SubAccount: Ardyn Jaeger

["Captain's Log Supplemental. Whatever Klingon intelligence discovered that led them ta believe a Kinshaya attack was imminent, has clearly not changed. We have nae been ordered ta stand down or return ta Federation space. If anything, the Klingons seem ta have an even higher sense of urgency about our arrival. As we are allies, we didn't pick up an escort when we reached the Klingon border, all we got was a gruff 'Proceed' from the border station.]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

As her crew conducted battle drills, the Challenger continued to drive through space at high warp and was now approaching Klingon space. It would still take a week to reach the coreward border, but from now on, all the preparations became more real and the crew could feel the shift in tension as they approached the most likely avenue of approach the Kinshaya would use if they decided to attack.

"Captain's Log Supplemental. Whatever Klingon intelligence discovered that led them ta believe a Kinshaya attack was imminent, has clearly not changed. We have nae been ordered ta stand down or return ta Federation space. If anything, the Klingons seem ta have an even higher sense of urgency about our arrival. As we are allies, we didn't pick up an escort when we reached the Klingon border, all we got was a gruff 'Proceed' from the border station.

"As the ships of the task force were called upon from various sectors of Federation space, we are arrivin' at different times and different vectors. We have however married up with the USS New Orleans, lead ship of that class, the USS Hungary of the Norway-Class and the USS Ararat a Steamrunner. I have ta admit, there is comfort in numbers as we continue ta our area of operations.

"So far, all departments show that they are takin' the possibility of combat very seriously and report an improvement in response times and the overall skill levels of the crew. This is especially important with so many just out of the Academy ensigns and senior cadets aboard.

"The science boffins have tried ta find a weakness that would disable or at least reduce the lethality of the Kinshaya. One viable option is modifyin' the gravity platin' on the approaches ta critical areas that would allow increasin' gravity ta 12Gs. The Kinshaya are big, and bloody strong, but I doubt even they could handle 12Gs for long.

"What will happen in the future is unknowable, but I believe we are about as prepared as a ship and crew can be. We have one final week ta iron out any last issues and then we will find out what fate has in store for us. End log."

[Bridge]

Ardy smirked when she heard Ian's 'high score.'

"Not bad, not bad at all." She said, definitely impressed. "That's the real kicker, after all, coming back and not getting shot." she said, leaning back in the seat.

"It's not the same, fighting in a ship instead of a fighter, Can't do barrel rolls, for one, but I've gotten pretty good at adapting fighter maneuvers to flying big ships like this. You can actually use the weight and inertia of the ship to your advantage if you time it right." she said, giving a smirk of confidence.

"Right." said Ardyn as she made a few adjustments to the helm before getting back to the conversation. One of the perks of autopilot. "Been asking some of my crew to run simulations on how this old girl can handle at subwarp in battle simulations.  I would make sure we reinforce the inertial dampeners. We'll be likely to be pulling several Gs of force doing these maneuvers, even with it being in space. Speaking from experience, It's not gonna be a smooth ride whatever we do."

[Bridge]

The worst part of going off to battle was the march to get there, and Ardy could feel it across the whole ship, only amplifying Ardy's own restlessness and readiness to get going. She wanted to get this over and done with so she could get back to Maddy as soon as possible.  She never thought to admit it out loud (though she was pretty sure Alex had probably picked up on it at this point, ) but she missed Maddy's fireball-like presence running circles around her. In fact, according to their calls,  Maddy was doing just fine after the initial shock of missing her and Alex the first couple of days. Ardy figured as much. Nothing ever stopped that kid.

So, she kept busy. While they weren't going to be in active rotation, she had all the flight crew running drills to see how well they could fly in high-stress fights against heavily maneuverable enemies. She wasn't expecting them to be the ones to fly the ship or doing fighter runs if they ended up going in the fight, but doing something, anything was better than waiting, and the junior crews needed the practice.

When she wasn't helping the rest of the flight crew, or on bridge duty making sure the ship was in, she ran fighter runs with Ian in his Flying Tigers program.  All good practice but still, not enough to keep the itch off her trigger finger.

