Season 15: Episode 1 - Dominion Rising pt 1

[Rayek trLhoell]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery - Deck Three - tr'Lhoell Quarters]

Rayek looked at his barely visible reflection in the mirror after having dressed in his newly replicated uniform.  The room was dark with shadows, since Tess and Fvienn were still asleep, and Rayek dared not turn on more than the nightlight that Fvienn for some reason now needed throughout the night in order to sleep without crying.  However, from the reflected light he was able to see the Starfleet crest that was his commbadge and all three pips, noting his recently re-promoted rank as Commander.

Somehow, despite all his shortcomings, Starfleet Command in all their 'wisdom' had offered him yet another chance at a Command position - in the role of Executive Officer of the USS Discovery - NCC 78393-B.  It was an opportunity to make up for his past mistakes and erroneous ways; a chance to prove that he could be an exemplary Starfleet Officer.  For Tess' sake, he intended to validate that opportunity.

In the month since Tess' collapse due to complications from her pregnancy, much had happened.  The Valdore under the Command of Riov Tekin had brought Crell Moset to the Romulan Free State Fleet Command to be questioned and disturbing news was revealed in regards to some pro-Dominion sympathies growing among the Cardassians.

Following news of Riov tr'Siedhri's incarceration, there was a bit of a uproar among the Romulan Fleet.  No Riov wanted the exchange personnel on their ship - despite all the aid the Discovery crew had given the Romulan people over the past 3 years.  Starfleet Command decided that for their peoples' safety it was best to continue the exchange program within Federation territory, and invited the Romulan Free State to send some of their best and brightest to work alongside a Federation crew on a Federation ship. That was how Dr. Betaika and few others got assigned to the Discovery.

But more important and immediate to Rayek was that his 'loaned' service to the Free State finally came to an end.  'Thank the Elements!'   He was assigned to the Discovery.

Rayek had to wonder, 'Was he made First Officer merely to help keep an eye on the new Romulan exchange officer intakes, like was done on Katra?'  A frown twitched at the corner of his lips for a moment, before he smoothed his expression to that of nothing but confidence.

By appearance, no one would ever be able to tell how uncertain he truly felt.  There was notable off-the-books history between he and the Captain (and the Captain's wife, whom Rayek hadn't seen in years).  Though no  charges had been laid, Rayek had to wonder if the near indiscretion four years prior would affect the Captain's ability to trust him as a First Officer?

It probably didn't matter, Rayek's own penchant for protective aggressiveness would likely have him demoted again short order anyways.  No! Tess needed him to be reliable.  Rayek turned away from the mirror, to prepare to leave.  He grabbed up his comm badge and PADD from the bedside table, then leaned down to give a gentle kiss the forehead each of his wife and son and laid a hand lightly against the blankets above Tess' mid-riff.   She wasn't showing yet, and very few on the ship knew about the reason for her bed rest.

With his goodbyes done, the Romulan headed off to the Bridge for his first shift back, as he walked to the turbolift he reviewed his day's schedule.

[USS Discovery - Deck One - Bridge]
The Discovery was in orbit of Starbase 153 preparing to depart on a bit of a shake-down cruise after having had significant repairs done to her.  Though all systems had been thoroughly checked, this would be something of a shake-down cruise for the ship.

Rayek arrived on the Bridge a half hour early and relieved the Gamma shift duty officer after the man updated Rayek on the ship's current status.  All ship's systems were on stand-by while orbiting the Starbase.  Department heads were scheduled for a meeting at 0900hrs.   The ship's 'shakedown' was set for 1000hrs.

Rayek was just settling into his First Officer's seat, when a priority one encrypted message came through from Starfleet Command.  Being encrypted, it required a Command encryption key to read; which Rayek officially gained access to that morning.

Rayek opened the message and quickly read through the change of orders. A situation had developed at Ferenginar and every available ship in the vicinity was being called in as back-up.   Though Discovery was not what one would call 'in the vicinity' - the ship had something no other in the fleet had, the Quantum Slipstream drive.

Rayek tapped his comm. "Captain Tekin to the Bridge. We've received orders to make for Ferenginar post-haste."

