth and we had death. The circle was maintained and life was good. "As the world in her own dance to the heaven's singing, we grew more in number and stronger. As we explored and learnt and grew, we found parts of the forest that were not always warm and cozy. We found as the world danced, the forests in the norths and the south changed with her body's face. We grew cold at night, hot in the summer. Were we forever to live on the world's middle? Were we not to taste the fruits of the north and the game of the south? "CloudShape to Ennien heard of our plight and knew she must fix it. For her people were meant to be strong and free. They were meant to roam the forests and taste all that the world had to offer. They were to dance in the embrace of life and to savour the taste of death when life had been lived to every end. "So CloudShape climbed to the highest mountain where she could see the sun, and she called to the sun spirit. The sun spirit finally answered her and CloudShape said "Sun spirit, I have found a piece of you," and held up a crystal she had found in her travels. "See how it sparkles, it would bring your warmth and fire to the lands." "The sun spirit replied "That is not of me, I am pure fire and light. That is hard and cold. It could not bring *my* warmth and fire to the lands. You talk nonsense CloudShape to Ennien." "CloudShape's tail drooped and she peered into the crystal, "Are you SURE?" she asked the sun spirit. I can see light within, and surely only light comes from you?" CloudShape held up the crystal for the sun spirit to examine." "Angry and jealous, the sun spirit peered down at CloudShape whose whiskers were starting to droop from the heat of the sun spirit's gaze, and as the sun spirit studied the crystal, the brush by CloudShape's feet erupted in flame. CloudShape danced her glee and ran from the mountain top with crystal and fire spirit in paw. She had captured a piece of sun spirit through the crystal after all!" "And so, our people learnt, holding up crystal and catching the sun spirit's jealous gaze would summon a piece of his presence to warm and comfort in the cold long nights of the north and south." "But what about the heat of summer? What did CloudShape do about that?" Shun asked, talking a bit louder than he meant to and covering his mouth. Shadow's tail looped in amusement, "That would be another story for another night, and that was the last one for this eve." And despite cajolement to the contrary, Shadow took the fuzzy blanket Captain Susan had found her and curled up in the wonderful hammock the Captain Bird had loaned her. She went to sleep, dreaming of Shun trying to convince CloudShape to Ennien to give him the secret crystal so he could make a box that would ruin food for his consumption. She dreamt of Loren dancing a shadow dance under the stars to a sad and drawn-out song, played by the human boxes called violins. And she dreamt of Luisa with a kingdom at her feet. (Posted by Lorna) Stardate: 2407.10.02 (Earth - San Diego, Temporary Starfleet Headquarters, Office of Commander Moretti - Commander Sean Moretti - 0840) Commander Sean Moretti stood at his desk needing to find someone to lead a research team to reverse engineer the Spiral Warp Drive technology that was discovered in the computers at Starfleet Command during the Doenitz's regime. "Computer," stated the commander pushing a few buttons on the computer screen. "Open up a communication channel to the quarters of Lieutenant Steven Wade Matrix." After a few seconds Lieutenant Matrix's face appeared on the view screen. =^=Lieutenant Matrix here.=^= "Ah Lieutenant," started Moretti with a serious tone. "I need you to report to my office at 0930 instead of going to your usual post. I have a special assignment for you." (reply Matrix) (Earth - San Diego, Temporary Starfleet Headquarters, Office of Commander Moretti - Commander Sean Moretti - 0926) Commander Moretti continued to flip through different sections of The Chimera Directive report while waiting for Lieutenant Matrix to arrive. It was amazing. He could find something new every time he started flipping through it. He looked up from his computer when he heard his door chime. With a flick of his thumb, the screen went blank. "Enter," yelled Moretti from his desk. The door opened and Lieutenant Matrix entered the room. (reply Matrix) "Have a seat, Lieutenant," stated the commander. "I have a new assignment for you. One of the other teams has discovered something intriguing and I think you would be perfect for the job." (reply Matrix iyw) "It's Spiral Warp technology," continued Moretti. "The USS Firebrande had the technology, but acquired it from another dimension. It appears that Doenitz was able to create a similar technology. I need to you to lead a team to research the technology and get it ready for use in the fleet. You will be given a research lab and a team of three technicians under your command. You will be given a prototype drive from one of the ships we found still under construction. What do you think?" (reply Matrix) (posted by Jason French) Stardate: 