Season 1 - Mission 4: The Spider’s Web

[Kirok]

[Mess Hall]

Julia accepted the glass of Champagne and raised it in the air alongside Kirok. Giving a slight nod towards the crew that had assembled in the Mess Hall. "Thank you. Thank you, guys." Julia was flattered by the outpouring of support she was receiving form all directions. "I'm so grateful to have worked with all of you." She turned her attention towards Archangel.

"You're so very welcome Archangel. And I promise to keep in touch. There is always subspace, the girls will have to ring me up sometime." Julia said with a smile. Serving with the girls had been quite an experience for Julia.

[Mess Hall]

Kirok's drink was non-alcoholic.  He finished his glass.  Then he place it in the bin for recycling.

When Julia was between conversations, Kirok again approached her.  "Ms. Rellek, I must return to the Bridge.  I will arrange to have your belongs moved for you.  Safe travels" he said quietly.

[Bridge]

After he said his goodbyes, Kirok headed back to the Bridge.  As promised, he arranged to have Ms. Rellek's things moved so that her transfer would go easier.  Then he waited for the others to arrive.

[T'Lara]

[Mess Hall]

Kirok's drink was non-alcoholic.  He finished his glass.  Then he place it in the bin for recycling.

When Julia was between conversations, Kirok again approached her.  "Ms. Rellek, I must return to the Bridge.  I will arrange to have your belongs moved for you.  Safe travels" he said quietly.

[Bridge]

After he said his goodbyes, Kirok headed back to the Bridge.  As promised, he arranged to have Ms. Rellek's things moved so that her transfer would go easier.  Then he waited for the others to arrive.

[Mess Hall]

T'Lara glimpsed Kirok leaving the room and decided she should make her way back to the Bridge as well now that the initial statements had been made and she was no longer required to be there. She gave a short nod to the group of people nearest to her and silently made her way out of the Mess Hall.

[Bridge]

Once she had entered the Bridge, she acknowledged the captain and sat down at the science console, relieving the ensign there and making sure that everything was powered up and ready.

[Rocky]

Rocky made a sleight shrug when the Captain addressed him. He wasn't here for some posh ceremony promoting some high muckity-muck to some other high muckity-muck position. He was just here to scrub some green crud off the walls. It was a stubborn little chunk too- he had to really crank up the power to get it done.

[Julia Rellek]

[Mess Hall]

Normally, Gabriel liked to avoid diplomatic and ceremonial functions.  He certainly had an excuse - the repair work inspections were ongoing, although his team had done a hell of a job once they'd been given some breathing room (which mainly involved not being rammed, shot at, or blown up).  So...yes.  Every excuse just to send a message and continue working.

Of course, that could be acceptable for anyone but Julia.

Once he'd been let in on the reason for the meeting, Gabriel knew that he had to be there in person to wish her well.  Rellek had been a fixture of the USS Phoenix, second only to Archangel herself.  She had been there for his wife when Arch and Gabriel had gone through their separation period, brief as a year, long as a lifetime.  And now, Julia was leaving for her own command.  That was the natural way of things, especially when one didn't have family considerations to anchor and center their careers.

"Feeling better?" Gabriel quietly asked Archangel as he sidled up to her, the tips of his fingers briefly touching hers, almost imperceptible in its quickness.  The tone of his voice, however, left no doubt that he felt she should still be resting and off duty.  Eyebrow cocked, Gabe gave his wife a playful grin before turning to Rellek.  "Julia.  Glad I caught you before you left...congrats."  He reached out his hand for a shake, instead opting to go for a hug.  "Be sure to listen to your Chief Engineer."

[Mess Hall]

Julia embraced Gabe, in much the way she may embrace a brother. It had been a long road. Julia had gotten to know this family quite well. She knew more about them then would be typical in any professional environment. As she released the embraced her hands lingered on his shoulders. "Take care of 'em Gabe. She smiled and started to walk towards the door."

As she approached the door she turned around one last time. "Thanks for the warm send off guys. I'm sure i'll paths will cross again soon." As she exited the room she wiped a single tear from the top of her cheek. It wasn't a tear of sorrow, but more one of contemplation.

As she moved through the corridors they seemed to come alive with memories. Every meter of that ship held a laugh or a tear. This was the ship that made her and she would never forget that.

