S:5 E:12 - Dominion Rising

[Nira Said]

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck 5 - Luigi's Pizzeria]

Lahr looked over at the voice.  It took a moment for the surprise to register.  "Litt! Dude, it's been far too long! Good to see you man.  How long's it been?  At least a year?  How've things been? I heard things hadn't been well with your Aunt.  I hope she's okay now..?"

Lahr recalled Litt's aunt. She had been one good looking woman.  Definitely not what the Andorian had first expected when the man had said he had an aunt visiting.  If Lahr hadn't been dating Ruth at the time, the Andorian was certain he would have hit on her.  Hell, he might had anyways.

That the restaurant was technically closed should have meant that no one would enter, but Lahr didn't have that sort of luck because the next voice he heard was that of the Commander!  Roozh. The Andorian attempted to discreetly hide the two bottles of Andorian ale.

But, of course, the Commander had already seen the alcohol and felt compelled to berate him, and worse take his ale!  "Hey!? What the hell?!  It was empty but it was the principle of the act.  You don't take another person's alcohol unless you were looking for an argument, and Lahr was just inebriated enough to take offense and talk back.  "Give it a rest, will ya?  I switched shifts with Petty officer T'Roth so I'm not on duty until later this afternoon... which is why I'm drinking now.  Plenty of time to sober up or visit Sickbay for an anti-intoxicant shot before my shift."

But it was the Commander's 'helpful' threat to involve the counselor than brought his antennae back.  "I'm fine, Commander" he said tersely.  "I don't need a counselor.  This was the only decent opportunity for me to get in some downtime.  It's not like we're on mission at the moment."

[USS Challenger · Deck 05 · Luigi's Pizzeria]

Litt was really happy when saw his friend at that place. He remembered the last time they were there, playing games, eating pizzas, the good old times.

"Yeah"¦ Almost that?" He said smiling to him. "Well"¦ Sam is okay now, it was a hell of a year. But everything is good now"¦ There's no need to be worry. Aaaand she sent you a big hug."

He was about to keep chatting with Lahr when they were interrupted by Lieutenant Commander Said.

Litt got fit quickly as he listened to what the woman was saying. "Nice to meet you ma'am, I'm really looking forward to working with you". He said to her in a formal manner and then paid attention to the small conversation she had with the Andorian.

When she turn back to Litt and Lahr, the pilot took the chance to talk about that place.

"If I may say so, ma'am... This is the best pizzeria on the entire ship. Luigi loves to work the old-fashioned way. Good old-fashioned pizza that takes as long as it takes to cook". He said slightly excited, remembering that place. "And, to enhance the experience, you can sit back and play while you wait for your pizza to be ready".

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Luigi's Pizzeria | Deck Five | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Nira's expression softened further. She then set down the drink and checked the duty roster. Sure enough, T'Roth was on the morning shift while Lahr was on for afternoon. Then again, it did occur to Nira that she hadn't gone over the duty roster for today.

"My apologies, Lahr," said Nira softly. "I guess I didn't see the shift rearrangement on the duty roster. And it's good to see you're getting some downtime, what with the busy past month it had been particularly for your department. However, please try not to be too inebriated."

She gave the drink back to him. She never approved much of alcohol, being raised in Arabia.

Hearing out Lieutenant Litt, Nira smiled. "Well, it's probably the best pizzeria to take along with you, I'm certainly not aware of any other pizzeria on the ship," she added with a chuckle.

She did, of course, recall Captain Galloway's words at her before she left to greet Litt...

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian chuckled as he replied to Nira's rhetorical question.

"In addition ta the replicators in the mess halls, there are three kitchens aboard the Challenger countin' Luigi's. Compared ta Discovery, this ship is massive, but is no but a guppy next ta my first ship, the Tempest, Galaxy-Class beast she was. If no for the computer, I doubt I'd ever found anything aboard her.

"Have Captain Richard come ta the bridge as soon as he's aboard. Whatever is up is sensitive enough that no one will say what's goin' on via subspace. He's got ta have updated information and I need ta ken what that might be."

...of course, three kitchens in addition to the replicators.

