SubAccount: Ashley Weir

[Counselors Office]

Luby shrugged.  "It's my 'go to' when it comes to hot drinks.  Sometimes I fancy a mocha or straight up hot choc but if I'm trying to stay awake... Ratkajino every time!" she chuckled.

"As for having a friend outside of the whole being a counsellor thing.  Of course, mind if I ever got started on the whole needing analysis... you could have me 24/7 for sessions and not get to the bottom of it.  One of the reasons I prefer, no offence, to just talk over problems with a friend, I don't feel I'm in a session even if that friend happens to be the ship's counsellor!"

The cadet brightened at the thought of celebrating her birthday.

"That would be cool, we could invite Bettina, Kestra, Roger and Grithaw too, that would be fun.  What should we do?  The lads will expect cake, and while it's my birthday I'm sure I could make one, my cookies disappear with alarming regularity from the 'secret' tin.... 'disappear'..." Luby made speechmarks in the air with her fingers to emphasise the 'disappear'.

"... straight into Roger's stomach.  I know Grith is a willing participant but he doesn't filtch them, the girls will take one if offered but they always like my cooking.  But where to do it and are we having an activity, going for a meal... what?!"

[As NPCs
Kestra Donaghue

Grithaw Rag

Roger Maghouin

Bettina Kwan
]

Kestra came forward and accepted the list.

"Romulans hmm... interesting, don't we have enough of them around normally?!" she chuckled.

"Hop up on that biobed and I'll get the rest of my crew to get the others done as they come in, more hands, quicker it gets done." she said with a smile.

"Been a while since I've done any cosmetics!" Bettina said with a smile.  "Nice to do something other than a physical."

Roger held up a scanning implement near his face like he was using a lipstick and joked.

"I don't know if this shade suits me, I'm not used to doing cosmetics!"

"Naff off Maghouin!" Bettina said affably back to him, "You're just jealous cuz you aren't blue and gorgeous like Grithaw!"

Grithaw, who had been working on sorting through and charging/replacing items in the field medkits looked up, and mockingly struck a pose, hands flat under his chin, blinking his eyes.

"I find Iced Champink to bring out the colour of my eyes!" he said fluttering his eyelashes before bursting into a grin.  "Gods, I think years with Lawrie McGellen is wearing off on me!" he said with a chuckle and went back to work.  "I'm over here if you need me!"

Kestra set to work and smiled once she was done "I think even Sub-Commander Ralik would approve of you!" she said stepping back.

[Counselors Office]

A thoughtful look appeared in Weir's face as she considered what they should do. "Well, normally I prefer to know the person pretty well before I plan for them...but I'd be happy to try." She smiled lightly as she took a small sip of the coffee.

"What is your favorite place in the whole galaxy? Where's your happy place?" Ashley asked quickly. "Holodecks are great for birthdays. We could go literally anywhere, so if there's somewhere you really love we should go there." She added to offer some rational to her thought process. "From the 'where' we can find the 'what to do' pretty easily."

[[Counsellor's Office - USS Discovery]]

[Counsellor's Office - USS Discovery]

"Hmmm... either undercover mission, someone really important or both..." Luby muttered making a black Ratkajino for Ashley and taking it over.

"As for me... depends what you want to know.  I'm 25 years old, no... 26... I recently had my birthday and had totally forgotten it since no one knew and it wasn't celebrated at all.  My full name is Lucy Belle Wentock but my younger sister couldn't pronounce it properly when she was really little so I became Luby and it stuck.  I also have a brother.  Technically half brother.  They're both halves..."

Luby sighed and thought '...in for a penny...'

"Basically my mother had an affair with my father Antonin Kolev, prior to falling pregnant with me when she had a short break to 'find herself' also to figure out exactly how she felt about James whom everyone thinks of as my father, and escaped back to her parents over in Greece.  I'm somewhat of a mongrel.  Brought up in Yorkshire, England, and I have Greek, Macedonian, Serb and Cretian... that's from the island of Crete and to be pronounced with EEE and ah, not eh at the beginning, tho if we're talking about my kid brother 'cretin' sort of fits if he's having one of his moods! Brothers, love them but they're big pains in the neck but I digress... yes... mixed European..." she chuckled then continued.

"...ancestry, I speak all the relevant languages too.  I like horse riding, oil painting, tennis, ballet and I play the alto sax.  I got into the academy after my bio father visited... our facial resemblance is far too similar so I helped out my mum by leaving Earth... a bit drastic but I prefer to have things that way and let her tell James herself rather than me do it for her inadvertently."

She sipped her own Ratkajino and smiled.  "So... there's a small amount of random stuff about me.  It's easier somtimes for you to ask me specific questions! Just like I said to Zed... you don't need to ask me about my mother!!"

