S4:E2 Safe Passage

[Niles James McCulloch]

 Location: The USS Challenger's Science Dept.
The Challenger is under-way.
Niles has just found where to stash his duffel and suit bag, by the time the USS Challenger is under-way.
'Well, I guess the next thing is to find the Science Dept. and report in.', he thought, as he made way down the corridor from his quarter's to the nearest lift.
'Sounds and looks like we're finally under-way, from all the action around here.', he mentally mused as he adroitly and politely made his way through traffic, in the passage, to a set of lifts.
He actually got one that was empty, to his amazement. A metallic mechanical voice asked, "Destination Please?" , after the lift's door slid shut.

"Science Section, please.", he replied matter-a-factly.

"Thank you.", It rejoined.

"Let's see who I report to." Niles said to no-in-particular. "LCDR Evar Werdiss,...", he read out-loud, as he found Chief Science Officer's name on his orders.
He was amazed that they still use paper, as he tried not ruffle it up, as the lift door open in what he hoped was the Ship's Science Section and not just to pick someone-else up.

He was in luck he made it to the main entrance area of the Ship's Science Section.
"Now to find LCDR Werdiss." he thought out loud quietly, as stepped off the lift into another traffic jam, of people going about their business.

Luckily before he made a culturally linguistic fool of himself, he observed from listening closely to the people talking around the Officer he was obviously looking for, that she was a Bajoran.
So, when he was able to make his way over to her, and find an appropriate window of opportunity, to introduce himself he correctly did so by saying, " LCDR Evar, Crewman Niles J. McCulloch, Reporting in, Sir."
Standing flag-pole straight at attention, saluting with his right hand and presenting his orders with his left.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck One - Bridge]

[Bridge]

The doors parted and as Kyle stepped out, his eyes went straight to the sec/tac station. That was another new thing. Previously, he was Acting XO AND CSTO. Now his orders stated that that was no longer the case. He turned his attention back to the center seat, tugged down his new red command tunic and made his way down to the Captain's side. From reading records, Kyle new the man's name and face but this was the first time he had served with Galloway.

"Sir. Commander Kyle Briggs reporting for duty." Kyle said. "Welcome to the Challenger."

[USS Challenger · Bridge · Helm]
now

Litt entered the bridge in a calm way and took his place near to Mr. ch'Verret, that was already there. He said a timid hello to him and sat at the helm, checking everything that was possible for a good flight.

The Challenger was the only ship that he served, and that was the first really big change that he saw. At least he would still see some familiar faces.

It didn't take long for the new captain to arrive at the bridge and started his personal log. Litt awaited for some orders that didn't take long to come.

"Aye sir." He said simply and waited for Mr. ch'Verret's okay.

In the meantime, a new girl arrived at the bridge and took her seat at the science station. Litt looked at her when he listened to the voice of Mr. ch'Verret.

"Sir... We are leaving in 3... 2... 1..." Litt took out the Challenger as ordered.

At that moment, Mr. Briggs entered the bridge, after he presents himself to the captain, Litt smiled at him. "The red suits you, sir." He said about the new uniform.

While Litt began to pilot them away from the station, a drooping antenna'd Lahr heard another arrival on the bridge.  He glanced over and noted Lt Cmdr Briggs approaching the Captain's chair to report in.  Lahr's antenna twitched hearing Litt greet the other human saying red suited him.  Lahr turned back to the console sullenly.   Kyle was supposed to be in gold, just like Ruth was supposed to be in red, not science teal.  Lahr had never seen Ruth in any uniform other than command so the idea of it just seemed wrong to the Andorian.  Hell, he'd even thought that her wedding dress hadn't suited.

It still baffled Lahr why she'd stepped down from Command.  He wondered if there had been pressure from her husband.  Ruth had been a little reckless both before and after the battle... chasing down Leyton herself and skewing him with an axe.   That certainly wasn't proper Captain actions.  Lahr grinned at the memory of it, his antenna briefly perking.

All this went through his thoughts while the Captain and XO exchanged pleasantries.

Ian stood to shake his first officer's hand. They were going to be spending a lot of time together and needed to establish a solid working relationship quickly, thus Ian was quite ready to start that process.

"It's good ta meet you Commander. I'm glad you've got some experience with this ship and crew. While I loved the Discovery, she only had a crew of 150, gettin' used ta a ship with 550 aboard is goin' ta take some time and I will need your knowledge of them so that information becomes my knowledge."

