Season 15: Episode 2 - Dominion Rising part 2

[Rayek trLhoell]

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

First Officer's Log, Stardate 78159.72

The ship's crew has been recalled from shore leave and the last few stragglers are now boarding.  Because of yesterday's training day, which I realize severely impacted the enjoyment of their shore leave, I have granted extra holodeck time for those selected for the away mission, however I don't foresee them being able to make use of it prior to the mission start.

The ship is being prepped to depart Deep Space Nine; and coordinates to a suitable location to make the discreet transfer of the away team to Cloten's ship have already been provided to Helm.

Speaking of personnel transfers, in addition to a few new crewmembers fresh from the Academy, which we picked up at DS9, there have also been a couple transfers from Challenger.  Full details are in attached the roster.

Rayek closed his PADD on which he was recording his report, and looked past the vacant Command seat, to the Captain's Ready Room.

He then looked to the over the various Bridge stations now manned by new and returning personnel.

"All stations report status for undocking."

NPC PO2 Helga Tragnar
[USS Discovery - Deck Two - Armory]

Once more Helga was working the armory - this time things weren't quite so quiet.  A requisition for Breen style energy weapons had thrown her for a bit of a surprise. However, she'd found a pattern in the ship's replicator for exactly such a weapon and after getting the Commander to sign off on the order she had those in Ops run down to the industrial replicators and begin getting the weapons made and tested prior to being handed out to the Away Team.

Helga's entire shore leave had been a been a bust, so she was kinda glad that for this mission she got to sit it out.  Helga felt Lek was upset at her having to work so much during his time-off.  Maybe after her shift, she would treat him to a 'home-cooked' meal using some of the fresh ingredients he'd purchased at the station.

[Dem Broadshire]

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

First Officer's Log, Stardate 78159.72

The ship's crew has been recalled from shore leave and the last few stragglers are now boarding.  Because of yesterday's training day, which I realize severely impacted the enjoyment of their shore leave, I have granted extra holodeck time for those selected for the away mission, however I don't foresee them being able to make use of it prior to the mission start.

The ship is being prepped to depart Deep Space Nine; and coordinates to a suitable location to make the discreet transfer of the away team to Cloten's ship have already been provided to Helm.

Speaking of personnel transfers, in addition to a few new crewmembers fresh from the Academy, which we picked up at DS9, there have also been a couple transfers from Challenger.  Full details are in attached the roster.

Rayek closed his PADD on which he was recording his report, and looked past the vacant Command seat, to the Captain's Ready Room.

He then looked to the over the various Bridge stations now manned by new and returning personnel.

"All stations report status for undocking."

[Bridge | USS Discovery]

Dem stepped into the turbolift and craned his neck, as it was still sore from his self-medicated hangover injection. The turbo lift doors opened, and he noticed that Tekin was not present, so Dem surmised that he was in his ready room. Dem saw the commander put down his PADD and issued some preliminary orders. Deciding to make light conversation he turned towards the uptight officer and sat down in the guest chair. "œGood Morning Commander, how did you enjoy your shore leave?".

[Kinley Garrison]

[Bridge]
Heading back to the bridge, still not quite satisfied with the 2nd Officer's promise to take some anti-hangover medicine, Kinley did as she always did, and began readying the scanners while the rest of the crew readied the ship before launch. "Commander." she nodded he came on board. "The scanning arrays are ready for the launch," she said, grinning. It was definitely good to be back on the scanners. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Dem, the 2nd officer, looking noticeably better. She was glad about that.

MEANWHILE
[As Steve]
[Discovery hallways]
Steve was still holding the barrette he found that was dropped by the small Human in his mouth. Right now, His Human was on duty, so he wasn't allowed on the bridge at the moment, which was fine by him. He just wanted to find a place to stash the shiny trinket before he was summoned somewhere. So, he made his way to the Counselor's office. Maybe he could help someone there

[Lek]

[Engineering - USS Discovery]

Lek was standing over the ship's pool table and observing the engines during their startup sequence. He made minute adjustments to the plasma flow to ensure a smooth power up, but there was actually very little for him to do. The ship was in top form and ready to do whatever was asked of her.