[Counselors Office]

Ashley smiled lightly as she accepted the coffee. She listened closely and never once let the smile break off her face. "Don't worry, we're not in a session. I'm not trying to analyze you or anything." She replied warmly. "Though if you ever need that type of structure from our relationship I would be more than happy to provide it. Interestingly enough the job where being social and making connections with people is the whole thing, can be the loneliest by far. It's always nice to just have a friend that's outside of that structure." Weir's voice shifted to a slightly more sad tone for a brief moment as she caught herself rambling again. "But uh...like I said, don't hesitate to let me know if that structure is what you need."

The smile from moments earlier re-appeared on Ashley's face as she took a drink of the coffee. "A good choice by the way. I mean, I'm not particularly picky, but a good choice never the less." She paused a moment and let a wry grin creep across her face. "We should celebrate your birthday. If no one else was there to celebrate it; you and I should celebrate, even if it's a bit late." The counselor proposed happily.

[[CMO's Office, USS Discovery, 24th October]]

[CMO's Office, USS Discovery, 24th October]
[NPC Dr. Marcus Thane and Luby]

TO: Dr. Marcus Thane, CMO, USS Discovery
FROM: Dr. Ta-li Yona, Katra Station
RE: Lt. Hrafn Falleg-Tekin visit and ongoing medical attention required.
DATE: 17th October

Sir,
Today I performed a successful replacement knee operation to Lt. Falleg-Tekin's left knee.  However, I feel there are some things that may be of concern.

It has come to my attention that she is embarking on a journey to visit her husband, Captain Tekin of the USS Discovery, a journey which, bar a short stay over between shuttles at DS9, which will be either between shuttles or overnight with Captain Tekin's parents on Bajor, whichever is the shorter.... this journey will take approximately 2 weeks to complete starting Oct 22nd - 1 week to DS9 from Katra Station, and then on to you.  Not ideal conditions to perform exercises!  We expect her to arrive at the USS Discovery on or around Nov 9th

Normally, as you would expect, some physical therapy would be undertaken to get used to the new knee, however there are limits to how far one can walk on a shuttle.  I have asked her to at least stand up and stretch as much as she can, flex the knee frequently and not to sit in one position for too long.

I feel I should mention also that the she is bringing their 3 youngest children with her, at almost 6 (the twins) and almost 3, you can imagine the scrapes they might get into so this is by way of a 'heads up' for your staff that they might have some small people 'booboo's' to deal with!!

Oh and this is totally secret! Lt. Falleg-Tekin intends to surprise her husband.  I understand it's been cleared with your Ops Department and the local Romulan liaison officer so it's 'legal' just secret from the Captain so this is on a 'need to know' basis.

Kind Regards, look after our CSO for us, we'd kinda like her back in one piece!

Dr. Ta-li Yona, Katra Station Medical Team

~ END MESSAGE ~

Thane sat having read the message and attached notes from the USS Challenger concerning the Captain's wife, then called in Cadet Wentock thinking the youngster could have something pleasant, yet important to do, and she'd probably relate to the kids better, as he was sure from her notes that she had at least one younger sibling.

'So, conjugal visit hmmm....' he thought to himself. '...and with the kids, ah well, might perk the Captain up a little!'

"Ah Cadet Wentock, come in, sit if you wish but this won't take long." the CMO started and gave an enigmatic half smile.

"I can't tell you who since I'm already unsure if even I'm supposed to know but h...their doctor forwarded the medical notes, they've recently had an op, all went well but the long journey from..." he stopped and collected himself.

"...where they're coming from, will or may have an effect on the recovery from the op.  It's not life threatening, it was a knee replacement I can tell you that much, but while normally there would be a certain amount of physical therapy walking around on the new knee getting used to it... there isn't that far you can walk on a shuttle!  Thus..." he stopped himself saying 'she' for the umpteenth time and let out a huge sigh.  Keeping secrets wasn't something he was normally required to do other than obviously those contained in medical notes... which was at least an outlet, he didn't have to keep them all inside like this secret.

He supposed that it was the Captain's wife's prerogative to surprise her husband, but why she had to have an op just prior to travel was beyond him.

"...thus, they might be a bit stiff and need some attention to said knee when they arrive.  Either way we've been asked to extend our help to this visitor, and I'm handing over the care to you.  Enjoy, I'll unlock the notes once the visitor is on board.  I can't have the information leaking prior to that.  Understood?" the CMO asked.

"Um... yes sir, of course!"  Luby stammered, wondering who in the Universe it could be.  An ambassador, An admiral... certainly someone important.  Maybe it was some kind of secret mission and they weren't 'officially' supposed to be on the Discovery.  Well she'd find out in due course!

"Good, I trust your discretion, Wentock.  Dismissed!"

Luby took the 'dismissed' as 'Hop it!' and went back to Sickbay to carry on with what she'd been doing previously.