Coming onto the bridge. she nodded to Ian and cracked her fingers as she moved on the bridge. "Morning boss, you beat your high score on the Tigers yet?" she asked, more filling the time if anything. At some point, she still needed to check in with Engineering at some point. Making sure that the ship didn't fall apart (or that the engineers wouldn't curse her too much) during battle was pretty important in her books.  Passing Alex and the Ops officer he was talking to, Ardy gave a nod, before relieving Schultz off the helm, checking the ship was on autopilot, then swiveling the chair around

"So, You've seen me fly, boss. Any recommendations you think I should tell the Engineer crew to make before we really go into battle?

["As you see, just startin' this beastie is complex. Gettin' into the air is a touchy thing as well. This plane has what is called a 'tail dragger' configuration. Two main wheels under the wings, a smaller wheel under the tail. Ta take off, you have ta gain enough speed that the horizontal stabilizers get enough lift ta raise the tail off the ground, then pull back on the control stick ta direct the wings ta go up, but not at so sharp an angle that the tail hits the ground. If'n you do it right, the plane will lift smoothly. Then, as I said, no automation, you have ta activate the mechanism that will retract the landin' gear.]

[Holodeck Two - USS Challenger]

Ian nodded over the roar and then went through the shut down procedure, it wasn't as many steps as the start up sequence, but it was still complicated. Once it was possible to be heard, he said.

"As you see, just startin' this beastie is complex. Gettin' into the air is a touchy thing as well. This plane has what is called a 'tail dragger' configuration. Two main wheels under the wings, a smaller wheel under the tail. Ta take off, you have ta gain enough speed that the horizontal stabilizers get enough lift ta raise the tail off the ground, then pull back on the control stick ta direct the wings ta go up, but not at so sharp an angle that the tail hits the ground. If'n you do it right, the plane will lift smoothly. Then, as I said, no automation, you have ta activate the mechanism that will retract the landin' gear.

"That's just what it takes ta fly this thing. The settin' we are in is the nation state of China in 1941, which had been invaded by the nation state of Japan. China was mostly agrarian and dinae have the industrial or technological base ta field a competent air force. As a result, they essentially hired mercenaries ta fight for them. These pilots came from the nation state of the United States which had a very large military. The pilots had ta resign from the American military ta keep it from lookin' like the United States was at war with Japan. Everyone knew the truth, but it was just part of the politics of the era.

"These mercenary pilots were known the American Volunteer Group, or AVG, but known better as the Flyin' Tigers. They were paid better than in the military and got a nice bonus for every confirmed shoot down they got. I mention all this because at more difficult levels of the program, you will engage in air to air combat. Thing is, the Japanese have better pilots and much more maneuverable planes. If'n you nae learn ta fight ta the Tomahawk's strengths, you will lose. Now, let's go through the start up sequence again and when you think you have it, you hop in and see if you can get the old girl purrin'."

[Holodeck - Hangars]

"You said that right. There's a lot to get in one go. " said Ardy, mentally mapping each of the controls in her mind's eye. "Alright. So, what I'm getting is we need to get her going down this runway fast enough  so that enough wind gets under the wings here and can help it fly, right? And to keep the angle just right so that it actually gets up?" she asked, keeping an eye on the systems.

At the mention of the historical setting this holoprogram was set in, Ardy nodded, looking around at the airfield.  "Didn't know that. Honestly, sounds like something my dad would have known all about, he was an old history buff," she remarked, hopping into the cockpit. "I'm down for the air combat rounds. Best part of flying if you ask me; Going fast and flying fancy. Can't get that going on just shuttle duties."

She started running the sequence. All 32 steps. "Here goes nothing!"