Although the ship was doing fine, Lek was less than pleased with this shore leave. He'd restocked his supply of fresh food, so all was well on that front. His Delta Quadrant profits were rolling in, not enough to buy a moon, but in the right direction. The real problem was with Helga. I thought she was amazing, and was fairly certain she really liked him too, but they'd been out of sync for the entire leave and hadn't even seen each other the whole time. He frowned and returned to monitoring the engines. At least he understood them.

[Lorut Vila]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell
[USS Discovery - Deck One - Bridge]
"All stations report status for undocking."

Vila held her head in her hands. Why was everyone so goddamn LOUD?! She should've foregone the fifth Kanar the night before, but she couldn't do anything about it NOW.
"I am prepped to detach hoses and get us the hell out of here before one of the Cardassians hears I've escaped again," she said, trying to crack a joke. The rest of the crew might think he was grumpy and unfriendly, but Vila had lived through two and a half years of forced labor camps, so she really could care less about Romulans. "Standing by for orders," she said.

[Emperor J.B Dersch]

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

First Officer's Log, Stardate 78159.72

The ship's crew has been recalled from shore leave and the last few stragglers are now boarding.  Because of yesterday's training day, which I realize severely impacted the enjoyment of their shore leave, I have granted extra holodeck time for those selected for the away mission, however I don't foresee them being able to make use of it prior to the mission start.

The ship is being prepped to depart Deep Space Nine; and coordinates to a suitable location to make the discreet transfer of the away team to Cloten's ship have already been provided to Helm.

Speaking of personnel transfers, in addition to a few new crewmembers fresh from the Academy, which we picked up at DS9, there have also been a couple transfers from Challenger.  Full details are in attached the roster.

Rayek closed his PADD on which he was recording his report, and looked past the vacant Command seat, to the Captain's Ready Room.

He then looked to the over the various Bridge stations now manned by new and returning personnel.

"All stations report status for undocking."

[ Ensign J.B Dersch | Weapons Locker | U.S.S Discovery ]

When He Heard the Commander say that he knew it was time to roll, So He just went back to Checking the Weapons Locker. It Took only a few minutes to pull up the Database for the Locker and once it fully loaded he began his Search and Locate which was easy for him, Since he used to keep track of the LAPD's Weapons when he was in the force, So this was no different, but it was a little since the LAPD Lockers were on Earth and not on a Star ship with the Constant Humming of the Engines. This is too easy, But Hey What could get harder? Weapon Gone Missing? HA would love to have that One. Weapon Malfunction? Boring since I don't like to take things apart unless it's a 21st Century 9mm Pistol. Every once in a while another Crew member would walk in and ask if needed help and the same reply was No if He thought they looked like they have not had leave yet he would tell them to Take the leave and have some Free time. Every Once in a while he would take out a Phaser Rifle and Just Clean it for fun and make sure all the Spare Back up Cartiages were charged and ready to go if needed.

[Tekin Nevir]

[Lieutenant JG Jael Sherem | Replimat >- Captain's Ready Room | Promenade >- Deck One | Starbase Deep Space Nine >- USS Discovery NCC-78393-B]

Jael decided to make her way back to Discovery. She took in enough of Deep Space Nine and felt that she needed to get ready for further drills. She had just gotten to the airlock when she got the call from Captain Tekin.

"On my way," Jael said in reply, already having an idea of why she was being summoned. Remembering what she had told Nira, she was ready to give her story again.

She saw her mother on her way in and indicated to her that she'll be out shortly. Sitting across from Captain Tekin, Jael said, "Hello, Captain. I can guess what this is about. And I wish to apologize on my behavior on that regard.