[Ashley's Office off Sickbay - USS Discovery - 2 days prior to meeting]

Luby smiled and entered the office ahead of the Counsellor.

"Well least you didn't have to do major renovations or tidy!" quipped the cadet with a wry grin.

"Last thing I remember doing with him was actually tidying my room mates stuff away, she's not the neatest of people.  I thought I was untidy beside Zed, but I'm positively pristine next to her!" she chuckled.

"Should I do the honours on the drinks?  What would you like, then you can ask me all about the ship, me, or whatever else you'd like to chat about.  I don't need to tell you about doctor-patient confidentiality obviously but anything else like who's married to whom, and pets and where the best place to get that is and who likes what holodeck programmes and who's best to see if...you know the general ship talk!"

Luby went to stand by the replicator and await Ashley's order.

"There is one thing I've been told by Dr. Thane to expect 'someone important' to the ship soon, and he's handing over their care to me.  Sounds ominous... you got any clue?" she asked curiously.

[Message from Dr. Yona posted with permission of player]

[Counselors Office]

Ashley shrugged slightly before she replied. "Quiet honestly I'm not very picky when it comes to drinks. Anything with caffeine is all I need. So any coffee will work, just black though." She replied somewhat shyly.

"As for who's coming, I haven't the slight idea." Weir started as she ran over everything she had read before she arrived. "I didn't really get much of a debrief before I got here outside of the few pointers that Zed sent me. Other than that I got absolutely nothing sadly. So let's start with you. You're actually one of the few people Zed gave me basically no information about." She brushed her hair behind her right ear as she took a seat on the couch on one side of the room.

[[Sickbay]]

[Sickbay]

"Well, no... no shocks there!" admitted Luby.  "Though maybe in quiet moments in Sickbay with your office being close you could teach me some sign language... or more... I know a little.  Could be useful just in case!"

The cadet smiled and then said "Have you got to know many people on the ship yet?  I'm still learning new people, sometimes it's good to go to the Mess Hall rather than sitting down here but I'm supposed to be on call even when it's quiet.  And I'm kinda expecting the Addams to come see me sometime too... while they have a scheduled appointment time, I tend to see them when they can make it because I know how people can be delayed if something unscheduled happens right at the end of your shift or whatever.  So your office is probably best for that coffee!  I grab a break when I can, never know when it might get busy again!"

[Sickbay En Route to Counselors Office]

Ashley shook her head slightly as a small frown appeared on her face. "Sadly I've not had time to get to know many people. There was a young engineer that I met while in the mess hall who got a bit flirty, though he's not exactly my...type. I'm not sure why I'm mentioning this." She chuckled to herself as she realized she was oversharing a bit. "Other than that I've kind of kept to myself since I boarded the Discovery. Being a counselor is a bit of an odd spot to be completely honest with you. Some people trust you way too much way too quickly and share a shocking amount, and then there are people on the opposite who avoid you at all costs because they think you're constantly analyzing them. Then you have a third, much smaller section that just doesn't really care either way. It's always really hard to guess which side of that eisle people will land on which makes interpersonal relationships challenging at best." Weir said as they arrived at her office.

"It seems like you might know this office better than me, so after you." Ashley's voice had turned to a slightly teasing tone. "Nothings different since Zed was here outside of a couple pictures on my desk of my family."

[[Sickbay]]

[Sickbay]

"Oh don't worry 'neat freak' was just my way of teasing he who could have become a good partner, I loved him to bits and it was a welcome change from my room mate... She's great but rather messy and works a lot so doesn't get time to tidy either it's not that she's inherently untidy, it's just she does duty, grabs a bite to eat and is so tired, falls into bed, so doesn't recycle her stuff, then gets up in a rush, strips where she stands out of yesterday's uniform, runs into the sonic shower, runs back out of it and then puts on a fresh uniform, and runs back out, we barely see each other as she's on Delta shift... She always does make sure that I get a pressie when she gets her credits though, so she's nice like that!"

Luby shrugged with a slight smile.  "She needs a boyfriend, girlfriend, hobby, pet... something!... she's got no social life and is far from home, I'm friend to anyone that needs one, that's you included.  And we can have coffee wherever you choose.  I know Zed... your office is comfy and I'm technically on call with this radiation thing so being in the general area of the Sickbay is probably a good idea.  Then if you aren't busy, I could introduce you to Torra's babies.  They're rats if you're ok with rodents.  When she's busy and even if she's not I go down and talk to them.  Technically lab rats, but I don't think there's any way in the Universe she'd use them for experiments, not when one is named after her husband!"

Luby 'hid' the biscuits in the bottom cupboard again, knowing full well that Roger would likely try sneaking another few.  She didn't mind, they didn't stay fresh forever, but it did help to soothe fearful children or adults if they were promised a fresh baked cookie when their treatment was finished...or keep the nursing staff happy.  Even  Dr. Thane had turned a blind eye once he'd tasted them, and if the boss 'approved' it was all good!