"...and I get the playing part as well, Lieutenant," Nira added. "I can see it's a bit of an arcade...I used to play something like that when I was younger..."

She shrugged and added, "Well, there's a little time before duty calls me back...anyway, you two," she added, addressing Lahr in addition, but adding more friendliness, "what's the favorite selection here?"

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck 5 - Luigi's Pizzeria]

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Luigi's Pizzeria | Deck Five | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Nira's expression softened further. She then set down the drink and checked the duty roster. Sure enough, T'Roth was on the morning shift while Lahr was on for afternoon. Then again, it did occur to Nira that she hadn't gone over the duty roster for today.

"My apologies, Lahr," said Nira softly. "I guess I didn't see the shift rearrangement on the duty roster. And it's good to see you're getting some downtime, what with the busy past month it had been particularly for your department. However, please try not to be too inebriated."

She gave the drink back to him. She never approved much of alcohol, being raised in Arabia.

The Andorian was only slightly mollified at the Commander's apology for having not seen the roster change.   He didn't reach for the empty bottle that she'd set down. What was the point? She'd ruined the moment.  If he continued drinking now he was purposefully ignoring her 'request'.

With a sigh of irritation, Lahr picked up the empty bottle and dropped it off in the restaurant's recycler unit.  By the time he'd done this the Commander had questioned about the restaurant.  It was Litt however who answered.

Hearing out Lieutenant Litt, Nira smiled. "Well, it's probably the best pizzeria to take along with you, I'm certainly not aware of any other pizzeria on the ship," she added with a chuckle.

She did, of course, recall Captain Galloway's words at her before she left to greet Litt...

...of course, three kitchens in addition to the replicators.

"...and I get the playing part as well, Lieutenant," Nira added. "I can see it's a bit of an arcade...I used to play something like that when I was younger..."

She shrugged and added, "Well, there's a little time before duty calls me back...anyway, you two," she added, addressing Lahr in addition, but adding more friendliness, "what's the favorite selection here?"

The Andorian quirked an antenna at hearing the Commander hint at having some time to game.  "Really?! Aren't you on duty?"  He looked to Litt for a moment. "Any of the Nintendo Mario Party mini games might be best, especially if you are short on time."

[Richard James Litt]

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Luigi's Pizzeria | Deck Five | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Nira's expression softened further. She then set down the drink and checked the duty roster. Sure enough, T'Roth was on the morning shift while Lahr was on for afternoon. Then again, it did occur to Nira that she hadn't gone over the duty roster for today.

"My apologies, Lahr," said Nira softly. "I guess I didn't see the shift rearrangement on the duty roster. And it's good to see you're getting some downtime, what with the busy past month it had been particularly for your department. However, please try not to be too inebriated."

She gave the drink back to him. She never approved much of alcohol, being raised in Arabia.

Hearing out Lieutenant Litt, Nira smiled. "Well, it's probably the best pizzeria to take along with you, I'm certainly not aware of any other pizzeria on the ship," she added with a chuckle.

She did, of course, recall Captain Galloway's words at her before she left to greet Litt...

...of course, three kitchens in addition to the replicators.

"...and I get the playing part as well, Lieutenant," Nira added. "I can see it's a bit of an arcade...I used to play something like that when I was younger..."

She shrugged and added, "Well, there's a little time before duty calls me back...anyway, you two," she added, addressing Lahr in addition, but adding more friendliness, "what's the favorite selection here?"

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck 5 - Luigi's Pizzeria]

The Andorian was only slightly mollified at the Commander's apology for having not seen the roster change.   He didn't reach for the empty bottle that she'd set down. What was the point? She'd ruined the moment.  If he continued drinking now he was purposefully ignoring her 'request'.

With a sigh of irritation, Lahr picked up the empty bottle and dropped it off in the restaurant's recycler unit.  By the time he'd done this the Commander had questioned about the restaurant.  It was Litt however who answered.

The Andorian quirked an antenna at hearing the Commander hint at having some time to game.  "Really?! Aren't you on duty?"  He looked to Litt for a moment. "Any of the Nintendo Mario Party mini games might be best, especially if you are short on time."