After moments thought he opened a second comm line. "Lieutenant Broadshire to the Bridge.  New orders have come in.  It may be good for you to observe the Bridge interactions, until you are needed in Sickbay."

Along with Rayek's promotion to First Officer, at the recommendation of Dr. Betaika and himself, the Doctor was being run through a Command course and give the position of Second Officer in-training.  This new mission could prove to be an excellent training opportunity.

[Dem Broadshire]

[Crew Quarters | USS Discovery]
Dem lay on his bed inside his sparsely populated quarters. Sufficiently bigger than the ones he received while being an ensign, but still bland enough to constitute proper Starfleet quarters.

Dem ran his hand through is jet black hair, and picked up his PADD one more time. After navigating though the display, he arrived at his most recent message. It was from Commander tr'Lhoell. The subject was enough to get is heart to race.

Inquiries about possible second officer position.

Dem had arrived at the Starbase with enough on his mind already. A promotion, as well as a prominent role in sickbay. No longer will he be passing the dermal regenerator; he will be using it. Now, while talking with the newly on-exchange Betaika, this message appeared. An opportunity to train for the role of second officer.
The computer pierced the low hum of his quarters. "œThe time is 0800 hours". He summoned the strength to get off is tightly tucked in, and for the most part unused bed to get some breakfast, accidentally knocking over the wine glass on his bedside table. The crystal emitted a chime that echoed around the room for about a second, before being muffled by the carpet.

Dem was only meant to join Starfleet to gain qualifications to open his own practice. A little spice on his resume. Now his career had accelerated past the point of where he intended it to come to its conclusion. Copious amounts of spring wine were the best judgment enhancer to make this decision.
More time passed in the morning, as he pulled the bottom hem of his newly pressed uniform, remembering to add the extra pip. Dem was already drafting his response to that message when he walked through the door into the crew lounge.
After ordering his eggs from the replicator interface, he was ready to send. He looked down to the fingerprint stained, grimy screen of his device. Dem was ready to train to become a second officer.

Moments after sending, He gets the call from the bridge. He practically throws his half-consumed meal into the replicator to be recycled and exits swiftly though the door. Lucky the lounge is on the same deck as his quarters, otherwise he would have tried to locate the turbolift through a maze of bulkheads.

Through the journey to the bridge that was briefly interrupted by an ensign seeking to go to deck two, Dem was pondering what to say. Hello seems too informal, but "you wanted to see me sir" sounds too pretentious. He decided the pressure of the moment would be the best time to make his decision. As the doors opened, he suddenly realized that he had only been on the bridge once before, during his induction. Dem glanced over to see the Commander sitting in his chair.

"Hello Sir"A slight inflection in his voice disrupted his intended tone, leading him to really accent the word "sir", in an almost comical manner.

[Emperor J.B Dersch]

{Ensign J.B Dersch-Weapons Locker/Storage-U.S.S Discovery}

He had his padd and was looking through the checklist to see how many he had to look and check for..
Man, Hope I do everything right. This is the constant thought process he kept coming to as he did his Daily checks
Every once in a while he would check his uniform and make sure nothing was messed up and fix his Insgina. He was really nervous about this. Kate had Assured him he would do great but he still had his doubts.

His biggest Anxiety was he had finally got his dream..To be a Star Fleet Officer..He was still worried about making a huge mistake! But like he knew before Kate had Gave Assurance he needed. He could only imagine what his Heart rate was at this moment in time, It would probably get a few words with the doctor, Or Worse. But he didn't want to go there. He had one Job and he was here to do it.  Then he remembered something he overheard from the Other cadets. It was about Ferenginar or something and the Discovery might be deployed for Extra backup besides the ships that were closer. But it was just random chatter but who knows it might be true but did he care..No he didn't if the Discovery gets called in he will be ready to perform his duties

[Zavrol Gohun]

Gohuns person log it has been some time since the nannibots incident. An innciden that had me in the brig for some reason. How long had it been? Who can know time has no real meaning in the cruel void that is space. Was it one hour or was it two? Who can really know. With that Gohun finishes his peppermint tea and prepares to leave his room. It's going to be a great day.