"C'mon,.." she said linking her arm through that of Ashley.  "Let's grab that coffee and get to know each other a little better, eh?!"

[Sickbay]

Ashley smiled as she listened to Luby speak of her old friend. "I'm sure he would've made a good partner, but......I just can't imagine it myself." She laughed slightly. "When I knew him he dated a girl named...Tessa I think? But when they broke up I didn't see him date anyone until apparently you."

Weir started towards the door as she spoke again. "I can understand needing a life like your roommate. Because of my former disability it was hard to keep friends. Sure I can read lips and body language, but that only gets you so far. Zed was one of the few who ever learned sign to communicate with me. It really made a difference." As the door opened she smiled softly. "Thankfully I don't have to rely on just sign anymore. Sure there will be words here and there that I might not know, but being able to hear is much simpler." She laughed, amused at her own understatement. "I don't think that would shock anyone though, huh?"

[[Sickbay - USS Discovery]]

[Sickbay - USS Discovery]

"Arm it is, slip your tunic jacket off then!" Luby said, waving the hypo.  She waited for Ashley to slip the arm out then pressed the hypo to it with a short hiss and it was done.

"I don't mind if you want to kiss me, I've never kissed a girl like that before, I might like it! Only females I've ever kissed on the lips were babies!" she chuckled.  "But it's ok, since I know about your deafness, I understand about having the 'back up' of lip reading, totally!"

"But you know, while I'd like to hope that 90% of Starfleet Medical's workload is preventative, or pre-emptive... as in do your scheduled physicals, if there's any problems get them ironed out.  Rather than patching people up in the midst or aftermath of battle... in quiet times if you want to have a chat, you know where I am.  If you're taking up Zed's old office then you're in the general area anyhow and nothing more boring than a coffee break on your own!  I even keep biccies in the bottom cupboard..."

She reached down and pulled out an ancient biscuit tin, in perfect condition still for the biscuits to be kept fresh but the paint obviously old.

"This was my grandmothers, but it's been passed down through the family so I have no idea exactly how old it is..." she popped off the lid and proffered it to Ashley.  "... contents baked by yours truly just yesterday though!  Shortbread or Double Choc Chip cookies... I warn you, if this lot..."

The cadet took a look around the Sickbay indicating the rest of the medical staff.

"...know I baked last night and these came in fresh this morning, they'd be gone before I could even say 'Choc Chip...HEY!"

Roger Maghouin who had transferred from Columbus with the rest of Dr. Lawrie McGellen's medical staff, when the doctor had retired and gone off to some tropical island with his wife to be,  casually snagged two cookies and tossed one to Nurse (Kestra) Donaghue.

"Hey these are really good! Bring them more often! And Thank you!" Kestra called across, but with her other hand giving Roger a good-natured mock slap up the side of the head.  "Next time at least ask the poor girl! Sheesh, were you born in a barn?"

"Nope the Sickbay of the USS Romanta actually..." Cadet Maghouin shot back.

The good natured banter between the two that had served for a long time together continued out of ear shot.

"I don't mind, actually, if they come in and there's no one around the Fab Four as I nicknamed them cuz they came as a package deal so to speak, apparently Dr. McGellen pulled some strings with Dr. Vaughan at Starfleet Medical HQ explaining they already knew how the other worked and they gelled as a team both as their own unit and with anyone else so..."  the cadet doctor shrugged her shoulders.

"We got them... Kestra's almost trained as a Nurse Practicioner so she's got a ton of knowledge and experience which helps me a lot, Roger used to be in Security so we have extra muscle around here, he's more than once had to pick a patient off the deck and lift them onto a biobed.  Grith... Grithaw is just funny, he's the Bolian you'll see around and what's her name... oh yeah Bettina, Nurse Kwan... she's just so sweet.  Actually I'm going to snag one of each of these and wrap them up for Bettina and Grith so they get one before the vultures attack!" Luby grinned and popped the biscuits in napkins she replicated quickly.

"Well, you're all done, here.  I'm free for a break now, did you want a coffee or something, and did you need anything changing round in your office?  If so I can rope the lads in to help move any furniture.  Get them to earn their cookies!"

[Sickbay]

Ashley smiled softly as she put her hand up to turn down the cookies. "Thank you, but I try to eat as few sweets as possible. If I don't limit myself I eat a dozen in one sitting. It's a real problem." She laughed lightly before she spoke again. "Say what you will about Zed, but he's well organized and always had a shockingly acute sense of interior design. I will certainly take you up on coffee though. I could use a friend on board if nothing else." Weir replied as she rose from the biobed and turned back to Luby. "Would you like to have it here, my office, or the mess hall?" She asked warmly.

[[Sickbay]]

[Sickbay]

Luby smiled at Ashley and fought back tears.

