Season 1 - Mission 4: The Spider’s Web

[Kachina Filitov]

Mess Hall

Hrafn listened to Julia's speech and then rotated back to Katcha.  "So we loose a fine officer but she deserves it.  We've still got you though, I'm glad of that.  The Phoenix is literally in safe hands when it comes to flying her!  And Kirok is... well he's Kirok but he's a damn fine CO we know that much!" she smiled.

"And you're kinda stuck with me as the CSO so if there are any hobgoblins out there then I'll be happy to poke and prod them!"

Mess Hall

Katcha nodded and smiled back. Not wanting to tell her friend about the possible transfer that had been raised with her. Since it had not been confirmed, she was not saying anything.

"Ve vill do vell." She replied.

[Klabax Cottle]

[Mess Hall]

"It has been appropriately applied" Kirok replied in his typical Vulcan manner.  "And suits your well" he added with the slightest of smiles.  The Vulcan/Betazoid return the bow.  Then he moved himself off to the side near Klabex, Rocky, and Filitov.

"Thank your for helping to arrange this, Ms. Filtov" Kiork said.  "It is good to see you here, Rocky" he added.  "And you must be our newest shipmate.  Welcome aboard" he said to Klabax.

[Mess]

He had seen the transfer, and clapped politely along with the others. He didn't know the officer, but, she was a Commanding Officer of a Galaxy class starship- not one to cross lightly. He was sure she'd earned it, it was a matter of did she know what she was getting into.

"Thank you." he said, to the Vulcan who approached him. Hastily, he added on the "sir." to the end of it, having forgotten his military chain of command for a moment. "Aye, I am the new one here."

He chided himself for his mistake, knowing that although he didn't think highly of the chain of command, and on medical matters would ignore it at times, he would have to put a good foot forward, at least until he got settled in.

[Ashley Weir]

Tritter shifted his gaze towards the female who addressed him, he looked her over, his gaze was intent and focused as he studied her. When she mentioned not liking medical stuff, his blood pressure spiked slightly and his adrenaline started pumping. He pondered her question, before he replied with "To be honest, it was making sure that there is some place for my children and partner to call home" His voice was unwaveringly strong, as he knew the decision he made was right for him and his family.

[Sickbay]

Ashley offered a small smile as she listened to the man speak. "I can appreciate that. Do you already have children or were you just planning ahead?" She asked politely in a warm tone still trying make things go a little faster.

[Kirok]

[Mess]

He had seen the transfer, and clapped politely along with the others. He didn't know the officer, but, she was a Commanding Officer of a Galaxy class starship- not one to cross lightly. He was sure she'd earned it, it was a matter of did she know what she was getting into.

"Thank you." he said, to the Vulcan who approached him. Hastily, he added on the "sir." to the end of it, having forgotten his military chain of command for a moment. "Aye, I am the new one here."

He chided himself for his mistake, knowing that although he didn't think highly of the chain of command, and on medical matters would ignore it at times, he would have to put a good foot forward, at least until he got settled in.

[Mess Hall]

"It is fortunate that you joined us today" Kirok replied.  The chef gave him a signal and then brought out a cake that had been decorated for the occasion and several glassed filled with a bubbly beverage.  "It is not everyday that one of our own is promoted to CO of a new ship" he added.

Then he turned to the group.  "Ladies and gentlemen.  In honor of our newly promoted Commander, we have cake and beverages" the Vulcan/Betazoid said as he picked up a glass and raised it into the air.  "Here is to Ms. Rellek" he said.

[Kintiss]

Tritter looked over the Lieutenant once again as the man spoke to him. It took a moment for him to process the cobra humanoid's statement to him, he would than reply with "No", his eyes closely followed the tricoder, the man was not a fan of medical things after all. He would than add "I have shown no signs of infection, whereas other members of the away team have" His heavily accented voice was calm, although it was somewhat obvious by his body language and how he leaned heavily on his left side that he didn't want to be here.

[Sickbay]

"And they were all admitted to quarantine for treatment," Kintiss replied as he concluded his scan. "Well, there'sss no trace of the virussss in your sssssysssstem. You're clean," he continued as he closed the tricorder. He had a sneaking suspicion that the ensign might feel better once he was out of sickbay.