[Lek]

[Engineering - USS Discovery

Lek was home. He wasn't in his office though. He was going over every millimeter of Engineering, partially out of frustration that he was not part of the complete overhaul of the ship and partially because it's what engineers did whenever a ship went into a shipyard. Not that the yard workers were not good at their job, but because despite their best efforts, glitches got introduced and he was going to find them and fix them. It was a lot of work, he'd been pulling double shifts for days, but he didn't care. He was in his element and was happy for the first time since he found out Discovery was being sent to drydock without him.

[Savel]

Ensign Savel
[USS Discovery | Deck 10 | Science Labs]

The Vulcan ensign was finally getting settled in on the Discovery. Finally, he was more familiar with most of her crew and layout. His current assignments were a bit more mundane than his introduction to his new post; that was rather welcome. Instead of having to jump into a crisis to assist conjoined crew members, he was now a junior officer on some routine experiments and research projects being conducted on the ship.

Savel enjoyed these last few weeks of cataloging data and observations while on duty in the labs. Even though he was not an experienced officer with tons of time aboard a starship, he knew it was only a matter of time before the Discovery was asked to leave its current position and set off into the galaxy with some other mission to accomplish. Until that moment came, though, the Vulcan science officer would continue his current duties in the labs.

[Jael Sherem]

[Lieutenant JG Jael Sherem | Bridge | Deck One | USS Discovery NCC-78393-B]

After spending a day in a coma after a fainting spell, Jael felt to suck it up. She was present at plenty of the interrogations with old man Crell Moset. She never took part in the interrogation - it was the Romulans' matter - but she learned plenty from her observations. Chiefly that Moset still had pro-Dominion sympathies. Which made sense, given his involvement in experimenting on Betazoids when the Dominion occupied Betazed and his attempts to make telekinetic Jem'Hadar.

For the first time in a long time, she began wondering about her father, an equally prominent pro-Dominion Cardassian, though probably one who's on the run. In any case, it was her last task as an exchange officer.

Ever since her return to Discovery, she had been compiling PADDs about what she and her mother knew about Nehor Sherem. Since waking from her coma, after her trauma and shock of being conjoined, she had begun compiling her resignation papers, the second time in her career. But then, after pondering replaced trauma as she calmed down, she began taking part as an observer in Moset's interrogations, and she took part as much as she could before going back to Discovery.

Her off-duty hours during the past month were spent in compiling what she knew about Nehor Sherem, and her reasoning was that, after Crell Moset's re-emergence, it was only a matter of time before her father re-emerged.

Now she was there at the bridge for her shift, with a plan in mind in her head that sometime today, during her shift, she needed to talk to Captain Tekin and Commander tr'Lhoell, the latter of whom had become Discovery's new official first officer, about her father and what she knew, to prepare them in the event, on the chance Discovery came across the evil Gul Sherem.

Oh, her resignation papers and contemplation of most likely working at Earth's Cardassian embassy in the back of her mind, but her little project kept her from dwelling miserably on the trauma of being conjoined and from resigning outright, from practically jumping ship while the Discovery was at Starbase 153.

Also, Commander tr'Lhoell's presence on the bridge seemed to sooth her more, maybe it was because Jael worked with him more, was more used to him than Captain Tekin. But she was certainly  surprised by the commander's announcement to head to Ferenginar, rousing her at her station and her wondering when to talk to either Rayek or Captain Tekin or both.

[Rayek trLhoell]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Bridge]

[Crew Quarters | USS Discovery]
Dem lay on his bed inside his sparsely populated quarters. Sufficiently bigger than the ones he received while being an ensign, but still bland enough to constitute proper Starfleet quarters.

Dem ran his hand through is jet black hair, and picked up his PADD one more time. After navigating though the display, he arrived at his most recent message. It was from Commander tr'Lhoell. The subject was enough to get is heart to race.

Inquiries about possible second officer position.

Dem had arrived at the Starbase with enough on his mind already. A promotion, as well as a prominent role in sickbay. No longer will he be passing the dermal regenerator; he will be using it. Now, while talking with the newly on-exchange Betaika, this message appeared. An opportunity to train for the role of second officer.
The computer pierced the low hum of his quarters. "œThe time is 0800 hours". He summoned the strength to get off is tightly tucked in, and for the most part unused bed to get some breakfast, accidentally knocking over the wine glass on his bedside table. The crystal emitted a chime that echoed around the room for about a second, before being muffled by the carpet.