"Between you and me and the biobed, if there's no-one else around you can call him Zed, he was, we were... well we started dating before he got transferred.  He still owes me a steak dinner!"  she explained with a chuckle.

"In that respect, nope, won't live up to him!" the cadet joked, "...but I'm sure you will in other ways unless you're not a neat freak.  I say that in the nicest of ways though. So you've come for your physical, hop up on biobed 2 and I'll get you through it.  Procrastinating is the word I think you wanted, and while I can sign a little bit I'm not sure what the sign for that is, maybe..."

Luby made the signs for 'Let's go grab a Ratkajino and chocolate muffin...' grinning the whole while.

"To be fair I wouldn't have noticed had you not lifted your hair, I tend to concentrate on people's faces and read their eyes more than anything.  And how rude of me.  I'm Luby... Cadet Wentock."

The cadet ran the tricorder over Ashley and pulled up her medical records.  "Anything other than the implant that I should be aware of, while I have your notes from Starfleet Medical, I always find talking to the patient seems to help.  For example I had a guy in earlier for a radiation jab, we've all had them and I'll give you yours in a moment, and he asked if he could have it in the cartoid rather than the arm as they made his arm ache... a reasonable request but not something that might be logged in medical notes unless you were reading a complete report if you get my meaning."

Finishing up the basics, Luby turned and picked up a radiation treatment from a tray of hypos.  "So... arm or cartoid?!"

[Sickbay]

Ashley patted her arm lightly as she spoke. "Arm. For me I unsurprisingly focus on lips and body language. So if you ever see me stareing at your lips, it's because that made communication a lot easier for me for a long time. To the surprise of a lot of men I've known, it's not in fact because I want to kiss you." Weir let out a frustrate sigh.

"In terms of what to know, the only thing that's ever had a problem for me is my hearing. When I was very young we were vising my much older brother on his first posting. A bulkhead on the Starbase collapsed. Some freak accident. While the security failsafes kicked almost instantly, I was still hit by some shrapnel. I don't know the specifics, but something happened and my hearing was gone. Something even with all of our scientific and medical advancement was still my unfortunate reality for most of my life until I was able to get this implant." Ashley replied softly as she moved to sit on the biobed. "Other than that, medically I'm relatively boring. I certainly try to take good care of myself."

[[Sickbay]]

[Sickbay]

Luby noticed the movement of a woman coming into Sickbay and smiled over at her.

"Hi, have you come for a radiation treatment? I thought I'd done all of them! I see you're wearing the best colour..." the cadet nodded at the blue collar of the woman's uniform.

"Science or Medical?" she asked keeping her tone light.  "I know Counsellor Masters was transferred,.." she didn't go into details that Zed and she had had a relationship starting, that was personal information she wasn't happy giving out to a new face.

"...so... I'm taking a stab in the dark here and saying you might be our new counsellor, either way... welcome to Sickbay!"

[Sickbay]

Ashley sighed slightly but then offered a sympathetic smile. "Ah, Zed Masters. The man I have to live up to." She said slightly strained. "Don't know that I'll be able to do that part, but yes, I am the new counselor." Weir added softly. She took a step forward and extended her hand. "Uh, my name is Ashley Weir sorry. I've known Z-Counselor Masters for a very long time. We were in the academy together. He's a good man, but he's a lot to live up to. Though he'd probably tell me that I shouldn't try to live up to him and instead just live up to me."

Weir paused and shook her head slightly. "I'm rambling, I do apologize. I'm here for my physical. But I've been...oh god what's the word?" She looked down for a moment before she raised her hand and signed a word to herself. "I've put it off until the final moment, whatever the word is for that." She sighed in frustration before she spoke again. "I'm sure you've noticed the small implant behind my ears." As she spoke Ashley shifted her raven black hair behind her right ear to reveal a small implant. "I spent most of my life deaf. I've only had this implant that allows me to hear for a few years so English is still kind of a secondary language for me."

[Counselors Office - Moments Earlier]

The door hissed open as Ashley entered the smaller modified storage room. The former counselor, an old friend of hers, had left the setup of the office as he liked it when he was transferred to another posting to serve under some rising star Admiral. She had actually ended up on this posting at his personal recommendation as he left.

She glanced around the office for a moment and smiled softly. One thing the two of them had in common was their meticulous organization with everything. It was actually something they had bonded over at the academy. Everything was in it's place already which would allow her to slip into the work much more quickly than she otherwise would be able to. But before that of course, she had to get a physical. Something she had put off until the last possible moment. The implant that gave her the ability to hear was still relatively new and many medical officers still didn't know how to work with it. She had unfortunately had a few to many experiences with doctors that didn't know what they were doing suddenly triggering a feedback loop inside the implant to want to actively seek out her physical. With hesitation she placed her PADD on the desk and then swiftly turned around to exit the room.