"If you're wondering what I have against Castellan Garak," Jael explained, "I'll try to keep it short."

And, in her best shortened version, she explained about her neighbor and friend Kel Lokar, how Kel's mother was in a relationship with Garak, how that relationship got him banished, and when Jael passed on Kel's regards, he pretended it didn't happen, that Jael, disappointed after being so in awe of this great hero, was disappointed that he still wouldn't acknowledge the truth.

"I don't mean to tell out a story, Captain," said Jael when she finished. "I just feel the need to explain to you why I have such strong negative feelings against Garak. In a nutshell, he's a disappointment to me."

And so, she stopped talking and braced herself for what the Captain is going to deliver from his mouth, and she was definitely expecting to be shouted at.

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

He remained silent as she started in with an explanation almost immediately.  Good, she realized she did wrong.  He leaned back as she finished her tale and then sighed.

"I sympathized, Jael. But you are not here as a friend to a wronged Cardassian.  As long as you wear that uniform, you are a Starfleet officer, and part of that means your actions do not just reflect on you, but on me and on Starfleet as a whole. Chewing out the diplomatic leader of a people for a personal matter, not even really related to their position, was wholly inappropriate.  And to be frank, it makes me question your duty in this mission." he stated, crossing his arms.

"Whether you like it or not, Garak is a leader to his people.  And you don't get the leeway of cultural understanding like the Klingons do with their Starfleet officers. If you can't separate your personal matters from the mission, then you will be relieved.  Is that understood?"

[Alexander Graham]

[USS Discovery-bridge]

Alex headed back to the bridge after spending an eventful time on shore leave. He didn't waste any time making that the coordinates were there and that everything was ready to go. He did a thorough check to make sure that there would be no delay and that everything was working properly. "œSubcommander everything is ready to go." He sat down at the station ready and prepared for whatever orders would come next.

[Rayek trLhoell]

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

[Bridge | USS Discovery]

Dem stepped into the turbolift and craned his neck, as it was still sore from his self-medicated hangover injection. The turbo lift doors opened, and he noticed that Tekin was not present, so Dem surmised that he was in his ready room. Dem saw the commander put down his PADD and issued some preliminary orders. Deciding to make light conversation he turned towards the uptight officer and sat down in the guest chair. "œGood Morning Commander, how did you enjoy your shore leave?".

Rayek turned his head to look over towards Dr. Broadshire, then paused.  There was something 'off' about the junior Lieutenant but couldn't quite place his finger on what it was.   Being unable to identify the reason for his feeling bothered the Romulan and he frowned ever so slightly.

"I didn't take shore leave.  That is a luxury for the crew." He had spent his time studying what little was known about the Breen and prepping the Away Team for any situation they might face.

His attention then turned to the stations reports coming in.

[Bridge]
Heading back to the bridge, still not quite satisfied with the 2nd Officer's promise to take some anti-hangover medicine, Kinley did as she always did, and began readying the scanners while the rest of the crew readied the ship before launch. "Commander." she nodded he came on board. "The scanning arrays are ready for the launch," she said, grinning. It was definitely good to be back on the scanners. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Dem, the 2nd officer, looking noticeably better. She was glad about that.

"Thank you, Lieutenant.  For the moment pass off your station to a junior, I have a task for you."

With a few taps on his PADD a incomprehensible static sound was played.  "That... to our understanding is the Breen language.  It eludes Federation - and Romulan - attempts to decipher it.  I'd like for you to gather as many Science and Ops personnel as you can and see if you can do what the Universal Translators can't.  Which is figure out the basics of Breen communication.  For this mission we're being told to communicate using Federation Standard - as that is a common tongue among mercenaries... but that I feel will raise suspicion when we are on the Breen base.   I'd like to have even a rudimentary understanding of their language if at all possible.  Pull whatever personnel you need... other than the Away Team members."