[USS Challenger · Deck 05 · Luigi's Pizzeria]

The man just watched the development of the conversation between the other two who were there... He already knew the Andorian for some time, and in a way he considered him his best friend back on the ship, but the woman was still new to him and was his superior, so he didn't know the boundaries very well in that conversation that seemed to have a more casual tone than a professional one. So he thought it best to just keep his attention on them as they spoke.

When the Lieutenant Commander hinted that she had some free time and would like to check out some games, Litt gave a small smile and turned to Lahr as he answered about Mario Party.

"œI agree"¦ I believe that Mario Party is really the best option for a short period of time!" He corrected his friend's speech with a gentle smile.

[Nira Said]

CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck 5 - Luigi's Pizzeria]

The Andorian was only slightly mollified at the Commander's apology for having not seen the roster change.   He didn't reach for the empty bottle that she'd set down. What was the point? She'd ruined the moment.  If he continued drinking now he was purposefully ignoring her 'request'.

With a sigh of irritation, Lahr picked up the empty bottle and dropped it off in the restaurant's recycler unit.  By the time he'd done this the Commander had questioned about the restaurant.  It was Litt however who answered.

The Andorian quirked an antenna at hearing the Commander hint at having some time to game.  "Really?! Aren't you on duty?"  He looked to Litt for a moment. "Any of the Nintendo Mario Party mini games might be best, especially if you are short on time."

[USS Challenger · Deck 05 · Luigi's Pizzeria]

The man just watched the development of the conversation between the other two who were there... He already knew the Andorian for some time, and in a way he considered him his best friend back on the ship, but the woman was still new to him and was his superior, so he didn't know the boundaries very well in that conversation that seemed to have a more casual tone than a professional one. So he thought it best to just keep his attention on them as they spoke.

When the Lieutenant Commander hinted that she had some free time and would like to check out some games, Litt gave a small smile and turned to Lahr as he answered about Mario Party.

"œI agree"¦ I believe that Mario Party is really the best option for a short period of time!" He corrected his friend's speech with a gentle smile.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Luigi's Pizzeria | Deck Five | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

"Quite," said Nira in agreement. "Something short, between five and ten minutes."

Once it was pulled up, they took the moment to select their chosen characters. Nira, naturally, chose Shantae the genie.

"My favorite Nintendo character," said Nira. "It's only the game series I've ever been interested when I was younger," she added in explanation. "Of course, I stopped playing the games as I grew up in favor of playing her on the holodeck. After all, she is a dancer...though trying to emulate her style of using her hair as a whip does result in a crick in the neck."

And she put a hand to her neck as if recalling the times she cricked her neck...it must've been a decade and a half. Probable less, simply no more. True, belly dancers twirled their hair simply by moving their head around, but that was one dance style Nira preferred not to use; she had a long memory of that neck crick and was sure she'd only result in a sore neck if she tried it.

"Let's get going quickly," said Nira. "After that...well, you'll need to report to the bridge, Lieutenant Litt. And I'll be sure to take you along. Okay, Lahr, Litt...let's do this."

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Bridge | Deck One | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Twelve Minutes Later...

Nira arrived some time later with Litt at her side and took her seat.

"Sorry to take so long, Captain," she said. "Getting to know a part of the ship that's new to me."

She double-taked at seeing the elegant-looking starship at the viewscreen that had joined the fleet...Odyssey-class, she realized, the class the current Enterprise was...

"I see Admiral Gillespie has arrived," said Nira. "Now all we need is the Discovery and the Eagle."

[Ian Galloway]

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Bridge | Deck One | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Twelve Minutes Later...

Nira arrived some time later with Litt at her side and took her seat.

"Sorry to take so long, Captain," she said. "Getting to know a part of the ship that's new to me."

She double-taked at seeing the elegant-looking starship at the viewscreen that had joined the fleet...Odyssey-class, she realized, the class the current Enterprise was...

"I see Admiral Gillespie has arrived," said Nira. "Now all we need is the Discovery and the Eagle."

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian acknowledged Nira's arrival with a nod as he looked out at the fleet of ships that had assembled in the orbit of Ferenginar. The flagship, USS Legacy, with Admiral Gillespie aboard, the USS Scott, USS Lirpa, USS Spector, USS Intrepid, and the USS Carlson.