Dem was only meant to join Starfleet to gain qualifications to open his own practice. A little spice on his resume. Now his career had accelerated past the point of where he intended it to come to its conclusion. Copious amounts of spring wine were the best judgment enhancer to make this decision.
More time passed in the morning, as he pulled the bottom hem of his newly pressed uniform, remembering to add the extra pip. Dem was already drafting his response to that message when he walked through the door into the crew lounge.
After ordering his eggs from the replicator interface, he was ready to send. He looked down to the fingerprint stained, grimy screen of his device. Dem was ready to train to become a second officer.

Moments after sending, He gets the call from the bridge. He practically throws his half-consumed meal into the replicator to be recycled and exits swiftly though the door. Lucky the lounge is on the same deck as his quarters, otherwise he would have tried to locate the turbolift through a maze of bulkheads.

Through the journey to the bridge that was briefly interrupted by an ensign seeking to go to deck two, Dem was pondering what to say. Hello seems too informal, but "you wanted to see me sir" sounds too pretentious. He decided the pressure of the moment would be the best time to make his decision. As the doors opened, he suddenly realized that he had only been on the bridge once before, during his induction. Dem glanced over to see the Commander sitting in his chair.

"Hello Sir"A slight inflection in his voice disrupted his intended tone, leading him to really accent the word "sir", in an almost comical manner.

Rayek felt the vibration of his PADD at the notification of a received electronic message.  He retrieved the hand-sized PADD from it's holder at his belt and reviewed the missive.  It was from Dr. Broadshire accepting the promotion and offer to train to become Second Officer.

Rayek smirked slightly.  He supposed he had technically 'jumped the gun' with his call to the officer, but to Rayek's thinking there was no change the man would have not accepted the officer.

The Romulan turned towards the turbolift at the sound of its doors opening, anticipating the Captain but was met by the sight of Lieutenant Broadshire, looking as eager as an ensign fresh out of the Academy.  The doctor's oddly accented greeting only emphasized this impression.  The greeting earned a quirked eyebrow before Rayek nodded slightly and returned the sentiment.   "Hello, Lieutenant."

Rayek then continued speaking as he gestured for the doctor to take a seat at the auxiliary console otherwise known as the project station, located directly behind the VIP seat.  "I received your response.  Thank you.  I will have all course material uploaded to your PADD for you to review in your spare moments, and I'll speak with Dr. Betaika to arrange for you to sit as an observer on the Bridge at least one third of your standard duty time each week.  You will sit in on all Department Head meetings, and I will 'cc' you on the ship's daily logs, rosters and reports that are a necessary part of the 'administration' of running a ship. You can observe how things are done."

Rayek looked towards the Doctor.  "Do you have any questions prior to the Captain's arrival?"

[Dem Broadshire]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Bridge]

Rayek felt the vibration of his PADD at the notification of a received electronic message.  He retrieved the hand-sized PADD from it's holder at his belt and reviewed the missive.  It was from Dr. Broadshire accepting the promotion and offer to train to become Second Officer.

Rayek smirked slightly.  He supposed he had technically 'jumped the gun' with his call to the officer, but to Rayek's thinking there was no change the man would have not accepted the officer.

The Romulan turned towards the turbolift at the sound of its doors opening, anticipating the Captain but was met by the sight of Lieutenant Broadshire, looking as eager as an ensign fresh out of the Academy.  The doctor's oddly accented greeting only emphasized this impression.  The greeting earned a quirked eyebrow before Rayek nodded slightly and returned the sentiment.   "Hello, Lieutenant."

Rayek then continued speaking as he gestured for the doctor to take a seat at the auxiliary console otherwise known as the project station, located directly behind the VIP seat.  "I received your response.  Thank you.  I will have all course material uploaded to your PADD for you to review in your spare moments, and I'll speak with Dr. Betaika to arrange for you to sit as an observer on the Bridge at least one third of your standard duty time each week.  You will sit in on all Department Head meetings, and I will 'cc' you on the ship's daily logs, rosters and reports that are a necessary part of the 'administration' of running a ship. You can observe how things are done."

