S3:E3 (MINISODE) Revelations - Part 2: Into the Rabbit Hole

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO2 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Innominatum Outpost - Deck 14 - Conference Room]

[Doorway of Conference Room - Deck 14 - Innominatum]

[As CPO Lena Maghouin]

Lena caught Lahr's quirked eyebrow and then realised what she'd said and how she'd said it and let out a guffaw while reddening.

"Oh oh, Lahr..." she said shaking her head.  "Sorry that didn't come out the way I intended!  I meant all the gophering you do for her, 'Look up this, send message to this person.... make sure I'm reminded of... '  You've no sooner started 1 job than she's got another 4 lined up for you.  That's how I meant that, promise!"

Still chuckling she said "As for the bruises... yes I think I know to whom you might be referring, and she would make it look convincing.  Be sure to tell her that I send my regards and that if she's gonna punch you at least make it look like you've been brutally attacked by a rival gang of drug smugglers!"

Lahr found it amusing to have the Head of Station Security blushing and trying to explain her words.  "Sure... if you say so."

Less amusing was the fact that she seemed completely fine with his joking comment of letting Tragnar beat on him some.   Seriously?!  That was not cool.  Or was she the one joking now?  It was hard to tell.

"Yeah ... on second thought I'll see what maybe Dr. York or one of the nurses can do for me... cosmetic-wise."

As the meeting wrapped up, Lahr looked to Lek... "You mind, giving me a hand getting to Sickbay?  I'm liable to end up falling over a half dozen times if I attempt it myself."

As he cautiously stood up from the meeting room table he questioned the Ferengi.  "You actually gonna meet Chief Dradis for that drink later?  If so ... maybe I'll join along - for kicks."

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

Sickbay - Outpost

The First Officer was a bit surprised by how he had missed the CMO going back to the CHALLENGER.  It was not like him to assume anything, but he had done exactly that.  With the starship undergoing repairs from the battle, and with the ship needing attention from the engineers; Sukal had supposed the majority of the staff would be on the outpost doing their assignments - not the ship.  It was a logical deduction, but logic did not always mean it would lead to the correct conclusions.  A slight frown formed on his face as he realized his error.  As the new XO - this was something he should not have missed, and it grated on him a bit.  Still, he was not half-Vulcan for nothing, and with the training he had long undergone - the irritation was understood and let go of.  He could get the physical done here still, and this would allow Doctor York to do whatever she needed to do on the starship.

"I have nothing to declare since my last physical, Nurse," Sukal answered her just after she had discovered her superior had slipped in unnoticed.  He almost chuckled at this, but decided to nod to the doctor that had greeted him.  In any case, he followed Nurse Davies to where he was to take his physical.  Off came his tunic top as was often the procedure without being asked to, and he sat down on the edge of the biobed to wait.

As he waited, Sukal swore to himself he wouldn't make such a mistake a second time.  His Captain needed him to be sharp, and the crew needed to know they could count on him.  Such simple errors were things which could cause the crew to lose confidence in his ability to help them.  That, to the new First Officers, was unacceptable.  Perhaps he had simply forgotten what it was like to be in the command level position.  It had been, after all, years since he had held such when he was T'Ra's XO on the GETTYSBURG.  As he recalled those times with his Ko-kai; he remembered such busy moments and times of chaos in which he had to navigate in order to keep things organized and the crew efficient.  It would be no different in his new post.

[Main Sickbay - Innominatum]

"You're good to go Commander... "  Chloe said and was about to say more when there was an incoming communication.

Dr. York to Lt. Davies.  Do you have Lt. Commander Sukal there?  If so can you send him to Challenger Sickbay, he'll know why.  Continue with the regular physicals down there please. York out. 

"Looks like you're wanted, Sir!" she said.  "I'm normally on Challenger so I might do your next physical too but otherwise I hope we don't see you in Medical too often... well, you know what I mean!"

[Richard James Litt]

[Innominatum Outpost - Deck 14 - Conference Room]

[Innominatum Outpost - Deck 14 - Conference Room]

Lek offered the young helmsman a toothy smile as he replied.