[Engineering - USS Discovery]

Lek was standing over the ship's pool table and observing the engines during their startup sequence. He made minute adjustments to the plasma flow to ensure a smooth power up, but there was actually very little for him to do. The ship was in top form and ready to do whatever was asked of her.

Although the ship was doing fine, Lek was less than pleased with this shore leave. He'd restocked his supply of fresh food, so all was well on that front. His Delta Quadrant profits were rolling in, not enough to buy a moon, but in the right direction. The real problem was with Helga. I thought she was amazing, and was fairly certain she really liked him too, but they'd been out of sync for the entire leave and hadn't even seen each other the whole time. He frowned and returned to monitoring the engines. At least he understood them.

"Engineering to Bridge. All systems green. Impulse and warp engines are at the ready."

Rayek was surprised to have junior Lieutenant T'Farr report in for Engineering rather than Lek.  He wondered if the Ferengi were upset at him for having selected a junior engineer to go on the Away Mission, rather than him.  That didn't sound at all something that Lek complain about though.  But if so, it wouldn't matter - Rayek had his reasons.

Lek was the best engineer they had and he needed the Ferengi to ensure the ship, which his wife and son were on, was kept in the best condition possible as the potential for this mission to end up in full blown battle was high.   He'd tried to convince Tess yesterday to accept a medical transfer to DS9 but she pointed out that with the Borg transwarp no place could be considered safe.   She wasn't wrong about that.  Still, he worried.

Vila held her head in her hands. Why was everyone so goddamn LOUD?! She should've foregone the fifth Kanar the night before, but she couldn't do anything about it NOW.
"I am prepped to detach hoses and get us the hell out of here before one of the Cardassians hears I've escaped again," she said, trying to crack a joke. The rest of the crew might think he was grumpy and unfriendly, but Vila had lived through two and a half years of forced labor camps, so she really could care less about Romulans. "Standing by for orders," she said.

At Ensign Lorut's report and attempt at humor, Rayek looked over frowning that she was at her Ops station rather than in the holodeck going over more scenarios for the infiltration.   He called up on his PADD the day's roster, and discovered he had he neglected to update it for the planned mission.   No wonder she was here on the Bridge instead of training.

"Thank you, Ensign.  Speaking of Cardassians... can you confirm if our Cardassian guest, Legate Sherem, has arrived on board?  If so, invite the Legate, along with Lieutenant Commander Sisko and Lieutenant O'Brien, to the Bridge to witness our departure from Deep Space Nine."  It was a courtesy thing.

"Then message those on the Away Team to meet in Holodeck One in ten minutes to continue our Breen scenarios."

[USS Discovery-bridge]

Alex headed back to the bridge after spending an eventful time on shore leave. He didn't waste any time making that the coordinates were there and that everything was ready to go. He did a thorough check to make sure that there would be no delay and that everything was working properly. "œSubcommander everything is ready to go." He sat down at the station ready and prepared for whatever orders would come next.

"Thank you, Chief Graham." Rayek acknowledged.  After a year of being called Subcommander, while on loan to the Romulan Free State, it took a moment for Rayek to realize the officer's mix up.   "Though I prefer being called by my Starfleet rank - Commander - when fulfilling my duties to Starfleet.  We aren't on the Valdore anymore."
After all stations had reported in their status, Rayek risked nudging the Captain.  Challenger was already undocked and moving to the farside of Bajor, and time was drawing near for Cloten fleet to arrive.

"tr'Lhoell to the Captain.  The ship is ready to undock and her crew await your orders, sir."

[Dem Broadshire]

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

Rayek turned his head to look over towards Dr. Broadshire, then paused.  There was something 'off' about the junior Lieutenant but couldn't quite place his finger on what it was.   Being unable to identify the reason for his feeling bothered the Romulan and he frowned ever so slightly.

"I didn't take shore leave.  That is a luxury for the crew." He had spent his time studying what little was known about the Breen and prepping the Away Team for any situation they might face.