"A lot of bonny ships out there."

As Ian spoke, Ops reported that the USS Discovery had dropped out of slipstream and was moving to join the fleet. Regardless of what was going on, everyone was waiting for the USS Eagle to arrive to round out the fleet and then Ian was certain they would be briefed on what was so important and so sensitive that it couldn't be spoken of via communications.

[Richard James Litt]

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Luigi's Pizzeria | Deck Five | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

"Quite," said Nira in agreement. "Something short, between five and ten minutes."

Once it was pulled up, they took the moment to select their chosen characters. Nira, naturally, chose Shantae the genie.

"My favorite Nintendo character," said Nira. "It's only the game series I've ever been interested when I was younger," she added in explanation. "Of course, I stopped playing the games as I grew up in favor of playing her on the holodeck. After all, she is a dancer...though trying to emulate her style of using her hair as a whip does result in a crick in the neck."

And she put a hand to her neck as if recalling the times she cricked her neck...it must've been a decade and a half. Probable less, simply no more. True, belly dancers twirled their hair simply by moving their head around, but that was one dance style Nira preferred not to use; she had a long memory of that neck crick and was sure she'd only result in a sore neck if she tried it.

"Let's get going quickly," said Nira. "After that...well, you'll need to report to the bridge, Lieutenant Litt. And I'll be sure to take you along. Okay, Lahr, Litt...let's do this."

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Bridge | Deck One | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Twelve Minutes Later...

Nira arrived some time later with Litt at her side and took her seat.

"Sorry to take so long, Captain," she said. "Getting to know a part of the ship that's new to me."

She double-taked at seeing the elegant-looking starship at the viewscreen that had joined the fleet...Odyssey-class, she realized, the class the current Enterprise was...

"I see Admiral Gillespie has arrived," said Nira. "Now all we need is the Discovery and the Eagle."

[USS Challenger · Deck 05 · Luigi's Pizzeria]

After the Lieutenant Commander confirmed that she was indeed going to play, Litt perked up and grabbed one of the joysticks to get ready to play. After choosing his character, he waited for the game to start and stayed there for a few minutes. It was a really fun time between the three of them and Richard certainly enjoyed it. When the game was over, Litt left with the lieutenant commander so he could report to the bridge.

[USS Challenger · Bridge]

Richard entered the bridge and quickly introduced himself to Captain Ian who was sitting there at the time.

"Hi Captain, Lieutenant Litt reporting for duty." He said it quite formally and then gave the captain a small smile. "œIt's been a long time, sir"¦ I missed being here".

[Ian Galloway]

[USS Challenger · Deck 05 · Luigi's Pizzeria]

After the Lieutenant Commander confirmed that she was indeed going to play, Litt perked up and grabbed one of the joysticks to get ready to play. After choosing his character, he waited for the game to start and stayed there for a few minutes. It was a really fun time between the three of them and Richard certainly enjoyed it. When the game was over, Litt left with the lieutenant commander so he could report to the bridge.

[USS Challenger · Bridge]

Richard entered the bridge and quickly introduced himself to Captain Ian who was sitting there at the time.

"Hi Captain, Lieutenant Litt reporting for duty." He said it quite formally and then gave the captain a small smile. "œIt's been a long time, sir"¦ I missed being here".

[Bridge- USS Challenger]

Ian turned toward the familiar voice and rose to shake Ricky's hand vigorously, smiling broadly as he spoke.

"Lieutenant Litt! Bloody good ta see you Lad. I was chuffed ta see you'd returned ta us. Once we find out what all this wifferdil is about, there's a P-40 with your name on it on Holodeck Two waitin' for you whenever you're ready."

Ian returned to the command chair, looked out at the fleet assembling on the viewscreen and wondered, yet again, what 'this wifferdil' was about himself.

[Nira Said]

The blue hue of space faded like exiting a tunnel, showing not only regular space and stars, but the nearly always cloudy planet orbiting its sun, dancing with lightning around the planet. For a planetary scientist like himself, Ferenginar was a very fun planet to look at.