"Actually, our shuttles haven't seen much use lately, so they are all available for immediate use. Try not to scratch the paint on any of them, Chief Fisher is real particular about her charges and she's not someone you want angry at you."

Aye sir... I'll remember that." He gave a little smile to Mr. Lek and walked beside Chief Dradis.

[Innominatum Outpost - Deck 14 - Conference Room]

[AS CHIEF DRADIS]

Walking towards the door, Dradis gave a mirthful look with his black eyes towards Lek then said to Litt "Oh yeah,... Fisher.  On a good day she's lovely, a delightful lady.  But like most women, cross them and hell do you know about it!" he chuckled.  "Don't worry Mr. Lek we'll leave them shiny! C'mon Mr. Litt, things to do, people to see then how about I treat you to a drink once shift is over.  Get to know one another a little better.  Lek?  Lahr? Wanna join us after shift? In the Pakled?"

I'll certainly accept this drink after work... But maybe we can make double..." He said to Chief Dradis and blinked while smiling.

Lahr looked over to the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed Cadet... wondering if he was ever like that himself... if so he didn't remember it.

"When this meeting is over Doctor York and I will get your biometrics scanned into the system."

All right sir... When you finish, just call me..." He said.

Later when the Chief Dradis suggested they get together at the Pickled Pakled, Lahr gave a sigh.
"We'll see how long it takes me to get these biometrics set up.  And I need to talk to Chief Maghouin about the smuggling op... so don't wait for me."

[Conference Room - Deck 14 - Innominatum Outpost]

Lek arched an eyebrow and nodded as he replied.

"That sounds like a plan. I will see you there Chief."

Hm... Sir... From where I came, who invites, pay the first round... So, check your wallet..." He said to Chief Dradis with a smart look on his face, making sure that Mr. Lek and Mr. ch'Verret listened to this.

[Exiting Conference Room - Deck 14 - Innominatum]

Dradis nodded but didn't say any more, ushering the Ensign out to do some work.

Litt and Chief Dradis left the meeting together and walked for a little bit when Litt looked at him to ask something. "So... Chief... what we are going to do first?"

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

***TIME JUMP to an hour after shift finishes***
[As Chief Dradis]

[The Pickled Pakled - Innominatum Outpost]

Having seen Litt to have his biometrics done, and had his own physical, which probably wasn't a bad thing considering he often forgot.  It wasn't that he didn't want to go, more that he'd get stuck in some project that would take him weeks and forget.

He called over the bartender and ordered another round "So what was that about double?!  Just doubles?!"  he grinned at Litt and continued.  "I think off duty you can call me Hoshi.  I have a thing about people I drink with calling me 'Sir!'  I don't mind 'Chief' if you must! As for what we'll be working on next I think we'll be running workabees to help fix the Outposts sensor array.  There's practically nothing to do on the Challenger bar checking the systems in the shuttles.  We know the navigational controls are fine cuz we and Lahr fixed it after that damn ever smiling cadet messed up.  Don't get me wrong he's a likable fellow but don't mess with the nav. controls unless you know what you're doing!"

He thanked the bartender and grinned at the Ensign.  "So you're relatively new to Challenger... tell me a bit about yourself.  Two secs just gotta put in a call."

Dradis to Lek and ch'Verret... are you two workaholics getting yourselves down here?  Pickle's got real not synth tho it's credit chip sales.. but I'm buying your first 2 if you're down here inside 10!  Dradis out!

"Yeah go easy on this stuff kid, it's not synth! Anyhow... spill the beans!"

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

***TIME JUMP to an hour after shift finishes***
[Base Commander's Office - Innominatum]

The coming and going of shifts often meant little for command staff, Ruth was no exception to that rule, besides which she had just had some information come in from a few people that were due to be attending the Conference of Delegates next month.  She had inwardly groaned having forgotten that was on the agenda.  To be fair it had been arranged long before her tenure as even First Officer of the Challenger and between promotions, new staff, fighting Leyton... she'd spaced it off.  But now she needed to acquaint her First Officer with the fact, and the Outpost Security Chief.

Sigurdsdottir to Sukal, Walding, Taray and Maghouin and Wilson, can you swing by my office on the Outpost, something I've got to discuss, it'll only take 10 mins but need to get you all up to speed sooner rather than later.  Sigurdsdottir out. 