"Ssssorry to keep you waiting," he said, addressing Ensign Weir.

[Kejal Buris]

[Operations Mobile Unit, beside Airlock 1]

The coffee Buris had requested had been delivered, and quickly drained, as he continued working with the few people on his staff that he'd retained from whatever nonsense was happening in the Mess Hall.  He assumed it was someone's promotion and the new Captain wanted to make a big show of it to the crew.  It seemed to him that newly transferred Captains liked to make a fancy display of everything they did to benefit the crew, as though it would endear them.  He'd seen that with Cardassian overseers too, during the Occupation.  They'd come in, select a few 'favored' Bajorans, and show off their so-called largesse to try and pacify everyone.  Perhaps Starfleet Captains weren't trying to do it for the exact same reason; but it certainly seemed that they had taken a page from the Cardassian playbook.

Still, he wasn't going to hold people back if they weren't necessary.  Maybe their perception would be different from his own.  Less jaded.  After all, a goodly number of them were fresh from the Academy and now just trying to find their way.

The last new transfer came aboard, her belongings were catalogued and transferred, and she was read in with the standard oath.  Buris looked the woman over and spoke, almost mechanically.  "Welcome aboard the Phoenix, on behalf of Captain Kirok.  Please proceed to the Mess Hall where there's a general crew assembly going on.  Your appointment for your physical in Sickbay is tomorrow at 1430."

The woman's face obviously read disappointment at the impersonal nature of the 'welcome' (easy to tell - Tellarites wore their emotions openly, after all), but Buris just looked at her with a poker face that had beaten the best freedom fighters.  When she'd departed, he sighed. "Chief Starship Operations Officer duty log, record.  Computer - record time.  At this time, phase one of Starbase personnel and materiel transfer complete.  All new transfers to USS Phoenix have successfully taken the oath and been read in."

After another cup of coffee (this one, he got himself), he sat back down and started on the list of transfers off the ship.  There weren't many, honestly - and most were due for promotions on other vessels.  He made it a point to read the list before he started calling everyone; just to make sure any goodbyes would be swift and according to protocol.  It took him a second to recognize the importance of the final entry in the transfer log.  And when he read it, it still didn't make sense.

JULIA RELLEK - CMDR - DEPART USS PHOENIX NCC-65420, CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER / 2XO - ARRIVE USS TEMPEST NCC-71863, COMMANDING OFFICER

He put his coffee down and shook his head.  He checked again - Captain T'Koris' name was, at least for the moment, not in that transfer list.  At least that could be seen as a positive.  Still, the promotion and transfer was deserved.

He tapped his commbadge, not really giving a damn about whether the Mess Hall ceremony was over or not.  "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?"=/\=

It was an old tradition, and not one confined to Earth.  Bajoran navies and sky-sailers once had a similar policy.  It went roughly thus: before the newly minted Master & Commander of a ship walked onto their deck, they were given an epaulette - an indication of rank.  But before the swab could be 'shipped' (i.e. set aboard), it needed to be 'wet' (i.e. the new Commander shared at least one bottle of wine with their old shipmates, close friends, family, etc.).  Perhaps that was Kirok's intent here.  In which case he would need to first head to his quarters, and then to the Mess with a bottle of springwine in hand.

With that, he tapped the comm stud of the panel.  "USS Tempest Ops, this is Phoenix Ops.  I'll signal when your CO is ready for transfer.  Please keep me apprised of any 'issues' you encounter."

But he still had work to do, and made sure the small set of people with him would be able to handle provisioning and materiel transfers; as well as the other personnel transfers off-ship.

[Kachina Filitov]

Mess Hall

As the ceremony wound down Katcha saw a message on her PADD. It confirmed the transfer and instructed her to report to the Discovery. She went over to where Hrafn was standing.

"Hrafn, I haf been given a transfer to ze Discovery vis orders to report immediately. I vill say goodbye now and hope to see you soon. I vill write ven I'm settled in." She said, giving her friend a hug before heading out of the mess hall and to her quarters.