His attention then turned to the stations reports coming in.

[Bridge | USS Discovery]

The sharpness of Rayeks response caught Dem off guard. Was his sourness purely based off the fact that he did not get some shore leave? Dem was inclined to think not. He tried to quickly formulate an adequate reply, which proved difficult. "œWell thank you for sacrificing it to ensure that this upcoming mission is a success." Dem said in a timid manner, not wanting to push any buttons.
Rayek then moved on to his other duties and checking in with other officers. Dem found this to be a suitable time to check all stations readiness on his nearest display. While typing in the codes needed, he saw the ensign at the con, an Ensign Murphy being dismissed in favour of Mr Graham. Dem was dissatisfied with missing the opportunity to talk with him. "œAll Stations report ready sir." Dem stated in an unexpectantly chirpy voice.

[Kinley Garrison]

Commander Rayek tr'Lhoell

"Thank you, Lieutenant.  For the moment pass off your station to a junior, I have a task for you."

With a few taps on his PADD a incomprehensible static sound was played.  "That... to our understanding is the Breen language.  It eludes Federation - and Romulan - attempts to decipher it.  I'd like for you to gather as many Science and Ops personnel as you can and see if you can do what the Universal Translators can't.  Which is figure out the basics of Breen communication.  For this mission we're being told to communicate using Federation Standard - as that is a common tongue among mercenaries... but that I feel will raise suspicion when we are on the Breen base.   I'd like to have even a rudimentary understanding of their language if at all possible.  Pull whatever personnel you need... other than the Away Team members."

[Bridge]

Kinley nodded and waved over an ensign to take over her position. Before scrutenizing the recording carefully. If she hadn't been told it was the Breen Language, she would have had to say that it sounded more like gibberish. It sounded impossible, for certain, but given the facts that all languages had some subconscious patterns to them, it had to have some sort of Rosetta Stone out there. "œSure thing. I'll get on it right away." Looking around, she spotted the first Ops person she could see. Ensign"¦ Lorut, is it? I'd like your assistance with this. There's gotta be some sort of pattern here that we can decipher,  if you could meet me in the science labs."

[Science lab 1]
[ a few minutes later]
Kinnley nodded to the small assembled team she had made. "œSo, we have a pretty much indecipherable language so far, and the translator can't figure it out"¦ yet. Does anyone have any ideas on how to learn it?"

[Kinley Garrison]

[Main Engineering]
[As Kirayoshi O'Brian]

Heading into the engineering area, Kirayoshi grinned at the prospect of readying the ship for takeoff. The room was bustling with engineers and ops crew and was humming as the ship sang into action. Looking around, he noticed the Chief Engineer, a Ferengi, looking somewhat disconsolate at something. "œHey there. Was just noticin' you looked distracted about something. Can I help you?"

[Jess Willard]

[Counselors Office - USS Discovery]

Knowing how precious space aboard a starship could be it felt odd she had her own office space as an ensign. Of course, the alternative was meeting people in their quarters and she had to admit that this certainly was the preferred option for her after the last time. Especially after the last time. With the limited time she's had from the time she arrived at DS9 to now, she had barely had the opportunity to even sit down, let alone arrange the office the way she'd like it. But with the nerves of her first mission also being her first away mission she'd tried to keep herself busy arranging her office and doing mindless work. But then she heard the door open from behind her. "Sorry, I'm not quite ready to start having sessions with the crew yet. You'll have to come back once everyone is back from the upcoming away mission. I haven't even gotten my office set up." The door hissed closed, but there wasn't a peep from whoever had slipped in behind her. So she spoke again as she moved some items on her desk. "If you want to set something up we can get you on the books for once I'm back. Just make sure to hail me once the away team arrives again."