[...Meanwhile in the Sickbay on Challenger.]

[As Dr. Maggie York]

"So you see Mr. Tempest, that's all the info we have, now supposedly your shift has finished, would you like to join me in a drink and we can discuss things in a more leisurely manner?  The Pickled Pakled has real booze so I've heard!"  Maggie said after going thru the files she had.  There was some work to be done but it was a start.

[Djann Tempest]

[ USS Challenger Sickbay ]

Mulling over both the information and the invitation Djann started to reply; "I think I will join you for-"

Ensign Farrah to Lt. Tempest. I think I..and uh Dolores have found what is impeding the sensors

"Well Doctor, I think I'll have to take a raincheck on that drink. I'll send whatever analysis I can start from these reports back to you" he said with a nod and turned to leave.

[ USS Challenger - Primary Sciences ]

The science lab doors closed curtly behind Tempest's lab coat and Farrah was ready wtih her report.

"Sir" she said as he reached the table, "The high res EM sweep revealed several anomalous readings. Several of which have the potential to offset the sensor networking".

The worktable was projecting holographic charts and data visualizations of what was relevant but they needed to eliminate one at a time. "Dolores, sort these by amplitude and they identify likely sources for each reading. Farrah, go over to the outpost and manually scan their array linkages, I have a theory that may help solve a few current quandaries".

[Lek]

***TIME JUMP to an hour after shift finishes***
[As Chief Dradis]

[The Pickled Pakled - Innominatum Outpost]

Having seen Litt to have his biometrics done, and had his own physical, which probably wasn't a bad thing considering he often forgot.  It wasn't that he didn't want to go, more that he'd get stuck in some project that would take him weeks and forget.

He called over the bartender and ordered another round "So what was that about double?!  Just doubles?!"  he grinned at Litt and continued.  "I think off duty you can call me Hoshi.  I have a thing about people I drink with calling me 'Sir!'  I don't mind 'Chief' if you must! As for what we'll be working on next I think we'll be running workabees to help fix the Outposts sensor array.  There's practically nothing to do on the Challenger bar checking the systems in the shuttles.  We know the navigational controls are fine cuz we and Lahr fixed it after that damn ever smiling cadet messed up.  Don't get me wrong he's a likable fellow but don't mess with the nav. controls unless you know what you're doing!"

He thanked the bartender and grinned at the Ensign.  "So you're relatively new to Challenger... tell me a bit about yourself.  Two secs just gotta put in a call."

Dradis to Lek and ch'Verret... are you two workaholics getting yourselves down here?  Pickle's got real not synth tho it's credit chip sales.. but I'm buying your first 2 if you're down here inside 10!  Dradis out!

"Yeah go easy on this stuff kid, it's not synth! Anyhow... spill the beans!"

[The Pickled Pakled - Innominatum Outpost]

Lek strolled into the club and found the music rather loud for his tastes, but he knew that the volume was specifically designed to give the subconscious impression that this was a happening place and it increased sales by several percentage points.

On spotting Dradis, Lek joined him and grinned.

"Thank you for the invite. Lahr is always saying I need to get out more. I tend to be too work focused because I know what most people think of Ferengi and I keep most people at a distance because of that."

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

[ USS Challenger Sickbay ]

Mulling over both the information and the invitation Djann started to reply; "I think I will join you for-"

Ensign Farrah to Lt. Tempest. I think I..and uh Dolores have found what is impeding the sensors

"Well Doctor, I think I'll have to take a raincheck on that drink. I'll send whatever analysis I can start from these reports back to you" he said with a nod and turned to leave.

[AS Dr. Maggie York, CMO]

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

"Anytime Mr. Tempest, we're only just along the corridor from one another.  I imagine we'll be seeing a fair bit of each other with this that we're working on!" Maggie said with a smile.
"And we're supposed to be having down time.  I'll be on call but handing over everything bar working on our special assignments, over to Doctor Al-Hambrah, my counterpart on Innominatum on the days I'm supposed to be having time off.  If our days off coincide... we can get that drink!" she smiled.

"Or maybe grab something to eat, there are a lot of great restaurants on Innominatum I've heard!"