Rayek looked towards the Doctor.  "Do you have any questions prior to the Captain's arrival?"

[Bridge | USS Discovery]
Rayek's response was calm an measured, as it always had been when he encountered him before. Dem took breath in to reply, but the Commander gestured him to sit at a nearby console. He carefully sat down on the padded chair, and looked at the center screen. On it, the USS discovery was displayed, exiting an unnamed nebula.

Dem did not realise how much he would miss this ship until he was taken from it on exchange (after he had a major role in blowing it up). Dem looked at his PADD, with considerable of material about becoming a second officer making themselves apparent in the database. He would read Starfleet officer conduct manuals as a child while others played in the Holodecks. 456 pages. It should be a breeze.

The commander then proceeded to list the duties of his position, and it was enough to make his heart race. While most children dreamed of becoming solo adventurer or a world famous vintage "rock" star, Dem dreamed of helping to run a ship, talking with crew, talking with other amazing people. But of course he would also be on the forefront of exploration in the galaxy.
He truly had no idea why he only wanted to join for a few years, before making his own practice. He considered that he used to think ranking up would be highly unrealistic, as it only happens to a few people.

Realising Dem got carried away with his own thoughts, he hastily replied "No sir, no questions. I am excited to start my duties."

[Rayek trLhoell]

[Bridge | USS Discovery]
Rayek's response was calm an measured, as it always had been when he encountered him before. Dem took breath in to reply, but the Commander gestured him to sit at a nearby console. He carefully sat down on the padded chair, and looked at the center screen. On it, the USS discovery was displayed, exiting an unnamed nebula.

Dem did not realise how much he would miss this ship until he was taken from it on exchange (after he had a major role in blowing it up). Dem looked at his PADD, with considerable of material about becoming a second officer making themselves apparent in the database. He would read Starfleet officer conduct manuals as a child while others played in the Holodecks. 456 pages. It should be a breeze.

The commander then proceeded to list the duties of his position, and it was enough to make his heart race. While most children dreamed of becoming solo adventurer or a world famous vintage "rock" star, Dem dreamed of helping to run a ship, talking with crew, talking with other amazing people. But of course he would also be on the forefront of exploration in the galaxy.
He truly had no idea why he only wanted to join for a few years, before making his own practice. He considered that he used to think ranking up would be highly unrealistic, as it only happens to a few people.

Realising Dem got carried away with his own thoughts, he hastily replied "No sir, no questions. I am excited to start my duties."

Rayek could appreciate the man's excitement in regards to his new duties.

"Good to hear.  One of the more important skills of a First and Second officer is being able to anticipate what the ship's Captain might require - in advance of them actually having to ordering it.  In this vein, please refer to the ship's roster and recall all personnel from Starbase 153, and then contact the Alpha shift Bridge crew to have them attend their stations immediately and prepare the ship for launch."

While the ship would have been preparing to do so within just a few hours anyways, the fact that Rayek called for it immediately suggested a sense of urgency.

While the junior Lieutenant did that, Rayek contacted Lek, the Chief Engineer.    "tr'Lhoell to Lt Cmdr Lek. How long would it take to prep the quantum slipstream drive?  The ship may be called to leave Starbase 153 ahead of schedule."

[Dem Broadshire]

Rayek could appreciate the man's excitement in regards to his new duties.

"Good to hear.  One of the more important skills of a First and Second officer is being able to anticipate what the ship's Captain might require - in advance of them actually having to ordering it.  In this vein, please refer to the ship's roster and recall all personnel from Starbase 153, and then contact the Alpha shift Bridge crew to have them attend their stations immediately and prepare the ship for launch."

While the ship would have been preparing to do so within just a few hours anyways, the fact that Rayek called for it immediately suggested a sense of urgency.

While the junior Lieutenant did that, Rayek contacted Lek, the Chief Engineer.    "tr'Lhoell to Lt Cmdr Lek. How long would it take to prep the quantum slipstream drive?  The ship may be called to leave Starbase 153 ahead of schedule."