[Medbay - Present]

Weir entered the room nervously. She hoped that whoever did her physical would just avoid the implant, but she also knew that was highly unlikely. She stepped out of the door frame and stood in the corner of the room as she prayed that maybe she just wouldn't be noticed at all.

[Bridge]

Ashley's vision was blurry, but she was starting to come to again in the mess. Before she had gained her bearings though she being transported to another room. She was still laying on the floor when she arrived on the bridge, the thought of that horrified her before anything else had realized in her head. In her mind there wasn't much less professional than lying on the floor of the bridge of a starship. She darted to a stand but smacked her head against the bottom of the helm. Silently she winced and put her right hand to the point on her head that had hit the console. Still without any hesitation she came to a stand and looked to the viewscreen in horror. Her eyes immediately darted to the navigation console now in front of her to realize that there was almost no helpful information on it. The woman glanced over at the young ensign who she had reassured would have an easy shift. As Weir's hand lightly touched his shoulder his already frightened look became even more tense. "You've done so well. Let me take over, I'll see you soon okay?" She said as comfortingly as she could muster. The man nodded without looking away from the screen and came to a stand. "We'll be okay, don't worry." She added as she took the seat at the helm.

Her mind raced around the subject carefully. She was trying to be strong for her staff, but in reality she didn't know what the next few minutes would hold. "Sir, until power is re-routed I can only buy time." She began somewhat timidly. "Theoretically once we've boosted our power we could use the singularity as a gravitational slingshot...that said using a singularity like that is theory at best. To my knowledge it's never been attempted-" She cut herself off with the realization that she had begun to ramble. Something she had always done when she was stressed out.

[Mess Hall]

Everything had happened in seconds. First the drones began to materialize, then the crew were tossing the table to the ground. The loud crash of the table hitting the floor caused the young woman to flinch slightly. As she came back to her senses she had realized something. There was an odd scent in the air around her. Having spent most of her life completely deaf her other senses had heightened beyond their normal levels. Quickly she pulled her uniform over her nose and began to hold her breath. She watched as people began to fall one by one. Her vision began to blur as the knock out gas began to take its hold on her. As the Captain was hit in the shoulder the young woman took a deep gasp in. She began to go over to him to check on the man, but before she could get even half way she collapsed on the ground. Weir eyes stared at the table in front of her for another few seconds before finally her body gave in and she was unconscious.

[USS Challenger - Bridge, 1800 Hours]

USS Challenger - Bridge, 1800 Hours

Solluk stood, nodding to tr'Lhoell, "I stand relieved.  Sorry to have to ask you for a double, Chief, but with most of us at this dinner..."  He paused briefly to consider it, "no, I'm still fairly sure you've got the better end of things."  Smirking, he made his way off to prepare for the event.

******** Meanwhile, Outside of the Computer Core on Deck 6 **********

"Sirs, I must say I've found very little to smile about this past week, but seeing this new Bittrex Quantum Switcher has made my day.  The way it handles information handovers between the primary and virtual cores is a work of art."

The Doctor did have a genuine smile on his features, which faded somewhat with his next statement, "Though, now I suppose I must prepare to meet my colleagues.  Thank you both for taking the time to show me around.  I hope to see you at dinner.  I'd like to get your thoughts on the five-dimensional bit-matrix technology the Bynars are developing.  I think their reach has exceeded their grasp, this time!  But... but... off to prepare.  We'll have time to talk later!"

******** 30 minutes later, at the mess hall **********

Solluk stepped into the room, sporting a dress uniform he hadn't had occasion to wear in a very long time.  Like himself, the mess hall was in fine form.  Fortunately, the special requests for this occasion were minimal to nonexistent.  The scientists were not fussy diplomatic representatives.  They were liable to care less about the details of the room and its decoration than they were about the conversations to be had between bites.

"Well done, Lieutenant," he said quietly to no one in particular as he looked around, "if you ever retire, you may have a second life as an interior decorator."  One piece of wall-art, an abstract interpretation of warp wake effects, was particularly likely to catch the eye of men not typically concerned with artistic detail.

Seeing that Weir had arrived early, he nodded to her.  "Lieutenant Weir, I haven't had occasion to say so in person yet, though I have placed a letter of commendation in your file.  Well done with the escape-pod maneuver.  Your accuracy in intercepting the Theia's torpedoes made an immense difference in lives lost."

As he made these remarks, other officers began to trickle in.  Soon, the dinner service would begin.

******** The Dinner Reception **********

Once the Challenger officers and crew had all arrived, the guests of honor followed at virtually the same moment.  Apparently, none of these men held to the absent-minded-professor stereotype that had entered the human lexicon in the 20th century.  Doctor Soven of Vulcan, Doctor Girthak of Tellar, and Doctor Kwel of Efrosia.  As they came in, Solluk stood and opened his arms.