[The Pickled Pakled - Innominatum Outpost]

Lek strolled into the club and found the music rather loud for his tastes, but he knew that the volume was specifically designed to give the subconscious impression that this was a happening place and it increased sales by several percentage points.

On spotting Dradis, Lek joined him and grinned.

"Thank you for the invite. Lahr is always saying I need to get out more. I tend to be too work focused because I know what most people think of Ferengi and I keep most people at a distance because of that."

[The Pickled Pakled - Innominatum Outpost]

[As CPO Hoshi Dradis - Chief of Flight]

"Yay! You came.  And you're always welcome to drink with me, either here or when we're out on the Challenger and have some down time, in Ten Forward, I go by if I like a person, not their species!"  Dradis said smiling.

"You've met Richard?  Ensign Litt that is... and what you drinking?  If you're after anything bar synth... I'm buying, I have enough chips and we've not exactly had any shore time in Risa and I have neither wife nor partner so... tho that Lena Maghouin is nice!" Dradis winked.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO2 ShranLahr ch'Verret
USS Challenger - Sickbay >>  USS Challenger Bridge]

With help, Lahr had made his way to the Sickbay on the Challenger.  There he had one of the nurses fix his antenna just enough that he had some semblance of balance before he then assisted Dr. York with getting the biometric scans of those on his list.  These scans accessed from the Ops station on the Bridge and then added to the Security database - which he discovered he still had access to because of his former security permissions (apparently Lt Taray hadn't removed his access when he switched departments).  He probably should let someone in Security know and correct that but... it was way too convenient having access.  Now he could do what needed to be done without bothering Taray.  She never liked him.

With all required biometrics in the database, contacted Lahr set the Security permissions for the Conference room to the list of individuals the Captain had mentioned.  Now no one but those at the meeting or those named to be added - such as Lek's engineers and the Captain's sisters - could unlock the door to the Conference room.  The door lock was set to record each time a biometric was used to enter or leave and Lahr even had the option to have the computer ping any comm he wished as an alert.

He considered asking Taray if she wanted to be alerted but felt the Benzite would be less than interested to deal with the added responsibility.  Hmm... maybe the new Ensign... Walding, might be willing.  Lahr made a mental note ask next time he saw the man.

After finishing up with the Security measures, the Andorian was just about to head back to Sickbay to get his cosmetics' done up when Dradis' call came in.

[As Chief Dradis]

[The Pickled Pakled - Innominatum Outpost]

Dradis to Lek and ch'Verret... are you two workaholics getting yourselves down here?  Pickle's got real not synth tho it's credit chip sales.. but I'm buying your first 2 if you're down here inside 10!  Dradis out!

Oh? The first two?

Lahr didn't need to be told twice.  This was supposed to be his day off!  He could get the cosmetics done later.

Lahr left Bridge and headed to the Airlock.

[Innominatum Outpost - Pickled Pakled]

[The Pickled Pakled - Innominatum Outpost]

Lek strolled into the club and found the music rather loud for his tastes, but he knew that the volume was specifically designed to give the subconscious impression that this was a happening place and it increased sales by several percentage points.

On spotting Dradis, Lek joined him and grinned.

"Thank you for the invite. Lahr is always saying I need to get out more. I tend to be too work focused because I know what most people think of Ferengi and I keep most people at a distance because of that."

[The Pickled Pakled - Innominatum Outpost]

[As CPO Hoshi Dradis - Chief of Flight]

"Yay! You came.  And you're always welcome to drink with me, either here or when we're out on the Challenger and have some down time, in Ten Forward, I go by if I like a person, not their species!"  Dradis said smiling.

"You've met Richard?  Ensign Litt that is... and what you drinking?  If you're after anything bar synth... I'm buying, I have enough chips and we've not exactly had any shore time in Risa and I have neither wife nor partner so... tho that Lena Maghouin is nice!" Dradis winked.

Within the 10 minutes, Lahr was walking into the Pakled and looking about the room for the Chief.  He spotted the man at a table with Lek and Ensign Litt.  Making his way over to the table Lahr bobbed his head to the beat of the music.  Because of his still healing antenna, his path through the bar swayed slightly - his balance off just enough to almost make it seem as if the Ops crewman was already drunk.