She quickly packed all her personal belongings and completed her side of the departmental handover before heading to the airlock and off the ship.

[Hrafn Falleg]

Mess Hall

As the ceremony wound down Katcha saw a message on her PADD. It confirmed the transfer and instructed her to report to the Discovery. She went over to where Hrafn was standing.

"Hrafn, I haf been given a transfer to ze Discovery vis orders to report immediately. I vill say goodbye now and hope to see you soon. I vill write ven I'm settled in." She said, giving her friend a hug before heading out of the mess hall and to her quarters.

She quickly packed all her personal belongings and completed her side of the departmental handover before heading to the airlock and off the ship.

Mess Hall

"Say hi to Nevir for me then Katcha, and may the Prophets guide your travels!".  Hrafn returned her friend's hug with gusto.

Sighing to herself she looked around the room wondering who to talk to.  She avoided the two Caitians as the looked like they were going to have a hissing fit and she didn't want to be in the middle of that.  She felt a bit lost.

[Archangel Koris]

With all of the warm wishes being sent her way, Julia realized that this was the appropriate time for an impromptu speech. She obviously hadn't prepared any remarks but she decided to give it a try.

"Thank you. Thank you my friends. I cant describe what it has been like to serve with you fine people. We've been through so much together. From encounters with Vidiians to our encounters with small green lifeforms. It has been said that nobody does it alone; and those words have never felt truer than at this moment. I would also like to take a moment to personally thank Archangel." Somehow, in that moment, using her first name just felt right. "I wouldn't be here if you hadn't put your unyielding faith in my abilities. I arrived here fearful of the journey I was embarking on and now I depart a strong, confident individual. And I feel like I owe you a debt that cannot be re-paid."

Julia stepped towards Archangel and handed her a small wooden box containing her old darkened pip. "Here, I want you to have this. Consider it a reminder of the time we've spent together."

[Mess Hall]

As other officers came forward to offer their congratulations to the newest captain in the Fleet, Archangel took a step back in order to allow them room to approach.  She had said her piece and, although she felt a twinge of regret at losing Julia to a new ship, she wished her friend all the best for the future.  Her own experiences of command hadn't always been positive.  She could only hope that Julia would be spared such events.

On such occasions, speeches by the newly promoted were generally expected and Archangel had long learned to tune them out.  She made an effort to listen to this one, however, and was surprised by the contents, which she quickly hid behind a good poker face and a slight, warm smile.

"You were a good student, and I'm proud to see you moving on to greater things," she replied.  Shifting her cane to one hand, she took the box in the other and carefully opened it.  A lieutenant commander's pip, one she recognised having given to Julia what didn't seem like all that long ago.  Closing the little box, she looked back up at the new commander.  "Thank you, Julia.  Good hunting on your new ship, and remember to keep in touch.  You'll always be welcome here, and the girls wouldn't forgive me if they didn't get to talk to you occasionally!"

[Michael J. Tritter]

[Sickbay]

Ashley offered a small smile as she listened to the man speak. "I can appreciate that. Do you already have children or were you just planning ahead?" She asked politely in a warm tone still trying make things go a little faster.

Tritter pondered for a moment, he would reply with "I have two, my son is six years old and my daughter is four. How about yourself?" He would than focus towards the Medical Officer that addressed him.

[Sickbay]

"And they were all admitted to quarantine for treatment," Kintiss replied as he concluded his scan. "Well, there'sss no trace of the virussss in your sssssysssstem. You're clean," he continued as he closed the tricorder. He had a sneaking suspicion that the ensign might feel better once he was out of sickbay.

"Ssssorry to keep you waiting," he said, addressing Ensign Weir.

Tritter nodded slightly as the Medical Officer spoke to him, he gaze kept focused on the tricoder, he would than reply with a simple, "Thank you" to the man. He shifted his gaze back towards the female he had been speaking with prior to, as he wanted to see if they had anything further to add.

[Ashley Weir]

[Sickbay]

"And they were all admitted to quarantine for treatment," Kintiss replied as he concluded his scan. "Well, there'sss no trace of the virussss in your sssssysssstem. You're clean," he continued as he closed the tricorder. He had a sneaking suspicion that the ensign might feel better once he was out of sickbay.