"Commander Rellek, please report to Airlock One at your earliest convenience for transfer operations and ship-to-ship transfer.  Congratulations on your command, ma'am.  May she sail straight and true.  Will you be wetting the swab here with us, or aboard Columbus, sir?"=/\=

[Transporter Room 1]

"Acknowledged Commander. And may I say it has been a pleasure."=/\=

With that final communique she stepped onto the transporter pad.

"Good day ensign Young. To the Tempest please."

In a blue and white haze Julia dematerialized and lef the Phoenix one last time.

[Kirok]

[Mess Hall]

T'Lara glimpsed Kirok leaving the room and decided she should make her way back to the Bridge as well now that the initial statements had been made and she was no longer required to be there. She gave a short nod to the group of people nearest to her and silently made her way out of the Mess Hall.

[Bridge]

Once she had entered the Bridge, she acknowledged the captain and sat down at the science console, relieving the ensign there and making sure that everything was powered up and ready.

[Bridge]

Kirok offered T'Lara a silent nod.  He had just received new orders for the ship.  He gave it a quick read.

The Vulcan/Betazoid typed out a reply message, acknowledging receipt of the orders.  "T'Lara, please alert the Bridge Crew to return to their stations.  We will be departing as soon as possible" the Vulcan/Betazoid said.

[Hrafn Falleg]

Mess Hall

Noticing the Captain leave and remembering that she had previously been on duty, with nothing to keep her in the mess hall Hrafn took the turbolift to the Bridge.

Bridge

Bowing slightly to the Captain she smiled.  She liked him and spoke directly to him now.

"Forgive me Captain, much as I wish Commander Rellek every success on the Tempest I felt no need to stay in the Mess Hall. Can I be of assistance anywhere prior to departure?"

She smiled up at T'Lara.  Her fellow scientist was always very efficient and it was hardly a surprise to find her already on the Bridge.

[Archangel Koris]

"Feeling better?" Gabriel quietly asked Archangel as he sidled up to her, the tips of his fingers briefly touching hers, almost imperceptible in its quickness.  The tone of his voice, however, left no doubt that he felt she should still be resting and off duty.  Eyebrow cocked, Gabe gave his wife a playful grin before turning to Rellek. 

[Mess Hall]

The feel of Gabriel's fingers brushing against hers brought a faint smile to Archangel's face, but she couldn't show any further reaction given that they were on duty.  Public displays of affection were frowned upon in general, and certainly wouldn't be well seen for a command officer to engage in such.  In return to his playful grin, however, and the hidden admonition, she poked the very tip of her tongue out between her lips, much as their girls would do when they tried to hide that they were answering back.

With Julia's departure, the Romulan decided to get a move on in terms of getting the ship out of the dock and on the way to their next mission.  Lifting her fingers to her lips, she gave a piercing whistle that her many years as a chief engineering officer had allowed her to perfect.  She had a whistle that could transverse bulkheads.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please report to your duty stations and prepare the ship for launch.  Star Fleet has need of us back out in space and we must obey!"

With that said, she left the mess hall herself, heading for the turbolift.

[Bridge]

Arriving in the ship's command centre, Archangel moved down to her usual position, between the chairs for the command team and the operations and helm stations, standing with her hands behind her back and observing the bridge.  The absence of an officer in the helm position stuck out like a sore thumb.  Knowing that Jiseth was only just moving in on the ship and was not yet on duty, she tapped her commbadge and put a call in to the next flight officer on her mental list.

=^= "T'Koris to Ensign Weir, report to the bridge for duty." =^=

[Zero Alpha]

One arm cradled Callion, her daughter sound asleep and drooling on her mother's collar, the other tugged at a large luggage container. This all in addition to the heavy duffel bags strapped to her shoulders, she was feeling rather like the family pack mule. Jiseth had heard of the weight of parenthood, but the Romulan didn't think it was a literal one.

Looking around the room, it was touch larger than their accommodations on the Discovery. Something Callion and Ghost would appreciate during their hide and seek games. The only thing she wished was for the transport to not have arrived during what was to them the middle of the night. At least a day would have to be spent adjusting their sleeping to the different shift schedules. She tried while on the shuttle, but too frequently ended up in the cockpit to observe their progress much to the annoyance of the crew sent to retrieve them.