There were also Federation ships in the system, looking lost among the Ferengi vessels around the planet. They still did not have clear instructions, but at least there was an Admiral here.  Nevir frowned.

"What exactly are we doing here?"

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian acknowledged Nira's arrival with a nod as he looked out at the fleet of ships that had assembled in the orbit of Ferenginar. The flagship, USS Legacy, with Admiral Gillespie aboard, the USS Scott, USS Lirpa, USS Spector, USS Intrepid, and the USS Carlson.

"A lot of bonny ships out there."

As Ian spoke, Ops reported that the USS Discovery had dropped out of slipstream and was moving to join the fleet. Regardless of what was going on, everyone was waiting for the USS Eagle to arrive to round out the fleet and then Ian was certain they would be briefed on what was so important and so sensitive that it couldn't be spoken of via communications.

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Bridge >- Captain's Ready Room >- Bridge | Deck One | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Nira perked up as Ops reported the arrival of the Discovery. She felt an excited smile at the realization that her old home was flying alongside. Those whom she felt closest...particlarly Torra...were on that ship.

A couple of minutes later, the Eagle had arrived. It was certainly of the shape of the old Constitution class, but it certainly lived up to the class officially named "Neo-Constituion."

Immediately, a hurried text came in from Captain Richards to both Captain Galloway and to Nira: We made it. May need to cool down the engines before we have to move again. Hope you got Lieutenant Litt okay.

No sooner was a reply typed back than a hail came from Admiral Gillespie. In fact, transmitted over to the small fleet assembled to all Command officers. The request was for the command officers to meet at the CO's Ready Rooms for mission brief. As soon as Ian and Nira had come in, they answered the hails. A moment later, a grizzled old Scotsman appeared through holocommunication, not just of Challenger, but also over to Discovery and the rest of the fleet.

"Top of the morning, Captains and First Officers," he said. "This is Admiral Gillespie of Starfleet Security. I'm sure yeh're wondering why you are all here. Most of you have been called to Ferenginar to assist the Ferengi fleet in the event of helping sooth over potential explosive situations. Well, the situation has been resolved, thank God, and while normally, the lot of yeh would be on yehr way back to yehr respective general assignments in Romulan space and elsewhere 'seeking oot new life and new civilisations,' yeh lot are required further in the opposite direction.

"Suffice to say," the admiral continued, "a situation has developed around Cardassian and Breen space. Two of Starfleet's best officers have been sent to the New Dominion for information, but there's something rotten in the offing, something that has the potential to involve the old Dominion, but it's something bound to be picked up by the whole of the Great Link, hence why a foremost ambassador to the Federation from the New Dominion, or rather, the New Dominion version of Ambassador Spock..."

He paused for a moment to let it sink in, and Nira was sure he was referring to Odo, former Constable of one of Starfleet's foremost outposts, prominent leader of the New Dominion and overall, an honorable man among the Great Link.

"...as such," continued Gillespie, "Starfleet has ordered a small fleet to assemble at Starbase Deep Space Nine while the information is ascertained. We are to wait for an additional envoy from the Cardassian government as well, seeing as how they have especially asked for help to exorcise the ghosts Gul Dukat had stained on the pages of Cardassian history.

"Now," he added, making a placating gesture, "I ken many of yeh have traveled a long way to get here at least, pushing engines as such. Well, this is why we have starships powered by quantum slipstream drives for this verry reason. You see, with quantum slipstream drives becoming prominent among the rising generation of starships, Starfleet has felt that there will come times when we'll need starships over in a short amount of time. As such, Starfleet has been conducting experiments with a handful of starships with slipstream drives: Keeping the slipstream rifts open long enough for other non-slipstream ships to follow through. Among these ships was the Starship Scott among the ranks of our fleet right here. They're among the starships that's demonstrated it can guide non-slipstream ships through long distances in a short amount of time.

"Since slipstream can stress some hulls of older ships," Gillespie explained, "especially if they're not outfitted with slipstream drives, it'll be necessary to make breaks between slipstream jumps. The most that's estimated that can be handled is between fifteen and twenty minutes, and ships like the Scott has demonstrated thus. As such, we've arranged a break point in proximity to AR-558, and once the systems of the ships have been given a rest, then we make the rest of the way to Deep Space Nine, where more slipstream-powered ships will join us.