[USS Challenger - Transporter Room 3]

Ten days had barely been enough time for Maddison to process having to be without her mom and dad for the next month, despite Alex and Ardyn having tried to sell the whole ordeal as an adventure with Mrs.Van Heusen. The daycare staff had been amazing, setting up what amounted to a youth camp for all the children who wouldn't have a parent staying behind. They'd already had several conversations with K-7's counselors who would be helping out as well, and who were doing their utmost best in relieving all the stress and concerns surrounding their situation. Nevertheless, it had not been a happy week, and Maddy had refused to sleep anywhere else besides with them in their bed.

Alex had seen this scene played out dozens of times on his previous deployments, and he had always imagined it to be horrible for the families involved. Now that they were one of those families, it was a thousand times worse. "Here we are." Alex slowly lowered down the girl clinging onto his neck as they entered the transporter room, smiling to try and reassure her despite his own trepidation. "Look, there goes your friend on the transporter pad. Bye Mo!" Maddy turned to give the ferengi boy a listless wave, watching him dematerialize in the sparkly blue shimmer. "Hey, you'll get to spend a whole month with your friend at camp, that'll be fun!"

"But...I want you to come with me." Maddy heartbreakingly whimpered, her lower lip quivering as she reached up towards Ardy. "I'm scared, mommy."

[Transporter room 3]

The deadline was coming up soon, and to Ardyn, it felt like more of a guillotine hanging above her head. How do you really explain to a six-year-old  that they would have to leave her behind and go into battle,  maybe never to return? It had been one of the risks they had taken, when they went back into Starfleet, for sure, but it hadn't really set in until now.

Maddy was taking it as well as she could, all things considered, They'd done their best to try to explain the gravity of the situation in a way that could be understood by her,  but even the most sound of logic couldn't fully stop the emotional tidal wave that Maddy was feeling. Ardy didn't blame her.

"It's okay to be scared." she looked for confirmation to Alex. " We both want to be with you.  You're one of the bravest kids I know, and I know you'll have the most fun ever while you're here. "

"NO! I don't wanna go!" Maddy clung onto Ardyn tightly.

She rubbed the little girl's head and silky black hair just like she did when Maddy was really little.

" We will be back as soon as possible and will call you every night we can. Promise." said Ardy, kneeling down to eye level.

"Okay... You really promise?" said Maddy reluctantly,

"Yup. Promise." she said, fixing the little "commbadge" they'd given her to keep an eye on her whereabouts after the last escapade she had had.  She'd warned the instructors this time of Maddy's habit of going off when not supervised. "Make sure you listen to the teachers there, don't go running off where they can't find you. 'kay?"

"Okay."

Maddy gave Ardyn another long, clinging hug, then let her go to hug Alex. It was hard to let her go.

One look from the Ops crew manning the console let her know that it was time.

"We love you lots. It's time to go. You have lots of fun now and tell us all about it when we call you tonight."

"Okay..."

The guy at the Transporter console nodded, and with that twinkle of the Transporter beam, she was off and away.

Full of emotion, she nodded to Alex. That was that. It felt weirdly hollow for her, like something was missing.  They were both on shift coming up. "I don't know about you, babe, but what do you say about beating the Kinshaya back to the hole where they came from?"

["Aye Lass, I'm ready."]

[Holodeck Two - USS Challenger]

Ian beamed when he saw Ardy in her Flying Tiger flight suit. He'd sent her the replicator pattern so she'd feel more at home in the program.

"Aye Lass, I'm ready."

Ian turned briefly from Ardy to the holodeck controls.

"Computer. Start Tigers Simulation Galloway One."

"Program initiated."

The doors opened and the first thing Ardy noted was the sharp tang of a strong chemical smell. Ian noted her nose wrinkle and smiled.

"That's summat called gasoline. Common petrochemical of the era, it permeates just about everything. Now, let's go see the lady you came ta fly."

Walking past the few buildings and tents of the airfield, the two came to a line of machines that were completely foreign to her experience. A tubular body, stubby flat extensions on either side of the body, and what looked like a fan slapped on the front. It was certainly nothing like anything she'd ever seen at the Academy, but Ian's eyes glowed with sheer joy.

Ian let Ardy get a good look at the machine before he started to talk.