"Guess this is our new home, Zero. Pity, I had just about memorized the deck layout to that Akira-class. Zex seemed well enough too. Bah, it's fine. We know plenty people on this whale of a ship already."

[Quarters]

While Jiseth carried their daughter, Zero had the task of dealing with the other baby of the family, who had decided that stopping every five metres to sniff the carpet was an acceptable means of getting to their quarters.  The weight of the packs containing uniforms and essentials for the two woman and the various paraphenalia associated with canine ownership wasn't too overwhelming for someone of her strength, but nor was it an easy burden to bear.  Thankfully, they arrived sooner rather than later in their newly assigned quarters.

Just the pile of packs was already tugging at her need to organise and put everything in its assigned place, but Zero forced herself not to get stuck in immediately, instead unclipping Ghost's lead from his collar and allowing him to explore his new living space while she dug out his water bowl and filled it.

"I have no doubt that you will soon have this layout memorised also, as well as the flight crew bent to your will," she reassured the Romulan.  "I am... glad to once again be serving on this ship.  She is more familiar to me, as is the majority of its crew.  Also, with Commander T'Koris and Lieutenant Arthur close, we will be able to avail ourselves of their child-rearing experience."

[T'Lara]

[Bridge]

Kirok offered T'Lara a silent nod.  He had just received new orders for the ship.  He gave it a quick read.

The Vulcan/Betazoid typed out a reply message, acknowledging receipt of the orders.  "T'Lara, please alert the Bridge Crew to return to their stations.  We will be departing as soon as possible" the Vulcan/Betazoid said.

[Bridge]

"Aye, Captain." T'Lara touched her comm badge. =^=Lieutenant T'Lara to bridge crew, please resume your stations to prepare for departure. T'Lara out. =^=

Mess Hall

Noticing the Captain leave and remembering that she had previously been on duty, with nothing to keep her in the mess hall Hrafn took the turbolift to the Bridge.

Bridge

Bowing slightly to the Captain she smiled.  She liked him and spoke directly to him now.

"Forgive me Captain, much as I wish Commander Rellek every success on the Tempest I felt no need to stay in the Mess Hall. Can I be of assistance anywhere prior to departure?"

She smiled up at T'Lara.  Her fellow scientist was always very efficient and it was hardly a surprise to find her already on the Bridge.

Just as she gave the command, Hrafn entered the Bridge and T'Lara gave her a nod of acknowledgement.

[Michael J. Tritter]

[Sick bay, Mess Hall, Bridge]

Tritter had noticed the Doctor seemed busy and he made his way out of the sick bay. He pondered his next stopping point,  he had made the executive decision to stop down to the Mess Hall, as he had known that his family was down there. He moved into a nearby turbolift, ducked slightly and entered the turbolift. He keyed in for the deck for the Mess Hall, and once it slid to a stop and the doors opened. He ducked slightly and exited the Turbo Lift, he looked over the Mess Hall area and he found his Family seating at a table. The large man would make his way over and take a seat next to his youngest, his Daughter Ashley. She would nudge into her Dad as he would wrap his right arm around the child and ruffle her hair.

He would make small talk with the Children and started to focus on his better half, the two started to talk when he heard the order to their Station, he muttered something under his breath before he would get up and walk away, he didn't want to but such was the life. He would make his way to the Bridge, once he arrived on the Bridge, he would stop infront of T'Koris, he would than simply states "Ma'am, Ensign Trittr reporting as ordered" in his traditionally heavily accented voice.

[Jiseth]

Just the pile of packs was already tugging at her need to organise and put everything in its assigned place, but Zero forced herself not to get stuck in immediately, instead unclipping Ghost's lead from his collar and allowing him to explore his new living space while she dug out his water bowl and filled it.

"I have no doubt that you will soon have this layout memorised also, as well as the flight crew bent to your will," she reassured the Romulan.  "I am... glad to once again be serving on this ship.  She is more familiar to me, as is the majority of its crew.  Also, with Commander T'Koris and Lieutenant Arthur close, we will be able to avail ourselves of their child-rearing experience."

[Quarters]

"Well, when I first met T'Koris those two certainly had a lot on their plate with the girls, but they've kept it together pretty well and seemed quite happy. Think they'd get along with Callion okay?"