"Ssssorry to keep you waiting," he said, addressing Ensign Weir.

Tritter pondered for a moment, he would reply with "I have two, my son is six years old and my daughter is four. How about yourself?" He would than focus towards the Medical Officer that addressed him.

Tritter nodded slightly as the Medical Officer spoke to him, he gaze kept focused on the tricoder, he would than reply with a simple, "Thank you" to the man. He shifted his gaze back towards the female he had been speaking with prior to, as he wanted to see if they had anything further to add.

[Sickbay]

Ashley gave a slightly shake of her head before she responded. "No family outside of my siblings and parents. I've never really had a time in my life where I was ready for kids...but I am still young so." She replied before moving her attention to Kintiss. "No need to apologize. You're moving as fast as you can. I understand." The young woman gave off a warm and friendly smile as she looked over to him.

[Julia Rellek]

[Mess Hall]

"It is fortunate that you joined us today" Kirok replied.  The chef gave him a signal and then brought out a cake that had been decorated for the occasion and several glassed filled with a bubbly beverage.  "It is not everyday that one of our own is promoted to CO of a new ship" he added.

Then he turned to the group.  "Ladies and gentlemen.  In honor of our newly promoted Commander, we have cake and beverages" the Vulcan/Betazoid said as he picked up a glass and raised it into the air.  "Here is to Ms. Rellek" he said.

[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.

[Mess Hall]

As other officers came forward to offer their congratulations to the newest captain in the Fleet, Archangel took a step back in order to allow them room to approach.  She had said her piece and, although she felt a twinge of regret at losing Julia to a new ship, she wished her friend all the best for the future.  Her own experiences of command hadn't always been positive.  She could only hope that Julia would be spared such events.

On such occasions, speeches by the newly promoted were generally expected and Archangel had long learned to tune them out.  She made an effort to listen to this one, however, and was surprised by the contents, which she quickly hid behind a good poker face and a slight, warm smile.

"You were a good student, and I'm proud to see you moving on to greater things," she replied.  Shifting her cane to one hand, she took the box in the other and carefully opened it.  A lieutenant commander's pip, one she recognised having given to Julia what didn't seem like all that long ago.  Closing the little box, she looked back up at the new commander.  "Thank you, Julia.  Good hunting on your new ship, and remember to keep in touch.  You'll always be welcome here, and the girls wouldn't forgive me if they didn't get to talk to you occasionally!"

"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.

[Archangel Koris]

"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]

"Don't tell them that, or you'll have a call every night!" Archangel joked, offering the woman another smile.  The smile turned to  a faint frown of confusion as her PADD pinged quietly, signalling an incoming message.  Excusing herself from the group, she pulled it out and put in her access codes.  The document that then scrolled across the screen was none other than the ship's marching orders to investigate the remains of a Starfleet vessel found derelict in a nearby asteroid field by a passing cargo ship.  Knowing that Kirok would have received the same message, she didn't bother showing it to him, instead addressing Julia:

"Well, I'm afraid we're going to have to make tracks and let you get to know your new ship and crew," she said, looking slightly contrite.  "The Phoenix has new orders.  I'm sure you'll be fine, just try not to scratch the paint or your engineering crew may stop your replicator from making coffee!"

[Gabriel Arthur]

[Mess Hall]

"Don't tell them that, or you'll have a call every night!" Archangel joked, offering the woman another smile.  The smile turned to  a faint frown of confusion as her PADD pinged quietly, signalling an incoming message.  Excusing herself from the group, she pulled it out and put in her access codes.  The document that then scrolled across the screen was none other than the ship's marching orders to investigate the remains of a Starfleet vessel found derelict in a nearby asteroid field by a passing cargo ship.  Knowing that Kirok would have received the same message, she didn't bother showing it to him, instead addressing Julia:

"Well, I'm afraid we're going to have to make tracks and let you get to know your new ship and crew," she said, looking slightly contrite.  "The Phoenix has new orders.  I'm sure you'll be fine, just try not to scratch the paint or your engineering crew may stop your replicator from making coffee!"

[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."

[Jiseth]

[Quarters]

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."