"This here Lass is the Curtis, P-40B Tomahawk. It is an atmospheric craft first flown in 1938, which was 464 years ago. It uses a liquid cooled, twelve cylinder inline gasoline engine ta produce power. This was long before anti-grav, so those extensions on the sides of the fuselage are the wings, they provide lift once the engine gets the plane movin' fast enough. Back then, if lift plus thrust exceeded weight plus drag, you had flight.

"Now the most important thing ta ken about the P-40 is that it pre-dates computers by about 20 years. There is no assist of any kind. Everything is mechanical, on a modern shuttle you say "Computer do X" and all you do is go along for the ride. Nae so much with one of these. You have ta operate controls ta get it off the ground and keep operatin' them ta get it ta go where you want it ta go. As there was no computer, you have ta manually start the engine. And just ta give you an idea of what you face here. There are 32 steps in the start up sequence."

Ian then climbed up onto the wing and into the cockpit. Once seated, he waved for Ardy to climb onto the wing.

"Okay, watch me as I go through the start up sequence. Ask as many questions as you like.

Ignition switch OFF.

Landing gear handle control NEUTRAL.

Flap control handle NEUTRAL.

Parking brake ON..."

And on through the rest of the steps, when Ian was finished, the engine roared to life and by roar, it was deafening, one had to shout to be heard above the thundering of the engine and the wind coming back from the propeller threatened to blow Ardy off the wing.

[Holodecks - Hangars]

The sweet but pungent smell of gasoline immediately hit Ardyn pretty hard as they walked onto the runway towards the plane. Gasoline had long since been replaced by a different fuel source these days, but the environment was the same as the hangars these days; rows of planes and mechanics  mulling about doing repairs.

The holodeck certainly didn't miss any detail in this simulation,  from the painted fuselage to the large propellers and standard-issue wings. it was a lot smaller than a typical shuttle, even her typical Delta Flyer, meant to hold one, maybe two pilots?

"She's a beaut, for sure." said Ardy, eying the plane as Ian explained the specs and how it worked. She actually didn't mind the fact that it was completely manual. She actually preferred it that way with the shuttles she flew, much to the consternation of all the other pilots who had to fly the shuttle after her.  She had once put her trust in a faulty computer system, and it had cost her copilots's life.

"Heh. Manual flying's  a lot more fun anyway. Keeps you on your feet. ."

Hopping up onto the wing, she carefully studied Ian as he demonstrated the intricate startup process for the plane. It would take a bit of getting used to, given all the buttons and knobs to memorize, but after a bit, she understood the basics well enough.

What actually surprised her was the sudden gust of wind that came from the propellors, whipping her ponytail straight behind her like a flag in the breeze. The noise was deafening, but the thrum as it shook the plane felt almost electrifying.

"HOLY @^$#&! THAT'S AMAZING!" she yelled as she tried to keep her balance on the vibrating plane.

[Bridge]

Ardy gave one of her usual cocked grins to the Onlie. "Congrats  dude. You earned it." she said, giving him a wry grin. "Better not let it get to your head now," she teased.

There still was that upcoming weight of the battles they'd be in ahead, but for now, celebrating was necessary.

She moved to replace Ensign Jenson at her seat at the helm, catching Alex's glance to her. No words needed to be said, but there would have to be some tough conversations coming up that she couldn't escape.

She already began her plans. With fighter support off the table, that would probably change things in terms of a battle plan, but she could work with that.  She wasn't exactly sure about Galloway's tolerance of bold maneuvers, but given the reports of extreme maneuverability of these enemy ships for their size, she would have to push the ship fast and hard if they wanted any chance to make it out of there in one piece. Something she'd have to discuss with the others in Security, Engineering, and Ops to make sure the ship could handle. Flying a ship was one thing. Flying it her way was something else entirely, and in a life or death scenario, might be necessary to help them survive the night.

" Setting route to Starbase K-7."