Jiseth pulled the container into the bedroom and left it between the bed and the closet. One of the packs she managed to slide off her shoulder, but she could not remove the other while still holding the toddler. Luckily the bed was already made for their arrival and with her utmost finesse pulled back the sheets and lowered her daughter onto the mattress, taking care to not wake her.

After she stood fully back up and pulled the sheets up to keep the little one warm, the Romulan took a moment to simply appreciate the beauty of the moment. There lay the embodiment of the legacy that she and Zero would leave behind. With all that had gone on around them on their previous ships it was welcome relief to see her sleep so soundly. She quietly set down the other bag and removed her work PADD from it then moved back to the living room to help unpack without waking the little one.

"It seems T'Koris is going to have Ensign Weir do the flying out of here. Just as well. Any idea who you'll be working with?"

[Gabriel Arthur]

[Mess Hall]

The feel of Gabriel's fingers brushing against hers brought a faint smile to Archangel's face, but she couldn't show any further reaction given that they were on duty.  Public displays of affection were frowned upon in general, and certainly wouldn't be well seen for a command officer to engage in such.  In return to his playful grin, however, and the hidden admonition, she poked the very tip of her tongue out between her lips, much as their girls would do when they tried to hide that they were answering back.

With Julia's departure, the Romulan decided to get a move on in terms of getting the ship out of the dock and on the way to their next mission.  Lifting her fingers to her lips, she gave a piercing whistle that her many years as a chief engineering officer had allowed her to perfect.  She had a whistle that could transverse bulkheads.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please report to your duty stations and prepare the ship for launch.  Star Fleet has need of us back out in space and we must obey!"

With that said, she left the mess hall herself, heading for the turbolift.

[Bridge]

Arriving in the ship's command centre, Archangel moved down to her usual position, between the chairs for the command team and the operations and helm stations, standing with her hands behind her back and observing the bridge.  The absence of an officer in the helm position stuck out like a sore thumb.  Knowing that Jiseth was only just moving in on the ship and was not yet on duty, she tapped her commbadge and put a call in to the next flight officer on her mental list.

=^= "T'Koris to Ensign Weir, report to the bridge for duty." =^=

[Mess Hall]

Turning to face his wife, Gabriel gave her not just a look, but the look.  It was quickly abandoned, though, with a little sigh.  She did seem much healthier, flush with a subtle tinge of Romulan green.  Perhaps she was better.  Then again, faking good health was one of Archangel's strongest abilities.

And, just like that, Julia was gone.  A fixture in both of their lives, off to her own adventure.  Gabriel didn't exactly envy it - he had never had designs on command, and never would - but it was a bittersweet feeling.  "Godspeed," he said to himself, turning as his wife cut the air with a shrill whistle, serving as her own bos'n.  That whistle had, more than once, gotten the attention of two wayward girls, and it did the trick here, too.

[Bridge]

Gabe elected to follow the rest of the Bridge crew up to their stations, taking the Engineering console spot.  His own crews had things nailed down in the secondary hull, and he wanted to monitor the readings from the topside to see if they matched what specs he had in mind after the repairs.  It seemed that patching up the USS Phoenix was getting to be a habit, and one his people could almost do with their eyes closed.  "We're online and ready to give you anything you need, Captain," he said to Kirok.

[Kirok]

Mess Hall

Noticing the Captain leave and remembering that she had previously been on duty, with nothing to keep her in the mess hall Hrafn took the turbolift to the Bridge.

Bridge

Bowing slightly to the Captain she smiled.  She liked him and spoke directly to him now.

"Forgive me Captain, much as I wish Commander Rellek every success on the Tempest I felt no need to stay in the Mess Hall. Can I be of assistance anywhere prior to departure?"

She smiled up at T'Lara.  Her fellow scientist was always very efficient and it was hardly a surprise to find her already on the Bridge.

[Bridge]

"No apology needed, Ms. Felleg.  I hope you enjoyed yourself" Kirok replied.  "I do have an assignment for you.  Starfleet has sent us the communication and ship logs from our lost ship" he said.

"Can you and your team dig through the reports to see if there is anything notable that my help to explain what happened to them?" the Vulcan/Betazoid asked.  "Starfleet has already been through them.  But I think a fresh look is warranted" he said.