"Hey!" He greeted those at the table and took a seat. "The party begin... the Andorian is here!"

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

PO2 ShranLahr ch'Verret
USS Challenger - Sickbay >>  USS Challenger Bridge]

With help, Lahr had made his way to the Sickbay on the Challenger.  There he had one of the nurses fix his antenna just enough that he had some semblance of balance before he then assisted Dr. York with getting the biometric scans of those on his list.  These scans accessed from the Ops station on the Bridge and then added to the Security database - which he discovered he still had access to because of his former security permissions (apparently Lt Taray hadn't removed his access when he switched departments).  He probably should let someone in Security know and correct that but... it was way too convenient having access.  Now he could do what needed to be done without bothering Taray.  She never liked him.

With all required biometrics in the database, contacted Lahr set the Security permissions for the Conference room to the list of individuals the Captain had mentioned.  Now no one but those at the meeting or those named to be added - such as Lek's engineers and the Captain's sisters - could unlock the door to the Conference room.  The door lock was set to record each time a biometric was used to enter or leave and Lahr even had the option to have the computer ping any comm he wished as an alert.

He considered asking Taray if she wanted to be alerted but felt the Benzite would be less than interested to deal with the added responsibility.  Hmm... maybe the new Ensign... Walding, might be willing.  Lahr made a mental note ask next time he saw the man.

After finishing up with the Security measures, the Andorian was just about to head back to Sickbay to get his cosmetics' done up when Dradis' call came in.

Oh? The first two?

Lahr didn't need to be told twice.  This was supposed to be his day off!  He could get the cosmetics done later.

Lahr left Bridge and headed to the Airlock.

[Innominatum Outpost - Pickled Pakled]

Within the 10 minutes, Lahr was walking into the Pakled and looking about the room for the Chief.  He spotted the man at a table with Lek and Ensign Litt.  Making his way over to the table Lahr bobbed his head to the beat of the music.  Because of his still healing antenna, his path through the bar swayed slightly - his balance off just enough to almost make it seem as if the Ops crewman was already drunk.

"Hey!" He greeted those at the table and took a seat. "The party begin... the Andorian is here!"

[The Pickled Pakled - Innominatum Outpost]

[AS Hoshi Dradis]

Hoshi eyed the chronometer behind the bar.  "8 mins 38.2 seconds... ok you win Lahr, what's your drink?!" the Chief of Flight joked.  "Did you fly down here, we could do with more in flight if Lt. Commander Sukal gets sick of you in Ops.  I'm teasing of course but it was double quick time you made it here in!"

[Lek]

[AS Dr. Maggie York, CMO]

[The Pickled Pakled - Innominatum Outpost]

[As CPO Hoshi Dradis - Chief of Flight]

"Yay! You came.  And you're always welcome to drink with me, either here or when we're out on the Challenger and have some down time, in Ten Forward, I go by if I like a person, not their species!"  Dradis said smiling.

"You've met Richard?  Ensign Litt that is... and what you drinking?  If you're after anything bar synth... I'm buying, I have enough chips and we've not exactly had any shore time in Risa and I have neither wife nor partner so... tho that Lena Maghouin is nice!" Dradis winked.

PO2 ShranLahr ch'Verret

[Innominatum Outpost - Pickled Pakled]

Within the 10 minutes, Lahr was walking into the Pakled and looking about the room for the Chief.  He spotted the man at a table with Lek and Ensign Litt.  Making his way over to the table Lahr bobbed his head to the beat of the music.  Because of his still healing antenna, his path through the bar swayed slightly - his balance off just enough to almost make it seem as if the Ops crewman was already drunk.

"Hey!" He greeted those at the table and took a seat. "The party begin... the Andorian is here!"

[The Pickled Pakled - Innominatum Outpost]

[AS Hoshi Dradis]

Hoshi eyed the chronometer behind the bar.  "8 mins 38.2 seconds... ok you win Lahr, what's your drink?!" the Chief of Flight joked.  "Did you fly down here, we could do with more in flight if Lt. Commander Sukal gets sick of you in Ops.  I'm teasing of course but it was double quick time you made it here in!"

