Fleet Mission-Turning Point

[Chira Arthur]

[CMO's Office]

Zero narrowed her eyes at the trainee counsellor.  This was starting to sound like one of the many, many sessions she had spent with the tutors assigned to her to teach her how to integrate properly into society.  Since she still knew little about the woman in front of her, Zero was loathed to trust her completely until she knew that she wasn't reporting back to Admiral Corinth.

She folded her arms, studying Chira for a moment before she finally spoke.  "I have not spoken with her since the announcement that she was still alive."

Zero rolled her eyes up to the ceiling in something resembling annoyed despair.  "Although it looks as if that may have to change."

[CMO's Office]

"Well..." Chira said, wondering how far she could push the doctor.  Zero's narrowed eyes easily telegraphed how very un-amused she was at the direction of this conversation.  However...the doctor could have tossed Chira out of the office on her ear at any given point in time.  It hadn't happened, yet, so...

"I wouldn't recommend pushing yourself beyond what you're comfortable doing, doctor, of course.  However...I also would warn against waiting too long.  Time heals, of course, but a wound has to be at least treated first.  Else...well.  We all know what sets in," she trailed off, somewhat awkwardly, not exactly thrilled about the metaphor, but she hoped the point stood.  "You might --"

Chief Medical Officer to Shuttle Bay 3...

Chira glanced up at the ceiling along with the doctor.  Standing up out of the chair, she stood off to the side.  "Doctor," she said, her voice quiet, "would you...like me to go with you?"

[James Booth]

[Shuttle Bay 3]

Jiseth blinked and snapped out of her trance although she stared straight ahead still. There was no use covering up her bloodied hands which were stinging and yet numb at the same time. There were a few quiet breaths before she responded, "What is it, Chief..?"

Jimmy's eyes were drawn to the Lieutenants hands, he winced slightly at the sight of green. Taking a breath, he brought his eyes to meet hers. He wanted to ask if she was alright, but judging what she'd gone through recently, he wasn't sure if the question was insensitive. He still harboured some guilt over her recent troubles, all thanks to doing someone elses bidding. He'd ended his association with with Starfleet Intelligence and the Xenophobic woman who'd been his so called Handler.

Now all he wanted to do was to build bridges and and berry the hatchet with Jiseth. "It's good to see you Lieutenant."

[Henriks Ābols]

[Sickbay]

The doors swished apart to admit Henriks. His palms were clammy and sweaty, sticking to his uniform whenever the two made contact. After a quick glance around the room, he was relieved to find that Alpha was not in the immediate area, but chances were she was in her office and could appear at any moment. Though he hadn't stuck around to find out, he imagined she must have been pretty pissed to find out Jiseth's suicide was a ploy, and he doubted she felt any better on the subject now that the rest of the crew knew. So he had spent as little time as possible in sickbay the last couple days, spending most of his off duty time with Chira or alone in his quarters.

Henriks stifled a yawn, glancing down at his watch. His shift just starting to get underway. In his brief glance around the room, he hadn't seen Chira early, but considering the affect the sudden news that Jiseth was still alive had on the emotions of the crew, she was probably putting her magical words to good use. Henriks felt relief along with the rest of them, though probably not entirely for the same reason. He began to work his way around sickbay, stopping by each biobed and making sure it was all prepped to go. He would continue to do so until somebody suggested otherwise or until a patient came in.

[Jiseth]

Now all he wanted to do was to build bridges and and berry the hatchet with Jiseth. "It's good to see you Lieutenant."

[Shuttle Bay 3]

An eyebrow raised a notch as her looked to him, here eyes shifting back and forth between focusing on each of his. Finally settling somewhere in the middle, she let out an exhale through her mouth. "Likewise, Chief." A moment later she turned her head to the outer lining of the hangar door where the glow from the force field emitters seemed warm yet sterile. Then she looked to all the scorch marks in the hangar, "Still think I have a chip on my shoulder?"

[James Booth]

[Shuttle Bay 3]

An eyebrow raised a notch as her looked to him, here eyes shifting back and forth between focusing on each of his. Finally settling somewhere in the middle, she let out an exhale through her mouth. "Likewise, Chief." A moment later she turned her head to the outer lining of the hangar door where the glow from the force field emitters seemed warm yet sterile. Then she looked to all the scorch marks in the hangar, "Still think I have a chip on my shoulder?"