[Bridge]

"Aye, Captain." T'Lara touched her comm badge. =^=Lieutenant T'Lara to bridge crew, please resume your stations to prepare for departure. T'Lara out. =^=

Just as she gave the command, Hrafn entered the Bridge and T'Lara gave her a nod of acknowledgement.

[Bridge]

Thought the female Vulcan was much like Kirok in the regard that she did not seem to need much praise for completing her job satisfactorily, Kirok did so anyway.   "Thank you, T'Lara" he replied.  Then, he turned to the door as a few more of the officers filtered in.

[Mess Hall]

Turning to face his wife, Gabriel gave her not just a look, but the look.  It was quickly abandoned, though, with a little sigh.  She did seem much healthier, flush with a subtle tinge of Romulan green.  Perhaps she was better.  Then again, faking good health was one of Archangel's strongest abilities.

And, just like that, Julia was gone.  A fixture in both of their lives, off to her own adventure.  Gabriel didn't exactly envy it - he had never had designs on command, and never would - but it was a bittersweet feeling.  "Godspeed," he said to himself, turning as his wife cut the air with a shrill whistle, serving as her own bos'n.  That whistle had, more than once, gotten the attention of two wayward girls, and it did the trick here, too.

[Bridge]

Gabe elected to follow the rest of the Bridge crew up to their stations, taking the Engineering console spot.  His own crews had things nailed down in the secondary hull, and he wanted to monitor the readings from the topside to see if they matched what specs he had in mind after the repairs.  It seemed that patching up the USS Phoenix was getting to be a habit, and one his people could almost do with their eyes closed.  "We're online and ready to give you anything you need, Captain," he said to Kirok.

[Bridge]

"Thank you Ms. Arthur.  As with all of our missions, we will need to make our best time to our location" Kirok replied.  "Then I believe your expertise may be needed when we reach the vessel" he added.

The report that Starfleet had sent them said that a Starfleet vessel had been located near an asteroid field and apparently destroyed.  To what extent was currently unknown.  Gabe's extensive knowledge would definitely be needed to determine if the vessel in question could be salvaged at.

[Hrafn Falleg]

[Bridge]

"Aye, Captain." T'Lara touched her comm badge. =^=Lieutenant T'Lara to bridge crew, please resume your stations to prepare for departure. T'Lara out. =^=

Just as she gave the command, Hrafn entered the Bridge and T'Lara gave her a nod of acknowledgement.

Bridge

Hrafn nodded back to T'Lara.  Always so precise and efficient, Hrafn was proud to have her beside her at Sciences.

[Bridge]

"No apology needed, Ms. Felleg.  I hope you enjoyed yourself" Kirok replied.  "I do have an assignment for you.  Starfleet has sent us the communication and ship logs from our lost ship" he said.

"Can you and your team dig through the reports to see if there is anything notable that my help to explain what happened to them?" the Vulcan/Betazoid asked.  "Starfleet has already been through them.  But I think a fresh look is warranted" he said.

"Certainly, Sir.  And yes, thank you the break was most pleasurable, saving the slight pain at saying farewell to a friend!"

She walked up to the Science console and pulled up the reports and started browsing through them.

[Kejal Buris]

[Bridge]

Kejal stepped out of the turbolift calmly, holding a PADD which he passed to T'Koris (as Kirok was otherwise occupied). He spoke quickly, on the way to his station. "Personnel transfer and provisioning report, Captain. We're a little short on emergency water supplies for my taste, but well within protocol. Dilithium reserve is fully stocked and our complement of probes and torpedoes has been renewed.  Miss Rellek arrived safely aboard the Tempest, and as you can see, new personnel are sliding into place nicely."

It was an appropriate report to a First Officer, though it was obvious that Buris had referred to her as Captain more out of reflex than anything else. He wasn't looking to start a mutiny, after all.

He turned, and tapped the Ensign at his Ops station on the shoulder, sliding into place as the young woman stood up. He quickly pulled up scanner readings of the lost ship, the complement records from their Ops officer, and the Stellar Cartography lab's record of the asteroid field in question. He turned to Kirok. "Captain, I have the stellar cartog record of our destination. Should I put it onscreen?"