[Bridge | USS Discovery]
"œAye sir." Dem looked down at the console below him and navigated to the ships communication area. He pushed a teal, rounded button and a channel was open to the Starbase crew.

"œAll discovery personnel. Please report to your designated areas in preparation for departure." Dem was happy that another voice crack did not occur and was quite proud of the calm and measured speech he used to order them back. Realising he was not done yet; he tapped the console a few more times to isolate his signal to just alpha shifts. He did his best captain voice once more.  "œAlpha shift, report to your posts immediately" . He could sense them all groaning as he used to because they would have report to their posts an hour early. After Dem cut the signal, he sat down, smiling at his petty accomplishment.

[Alexander Graham]

[USS Discovery-Crew quarters-Bridge]

Alex was in his personal quarters reflecting on everything that he learned from the previous mission. As he was reflecting he was getting ready and prepared for the current mission and going to his post at a moments notice. When he heard that it was time to report for the post he rolled his eyes in annoyance as it was a tad early. He left his quarters nonetheless and reported to the pilot seat on the bridge. He figured that now would be the time to do an inspection to make sure that the flight systems were working properly and were going to run smoothly.

[Tekin Nevir]

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Captain's Ready Room]

It felt like a demotion in a sense, being back as the Captain of a Federation vessel.  He basically went from a high ranking and practically famous diplomat to just... Tekin Nevir.  But still, this is something he wanted.  To Captain the Discovery again... very few things could beat that.

Nevir sat in his chair, looking over PADD after PADD.  Updates, statuses, fleet deployment, and of course the upcoming festivities.  Pioneer day.  And an unprecedented full fleet demonstration. It was unusual in that there was always a standing order to not leave dangerous regions without cover, and not to bring Starfleet's entire fleet together, but the higher ups decided for the 250th anniversary, they wanted to do something special.  Maybe it was the actions of the Borg that gave them a sense of relief... but mostly it was just above his paygrade.

"trLhoell to my Ready Room."

After Rekey arrived, he looked up.

"What is our status?"

[Rayek trLhoell]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Bridge]

[Bridge | USS Discovery]
"œAye sir." Dem looked down at the console below him and navigated to the ships communication area. He pushed a teal, rounded button and a channel was open to the Starbase crew.

"œAll discovery personnel. Please report to your designated areas in preparation for departure." Dem was happy that another voice crack did not occur and was quite proud of the calm and measured speech he used to order them back. Realising he was not done yet; he tapped the console a few more times to isolate his signal to just alpha shifts. He did his best captain voice once more.  "œAlpha shift, report to your posts immediately" . He could sense them all groaning as he used to because they would have report to their posts an hour early. After Dem cut the signal, he sat down, smiling at his petty accomplishment.

It was only as Rayek checked the roster to see who would be arriving that he noted that Jael, listed on shift for Alpha was already present.  The Cardassian seemed very much a go-getter, which the Romulan appreciated.  "Good day, Miss Sherem. It is good to see another who arrives early for their shift.  What is the status of the tactical systems?"

It was a rather unnecessary question since the ship hadn't seen any action in several months while in drydock.  But as he would need to report on all systems to the Captain when the Bajoran arrived, he might as well have the most up-to-date information.

"I was looking over the security roster and noticed that the new ensign... Mr. Dersch... is assigned to the Weapons Locker.  I want you to oversee his training on the Bridge.  Today might be a good day for that.  You can assign Tragnar to take over in the Armory."

[USS Discovery-Crew quarters-Bridge]

Alex was in his personal quarters reflecting on everything that he learned from the previous mission. As he was reflecting he was getting ready and prepared for the current mission and going to his post at a moments notice. When he heard that it was time to report for the post he rolled his eyes in annoyance as it was a tad early. He left his quarters nonetheless and reported to the pilot seat on the bridge. He figured that now would be the time to do an inspection to make sure that the flight systems were working properly and were going to run smoothly.

When Chief Petty Officer Graham arrived a minute later, Rayek acknowledged his arrival with a nod.  "Good morning, Mr. Graham.  Please report your station's status as soon as possible."