Booth looked down at the deck, letting out a little chuckle as he did so. He closed his eyes tight for a moment, his opinion had changed towards the Lieutenant. He'd felt bad about the hard time he'd given her and for what had happened to her. Opening his eyes, he looked to the Lieutenant. "Well you might have to give me a little time on that one." He replied with a chuckle. Taking a breath, he added. "I have done all I can to track Greyson, but as of yet I have had no luck." Nodding as he continued. "But you can rest assured, I will kick over every rock until I find the one he's hiding under. When I do find his worthless ass, I will nail it to the nearest wall." With hand in hand. "Now I was wondering if we could get together, for a coffee or something stronger if you'd like. Then you can tell me what I can do to make things up to you?"

[Scott010178]

Deck 7, Jeffries tube 9, Section 12A

Scott sat in the narrow Jeffries tube, he rested his head at one side and his feet at the other. Rubbing his chin, he looked at the PADD he was holding. It contained a letter from Callie Anderson, the Wife of Mike. He hadn't opened the letter, from what he knew of Callie she was a fine lady and made everyone she came across feel good about themselves.

Anderson rubbed his forehead, totally unsure of whether read the letter, particularly after Mike had stated he wanted nothing to do with him. It was something of a recurring theme for Scott, although things had started to change for the better. His initial meeting with Mike had been amicable, but since then it'd gone down hill. He moved his finger over the open file control, quickly pulling it back he ground his teeth. "Bloody hell, what do I do?"

[Jiseth]

Booth looked down at the deck, letting out a little chuckle as he did so. He closed his eyes tight for a moment, his opinion had changed towards the Lieutenant. He'd felt bad about the hard time he'd given her and for what had happened to her. Opening his eyes, he looked to the Lieutenant. "Well you might have to give me a little time on that one." He replied with a chuckle. Taking a breath, he added. "I have done all I can to track Greyson, but as of yet I have had no luck." Nodding as he continued. "But you can rest assured, I will kick over every rock until I find the one he's hiding under. When I do find his worthless ass, I will nail it to the nearest wall." With hand in hand. "Now I was wondering if we could get together, for a coffee or something stronger if you'd like. Then you can tell me what I can do to make things up to you?"

[Shuttle Bay 3]

Jiseth bit down on her lower lip, then let it slip free before looking to the Chief, "You can do that right now. I doubt we'll get much opportunity during this next mission." She patted on the hangar flooring, a gesture for him to sit down. Though she left a faint green outline of her palm and part of her fingers from the blood. A wet, almost sticky sound to accompany it. "I've had a similar talk with Scott a while back, before you came on board. Right now though, the best you can do for me is listen."

[James Booth]

[Shuttle Bay 3]

Jiseth bit down on her lower lip, then let it slip free before looking to the Chief, "You can do that right now. I doubt we'll get much opportunity during this next mission." She patted on the hangar flooring, a gesture for him to sit down. Though she left a faint green outline of her palm and part of her fingers from the blood. A wet, almost sticky sound to accompany it. "I've had a similar talk with Scott a while back, before you came on board. Right now though, the best you can do for me is listen."

His eyes dropped to Jiseth's hands as she patted the deck, before he took a seat with her, the Chief walked across to a mounted medkit and took it. Returning to the Lieutenant, he dropped to her side and opened the small container. With a smile he looked at her briefly. "I'm all yours." He said returning his attention to the medkit and removing a dermal re-generator. With as best a trust me smile he could do, he reached out gently and took one of her hands. "Don't worry I've done this before." Jimmy stated as he activated the device. 

[Jiseth]

His eyes dropped to Jiseth's hands as she patted the deck, before he took a seat with her, the Chief walked across to a mounted medkit and took it. Returning to the Lieutenant, he dropped to her side and opened the small container. With a smile he looked at her briefly. "I'm all yours." He said returning his attention to the medkit and removing a dermal re-generator. With as best a trust me smile he could do, he reached out gently and took one of her hands. "Don't worry I've done this before." Jimmy stated as he activated the device.

[Shuttle Bay 3]

It seemed odd to her the way the Chief was acting compared to the stern disciplinarian on the holodeck. Even more so compared to the man obnoxiously laughing at her holographic flight officer. Her death may not have completed the desired objective, but if it was getting her to bond with her senior officers then it was by no means a failure. With eyes focused on the slowly closing green openings of flesh, she took a deep breath, "I have a relative who is a Squadron Commander in the Romulan Fleet. She's never been fond of the idea of me here instead of there, but she's proud of what I've done so far. According to her, I'm one of a handful of Starfleet officers she doesn't see as completely worthless. We sent messages back and forth while I was at the Academy. Apparently that drew some attention..."