"Now, given we've never had this many ships before attempt a guided jump before, this is why we have three slipstream-powered starships to guide us. Then we'll be met with additional ships, two at most powered by slipstream, and with the addition of those ships, it'll make the slipstream travel easier and smoother for the rest of the journey to Deep Space Nine."

"As such, this is where you are to inform the miracle workers of our fleet in Science, Engineering and Operations to prepare the ships for the potential bumpy ride through the slipstream portals our guides will open for us. And once we get through, that will be where things get interesting."

He stepped back to make a calmer gesture, indicative that he was ending his briefing.

"Now, all ships...you have one hour to prepare for the journey, to batten down the hatches, and assume formation."

Turning to an officer to the side, he said, "Proceed with the countdown."

He disappeared from the viewscreen and a new transmission was passed on from the Legacy: A countdown for an hour.

Nira looked over at Captain Galloway. They had their orders, and are to pass the news to the crew. They had an hour per the admiral's instructions.

As they emerged, Nira looked at Ian and said, "Looks like we have a lot for all hands to do."

[Kina Nural]

[Sickbay]

Evan could almost see the wheels turning as she hopped out of whatever train of thought she was on, and he could recognize the mental fog that often came with that sort of departure. But she bounced back from it way quicker than he ever could, giving a typical reply to question he had asked. Thankfully she seemed to be hanging in there, no doubt glad to be off that miserable planet.

"Hmm?" he wondered as she paused before voicing a new concern. Evan listened attentively as she spoke, or at least he tried to, fighting the urge to daydream about his own days at the academy. But he got the gist of what she said. "I can understand that," he told the ensign. "I had a rough go of it when I first started at the academy. It was the first time I had ever spent so long away from home, and it was hard to not want to go back to Germany every weekend. But after awhile, I found the structure of the course load to be a real comfort. By the time I graduated, I had already met my now wife and was fortunate to be posted to the same ship as her. You're fresh out of the academy, right? You're still getting your 'sea legs' and getting used to coping without that structure that school offered..." He hadn't meant to say so much, but oh well. "Though," he added after taking a breath, "I don't see why you wouldn't be able to talk to your dad. In any case, it doesn't hurt to ask."

[Sickbay / USS Challenger]

Kina gave him a small smile. It was nice hearing someone say they went through something similar. Buehler was very encouraging, and it seemed like that was the little boost she really needed. She nodded to him and enjoyed the idea of hearing her father's voice and talking about everything that happened. "Thank you Lieutenant. It.....really means a lot to me."

[Lieutenant Commander Nira Said | Bridge >- Captain's Ready Room >- Bridge | Deck One | USS Challenger NCC-40117-A]

Nira perked up as Ops reported the arrival of the Discovery. She felt an excited smile at the realization that her old home was flying alongside. Those whom she felt closest...particlarly Torra...were on that ship.

A couple of minutes later, the Eagle had arrived. It was certainly of the shape of the old Constitution class, but it certainly lived up to the class officially named "Neo-Constituion."

Immediately, a hurried text came in from Captain Richards to both Captain Galloway and to Nira: We made it. May need to cool down the engines before we have to move again. Hope you got Lieutenant Litt okay.

No sooner was a reply typed back than a hail came from Admiral Gillespie. In fact, transmitted over to the small fleet assembled to all Command officers. The request was for the command officers to meet at the CO's Ready Rooms for mission brief. As soon as Ian and Nira had come in, they answered the hails. A moment later, a grizzled old Scotsman appeared through holocommunication, not just of Challenger, but also over to Discovery and the rest of the fleet.

"Top of the morning, Captains and First Officers," he said. "This is Admiral Gillespie of Starfleet Security. I'm sure yeh're wondering why you are all here. Most of you have been called to Ferenginar to assist the Ferengi fleet in the event of helping sooth over potential explosive situations. Well, the situation has been resolved, thank God, and while normally, the lot of yeh would be on yehr way back to yehr respective general assignments in Romulan space and elsewhere 'seeking oot new life and new civilisations,' yeh lot are required further in the opposite direction.