2407.10.14 (Earth - San Diego, Temporary Starfleet Headquarters Barracks, Quarters of Lieutenant Christopher Adams - Lieutenant JG Christopher Adams - 1534) Lieutenant Christopher Adams sat on the sofa in his quarters pouring over the data about The Chimera Directive on the PADD he had copied. It had been just over two weeks since he and his team had discovered and decrypted the data on the secret Starfleet project. It was amazing. He could find something new every time he started flipping through it. It was frustrating that he couldn't really do anything with the information they had discovered. He needed to find someone in Starfleet he could trust to turn the information over to. A beep from across the room startled him and he instinctively switched off the PADD so no one could see what it contained. Adams rose and walked over to his desk. Someone was trying to contact him. He touched the button to open the comm channel. A woman dressed in a civilian hospital uniform appeared on screen. "I'm looking for Christopher Adams." "This is he," responded the lieutenant. A smile appeared on the woman's face. "I have some good news. Your mother has regained consciousness and is asking for you." "That's wonderful news," exclaimed Adams, emotions starting to well up inside him. He had been traveling to her hospital room in Houston every weekend. Each day she was improving, but there was no telling when she was actually going to regain consciousness, until now. "I will be there as soon as I can." Adams pushed the button to close the comm channel. He looked around his quarters for what he needed to bring with him. After a few seconds he just picked up the PADD with The Chimera Directive on it and headed out the door. (Earth - Houston, Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center, Room of Laverne Cartwright - Lieutenant JG Christopher Adams - 1812) It took a few hours to get from the transporter facility over to the medical center, but Lieutenant Christopher Adams finally walked through the door to his mother's room. Looking over to the bed he saw his mother, Laverne Cartwright, sitting up looking around the room. "Chris!" she exclaimed arms open. "Mom," Adams lumbered over to her outstretched arms tears escaping from his eyes. "I've missed you so much." "I know, I know," she said softly. She pushed him back so that she could view at him better. "Look at you. You've lost weight. Have you been eating? And your beard, you always looked so good in a beard. It hid your chubby cheeks." She grabbed Chris's cheek with her right hand. "Alright, alright," said Adams brushing her hand away and taking a step back. "There were a lot of changes in my life when I heard you were taken away." "Shh," said Laverne holding a finger to her mouth. "Let's not talk about that. "They said that I will be fit enough to go home next week, but I'm going to need some help," she continued. "I'm thinking of hiring some help to come up to the house." "No way. I can help. I will take a leave from Starfleet. Everything is really slow during this reconstruction period. I will quit if I have to." "I can't ask you to sacrifice your career…" "What career?" interrupted Chris. "I'm just sitting in a room sifting bit after bit of data. That's not what I signed up for." "Let's not argue over this," she stated sternly. "Let's just be glad that we are back together." Laverne Cartwright held out her arms and embraced her son. (posted by Jason French) Stardate: 2407.12.01 (Star Base Valhalla - Transport - Sciences - Ensign(jg) Alba Tuk - 1030) Alba had been sad saying goodbyes to head back to the Hypatia once her leave was up, but it was necessary. Several of her family members had urged her to stay and take up a position at the Applied Sciences University but she really knew she couldn't. Staying would mean getting a position at University or with one of the planetary research groups and basically working on planet. Not that she would dislike a job of studying the environmental effects and changes in the parasitic disc sprawn or something similar. It was nothing like that. There was so much more in the great wide universe that Alba was certain that she needed to discover. They had made valid arguments to try to sway her. And in truth, she had considered each one. Vado had even looked like he was considering it during one of the several discussions on the subject over the past few weeks. He hadn't decided to stay either. He'd left a little more then two weeks before she had. His parting wisdom was to "do what she felt she should so". The return trip had been longer then the trip to out. Vado's father had secured the use of a ship for each of them. Alba had offered to return with Vado so that they wouldn't be any need for a second trip, but her mother would have none of that. Her very livid concern was that they would be 'stealing' two weeks from her life. It had been a bit of high drama. Entertaining only in retrospect. In the end of course, she'd returned via the small transport ship that her uncle had secured for her. Not only did she have curiosity urging