"Very good Mister Litt, take us out. One quarter impulse once Spackdock releases us from their tractor. After we pass the asteroid belt, take us ta full impulse until we are clear of the system, warp eight after that. No need ta run full out. I know the engines will require proper tunin' and without Lieutenant Lek's deft hand, Mister Van'Roe will need awhile ta get her shop in order."

Ian stayed in the center seat until the Challenger went to warp and then stood.

"Let's go ta the ready room Commander and discuss the crew. Mister T'Kel, you have the bridge."

Afterwards, there seemed like an expectant pause while the ship made it's way out of the system before moving to warp until Litt's smooth hand.   Then as if that was a cue the Captain and the XO departed the Bridge to 'discuss the crew'.  Lahr glanced over his shoulder towards the departing XO... wondering what things the man might share with the new Captain?  A small part of the Andorian worried that Kyle would bring up his past paranoia with Sukal and himself.  Or that he'd share Ruth's deciphering of his antenna twitches.  That was the last thing he needed, the new Captain being watchful of his every antenna movement.  It was fine when Ruth did it.. because... well... it was Ruth.  To have this new Captain know his tells right off the bat would be downright annoying.

The Andorian's antenna stiffened a moment before resuming their droop.

Lahr looked over to the Vulcan T'Kel who took over the Bridge after the Captain and XO exited for the ready room.  She was another new face, this one to replace Kyle's spot.  Even his own Chief was an new face.

It hadn't taken long for the new Captain to rescind the Acting CPO rank, along with the Acting Ops Chief and Second Officer roles from the Enlisted Andorian.   Lahr should have been relieved - he hadn't felt comfortable in either role in the first place - but on the heels of Ruth leaving, it just felt like every connection to her was being stripped away.

He looked back to his console and sat dully waiting on his shift to end.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NPC Crewman Cathy Daniels
[USS Challenger - Deck 8 - Science Labs]

Cathy had intended to greet Niles at the shuttlebay but a last minute request by a ranking officer to fully sanitize Lab 1 delayed her.  The room, prior to her cleaning efforts, had stunk of sulphur and chocolate... and Cathy had to wonder if one of the less than human science officers was experimenting with some baking recipes and got a little over zealous with the mixing.  She'd had to sanitize walls, counters, floors.  It sucked.

Finished now, she decided to head to where she knew Niles had been assigned but before she could make it out of Lab 1 she heard his unmistakable voice, coming from the main science department area.

Location: The USS Challenger's Science Dept.
The Challenger is under-way.
Niles has just found where to stash his duffel and suit bag, by the time the USS Challenger is under-way.
'Well, I guess the next thing is to find the Science Dept. and report in.', he thought, as he made way down the corridor from his quarter's to the nearest lift.
'Sounds and looks like we're finally under-way, from all the action around here.', he mentally mused as he adroitly and politely made his way through traffic, in the passage, to a set of lifts.
He actually got one that was empty, to his amazement. A metallic mechanical voice asked, "Destination Please?" , after the lift's door slid shut.

"Science Section, please.", he replied matter-a-factly.

"Thank you.", It rejoined.

"Let's see who I report to." Niles said to no-in-particular. "LCDR Evar Werdiss,...", he read out-loud, as he found Chief Science Officer's name on his orders.
He was amazed that they still use paper, as he tried not ruffle it up, as the lift door open in what he hoped was the Ship's Science Section and not just to pick someone-else up.

He was in luck he made it to the main entrance area of the Ship's Science Section.
"Now to find LCDR Werdiss." he thought out loud quietly, as stepped off the lift into another traffic jam, of people going about their business.

Luckily before he made a culturally linguistic fool of himself, he observed from listening closely to the people talking around the Officer he was obviously looking for, that she was a Bajoran.
So, when he was able to make his way over to her, and find an appropriate window of opportunity, to introduce himself he correctly did so by saying, " LCDR Evar, Crewman Niles J. McCulloch, Reporting in, Sir."
Standing flag-pole straight at attention, saluting with his right hand and presenting his orders with his left.

Cathy grinned and was so tempted to interrupt his prim and proper reporting in moment.   She stepped out of the Lab to stand in the doorway, arms crossed casually about to speak when she thought better of it.  Niles deserved better.  He'd let her use him to pass the Technical Services Academy.  Making him look bad now was no way to repay him.   