Her green eyes seemed to stare into nothingness now as her mind began to sift through the memories, trying to suppress the emotions that came with them, "I wasn't entirely well-liked by the other cadets, but I have to admit I was respected by those who know my flight prowess. Especially after they gave me my call sign, Oddball. At the time it was a polite equivalent to that Human gesture with the middle finger. Didn't stop me from becoming cadet XO of Nova Squad. I mean, flying's my life, but... I guess somethings are more important for other people to focus on. Green blood... Pointy ears... They were waiting for me in my dorm. Five of them. Asking about my family. My loyalties. I thought it was a sick joke at first. 'We're Red Squad. We don't exist and no one's going to believe you.' Cliche isn't it? Well... when they didn't get what they wanted, they started throwing punches. Tied me down to the coffee table... then took turns... I skipped classes the next day because I couldn't walk. To be honest, I never considered defecting until that day. I hated every single person in uniform around me. How they could be so oblivious. After my shuttle was sabotaged during my assignment to Earth's moon, I had the chance to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, which seems a little strange when you're trapped in a tin can without life-support, but it killed time. The uniform means something to me. Gods give you falsehoods and the reality is entire worlds are saved from starvation because some people in red, amber and teal brought not only food, but means so the populations can sustain themselves. This uniform brings hope to so many. I guess if there's one thing that a Romulan can believe in, it's that ideal." She went quiet for many long moments, slowly resurfacing from her dive into her past. "That's why I'm still here."

[Henriks Ābols]

[Sickbay]

Henriks ran his hand along each biobed as he worked. Even the biobeds had battle scars, almost invisible and so most eyes just passed right over them. But the hands felt everything, each and every crevice, every wrinkle that these silent warriors collected after each use. If they could speak, what sort of tales would they tell of the unspeakable horrors they lay witness to? Bleeding bodies draped across them like limp cloth as the medics and blue rushed to avoid stains of red and losing their patients to the black. But what were battle scars if not tales of success? The silent warriors had also seen many cases of success, and sometimes just a simple routine checkup. Henriks wondered, as he ran his finger along one of the deep creases, if they kept score of wins and losses. But it didn't matter. They couldn't talk.

A shuffling of feet roused Henriks from his bleak thoughts. His eyes met another pair and locked briefly before turning away. The air was still stiff with an uncomfortable tension,  and so no words were spoken, and Henriks continued on his way, moving to the next biobed.

[Zero Alpha]

[CMO's Office]

"Well..." Chira said, wondering how far she could push the doctor.  Zero's narrowed eyes easily telegraphed how very un-amused she was at the direction of this conversation.  However...the doctor could have tossed Chira out of the office on her ear at any given point in time.  It hadn't happened, yet, so...

"I wouldn't recommend pushing yourself beyond what you're comfortable doing, doctor, of course.  However...I also would warn against waiting too long.  Time heals, of course, but a wound has to be at least treated first.  Else...well.  We all know what sets in," she trailed off, somewhat awkwardly, not exactly thrilled about the metaphor, but she hoped the point stood.  "You might --"

Chira glanced up at the ceiling along with the doctor.  Standing up out of the chair, she stood off to the side.  "Doctor," she said, her voice quiet, "would you...like me to go with you?"

[CMO's Office]

Zero really didn't want to have to go and talk to Jiseth at that time.  The anger still boiled and raged under her sternum, a seething sea of roiling rage.  Her hands balled into fists on her desk.  She hit her commbadge.

"Alpha to Abols, a medic has been requested in shuttlebay 3.  Deal with it."  Tapping the badge again to close the channel, the Augment then looked at Chira with a bored expression.  "I do not intend to go," she said simply.

[James Booth]

[Shuttle Bay 3]

It seemed odd to her the way the Chief was acting compared to the stern disciplinarian on the holodeck. Even more so compared to the man obnoxiously laughing at her holographic flight officer. Her death may not have completed the desired objective, but if it was getting her to bond with her senior officers then it was by no means a failure. With eyes focused on the slowly closing green openings of flesh, she took a deep breath, "I have a relative who is a Squadron Commander in the Romulan Fleet. She's never been fond of the idea of me here instead of there, but she's proud of what I've done so far. According to her, I'm one of a handful of Starfleet officers she doesn't see as completely worthless. We sent messages back and forth while I was at the Academy. Apparently that drew some attention..."