her back in seeking the unknown but also she was well aware of the duty she'd promised to fulfill. And the Federation would need all the personnel it could get if it was going to rebuild. No doubt that there would be many people who would be resigning their commissions and heading home during this time of trial, but Alba certainly wasn't going to let herself be one of those people. This is exactly why Alba found herself back on station and awaiting transfer back to the Hypatia. Her bag was laden with a multitude of trinkets and pictures from home, though she wasn't anticipating unpacking them just yet. She was still holding out to see if she would be transferred to another science vessel. Where in her quarters she'd have thick plush blue carpet. (posted by Ruby) Stardate: 2407.12.26 (Andor - Skoveli Spaceport, Skoveli - Crewman Shadow to Sretalles- 1500) Shadow's fur was fluffed out against the cold. Loren had doubtfully offered her a spare jacket to deal with the Andorian's preference of colder temperatures, but she was perfectly happy in the brisker temperature. It was very refreshing. She wondered if she would get to see snow? Shun had promised her a snowball fight. Shadow marvelled she'd seen more of other worlds than she'd seen of her home world. She'd never left the equatorial area to go north or south. But here she'd seen swaths of Bajor and now she would get to see whole parts of Andor. She preferred space to planets, but these planets were pretty nice. She'd been wondering what the antennae Colonel Drizzt had did, since he had ears and eyes. But she didn't want to ask the intimidating man such a personal question. Maybe she could find some Andorian children and play 'You explain yours and I'll explain mine.' (Andor - Outside of Skoveli, Drizzt Clan hall - Shadow to Sretalles - 1543) Shadow was very impressed by the clan hall. It was like a tent camp inside a building, wall instead of cloth. A science center where people lived. Perhaps they would have an art section so she could see the soul of the people of Andor? She'd played some songs for the children when on the Traveller, but she hadn't wanted to inflict her half-trained art on any adults so she'd kept her harp in her luggage on Bajor. If Captain Susan or Colonel Drizzt had wondered at her having luggage but no clothes they'd said nothing. But, the Andorians seemed to be a people of passion, less channelled and focused than the Bajorans. They'd have considered her work barbaric or crude, she was sure. But maybe she could learn something for an Andorian Bard while she was here. Surely a people with such a strong passion of life would have bards? She was only listening and watching the Captain and Colonel with half an ear, but the Colonel's moving to a position of submission to his warrior mate caught her attention. She listened to his speech with confusion. "What's a marry?" She whispered to Loren. (Reply Loren) Shadow looked at the teen wide-eyed for a moment, "You're not pulling my tail? One mate? For ever and ever?" (Reply Loren) "How horrible!" Shadow whispered, aghast. What if your path walked away from your mate's? How do you un-marry? How do you break promises you made that you would walk beside someone forever? How did you not learn to hate someone who chained you to their side? Imagine, sharing your tent with the same person year after year, decade after decade! The same genetics to all your children! Fortunately, it seemed the Captain shared her opinion and didn't smell at all happy about this development. By the instructions of communication demanded, Shadow could only guess that the Colonel hadn't asked Captain Susan about *her* opinions on lifelong servitude. Or perhaps, he had, and he'd thought to trap his mate when in front of all his family and clan where they would unite if she dared to refuse. She hadn't thought the Colonel so sneaky or underhanded, but she didn't really know him very well.. (Posted by Lorna) (Andor - Outside of Skoveli, Drizzt Clan hall - CO, Captain Susan Rivers & MCO Drizzt - 1552) Spider smiled as she offered her hand, and he slid the ring on it. Parts of his family clapped, but he didn’t pay much attention to them. He stood and wrapped one arm around her, then bent to kiss her. "We *really* need to talk!" she whispered. "Of course," he said, all smiles. He gave her a kiss anyway, then broke away with one arm wrapped around her. "Please, excuse us for a moment..." His uncle, who had joined in from the back way, jeered: "Don't take to long, we already know she's fertile!" In other circumstances Sisan might have been tempted to make some kind of reply, but sh merely gave a small smile to show she didn't mind the jest Spider looked back at her, then gestured to an ante-room. "Shall we?" She nodded and followed him, hoping the room was more or less sound-proof. Once inside, and with the door shut, she looked at him seriously. "Leonal," she began, not really sure how to go on but knowing she had to. There was so much she wanted to say and so many wrong ways to say them. "Why didn't you warn me?" she asked. Spider quirked