[Ian Galloway]

=^=Belmont to Galloway, Belmont reporting for duty, sir. Since you're probably busy at the moment I opted not to bother you on the Bridge. But rest assured, everything is looking good and ready for takeoff here in Sickbay and my team will be briefed shortly. Stop by when you can for your physical and... she paused for a minute, at a loss for an end to the message since they both were new to the ship, have a good day! Belmont out =^= she ended lamely, her cheeks blushing. She tapped her commbadge, sent messages to her team and waited for Nathan and the others to arrive.

[Ready Room - USS Challenger]

Ian and Briggs had just entered the ready room, his ready room, when he got the call from the doctor. A brief frown crossed his expression as a comm system reporting in was a bit unusual, but he didn't want to be 'that captain' and bust someone's chops over nothing.

"Acknowledged doctor, welcome aboard. I'll get back to you about the physical, but it will be within the next three days. Galloway out."

He initially headed toward the chair facing the desk out of long habit, before checking his direction to sit behind the desk.

"Bloody hell, this is goin' ta take time ta get used ta." He thought as he sat.

"Okay, Commander Briggs, I hope it is okay if I call you Kyle. I don't stand on a lot of ceremony, so I'd like ta get right ta the part where we trust each other. I've read the specs on the Challenger, the former captain's log, and every single crew file, tell me that part wasn't painful, but what I need ta know is what isn't in the logs and the files.

"Our mission is fairly simple, which is a good thing for a shake down after a fairly extensive refit and crew rotation, this is especially good after your long campaign against Leyton. I'm not askin' you ta be a rat, just tryin' ta understand if'n there is anything I need ta know right now. I plan on makin' my rounds and talkin' ta the crew personally while we are en route to Takare. I would just like ta know if'n there are any hotspots as it were."

[Vasilisa Belmont]

[Ready Room - USS Challenger]

Ian and Briggs had just entered the ready room, his ready room, when he got the call from the doctor. A brief frown crossed his expression as a comm system reporting in was a bit unusual, but he didn't want to be 'that captain' and bust someone's chops over nothing.

"Acknowledged doctor, welcome aboard. I'll get back to you about the physical, but it will be within the next three days. Galloway out."

He initially headed toward the chair facing the desk out of long habit, before checking his direction to sit behind the desk.

"Bloody hell, this is goin' ta take time ta get used ta." He thought as he sat.

"Okay, Commander Briggs, I hope it is okay if I call you Kyle. I don't stand on a lot of ceremony, so I'd like ta get right ta the part where we trust each other. I've read the specs on the Challenger, the former captain's log, and every single crew file, tell me that part wasn't painful, but what I need ta know is what isn't in the logs and the files.

"Our mission is fairly simple, which is a good thing for a shake down after a fairly extensive refit and crew rotation, this is especially good after your long campaign against Leyton. I'm not askin' you ta be a rat, just tryin' ta understand if'n there is anything I need ta know right now. I plan on makin' my rounds and talkin' ta the crew personally while we are en route to Takare. I would just like ta know if'n there are any hotspots as it were."

[Sickbay-USS Challenger]

When she received Galloway's response she smirked. "Typical captain response," she mused. Knowing he was busy she decided not to respond further. If he went back on his word she would just go to the Bridge and badger him herself. Plenty of time for that in the near future. She noticed that some of her nurses were beginning to trickle in and gave them friendly nods as she continued to wait for everyone to arrive.

[Kali Reyes]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck One - Bridge]

While Litt began to pilot them away from the station, a drooping antenna'd Lahr heard another arrival on the bridge.  He glanced over and noted Lt Cmdr Briggs approaching the Captain's chair to report in.  Lahr's antenna twitched hearing Litt greet the other human saying red suited him.  Lahr turned back to the console sullenly.   Kyle was supposed to be in gold, just like Ruth was supposed to be in red, not science teal.  Lahr had never seen Ruth in any uniform other than command so the idea of it just seemed wrong to the Andorian.  Hell, he'd even thought that her wedding dress hadn't suited.

It still baffled Lahr why she'd stepped down from Command.  He wondered if there had been pressure from her husband.  Ruth had been a little reckless both before and after the battle... chasing down Leyton herself and skewing him with an axe.   That certainly wasn't proper Captain actions.  Lahr grinned at the memory of it, his antenna briefly perking.

All this went through his thoughts while the Captain and XO exchanged pleasantries.