[Holodeck 2]

This day had been in the waiting for way too long. Ian owed her, and the timing never was right to fulfill it. She was already waiting at the doors,  already pretty stoked to try out the program. Apparently, this replicated an old Earth plane, used in old military skirmishes long ago—something she had seen in old movies she had seen with her dad years ago.  He was a military buff, and even though the war these planes had been used for had been long-since fought, there was still something kind of alluring about the old machines, something, she had to admit, she had to agree.  He would be so hyped to see me now. she thought, almost wistfully, before getting herself out of reminiscing.  The Captain would be here any moment.

If what Galloway had told her was right, there was a lot more than one would think about these aircraft. Something she'd have to look at for herself.
Anyhow, atmospheric flying on shuttles and other light craft was one of her specialties—perks of having her earliest flying experiences on the raceways.  She was pretty sure she'd pick up this sort of flying old fighters pretty quickly.

"Heya Boss. Ya ready?" She asked, smirking.

[Promenade]

Ardy nodded to Zhuk and the scientist woman who came up. "No need to be so formal. "Lieutenant Jaeger, but most folks call me Ardyn or Ardy.  Was just about to go wedding dress shopping. Or at least try to see what's out there so I can replicate something nice. Like I have any idea of what I want." she smirked wryly. "I don't usually wear dresses, like, ever. "

Suddenly, the call came onto their comms. Ardy sighed. Moving out already? "I guess that might have to wait. The boss wants us back on board."

{Bridge]

Ardy got back onto the bridge as the briefing began, so she hung back as the situation was explained about this situation they were pulled in. "Do you think we'll need to bring out fighter support, given the maneuverability of their ships?" she asked, already planning battle tactics for both the Challenger and the pilot squads. The Challie might be an older ship, but she still had the maneuverability if she needed to really go into battle mode."

She grimaced a little  internally. Expendable. Ardy used to think that of herself, before she had people in her life she didn't want to lose. All the more reason to not lose this fight.

"Given the fact that this is a species of people practically unknown to the Federation, would it be better to see  if we can try to observe them first, so we know what we might be up against?

[Mess hall]

If she wasn't at school, Maddy was at the after school or being babysat while mommy and daddy was at work for the next while. She had already done her reading homework, and had convinced the teenager who was babysitting her, Casey , to wander about the ship.  Since she had finally gotten her dino back, she hadn't let her eyes off it.

wandering her way to the mess hall, she saw Kyan hanging about, looking like he was playing some kind of game and eating pizza!

Racing toward the kid, she grinned "Hi Kyan! Whatcha playing?"

Welcome! Glad to have you!

[Starbase Promende]

Ardyn wandered about the shops on the promenade, looking for the bridal shop that was supposedly down here.  Ardy wasn't really for dresses. like, the last time she had worn a formal dress was  when she was pregnant with Maddy, and even then, it was something that was replicated from a holocatalog on short notice.  Formality wasn't something she was used to.

This... This was something different. Ardy only  wanted to do this just once, and she didn't want to simply get married in just her dress uniform.

Traditionally, at least from what she had heard, you'd go with a bunch of female relatives or friends. Ardy didn't really have that, at least not within several light years away.  (And she was pretty sure that her own mother's opinions on dresses might lean toward either the extremely traditional manner for the whole thing, reception and all, that was, nothing at all.)  Anyhow, Maddy was in school and didn't quite know all too much about weddings, and Ardy wanted to surprise the little girl. Maddy was the whole reason things had gotten started after all, all things considered.

Passing by, she noticed Zhuk, looking around at some outfits himself.

"Hey there! Fancy meeting you here.  I just wanted to say thanks for releasing Maddy's dinosaur from evidence collections when you did. You saved us from an extended meltdown from a distressed little girl." she said, cocking her usual wry grin

"So, whatcha looking at?" she asked.

[Meanwhile]

[As Ardyn Jaeger]

[Promenade]

There wasn't a lot of time for shore leave here. But it was more than enough to say hi to a certain someone. It actually took a bit to track down the tiny holoraptor. Last she had seen Steve, she had entrusted him to the care of Commander Garrison when she left for Earth to raise Maddy. At the time, they didn't really have the holoprojectors or computer bandwidth to fully take care of him at home, and he would have missed being around all the people that being in Starfleet provided anyways. It unfortunately was necessary to rehome him, but Ardyn trusted Garrison to know what she was doing.