"Esteemed Doctors, we here on the Challenger are delighted to receive you.  Though you will only be with us for a short time, we feel honored to know that we stand among the giants whose science will determine the direction of Federation and Starfleet superluminal research for decades to come."

"Gratitude, Captain," Soven said, "for this repast, and also for the pains your crew has undertaken to ensure our timely arrival."

"Yes, thank you, Captain," Kwel added, "And a special thanks as well for the tour earlier.  I found your computer core quite delightful."

Girthak looked around and huffed, "I didn't get a tour."

The three men took their seats on the large polyhedral table that had been placed here.  The more traditional rectangle had appropriately been eschewed, as none of these three eminent scientists must appear to be given more respect than the others.   Once they were seated, Solluk sat as well.

"Doctor Kwel, I understand you had the opportunity to meet Chief Lek during your tour?  He is our resident engineering celebrity on the Challenger, having developed our point-of-impact shield system.  Some of its technology is a further development of Doctor Reyga's work in shielding technology." Solluk said, hoping the technical details and history of Lek's shield system might interest the scientists.

As the conversation began to unfold, crewmen who had volunteered for the duty began to lay out a selection of appetizers and starters for everyone to enjoy.  The selections ranged throughout the homeworlds of the men present:  Efrosian stuffed mushrooms, Sweetened Tellarite Vinjafruit, and Vulcan Plomeek soup.

"Is that so," Kwel remarked, "I should enjoy hearing about its mechanism of action."

"A seemingly logical development along the lines of previous innovation," Soven remarked, "though perhaps the late Doctor Reyga and your Chief Lek may have indulged in some creativity in their implementation, such a system was more of an inevitability than a revolution."

"This is overcooked," Girthak grumbled as he stuffed several of the appetizers into his maw.

[Mess Hall]

Ashley had never been particularly great at taking compliments. In her mind she had just done her job. She had done it superbly, but still it was just her job. People often forgot that the only people on the ship that had to have more accurate aim that security was flight. Her brother once told her that being a starfleet pilot was like flying a needle through a haystack and being able to dodge all the hay. A small rosey tint graced her cheeks for a moment as she watched the captain move to great the new arrivals. As everyone else sat, so did she. She didn't expect to get much out of the meal, however then she perked up as she heard the mystical words. Transwarp. Something she had studied long and hard on. Likely not to the extent of the scientists before her but enough to have a solid understanding. Then the conversation continued to what she had always assumed was centuries away, Coaxial warp. Bending space was dangerous, not just for the people doing it but also everyone between those points. She began to speak up, but stopped at the last moment thinking that she was likely surrounded by people far smarter on the subject than she was and didn't want to make a fool of herself.

Her eyes darted to the table for a few seconds as she listened to everyones questions. To her surprise no one had asked what she personally thought was the biggest question. To her understanding time and space were not two separate entities. It was why when traveling at the speed of light people standing still aged faster. One question rang out in her head over and over again: 'How would you account for temporal anomalies when folding spacetime?' Instead she remained silent with a small frown that forced itself onto her lips.

[[USS Challenger - Bridge - 18:00]]

[USS Challenger - Bridge - 18:00]
Rayek's arrival on the bridge seemed perfectly timed, following on the heels of Solluk's comm call.  He went first to his tactical station and did a quick check of the ships status from his console before presented himself before the Commander and the officer who was noted in the log as having the Bridge for the past several hours. "Captain. Lieutenant Weir. All ships systems show green and the ship is making good time to Corralis. I am here to relieve you."

[Bridge]

Weir perked up slightly as she heard the voice of a newcomer on the bridge. It wasn't one she particularly recognized, but to be fair she recognized a small few of the Challenger crews voices. Still though, she assumed it was the person who she was told was coming to take command of the bridge during the dinner. Silently she stood and moved away from the helm to allow for her subordinate to take control. There wasn't much information that needed relayed to the ensign before she left but she still knelt down to speak quietly to him. "Keep it straight on, there shouldn't be any surprises up ahead. Should be a calm shift." She said warmly before she turned and left for her quarters.

[Weir's Quarters]

The young woman was never a fan of dress uniforms. They were tight and restrictive in a way that her normal uniform wasn't. She understood their significance but it didn't stop her from wanting to be in her normal uniform, or even better, casual clothing. She stared at herself in the mirror a moment as she quietly adjusted her uniform to make sure it looked perfect. If she had more time she might have also tied her long straight hair back into a pony tail, but as it stood she left it down to drape on her shoulders. Ashley's eyes darted at the digital clock she had on her bedroom wall to look at the time and bit the bottom of her lip slightly. She wasn't great at parties and dinners, and they always gave her anxiety because of that simple fact.