Afterwards, there seemed like an expectant pause while the ship made it's way out of the system before moving to warp until Litt's smooth hand.   Then as if that was a cue the Captain and the XO departed the Bridge to 'discuss the crew'.  Lahr glanced over his shoulder towards the departing XO... wondering what things the man might share with the new Captain?  A small part of the Andorian worried that Kyle would bring up his past paranoia with Sukal and himself.  Or that he'd share Ruth's deciphering of his antenna twitches.  That was the last thing he needed, the new Captain being watchful of his every antenna movement.  It was fine when Ruth did it.. because... well... it was Ruth.  To have this new Captain know his tells right off the bat would be downright annoying.

The Andorian's antenna stiffened a moment before resuming their droop.

Lahr looked over to the Vulcan T'Kel who took over the Bridge after the Captain and XO exited for the ready room.  She was another new face, this one to replace Kyle's spot.  Even his own Chief was an new face.

It hadn't taken long for the new Captain to rescind the Acting CPO rank, along with the Acting Ops Chief and Second Officer roles from the Enlisted Andorian.   Lahr should have been relieved - he hadn't felt comfortable in either role in the first place - but on the heels of Ruth leaving, it just felt like every connection to her was being stripped away.

He looked back to his console and sat dully waiting on his shift to end.

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

Having seen many personnel transfer off and on over the few years in Starfleet had left Kali rather numb to the whole situation. Just as she considered to mend bridges with her last captain, the crew got shuffled again, and Kali just had to praise the Holy Ghost for not splitting her last stable relationship again. She just about came apart in a horrific bout of actual, honest grief. Losing Nathan would undo her for sure, she had no shame admitting to herself.

Staff wasn't the only thing reshuffled. By some divine miracle, she had been rerouted back to Engineering. The tinkerer in her was utterly thrilled to get her hands dirty. The other part was interestingly empty, like a brown dwarf nearly to collapse in itself. Instead of signing off on the transfer form, Kali found herself tapping on the PADD with her stylus as if to pass the time. Whatever internal war she had fought in her head went unanswered, so she instead started her shift by making two - no - three cups of coffee?

After a brief stint down in Sickbay to hand Nathan a cup, she actually paused outside the turbolift to take a gander of the new staff. The captain was new for sure. Old-new, actually, as she knew him back on the Discovery. And the XO as well, which just made her even more amused.

The invisible cloud that hung over Lahr's head started to metaphorically drizzle all over the console. Like a ray of sunshine over a cloudy day, she set the coffee down and quietly raised her arms like a martyr. "You are welcome," she sang in the tune of the Hallelujah chorus. "Huh, had no idea they droop like that." She was of course, referring to his antenna. Maybe if she could perk him up some more, he'd tell her if he could antenna bang along high pulse club music. "Cheer up, chief. It's not all bad. Coffee's still the same."

[Richard James Litt]

[USS Challenger · Bridge · Helm]

Richard had started procedures for the flight when he received the captain's guidelines.

"Very good Mister Litt, take us out. One quarter impulse once Spackdock releases us from their tractor. After we pass the asteroid belt, take us ta full impulse until we are clear of the system, warp eight after that. No need ta run full out. I know the engines will require proper tunin' and without Lieutenant Lek's deft hand, Mister Van'Roe will need awhile ta get her shop in order."

"Roger captain!" He said with a small smile in his face, despite all the changes, it was great to be at the helm again.

When they were finally released from the tractors, Litt put the ship in a quarter impulse, as ordered when he listened to something from the science station.

"Helm, i'm switching you to auxiliary sensors for a few moments. I'm getting a deviation on the main sensors. Probably nothing too serious but I'm not looking to smash into anything today. Standby for the switch." She says as she executes a series of commands. "Your on auxiliary sensors, helm." She acknowledges. Looking over her shoulder she didn't see anyone manning a station to execute a power transer.

"Copy, ensign Kaz...". He said and kept executing the captain's flight plan.

[Richard James Litt]

NPC Ensign Rova
[USS Challenger · Shuttlebay]

Rova was at the Shuttlebay checking if everything was correct with the shuttles when she listened to someone approaching and looked to see another fly guy there.

[USS Challenger-shuttlebay]
He went to the shuttlebay since he wasn't going to be at the helm. He was going to make sure that everything was functioning the way that it is supposed to. If he was needed elsewhere while he was doing that then he would report to where he would be needed.