Anyhow, Maddy had certainly missed her little dino. Ardy did too.

Ardy gave Alex a grin as they passed through the Promenade. Maddy was busy, skipping ahead, holding onto her dad's hand.  Garrison said she'd be in some meetings, but She did mention that Steve was usually spotted on the Promenade, probably trying to meet people. That was his favorite thing to do, besides begging for food.

[A couple days later]

{Quarters]

Maddy had lost her favorite stuffed velociraptor. The one with the sparkly green tummy and fuzzy blue fur that Maddy had had since she was practically old enough to sit up. By now, it already had one of the eye  buttons replaced and the stuffing had run thin in places so that it tended to be a bit floppier than it had used to be, but no matter what, it was still Maddy's dino.

And now, it was gone.

Ardyn sighed as she turned over their quarters for the fifth time today, making the room appear torn up in a tornado rather than the normal cleanliness usually expected from an Officer's quarters.   Odds were, it was just tucked away in some bulkhead or worse, dropped somewhere en route to school or the holodeck, but Ardyn could have sworn that the dinosaur hadn't been taken out of their quarters in the past week.

Picking up another pile of PADDS to return back to the proper spots, Ardyn's thoughts wandered to the thief.  Whoever it was, they were still on the run, with no sign of any of the stolen goods or who did it.

It was the talk around all the officers and crew. At this point, there was already a  bulletin in the Mess with a running list of missing items ranging from the valuable to the mundane. Why the thief would want a little girl's stuffy, was anyone's guess, but even the thought of someone coming through their quarters just to steal that made her uneasy.

Either way, she had a distraught little girl on her hands, a disaster zone of a home quarters,  and no way to fix the solution. Trying to replicate the toy to replace it in the dark of the night would be almost impossible, given how loved and worn it was.  Right now, Maddy was drawing a "lost pet" poster to put in the Mess to add to the ever-growing list of lost things. It was a good enough distraction for Maddy before she got dropped off at school.

"Come on kiddo, Let's go. We need to hang it up before we take it to school."

"Okay mommy..." said Maddy, giving the final scribbles in crayon before getting up.

[Mess hall]

The scribbled poster looked somewhat out of place among the other pictures of potentially stolen goods, but then again, it was there now. Ardy had dropped off Maddy and had aimlessly wandered back. She had some time before her next shift. Looking around, she noted the busy tables. Seemed like other people had the same idea.

[Bridge]

Ardy nodded, trying to figure a way to broach the topic."So, you've probably heard from the chatter around the ship that we're engaged. We'd like you to officiate, simply put." She said nonchalantly. 'It's not going to be anything too crazy, but would you be alright with that?

[As Maddy}

Maddy looked at the dolphins with glee as she was suited up with Mo, much to the collective jealousy  of all the other kids. "Oh! you mean how I can hear people's feelings?" she asked as she got dressed in the wetsuit and tried to put on the cool headset. "Woah! this is SO COOL!, she said, heading into the pool with her classmate and the dolphins.

The pool was really deep, and while she was pretty good at swimming, she was still  a little scared and held on to one of the Dolphin's slippery, smooth fins.  It took a minute to get used to the headset, but when she did, she giggled and splashed some water onto Mo. "That's how dolphins see? And they help steer the spaceship like that?"

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

Hey yourself, Alex couldn't help but smile as he felt Ardyn's warmth spread through his mind. "Well, just give me a few minutes warning before you set off the auto-destruct, I've got a few things on the list to do first." Scanning the secondary navigation terminal's relays, he quickly narrowed down the issue, something that was recently becoming all too common. "Those bloody Landsers..." Alex muttered, pulling out a half dozen isolinear chips. For a reason they still couldn't explain, the temporal pulse which 'tripped' every chip on Challenger had also caused lasting damage to a minority of them, with batches slowly failing over the past few weeks. The only commonality thus far was their age, with older chips seemingly more susceptible to corruption or short-circuits. Challenger wasn't exactly the newest ship in the fleet, which meant many of the damaged modules were in areas least accessible and thus not previously modernized. The faults weren't enough to stop them in their tracks, but were still annoyingly noticeable, especially next to a skippy little corvette like Horizon.