[The Pickled Pakled - Innominatum Outpost]

Lek shook his head as Lahr and was once again that someone could be so completely different from their species norm. Andorians were considered as standoffish and staid. Lahr was the complete opposite of that, but then again, Lek was completely different from what was considered normal for his species, so he shrugged and replied.

"You can call Lahr anything you like, just don't call him late to dinner or too late to get a free drink. Now to something that really matters, since you are buying. I'll have vodka neat."

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO2 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Innominatum Outpost - The Pickled Pakled]

[The Pickled Pakled - Innominatum Outpost]

[AS Hoshi Dradis]

Hoshi eyed the chronometer behind the bar.  "8 mins 38.2 seconds... ok you win Lahr, what's your drink?!" the Chief of Flight joked.  "Did you fly down here, we could do with more in flight if Lt. Commander Sukal gets sick of you in Ops.  I'm teasing of course but it was double quick time you made it here in!"

[The Pickled Pakled - Innominatum Outpost]

Lek shook his head as Lahr and was once again that someone could be so completely different from their species norm. Andorians were considered as standoffish and staid. Lahr was the complete opposite of that, but then again, Lek was completely different from what was considered normal for his species, so he shrugged and replied.

"You can call Lahr anything you like, just don't call him late to dinner or too late to get a free drink. Now to something that really matters, since you are buying. I'll have vodka neat."

Lek's joking words gained a wide grin from the Andorian Ops crewman.  "You got that right!  I'd say free drinks rarely happen.  But that ain't been true recently."

He considered a moment what to have while some of the more exotic drinks were available, like a Cardassian sunrise... to match with Lek's vodka Lahr opted for something simple. "I'll have a Rum and Ginger."

Once his order was in Lahr continued on with his earlier train of thought "since Captain Sigurdsdottir took over the ship ... folks are way more liberal with drink buying.  It's like they have really loosened up.  Not that we were ever too uptight to begin with under Captain Torngate's command... but I don't know...  In the space of 3 months I've had offers to hit up the bar with.. like the Captain herself,  Chief Oftex and now you.  Is the Captain like ordering you Department Heads into mingling with the crew more?" His tone was teasing but his statement was quite true.

[Sukal]

USS CHALLENGER

XO/Chief of Operations Office

Sukal had been recalled to the CHALLENGER for his time to get things taken care of for the new security implements discussed in the conference.  With that out of the way - the First Officer had made his way directly to his office on the Bridge.  Unlike other bridge setups that he was aware of; this starship had a Chief of Operations office setup behind the tactical station.  As he was currently the First Officer; he had decided to turn it into that as well.  It had only made sense to do such rather than have two different offices.  Considering the way things had been going; Sukal had not had much time to get the office the way he wanted it.  Now, with the downtime they had and the projects ahead of them - he had decided this was the perfect time to get it squared away.

By the time his Captain's call came in for him to meet with her and a few others; Sukal had the new office in perfect readiness to perform the tasks he would need to.  It would be here that crew members could report to him when he wasn't serving on the Bridge in an official capacity.  He had been looking at the defenses of the CHALLENGER when Ruth had called for him, and thus he locked out the work he had been tending to before heading over to her own office on the outpost.  As he left his own office for the transporter room; Sukal thought about the future of Innominatum Outpost.  The place had started to become a bit significant to the current defenses in the area, and it had cost Starfleet a bit to take the outpost away from Leyton.  He was in the process of writing up an official proposal for Starfleet to make the station a true outpost of the Federation under Captain Siguardsdottier and her staff.  Perhaps Starfleet would even consider giving her an officer to run it in order to make it more efficient.  There was even the chance that the outpost would go to Ruth much as Captain Sisko had commanded both Deep Space Nine and the USS DEFIANT.  For that to happen, Sukal needed to make sure the outpost was ready for Starfleet inspectors to accept, and he truly hoped Command would accept her as the CO of the place.