"Ahm... Hello..." She said trying not to scare the boy. "I'm Rova... You are here to help?" She asked politely extending her hand.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck One - Bridge]

[USS Challenger - Bridge]

Having seen many personnel transfer off and on over the few years in Starfleet had left Kali rather numb to the whole situation. Just as she considered to mend bridges with her last captain, the crew got shuffled again, and Kali just had to praise the Holy Ghost for not splitting her last stable relationship again. She just about came apart in a horrific bout of actual, honest grief. Losing Nathan would undo her for sure, she had no shame admitting to herself.

Staff wasn't the only thing reshuffled. By some divine miracle, she had been rerouted back to Engineering. The tinkerer in her was utterly thrilled to get her hands dirty. The other part was interestingly empty, like a brown dwarf nearly to collapse in itself. Instead of signing off on the transfer form, Kali found herself tapping on the PADD with her stylus as if to pass the time. Whatever internal war she had fought in her head went unanswered, so she instead started her shift by making two - no - three cups of coffee?

After a brief stint down in Sickbay to hand Nathan a cup, she actually paused outside the turbolift to take a gander of the new staff. The captain was new for sure. Old-new, actually, as she knew him back on the Discovery. And the XO as well, which just made her even more amused.

The invisible cloud that hung over Lahr's head started to metaphorically drizzle all over the console. Like a ray of sunshine over a cloudy day, she set the coffee down and quietly raised her arms like a martyr. "You are welcome," she sang in the tune of the Hallelujah chorus. "Huh, had no idea they droop like that." She was of course, referring to his antenna. Maybe if she could perk him up some more, he'd tell her if he could antenna bang along high pulse club music. "Cheer up, chief. It's not all bad. Coffee's still the same."

The appearance of a coffee cup in front of him interrupted the Andorian and he looked up from the offered cup to the one bringing it.  That's when the Reyes sang out a 'you are welcome' before he could even offer up such pleasantries - not that he'd have likely done so - so maybe it was good that she assumed it.

Lahr grunted and gave a vague nod while his antenna remained drooping.    A state that of course Reyes commented on.   At this point Lahr's face frowned expressing his unhappiness just as clearly as his drooped antenna.  He was grateful that the Captain and XO were no longer on the bridge.  Bad enough the comment was likely heard by everyone else on the bridge.

Lahr knew Kali was just trying to cheer him - he did. She even remarked on it. But right now being cheery would feel like a betrayal.  But he supposed he could feign it just to take the attention off of him and his drooping antenna.

So he consciously raised his cranial appendages and forced a smile.  "Thanks, Reyes.  I guess your are right about the coffee." He picked up the cup and raised it in salute just to show he 'really' meant it.

"But you can drop the 'chief' bit.  I lost my acting rank when the new Captain arrived with his new staff." Lahr leaned in closer to Kali and lowered his voice - recognizing that he'd still likely be heard by T'Kel, but hoping the Vulcan would respect that he was trying to keep his words private. "The guy must be pretty smart to recognize I ain't chief material."

He leaned away again as he sipped on the coffee she brought him.  The bitter brew wasn't really a favorite of his but it seemed a social norm so the Andorian went along with it.  Besides which it was the thought that counted.  It meant a lot Reyes was checking up on him.  Maybe he wasn't as alone as he felt?

"So what brings you to the bridge?  I heard you got a transfer back to Engineering.  I suppose congratulations are in order."  Yet another reason why he'd been feeling down.  He'd really liked working alongside the Vulcan hybrid - she was so much more personable than Grelek.   Oh his granddad would be rolling over in his grave if he'd heard Lahr ever say that aloud about any Vulcan.

Changing subjects... "I noted that Nathan is still around.  I got another session with him coming up soon."  Lahr leaned in again to converse privately once more "Does dating with him help with getting better reviews on the psyche eval... cause if you are in an open relationship... I could sure use a good evaluation." he joked. 

[Kyle Briggs]

[Ready Room]

When they entered the room and the Captain almost sat in the wrong seat, Kyle suppressed a smile. He too had been in the same situation once or twice himself. Once Galloway found his seat, they got down to business.

"Bloody hell, this is goin' ta take time ta get used ta." He thought as he sat.

"Okay, Commander Briggs, I hope it is okay if I call you Kyle. I don't stand on a lot of ceremony, so I'd like ta get right ta the part where we trust each other. I've read the specs on the Challenger, the former captain's log, and every single crew file, tell me that part wasn't painful, but what I need ta know is what isn't in the logs and the files.