The First Officer then looked over to the engineering section where the Vulcan Petty Officer Surak from Gamma Shift was still working.  Rayek knew Lek tended to remain with his precious engines, and because of the nanite incident on the Valdore it had been thought best to keep a closer watch on the El-Aurian, so it was Ensign Gohun who has assigned to the Bridge during Alpha shift.  It had only been a minute since Dem's call so Rayek could be patient.

Ms. Addams arrived then offering him a slight dip of her head in greeting before taking up the Operations station.   It took her only a few moments to look over her displays to offer up her report.  "All systems nominal, Commander."

Lastly, he looked over the Science station where the Vulcan science officer, Savel, should be arriving shortly to do his mandatory Bridge time.   Rayek was getting better at not displaying is bias against most Vulcans, but his time spent conjoined with one hadn't helped his opinion of them in the least.

Rayek glanced at his chronometer, several minutes had passed since his call to the Captain, with no acknowledgement or arrival.  However, just as the Executive Officer was contemplating calling on the computer to locate the Captain, he received a summons from the man.

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Captain's Ready Room]

It felt like a demotion in a sense, being back as the Captain of a Federation vessel.  He basically went from a high ranking and practically famous diplomat to just... Tekin Nevir.  But still, this is something he wanted.  To Captain the Discovery again... very few things could beat that.

Nevir sat in his chair, looking over PADD after PADD.  Updates, statuses, fleet deployment, and of course the upcoming festivities.  Pioneer day.  And an unprecedented full fleet demonstration. It was unusual in that there was always a standing order to not leave dangerous regions without cover, and not to bring Starfleet's entire fleet together, but the higher ups decided for the 250th anniversary, they wanted to do something special.  Maybe it was the actions of the Borg that gave them a sense of relief... but mostly it was just above his paygrade.

"trLhoell to my Ready Room."

After Rayek arrived, he looked up.

"What is our status?"

That Tekin had been in his Ready Room this entire time shouldn't have been surprising to the Romulan - many Captains worked long hours before and after their standard Alpha shift, but for some reason Rayek hadn't expected that of the Bajoran.

Rayek stood up from his seat and looked a moment between Torra and Dem.  By rank, Torra was senior, but she wasn't the one he was training to be Second officer.   "Mr. Broadshire, you have conn.   Keep track of personnel and message me when all crew have reported in to their stations or are back on board."

He then moved to the back of the Bridge and entered the Captain's Ready Room.

[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Ready Room]

At the Captain's question, Rayek reported out the status' of each individual system.   Summarizing at the end with an overarching statement.  "The ship is ready to launch."

Then because the man hadn't indicated that he'd seen the newest comm from Headquarters, the Romulan pointed it out.  "Orders have come in priority one.  We are being sent to Ferenginar to meet up with several other ships.  I've had Lt Commander Lek begin preparations on the Quantum Slipstream drive."

[Savel]

Ensign Savel
[USS Discovery | Deck 10 | Science Labs]

[Bridge | USS Discovery]
"œAye sir." Dem looked down at the console below him and navigated to the ships communication area. He pushed a teal, rounded button and a channel was open to the Starbase crew.

"œAll discovery personnel. Please report to your designated areas in preparation for departure." Dem was happy that another voice crack did not occur and was quite proud of the calm and measured speech he used to order them back. Realising he was not done yet; he tapped the console a few more times to isolate his signal to just alpha shifts. He did his best captain voice once more.  "œAlpha shift, report to your posts immediately" . He could sense them all groaning as he used to because they would have report to their posts an hour early. After Dem cut the signal, he sat down, smiling at his petty accomplishment.

Savel had been inputting the last few notes in one of his reports for the day whenever the call came from the bridge that his shift was to report to the bridge. He checked the time to ensure he was not late, only to realize his shift was being called early. Strange. What could be the cause of that? Either way, he acknowledged the message.

Savel to Bridge, received. I'm on my way.

[USS Discovery | Bridge]

Savel stepped off the turbolift and onto the ship's bridge, which was still fairly new to the officer in the early stages of his career. A short moment was taken to look around to see who else had reported before he proceeded to his station. He checked into the console and ensured no obvious malfunctions before looking at Lt. Broadshire.

"All systems functioning normally, lieutenant."