That was what was going through his mind as he beamed over to the outpost, and made his way over to her office.  It wasn't like she hadn't already made her mark on the place.  After all, she had clearly taken over the base commander's office.  But, of course, there was just one thing at a time to deal with.  He suspected Starfleet would officially give her the outpost after they had captured or otherwise dealt with Leyton.  That was the other thing much on Sukal's mind.  This man had ruined so much, harmed so many in his rebellion against the Federation.  Sukal was not a warrior, except by necessity, but he wanted this man dealt with once and for all.  There was a conference coming up soon which he hoped would help everyone involved to put the final nails in Leyton's coffin.  For him, the sooner that was accomplished - the better.

Enter the Captain's office; Sukal made his Vulcan salute to her - something he did not do as often as his fellow Vulcans.  "I trust things are going well, Captain," he said to her, but then noticed the tired lines around her eyes.  "And, that you will soon be resting.  Your shift ended an hour ago I believe."

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

[The Pickled Pakled - Innominatum Outpost]

Lek shook his head as Lahr and was once again that someone could be so completely different from their species norm. Andorians were considered as standoffish and staid. Lahr was the complete opposite of that, but then again, Lek was completely different from what was considered normal for his species, so he shrugged and replied.

"You can call Lahr anything you like, just don't call him late to dinner or too late to get a free drink. Now to something that really matters, since you are buying. I'll have vodka neat."

PO2 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[Innominatum Outpost - The Pickled Pakled]

Lek's joking words gained a wide grin from the Andorian Ops crewman.  "You got that right!  I'd say free drinks rarely happen.  But that ain't been true recently."

He considered a moment what to have while some of the more exotic drinks were available, like a Cardassian sunrise... to match with Lek's vodka Lahr opted for something simple. "I'll have a Rum and Ginger."

Once his order was in Lahr continued on with his earlier train of thought "since Captain Sigurdsdottir took over the ship ... folks are way more liberal with drink buying.  It's like they have really loosened up.  Not that we were ever too uptight to begin with under Captain Torngate's command... but I don't know...  In the space of 3 months I've had offers to hit up the bar with.. like the Captain herself,  Chief Oftex and now you.  Is the Captain like ordering you Department Heads into mingling with the crew more?" His tone was teasing but his statement was quite true.

[The Pickled Pakled - Innominatum Outpost]

[As Chief Hoshi Dradis]

Dradis waved over the barman and ordered the vodka and the rum and ginger for his companions and a Scotch for himself "NEAT!" he said quickly as he heard the unmistakable chink of ice.  "Both the vodka and the Scotch anyhow..and make them doubles!"

He chuckled about not calling Lahr late for food or free booze, then answered Lahr's question.

"No, least she's not ordered me to do anything that isn't within the remit of being chief of flight.  By that I mean servicing shuttles, doing navigation control calibration, flying the ship.  Something I have noticed about her as opposed to any other Captain or Instructor is well, she talks to the crew, and not just about work related stuff.  She came down to the Shuttlebay, had a coffee with me and chatted for about an hour, but also rolled up her sleeves with a hypospanner in hand and fixed.... I can't remember what it was now, it was something minor but she showed that young Esme Labinjoh patiently how to fix something, just because she was stood there feeling like a 3rd wheel."

The drinks arrived and he handed them around.  "What's more she listens to suggestions.  I know she is the Captain but I think it's her way of saying she's no better than the rest of us for all she's got 4 shiny pips in her collar, she's prepared to muck in where she's needed, but 'the buck stops here' with her.  It could also be that she's of Viking heritage. I've heard they liked to drink a lot!  But there's been no 'You must mingle'... the closest to an order of that kind is well our special task..."

Hoshi shifted his jet black eyes around the bar in case anyone was listening but 'special task' could refer to anything, and if Lahr and/or Lex was going to pose as drug dealers relatively soon then a little bit of subterfuge wasn't going to go amiss.

"... and saying that we need to work closely with each other and some cross-department work might be needed.  But you heard her, it was put across more as a suggestion than an order.  Dunno about you guys but I quite like her, tho I think she's still a little unsure of herself, but in the way that she doesn't want to fail us.  However, she was rather dropped in it with Leyton of all people.  To Captain Ruth Sigurdsdottir..." he said raising his glass, "... may she always be so affable and good luck to her, the Challenger and all who fly in her!"