"Our mission is fairly simple, which is a good thing for a shake down after a fairly extensive refit and crew rotation, this is especially good after your long campaign against Leyton. I'm not askin' you ta be a rat, just tryin' ta understand if'n there is anything I need ta know right now. I plan on makin' my rounds and talkin' ta the crew personally while we are en route to Takare. I would just like ta know if'n there are any hotspots as it were."

"Kyle is fine, Sir." he replied as he took the seat opposite the CO. "As for the crew, much like yourself, many of them are new and I haven't had a chance to serve with them. As for the ones who were previously aboard the Challenger with me, no real "hotspots" as you say."

Kyle kept some thoughts to himself until he got a chance to speak with some of the crew.

He knew Kali had been transferred back to Engineering, which she probably was happy for. Having served with her for a long time, her "attitude" for lack of a better word was something that had to grow and hopefully the new Captain would see that.

Lahr was still on the Bridge, which Kyle was glad for. He was an amazing Ops officer. He was sad to see him lose his DH spot. Add that to Ruth's reassignment and you probably had one sad Andorian. Kyle definitely wanted to take some time to speak with him.

"We were a pretty solid crew. I don't foresee any issues with anyone going forward. We're all Starfleet Officers." Kyle added.

[Derek Rodwell]

[Engineering - USS Challenger]

Derek had found himself transferred from the Starbase Columbia to a ship. The USS Challenger to be exact. He didn't think he'd get a space assignment so soon after the Academy but he was sure glad he did.

He entered Engineering with the intention of reporting to his new Department Head. A Lieutenant Esmeralda Van'Roe. He had looked her up on the ships records for a photo so he could find her but as he looked around, he didn't see her anywhere. He made his way over to one of the consoles and looked up his duty roster. He was based on Alpha shift and scheduled to run some basic diagnostics on some replicators in the Mess Hall.

"Might as well get started." he muttered to himself as he grabbed the tools he needed and headed for his destination.

[Kali Reyes]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck One - Bridge]

The appearance of a coffee cup in front of him interrupted the Andorian and he looked up from the offered cup to the one bringing it.  That's when the Reyes sang out a 'you are welcome' before he could even offer up such pleasantries - not that he'd have likely done so - so maybe it was good that she assumed it.

Lahr grunted and gave a vague nod while his antenna remained drooping.    A state that of course Reyes commented on.   At this point Lahr's face frowned expressing his unhappiness just as clearly as his drooped antenna.  He was grateful that the Captain and XO were no longer on the bridge.  Bad enough the comment was likely heard by everyone else on the bridge.

Lahr knew Kali was just trying to cheer him - he did. She even remarked on it. But right now being cheery would feel like a betrayal.  But he supposed he could feign it just to take the attention off of him and his drooping antenna.

So he consciously raised his cranial appendages and forced a smile.  "Thanks, Reyes.  I guess your are right about the coffee." He picked up the cup and raised it in salute just to show he 'really' meant it.

"But you can drop the 'chief' bit.  I lost my acting rank when the new Captain arrived with his new staff." Lahr leaned in closer to Kali and lowered his voice - recognizing that he'd still likely be heard by T'Kel, but hoping the Vulcan would respect that he was trying to keep his words private. "The guy must be pretty smart to recognize I ain't chief material."

He leaned away again as he sipped on the coffee she brought him.  The bitter brew wasn't really a favorite of his but it seemed a social norm so the Andorian went along with it.  Besides which it was the thought that counted.  It meant a lot Reyes was checking up on him.  Maybe he wasn't as alone as he felt?

"So what brings you to the bridge?  I heard you got a transfer back to Engineering.  I suppose congratulations are in order."  Yet another reason why he'd been feeling down.  He'd really liked working alongside the Vulcan hybrid - she was so much more personable than Grelek.   Oh his granddad would be rolling over in his grave if he'd heard Lahr ever say that aloud about any Vulcan.

Changing subjects... "I noted that Nathan is still around.  I got another session with him coming up soon."  Lahr leaned in again to converse privately once more "Does dating with him help with getting better reviews on the psyche eval... cause if you are in an open relationship... I could sure use a good evaluation." he joked.

[Challenger - Bridge]

Kali let out a painful hiss at the mention of demotion. "Yeah. Smarts, doesn't it? I remember my first demotion too. Too much fraternizing. Treated my officers like yeoman with glorified delusions of vanity, lack of discipline, and textbook narcissism." She repeated the charges as if it were as mundane as sipping coffee - which she did. "You were my chief for a week-ish. You're a good egg. I'm sure they'll put you back up on the pedestal soon. Look at the bright side. We can flirt it up without having to fill out a form."