"Suffice to say," the admiral continued, "a situation has developed around Cardassian and Breen space. Two of Starfleet's best officers have been sent to the New Dominion for information, but there's something rotten in the offing, something that has the potential to involve the old Dominion, but it's something bound to be picked up by the whole of the Great Link, hence why a foremost ambassador to the Federation from the New Dominion, or rather, the New Dominion version of Ambassador Spock..."

He paused for a moment to let it sink in, and Nira was sure he was referring to Odo, former Constable of one of Starfleet's foremost outposts, prominent leader of the New Dominion and overall, an honorable man among the Great Link.

"...as such," continued Gillespie, "Starfleet has ordered a small fleet to assemble at Starbase Deep Space Nine while the information is ascertained. We are to wait for an additional envoy from the Cardassian government as well, seeing as how they have especially asked for help to exorcise the ghosts Gul Dukat had stained on the pages of Cardassian history.

"Now," he added, making a placating gesture, "I ken many of yeh have traveled a long way to get here at least, pushing engines as such. Well, this is why we have starships powered by quantum slipstream drives for this verry reason. You see, with quantum slipstream drives becoming prominent among the rising generation of starships, Starfleet has felt that there will come times when we'll need starships over in a short amount of time. As such, Starfleet has been conducting experiments with a handful of starships with slipstream drives: Keeping the slipstream rifts open long enough for other non-slipstream ships to follow through. Among these ships was the Starship Scott among the ranks of our fleet right here. They're among the starships that's demonstrated it can guide non-slipstream ships through long distances in a short amount of time.

"Since slipstream can stress some hulls of older ships," Gillespie explained, "especially if they're not outfitted with slipstream drives, it'll be necessary to make breaks between slipstream jumps. The most that's estimated that can be handled is between fifteen and twenty minutes, and ships like the Scott has demonstrated thus. As such, we've arranged a break point in proximity to AR-558, and once the systems of the ships have been given a rest, then we make the rest of the way to Deep Space Nine, where more slipstream-powered ships will join us.

"Now, given we've never had this many ships before attempt a guided jump before, this is why we have three slipstream-powered starships to guide us. Then we'll be met with additional ships, two at most powered by slipstream, and with the addition of those ships, it'll make the slipstream travel easier and smoother for the rest of the journey to Deep Space Nine."

"As such, this is where you are to inform the miracle workers of our fleet in Science, Engineering and Operations to prepare the ships for the potential bumpy ride through the slipstream portals our guides will open for us. And once we get through, that will be where things get interesting."

He stepped back to make a calmer gesture, indicative that he was ending his briefing.

"Now, all ships...you have one hour to prepare for the journey, to batten down the hatches, and assume formation."

Turning to an officer to the side, he said, "Proceed with the countdown."

He disappeared from the viewscreen and a new transmission was passed on from the Legacy: A countdown for an hour.

Nira looked over at Captain Galloway. They had their orders, and are to pass the news to the crew. They had an hour per the admiral's instructions.

As they emerged, Nira looked at Ian and said, "Looks like we have a lot for all hands to do."

Once the comms sounded, Kina listened. She knew that announcements like this told them of their mission, and it was important to know what was going on. However, it wasn't the captain's voice she heard, is was a new voice. An admiral. What was an admiral doing out here? Was he in charge of the fleet that Starfleet sent for them to meet?

When he mentioned something happening in Cardassian and Breen space, her heart dropped. Something was happening at home? It was true that relations between Cardassia and the Breen were still tense, because of their involvement with the Dominion during the war, but the Breen had so far seemed to keep to themselves in their space and left Cardassian ships alone. If something happened, maybe her father knew something.

She shuddered at the mention of Dukat's name. Like all other Cardassian children, Kina learned about Dukat and what he had done. He was a traitor, a anarchist disguised as a patriot. His tale was told more as a caution, so that others would see his  mistakes, and do all they could to never repeat it. His name was considered a curse on her home now. But right now, something was happening at her home.