Still nothing. Complete radio silence. Had she misheard the door? Had it opened and closed in error? She pivoted silently on her heels and looked at where she assumed would be eye level but there was no one there. However, finally, she looked down. Well, that certainly explained why there was no audible reply to her. In front of her, a small hologram velociraptor. "Oh. Hey there. You lost little guy?"

[Dem Broadshire]

[Bridge]

Kinley nodded and waved over an ensign to take over her position. Before scrutenizing the recording carefully. If she hadn't been told it was the Breen Language, she would have had to say that it sounded more like gibberish. It sounded impossible, for certain, but given the facts that all languages had some subconscious patterns to them, it had to have some sort of Rosetta Stone out there. "œSure thing. I'll get on it right away." Looking around, she spotted the first Ops person she could see. Ensign"¦ Lorut, is it? I'd like your assistance with this. There's gotta be some sort of pattern here that we can decipher,  if you could meet me in the science labs."

[Science lab 1]
[ a few minutes later]
Kinnley nodded to the small assembled team she had made. "œSo, we have a pretty much indecipherable language so far, and the translator can't figure it out"¦ yet. Does anyone have any ideas on how to learn it?"

Doctor Betaika
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/dem-broadshire/images/4/4b/Doctor_Betaika.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/185?cb=20230611095922
[Promenade | Deep Space Nine]

Betaika looked solemnly at the reflection of himself in the concave windows that dotted the promenade. His hair was greying, still slicked back like it always was, but Betaika found that he lacked character. When people look at him, they just see an old man. Last time he was at the station, he was a starry eyed, young, brainwashed member of the Tal Shiar, reluctantly siding with the federation during the Dominion War. He even saw one of the Doctors, Bashir, he thought, dining with the leader of the new Cardassia. He turned his attention to the promenade and observed that once he was changed into a federation uniform, members of the pubic just thought he is another Vulcan officer. He even considered speaking homogenous drone like his distant ancestors do. While he perceived it as a disgrace, he found it a necessary evil to fit in. He has had more disgusted looks than most. His PADD vibrated in his pocket, and he calmly took it out. An officer, Kinley has called him to the science labs to attempt to understand the Breen language. For the first time that day, he smiled. He has dealt with a lot of Breen.

30 minutes later

[Science Lab 1 | Discovery]

As the officer posed the question to the group, Betaika calmly interjected. "œI was present as a medical supervisor to some Breen interrogations conducted by the empire. Not my proudest days, but it can provide some insight. While of course we could not decode it we noticed a few things. It appears to have a similar structure to standard, but they always phrase each sentence in a way that conveys the most valuable information first, and extra details at the end. Very direct. I am sure that Lorut here could take that into account if trying to make a rudimentary translator."

[Dranik]

Dranik's Quarters
USS Discovery

Having children is a lot like hunting. Dranik thought to himself in exasperation as he did his best to keep up with the twins. The two hybrid children had apparently reached the age where they wanted to explore everything and with that apparently came the intense urge to apparently break everything they could get their hands on.

You have to keep a constant eye on them, you need to be ready with every possible contingency and on occasion you have makeshift weapons thrown at you. Dranik couldn't help but wince as he pulled a soiled diaper off his head moments after impact and immediately ran to the replicator and requested a large amount of towels as the children giggled at his misfortune while he disposed of the dirty diaper.

The doors opened and Ciavil walked in with a smile on her face, happy to see her family and that smile only faded slightly as she looked at Dranik and saw him rubbing the towels furiously against where the diaper had hit him. "Everything okay?"

"Chuv'asko Cha!" Dranik growled in the Hirogen language. "It translates to "Demon Spawn." I don't know how you are able to handle them when I'm on duty."

Ciavil shrugged. "They always behave for me. Did you read them anything? That usually calms them down quite a bit." Dranik paused for a moment. "You are telling me that there are ways to actually get them to stop climbing on things and stop breaking things?"

Ciavil laughed for nearly a full minute before she was able to get it under control.