Lahr seemed a bit down about the congratulations, which Kali kind of suspected. After all, Ops could be pretty boring if no one was bold enough to make things entertaining. "At the end of the day, I'll go where I'm needed. It's not like I need Engineering to survive. It's just less paperwork."

She almost choked on her coffee by his last question. Nathan Ryder was a true classical Starfleet Officer. Disciplined, even tempered, and could order a Gorn to surrender with a few choice words. But he also had an aura for control. It was almost like he enjoyed taking care of her - taking away her alcohol and keeping her on her medical regimen. That flex of power was really what Kali craved in her relationships, though she'd never admit it aloud. "Nathan's a good Terran boy. If you can influence him, I will literally kneel to your greatness."

[Leela Kaz]

[USS Challenger · Bridge · Helm]

"Copy, ensign Kaz...". He said and kept executing the captain's flight plan.

[Bridge]

Leela sorted through various menus and screens as she muttered to herself. "Where the hell did you hide your special upgrades. She had enough experience at those shipyards to know that sometimes they would experiment and try new things. After a few moments she was able to isolate the subroutine. "Ha gotchya!" She stood up partially and exclaimed, far louder than she intended. Her cheeks became flushed as she looked around to see if anyone noticed her. Pointing to the console she coughed. "Um... I isolated the problem subroutine.. Bringing primary sensors back online and switching off auxiliary." She said nervously, sinking back into her chair.

[Nathan Ryder]

[Sickbay-USS Challenger]

When she received Galloway's response she smirked. "Typical captain response," she mused. Knowing he was busy she decided not to respond further. If he went back on his word she would just go to the Bridge and badger him herself. Plenty of time for that in the near future. She noticed that some of her nurses were beginning to trickle in and gave them friendly nods as she continued to wait for everyone to arrive.

[Sickbay-USS Challenger]

Just outside the doors to the Sickbay, Nathan was patiently letting few of the medical staff pass through before following them in. As the nurses went about their business, the Counselor paused to introduce himself to the new Chief Medical Officer. "Evening, Doctor, and Welcome to the Challenger."

With a light smile, he offered his hand and an introduction. "Name's Ryder. I'm the Counselor here." He tilted his head just a bit to the door off to the side that led to his office. "I think we'll both be quite busy with all of the crew changes, but hopefully things will settle down soon." Just as she had to do physicals, Nathan's job was to cover the psych evals; so they would both be busy with appointments over the next few days.

[Ian Galloway]

Location: The USS Challenger's Science Dept.
The Challenger is under-way.
Niles has just found where to stash his duffel and suit bag, by the time the USS Challenger is under-way.
'Well, I guess the next thing is to find the Science Dept. and report in.', he thought, as he made way down the corridor from his quarter's to the nearest lift.
'Sounds and looks like we're finally under-way, from all the action around here.', he mentally mused as he adroitly and politely made his way through traffic, in the passage, to a set of lifts.
He actually got one that was empty, to his amazement. A metallic mechanical voice asked, "Destination Please?" , after the lift's door slid shut.

"Science Section, please.", he replied matter-a-factly.

"Thank you.", It rejoined.

"Let's see who I report to." Niles said to no-in-particular. "LCDR Evar Werdiss,...", he read out-loud, as he found Chief Science Officer's name on his orders.
He was amazed that they still use paper, as he tried not ruffle it up, as the lift door open in what he hoped was the Ship's Science Section and not just to pick someone-else up.

He was in luck he made it to the main entrance area of the Ship's Science Section.
"Now to find LCDR Werdiss." he thought out loud quietly, as stepped off the lift into another traffic jam, of people going about their business.

Luckily before he made a culturally linguistic fool of himself, he observed from listening closely to the people talking around the Officer he was obviously looking for, that she was a Bajoran.

So, when he was able to make his way over to her, and find an appropriate window of opportunity, to introduce himself he correctly did so by saying, " LCDR Evar, Crewman Niles J. McCulloch, Reporting in, Sir."
Standing flag-pole straight at attention, saluting with his right hand and presenting his orders with his left.

[Science Lab - Deck 8 - USS Challenger]

Lieutenant Commander Evar looked up from the PADD she was reading and smiled.