She instantly became worried. She needed to talk to her father. She needed to contact home. She looked over to Buehler, worry beginning to creep into her eyes. "Lieutenant...I.....I need to see the captain. Right away please.I....I have to contact Cardassia. My father may be able to help."

[Buck McNair]

[Bridge | USS Challenger]

It was quite the gathering of ships that parked in the open space. No doubt that meant that the Challenger and her crew were going to be busy in the next few moments, with Commander Catalan noting that Admiral Gillespie was hailing all COs to their ready rooms. They would continue to work at their stations, at least until they were aware of what had been discussed between the captains and XOs; though Buck could at least say with certainty that it was way above his pay grade to know and figure out.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind had the announcement been made that they all were to batten down the hatches within the hour to prepare them for the ride ahead. Ops, science and engineering all had a monumental task ahead of them to consider that they were going for a ride on the quantum slipstream and as such would need to be working in tandem to ensure that good lines of communication were open between them to monitor the ship and the crew's well being. "Right then....looks like we've got a fair bit of stuff that needs to be done. I've already started another scan of our current inventory, and in a moment could pop down to engineering to see if they will be needing extra resources, unless there is anything else needing to be done on the bridge?"

[Ian Galloway]

[Bridge - USS Challenger]

Ian's head was still spinning from Gillespie's technical proposal as he beamed back to the ship and headed to the bridge. He called for the Department Heads and gave them the run down of the plan to have the ship's without Quantum Slipstream Drive piggyback on those with the technology's transit corridors.

"Admiral Gillespie stated that Starfleet has experimented with doin' this sort of thing and has been successful. However, those have been single corridors with just two ships involved. This will be the largest movement of the technique since some boffin came up with it in the first place.

"As the timin' is so pivotal ta usin' Slipstream in the first place, we are goin' ta have ta figure out how ta link our systems with that of the Slippin' ship ta the nanosecond. In addition, we are goin' ta have ta route every milligram of power we have ta the structural integrity field ta reinforce the hull to handle the additional stresses. We have an hour ta make this happen, so it's time for our merry band of miracle workers ta work their magic. No time for questions. Dismissed."

As the meeting broke up, Ian headed to the bridge. He wasn't completely certain how he felt about the proposed process, but he figured there was no way Gillespie would suggest the idea if it wasn't sound.

"It just sounds daft."

He muttered as he monitored the crew's progress to ready the ship.

[Tekin Nevir]

Incoming hail from the USS Discovery - Secure Channel

Request to speak privately.

[Ian Galloway]

Incoming hail from the USS Discovery - Secure Channel

Request to speak privately.

[Bridge --> Ready Room - USS Challenger]

When T'kel notified him of the private hail, Ian arched an eyebrow as he rose and headed for his ready room.

"You have the bridge Nira."

He said over his shoulder as he left the bridge. He immediately crossed to his desk, activated his terminal and ensured the connection was secure before he replied.

"Good to see you old friend. Tell me you ken what is really goin' on here."

[Tekin Nevir]

[Bridge --> Ready Room - USS Challenger]

When T'kel notified him of the private hail, Ian arched an eyebrow as he rose and headed for his ready room.

"You have the bridge Nira."

He said over his shoulder as he left the bridge. He immediately crossed to his desk, activated his terminal and ensured the connection was secure before he replied.

"Good to see you old friend. Tell me you ken what is really goin' on here."

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

He sighed, and shook his head.  "I wish I did, Ian.  I'm just as baffled as you are.  But thanks for confirming that I am not crazy." he stated, looking over a PADD.

"Things have gotten complicated lately, and I only just walked into it.  Is there anything you noticed about Starfleet Command?"

[Rayek trLhoell]

NPC Lieutenant Danjar-Torra Addams
[USS Discovery - Deck 1 - Bridge]

He then asked Lieutenant Addams to contact the other ship and arrange for their Chiefs of Engineering, Science and Operations to be on a standby comm line.

"Aye sir."

"USS Discovery to..."

"...USS Challenger.  Lt Cmdr tr'Lhoell requests an immediate conference call with your ship's Chief Engineer, Chief of Operations, and Chief Science officer.  Please contact the appropriate individuals on your end and link them to this comm."