Her green eyes seemed to stare into nothingness now as her mind began to sift through the memories, trying to suppress the emotions that came with them, "I wasn't entirely well-liked by the other cadets, but I have to admit I was respected by those who know my flight prowess. Especially after they gave me my call sign, Oddball. At the time it was a polite equivalent to that Human gesture with the middle finger. Didn't stop me from becoming cadet XO of Nova Squad. I mean, flying's my life, but... I guess somethings are more important for other people to focus on. Green blood... Pointy ears... They were waiting for me in my dorm. Five of them. Asking about my family. My loyalties. I thought it was a sick joke at first. 'We're Red Squad. We don't exist and no one's going to believe you.' Cliche isn't it? Well... when they didn't get what they wanted, they started throwing punches. Tied me down to the coffee table... then took turns... I skipped classes the next day because I couldn't walk. To be honest, I never considered defecting until that day. I hated every single person in uniform around me. How they could be so oblivious. After my shuttle was sabotaged during my assignment to Earth's moon, I had the chance to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, which seems a little strange when you're trapped in a tin can without life-support, but it killed time. The uniform means something to me. Gods give you falsehoods and the reality is entire worlds are saved from starvation because some people in red, amber and teal brought not only food, but means so the populations can sustain themselves. This uniform brings hope to so many. I guess if there's one thing that a Romulan can believe in, it's that ideal." She went quiet for many long moments, slowly resurfacing from her dive into her past. "That's why I'm still here."

Booth paused for a moment, as Jiseth recounted what had happened to her. It made him feel sick in the pit of his stomach, although their relationship was frosty, nobody deserved that kind of treatment. Reactivating the re-generator, he waved it slowly and gently over the wounds. "I'm..." Jimmy cut off quickly, from what he knew of the Romulan Lieutenant, she would not be receptive to his sympathy.

He hadn't always agreed with her ways of doing things, but he found himself liking her reasons for being in the uniform. Swallowing and taking a breath, he lifted his head to look her in the eye. He hoped he wasn't sounding insensitive, but he felt compelled to ask. "So what happened to them?"

[Jiseth]

Booth paused for a moment, as Jiseth recounted what had happened to her. It made him feel sick in the pit of his stomach, although their relationship was frosty, nobody deserved that kind of treatment. Reactivating the re-generator, he waved it slowly and gently over the wounds. "I'm..." Jimmy cut off quickly, from what he knew of the Romulan Lieutenant, she would not be receptive to his sympathy.

He hadn't always agreed with her ways of doing things, but he found himself liking her reasons for being in the uniform. Swallowing and taking a breath, he lifted his head to look her in the eye. He hoped he wasn't sounding insensitive, but he felt compelled to ask. "So what happened to them?"

[Shuttle Bay 3]

Slowly shaking her head, a sullen expression took hold. "I have no idea. No leads. While I was on the Discovery, I met an intelligence officer who had offered help in the matter. Honestly... I thought with Admiral Brown's connections I'd have a few names. Something. Anything." Her eyes trailed to the door, thinking about her hail to sick bay, "But... because of his help I have Zero here. She hasn't said a word since I was awoken. I know people do insane things for the people they care about, but if you had been in my shoes, what would you have done?"

[Henriks Ābols]

[CMO's Office]

Zero really didn't want to have to go and talk to Jiseth at that time.  The anger still boiled and raged under her sternum, a seething sea of roiling rage.  Her hands balled into fists on her desk.  She hit her commbadge.

"Alpha to Á,,â,¬bols, a medic has been requested in shuttlebay 3.  Deal with it."  Tapping the badge again to close the channel, the Augment then looked at Chira with a bored expression.  "I do not intend to go," she said simply.

[Sickbay]

"Yes, ma'am," Henriks replied with a quick tap of the comm badge. He let his hand fall from the biobed to his side as he reached for a medkit with his other one. Medkit in hand, he turned to the doors which had admitted him only moments ago and made his exit from the room.

[Shuttlebay 3]

As he crossed the threshold into the shuttlebay, Henriks wondered what he would find. He'd been given no specifics, just told to report to the shuttlebay because someone had requested a medic. He only had the standard tools that came in every medkit but figured they would have told him if anything specific was needed. The sight of Booth caused Henriks to falter slightly in his steps. This wasn't about his poor shooting scores, was it? No, it couldn't be. Booth held a medical tool in his hand, Jiseth beside him, knuckles green.

"Chief Alpha sent me," Henriks said quietly as he approached. "But it seems you have the situation in hand..."

[Jiseth]

[Shuttlebay 3]

As he crossed the threshold into the shuttlebay, Henriks wondered what he would find. He'd been given no specifics, just told to report to the shuttlebay because someone had requested a medic. He only had the standard tools that came in every medkit but figured they would have told him if anything specific was needed. The sight of Booth caused Henriks to falter slightly in his steps. This wasn't about his poor shooting scores, was it? No, it couldn't be. Booth held a medical tool in his hand, Jiseth beside him, knuckles green.

"Chief Alpha sent me," Henriks said quietly as he approached. "But it seems you have the situation in hand..."

She wanted to ball her hands into fists, but there was a tinge of stinging pain when she tried and relaxed her hands again. With a solemn shake of her head, Jiseth closed her eyes, "Not quite..." she said more to herself. Looking up to Henriks, her lips scrunched to one side, "I take it she doesn't want to have anything to do with me still."