[Mess Hall]

Much to her surprise she was still early. Unfortunately that meant the crowd was much smaller and it would be significantly harder to blend into the background and go unnoticed. Now she stood a very real chance of being forced into socializing with a crew she barely knew. Up to this point she'd manage to keep herself relatively unnoticed, which was great for her social anxiety. However it wasn't particularly great for her personal life, which was remarkably uneventful seeing as she had virtually no friends on board.

[CFO's Office]

Weir nodded slightly and tapped her comm badge. Flight teams Alpha and Bravo please meet me in the shuttle bay and prep shuttles Butterworth, Smith, and Resnik. Her voice was soft but demanding. A few seconds later she left for the flight deck.

[Shuttlebay]

Without any surprise her flight teams had arrived before her to prep the shuttles. They stood in at attention to wait for her next instructions, which brought a small smile to the officers face. "Alright everyone. We're on clean up duty. We need to make sure the path is clear for any incoming ships. Williams, you're with me in Resnik. Alpha take Butterworth, Bravo take Smith. Any questions?" She paused and waited for a second. "Good, let's go." She lead the group being the first to enter the shuttles, and also the first to take off soon after. Shuttle Resnik to Challenger, we've left the hanger. We're going to get things cleaned up as quickly as possible, Weir out.

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

USS Challenger - Bridge

As the CMO beamed off the bridge, the ship's Chief Flight Control Officer came over the com system, asking for instructions.  Solluk briefly wondered why they hadn't reported to their station upon the initiation of red alert, but he had little time to ponder over it and even less time to answer.  What good was a Flight Control officer who wasn't at the flight control station?  Yet even as he made the angry inquiry in his mind, a thought occurred to him.

Lieutenant Weir, use any available console or PADD to remote-access our saucer's dorsal escape pods.  Prepare to launch the pods and direct them at my command.  Ops, be sure any evacuees are directed not to use the dorsal pods which are so designated.

In that moment, the Challenger dipped her bow, just as he had ordered.  It was a dangerous maneuver that exposed the upper saucer and warp nacelles to enemy attack.  Solluk had ordered it as a reasoned gambit to preserve the damaged secondary hull- but it was certain to be a costly move. 

On the viewscreen, the USS Theia finished coming about, bringing her deadly weapons to bear.  Though she had become as sluggish as a drunken mallard in the wake of tr'Lhoell's well-aimed retaliatory strikes, she was finally in a position to do them some harm... and she did not waste the opportunity.

The Theia's pulse phaser cannons opened with a deadly barrage. 

Solluk fully expected the phaser pulses to smash into their hull, but it appeared as though Lek had performed a miracle in Engineering after leaving the bridge.  The phaser-fire cascaded off of the Challenger's shields like rainwater off of an umbrella.  By all rights, the saucer-section of the Challenger should have been a ruined, fiery hulk.  But the rapid-nadions of Theia's fearsome weapon brightened, flared, and were gone.  Death itself had been cast into the aether by the massive talents of one tiny Ferengi.

It was a moment of no small triumph... but it was not a moment which could be savored.  The shields had given their last gasp in defending them against the Theia's phasers.  Now there were no shields left, and the Theia was far from done with her assault.  She followed the phaser bursts with a pair of quantum torpedoes.  Torpedoes which were targeted squarely at the Challenger's bridge.

Solluk's lips snarled in defiance against the doomsday threat.  He tapped his badge, Weir!  Launch all dorsal escape pods, and direct them in linked clusters to intercept those inbound torpedoes!

To his knowledge, escape pods had never been used as a Flak device to intercept enemy missile weapons.  He hoped it could work, but he couldn't stand idly by to see if it would.  He had to keep going.  They all had to keep going.  Each man, woman, and other-gendered being on the ship was a vital part in a massive machine struggling to survive:  A machine called the USS Challenger.  Hundreds of souls in hundreds of places churned out the diligent effort which would bring forth their only chance of success.

"Now that the pods are away, lift the bow and fire our own torpedo... Now!  And set our Deflector pulse to discharge... NOW!"

Now and Now and Now.

Now it was up to the Challenger and its many precious parts to perform the impossible and win this encounter, despite all the odds against them.

[CFO's Office]

Weir tapped away at her console for a few seconds to prepare for the request. It was an odd one, but not specifically the weirdest one she'd ever gotten. Once she'd gotten the signal she understood what it was for. She was essentially using them as flares against heat seeking missiles. Not only was it not a new concept, it wasn't even hard to do. The unfortunate part is that launching escape pods and using them to target something was a bit like blindly throwing darts and trying to hit a bullseye. Ashley wasn't an amateur though. Once they were away she tapped her comm badge. Escape pods are away and on a collision course with the torpedoes. We don't have many left, certainly not enough to do a full scale evacuation. There are a few left over just in case we get more torpedoes fired at us. Sir, if there's anything else I can do to help, let me know.