his head to the side, "Surprise." he said, slightly jovial, although the look on her face was starting to make him wonder. "There are so few pleasant surprises in life, I thought I'd create at least one." She took his hands and led him across the room to a small sofa. "That was very sweet of you," she said as they sat down. "And it was certainly a surprise. We'd never even talked about it seriously before. I had no idea you were even considering it." He frowned as he sat down next to her, "I was." he paused- looking at her face. "Trying to tell me something here?" She nodded. "It never entered my mind," she said honestly. "I'm just so happy with you, I love you so much, it never entered my mind that anything else was needed. I don't make half-way commitments, Leonal. And I don't believe you do either. It didn't occur to me that a ceremony and a piece of paper made a difference." Drizzt just looked at her for long moments, trying to put all the pieces together. Finally, he said: "It makes a difference. We're already bound, we don't need a marriage to convince either of us that we love each other. Instead, the only thing I can point out are my own parents. They were always separated. I was most often with my mother, and after a while with my father on Earth or God knows where, sometimes I'd see her close her eyes and thumb her necklace... the Andorian equivalent of a wedding ring. It served as a reminder that no absence was forever, and that love endures when two people pledge themselves to the other forever." Drizzt looked closely into her face. "We will be separated, unless we both leave the fleet... which I doubt either of us will ever do. We will quarrel, argue and do all other sorts of things that couples do. The ring won't change that, a wedding pledge won't make it easier. What it will do is give us something to hold onto when things look dark. A small comfort, perhaps, but one none-the-less. It's a small token to show the world that we're together, and be damned what they think. No other token is necessary, between you and me." He looked at the ring on her finger, "It is, of course, up to you." Susan sat silently for a while. Finally she said, "I like the token idea. Although," she looked at him, her eyes sparkling with a little mischief, "I think you should have one too." Then she looked serious again. "As for the wedding itself - will you give me time to think about it? We could maybe tell your family that we want my family to be there too, or that we don't have time to plan it now, or something like that?" "You have all the time in the world," he said. "I never said we had to get hitched in the next ten minutes. Truth be told, you could tell them what you wanted, it won't change the fact we're connected." He took her hand, "I won't say this isn’t important to me, it is, but there's nothing that says it has to be done soon." She smiled then, a smile that wasn't just on her lips but lit up her whole face. "Thank you, ashke." She touched his face gently. "I appreciate it. And I do love you." The smile broadened slightly into a grin. "Maybe we should get back before your uncle starts laying bets on whether I'm pregnant again yet or not." Drizzt quirked an eyebrow, "Who says you won't be?" he mused as he leaned forward for a kiss. "I suspect they're already gone..." She kissed him back but then pushed him away, laughing. "Oh no," she said, "You and I are going right back out there. This is a party for you, a homecoming. They will be waiting and we are *not* going to mess this up for them!" The Andorian chuckled as he stood up and offered her a hand, "What, you don't think my mother would appreciate a second grandchild?" he asked with a healthy bit of mirth. "That would certainly be something to celebrate!" Susan grinned. "I was wondering whether we'll be allowed to have Luisa back," she said, taking his hand as she too rose. She gave it a squeeze. "I'm glad she has one grandparent at least," she said. "And I hope she won't mind being step-grandparent by adoption to Loren and Shun," she added. "That's the beauty of Andorian clans." Drizzt replied. "Your family becomes ours." He cracked his neck and then gestured to the room, "Shall we?" "I think we'd better," Susan said, smiling. It wasn't that she didn't trust Shadow or Loren or Shun but.... You never could tell. (posted by Jeremy Trout & Liz Geuken) Stardate: 2407.12.27 (Andor - Outside of Skoveli, Drizzt Clan hall - Crewman Shadow to Sretalles - 0630) Shadow sniffed at the chill air outside the Clan Hall with interest. Shun and Loren probably wouldn't be up for another hour at least, so she had the time to herself to explore. She'd asked the Colonel where she wasn't allowed to go and how to tell public from private rooms the night before. She didn't want angry Andorians after her or to make the Colonel look bad since he was effectively her sponsor here. She wasn't family, so she probably had a whole different set of rules to live by than Captain Susan, Loren, Shun and the Colonel. Luisa had it the easiest, she just had to look cute and gurgle. There were a