"If we hadn't wasted all that time on 185 with the investigation, alot of this could've been done then." Alex complained, re-scanning the open circuitry to ensure he didn't miss anything. The maintenance techs had spent their entire trip to Solaere troubleshooting why many of Challenger's upgrades installed on the Starbase weren't interacting with or enhancing their systems as designed. More often than not, it came down to a faulty isolinear chip, the tiniest wrench in the workings which required laborious and exhaustive attention to diagnose.  He was more than willing to bet that Sunik's point zero five whatever difference in performance would be found in one out of hundreds of isolinear chips installed within the starboard power distribution system.

"I'll have a technician reprogram some new chips and reinstall them. You'll just have to rely on the primary system till then. Maybe astrometrics can help with correlating our position and course if you'd like a backup." Alex got back on his feet, brushing some specks of dust off his pants. "Captain, between the unexpected maintenance and what we left on Solaere, we've already hit our annual allotment limit on some critical components. The next supply requisition will need your signature and notarized justification. I was going to bring it up in the next briefing, but if you wouldn't mind signing it early, I can send it off to Starbase 153 before we arrive. Hopefully the supplies will be ready and waiting when we dock to save some time."

Oh, and did you ask him yet? Alex glanced over to Ardyn, a quizzed expression crossing his face as he picked his coffee mug up.

[Bridge]

" You said that right. If it's not one thing it's another, unfortunately," she said, with a shrug as Alex worked on the console. Those chips had proven to be more than trouble since they got hit by the Landsers. "I'll send over  a request to them to see if they could do the calculations. I'd rather the ship be ready in case we encounter pirates or any other anomalies." she shrugged. One of the dull, but necessary things of flying the ship.

At Alex's mental mention of asking him, it took her a moment to figure out what he was talking about, when it hit her; She hadn't gotten around to asking the Captain to see if he'd be open to officiating the big day. Oh #*@&, I hadn't yet. We probably should get to that sooner rather than later. Think now's a good a time as any?

[Bridge]

Ardy got that feeling of wanting to be in the middle of the action. She more than anything wanted to be in the middle of the action, especially when a bar fight over dubious reasons was brewing, but the ship wouldn't fly herself, and Maddy had already proven that she was a lot more observant and troublesome and didn't need to pick up more unwarranted bad habits just yet. "You're probably right, Zhuk.  Gotta have someone be the adult in the room. There may yet be some barfight next shore leave. That'll spice things up," she said, with a smirk as Zhuk headed down the turbolift.

Ardy could smell the bitter Raktaijino blend Alex had in his mug before she noticed him come up. Klingon coffee blends always seemed to have a sharp aroma that was  heavily pronounced when brewed.

"Heya handsome." she said, noticing the tired look on his face. Another busy day making sure things didn't inexplicably break around them at any given notice. She did give a wry grin at the mention of her breaking the ship. " Oh, you know, the usual, Barrel rolls, MVA separation, the works. Might even have ejected the warp core."

She laughed at her own joke in comparison to the mundane issue she'd been dealing with for the past few hours. "It's really the secondary navigation computers. I'm receiving some off readings on it, in comparison to the system scans. I think it was only partially fixed when we had to leave the base and nobody really got around to it."

[Cetacean labs]

Maddy wasn't sure what Miriam the dolphin was talking about, but she was definitely interested in swimming with the dolphins! She was really good at it too, even, as she had learned to swim in the lake when she was really little. "Ooh! I can! I can!" she said, already jumping ahead of the other kids and leaving the teacher behind.  Looking at Mo,  she grinned. " Can you swim, Mo?"