"At ease Crewman. Welcome to the Challenger and the science department. From what I understand of our current mission, our services are unlikely to be needed as a primary element of our assignment. Therefore, the captain has given me wide latitude to conduct whatever scientific study as we can perform while in the Theta Takare system.

"Theta Takare is a rare situation, being a trinary star system. It consists of four planets and two small stars orbiting a massive primary. In addition, there are extensive asteroid belts, which attest to additional planets that either failed to form or were destroyed by the interaction of the three stars.

"Furthermore, as the stars near their points of closest approach during the year, severe gravitational shears and ion storms are common. Navigation within the system during this period is especially difficult. Additionally, the ion activity severely hampers sensors, causing spurious "ghost" contacts throughout the system.

"So while this won't be a system survey mission, it will be our job to capture as much data on this confluence of the stars and to mitigate sensor ghosts so that the Challenger can go about her business unhindered.

"I have assigned you to work with Ensign Leela Kaz, so please report to her for your first duty shift. I like to think this division is well run, but we do have several new people, so if you run into any difficulties, please know that I stand ready to assist you so that you are successful. Dismissed."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Ready Room]

When they entered the room and the Captain almost sat in the wrong seat, Kyle suppressed a smile. He too had been in the same situation once or twice himself. Once Galloway found his seat, they got down to business.

"Kyle is fine, Sir." he replied as he took the seat opposite the CO. "As for the crew, much like yourself, many of them are new and I haven't had a chance to serve with them. As for the ones who were previously aboard the Challenger with me, no real "hotspots" as you say."

Kyle kept some thoughts to himself until he got a chance to speak with some of the crew.

He knew Kali had been transferred back to Engineering, which she probably was happy for. Having served with her for a long time, her "attitude" for lack of a better word was something that had to grow and hopefully the new Captain would see that.

Lahr was still on the Bridge, which Kyle was glad for. He was an amazing Ops officer. He was sad to see him lose his DH spot. Add that to Ruth's reassignment and you probably had one sad Andorian. Kyle definitely wanted to take some time to speak with him.

"We were a pretty solid crew. I don't foresee any issues with anyone going forward. We're all Starfleet Officers." Kyle added.

Ian listened and knew that Kyle wasn't telling him the whole truth, not that he was specifically withholding information or attempting to be misleading, just that he hadn't earned his trust for him to mention the 'small stuff' that he would handle as first officer. It's what Ian would have, had, done in Kyle's position.

It was however, gratifying that the crew was in fairly good shape considering all that they had been through and with the influx of new people which always required a bit of time to work through.

"Alright then. Good ta hear that for the large part, we're on our way ta bein' ship shape and Bristol fashion. Please take the bridge. I'll be here workin' though the personnel reports before headin' out ta inspect the ship. Thank you Kyle, dismissed."

[Kyle Briggs]

[Kyle, T'Kel (Sec/Tac)]

[Ready Room]

Ian listened and knew that Kyle wasn't telling him the whole truth, not that he was specifically withholding information or attempting to be misleading, just that he hadn't earned his trust for him to mention the 'small stuff' that he would handle as first officer. It's what Ian would have, had, done in Kyle's position.

It was however, gratifying that the crew was in fairly good shape considering all that they had been through and with the influx of new people which always required a bit of time to work through.

"Alright then. Good ta hear that for the large part, we're on our way ta bein' ship shape and Bristol fashion. Please take the bridge. I'll be here workin' though the personnel reports before headin' out ta inspect the ship. Thank you Kyle, dismissed."

Kyle stood with a nod of his head. Something about the Captain's voice told Kyle that the man suspected that he was holding back but seeing as it wasn't anything major, Kyle was okay with it. For now. The man spoke of trust and there had been a time when just the act of wearing a Starfleet uniform automatically earned it. But with troubles such as the former Admiral Leyton had caused, it made it harder to just give it. There wasn't anything specifically about Galloway that stopped Kyle from trusting him. In fact, he realized, he did trust his new CO.

"Aye, Sir." he replied before turning and heading for the door.

They parted and then closed back behind him. Once again, his eyes went to the Sec/Tac station. Motion in front of him caught his eyes as T'Kel removed her self from the center seat.

"It's all yours, Commander." she said as she made her way to her station.

Kyle sighed and took a the seat. With the course for Takare laid in, there wasn't much to worry about right now. Hopefully, it was as easy of a mission as the Captain had made it sound.

"Ensign Kaz. How are your diagnostics going?" he inquired.