group of teenage Andorians huffing into the air as they jogged around the hall. Shadow watched in fascination as they were eventually directed into what was obviously a practice ring. The stone tiles had been cleared of snow and it was a grim overcast day. Shadow wasn't sure if it was overcast because of the dust in the atmosphere from the horrible things done to the planet or if it was Andor's natural demeanour. The meter long tiles that looked like they'd been put down before space flight was possible had scarring and a few looked recently cracked. Shadow could only wonder where the nearest hits had been and the forces they must have spread across the planet. "You gawkin' or you lookin' to practice?" a voice asked her. She couldn't tell if he was speaking standard or Andorian, since she hadn't been watching his mouth. But it was her experience that people only had strange accents when speaking their non-native language through the translator or a language the translator didn't have to translate for her. Since she didn't speak Andorian, and the elder looked like an Andorian to her, he must be speaking standard. Now, what was a gawk and how did one do it? "I was watching your warriors, sir." She replied to the scarred, tall, blue man. He looked like he'd tried wrestling with an entire grabfoot colony. "You don't learn by watching." He said eyeing her, "You have weapons, can you use them?" Not as well as he his students, she didn't think. Watching them spar with staffs, Shadow was pretty sure they had been practicing since before they could walk. "I am competent, sir. I don't have the skill of your class." He smiled, revealing missing teeth, Shadow could only wonder why he hadn't had them fixed. "Well, only one way to get better." He crooked a finger and gestured for her to pick up a staff. He seemed prepared to give her his attentions. ~Yipes.~ Was Shadow's thought as she picked up a half-staff and stood opposite him. Hopefully he wouldn't knock *her* teeth out! (Posted by Lorna) Stardate: 2408.01.02 (Valhalla- Administrative Offices- FO-Lt. Cmdr. Ahmed Ibn Salid- - 0800) Ahmed reached out to press the enunciator on the door to Commander Josel's office. He had returned to the station late last night after a short day trip to Earth to see his uncle, only to discover that he had orders waiting for him. After a few moments the door slid aside and Ahmed entered the smallish office of the Chief of Personnel for the Fleet still located in Sector 001. "Good morning commander, Lieutenant commander Ahmed Ibn Salid reporting as requested." he said as he entered. Josel, a stern looking Vulcan woman looked up from him with that cold calculating look common to so many of her Vulcan compatriots. "Be seated commander Salid." she intoned in a flat even tone. Ahmed nodded and took the chair opposite her. She folded her hands and regarded him as he settled into the chair. "I have been reviewing your records, commander." She began. Her choice of words were less than encouraging. "I have come to the decision that you do not have adequate experience as a first officer to remain in that position aboard the Hypatia." Ahmed was shocked. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped open. "You're joking right?" "There is no attempt at humor here commander. You were assigned to be the first officer of the Champlain simply because there was a lack of adequately trained candidates. You have insufficient time in service and experience to retain the position. I have already assigned a replacement for you aboard the Hypatia." "And what am I to be doing?" he asked, a tinge of annoyance in his voice. "There is no need to be aggressive commander." the Vulcan stated coolly. "I am not being aggressive." Ahmed replied. Josel cocked on eyebrow at him then continued. "since you have experience as an administrator, most notably as An engineer aboard the Nimitz, I have decided that you would best be used by Starfleet to perform a similar function here on Valhalla. You will be handling all engineering and repair coordination reports until I can assign you as a chief engineer aboard a starship again." "A chief engineer?" Ahmed asked. "Yes, while you have little skill or experience as a first officer, you show a great deal of ability as a chief engineer. I believe that you will serve well in that capacity. In the meantime, I will allow you to retain your red uniform and your rank. However, do not be surprised commander if you are reduced in rank once we have found you a suitable assignment." "I see." Ahmed said standing. " Is there anything else commander?" there was acid in his voice. "You are to report to Engineering operations first thing tomorrow on Alpha shift. You are dismissed." Ahmed wanted to yell at her and argue with her, but in the end he knew that there was nothing he could do about it. He simply turned and exited the office. He grumbled under his breath as he went. ~So much for service.~ (posted by Daniel Greene) __________ NOD32 2848 (20080204) Information __________ This message was checked by NOD32 antivirus system. http://www.eset.com