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

USS CHALLENGER

XO/Chief of Operations Office

Sukal had been recalled to the CHALLENGER for his time to get things taken care of for the new security implements discussed in the conference.  With that out of the way - the First Officer had made his way directly to his office on the Bridge.  Unlike other bridge setups that he was aware of; this starship had a Chief of Operations office setup behind the tactical station.  As he was currently the First Officer; he had decided to turn it into that as well.  It had only made sense to do such rather than have two different offices.  Considering the way things had been going; Sukal had not had much time to get the office the way he wanted it.  Now, with the downtime they had and the projects ahead of them - he had decided this was the perfect time to get it squared away.

By the time his Captain's call came in for him to meet with her and a few others; Sukal had the new office in perfect readiness to perform the tasks he would need to.  It would be here that crew members could report to him when he wasn't serving on the Bridge in an official capacity.  He had been looking at the defenses of the CHALLENGER when Ruth had called for him, and thus he locked out the work he had been tending to before heading over to her own office on the outpost.  As he left his own office for the transporter room; Sukal thought about the future of Innominatum Outpost.  The place had started to become a bit significant to the current defenses in the area, and it had cost Starfleet a bit to take the outpost away from Leyton.  He was in the process of writing up an official proposal for Starfleet to make the station a true outpost of the Federation under Captain Siguardsdottier and her staff.  Perhaps Starfleet would even consider giving her an officer to run it in order to make it more efficient.  There was even the chance that the outpost would go to Ruth much as Captain Sisko had commanded both Deep Space Nine and the USS DEFIANT.  For that to happen, Sukal needed to make sure the outpost was ready for Starfleet inspectors to accept, and he truly hoped Command would accept her as the CO of the place.

That was what was going through his mind as he beamed over to the outpost, and made his way over to her office.  It wasn't like she hadn't already made her mark on the place.  After all, she had clearly taken over the base commander's office.  But, of course, there was just one thing at a time to deal with.  He suspected Starfleet would officially give her the outpost after they had captured or otherwise dealt with Leyton.  That was the other thing much on Sukal's mind.  This man had ruined so much, harmed so many in his rebellion against the Federation.  Sukal was not a warrior, except by necessity, but he wanted this man dealt with once and for all.  There was a conference coming up soon which he hoped would help everyone involved to put the final nails in Leyton's coffin.  For him, the sooner that was accomplished - the better.

Enter the Captain's office; Sukal made his Vulcan salute to her - something he did not do as often as his fellow Vulcans.  "I trust things are going well, Captain," he said to her, but then noticed the tired lines around her eyes.  "And, that you will soon be resting.  Your shift ended an hour ago I believe."

[Base Commander's Office - Innominatum Outpost]

Ruth smiled, returned the salute then completed a gesture that not only confirmed Sukal's observations of tiredness but was characteristic of her.  Her hand palm across eyes in a sweeping clockwise motion from vertical over the right side of her face, the thumb remaining on the cheek then moving up the edge of the eye socket acting as pivot as the hand came to horizontal over both eyes then the thumb and fingers pressed hard over and across the eyes to finally pinch the bridge of her nose, whereupon she opened her eyes ran the forefinger and thumb still pinching down the length of her nose.  She then looked up at Sukal.

...and sighed.

"Well, I don't know if Vulcans or Betazoids have a similar saying but I'm sure that you've heard the Terran phrase 'No rest for the wicked'... I'm not sure what I did to deserve this calling but I've never stopped so it must've been something particularly bad.  I know as a young Ensign I did rub up a few people the wrong way but well here I am.  I'm just waiting for the Security staff since this will primarily involve them and Ops, since Ops have fingers in every pie!"

She chuckled. "Observation not complaint, ah come in Lena, Lt. Taray, Petty Officer Wilson, any sign of Walding yet?  No matter one of you can fill him in and he is supposed to be off duty now.... I was just hoping to catch him before he was gone."  The Captain said as 3 figures in gold stepped in behind Sukal.

"Take a seat folks - if you need a drink, well you know my rules and there's the replicator!" she said gesturing.

"Basically it's 2 quick things about next month, first and most important is that I totally shelved, since first it was organised well before my tenure here and of the Challenger, and with our rather unpleasant dealings with Praetor Agrippa when he was last here I'm not too keen on delegates... but well Innominatum was designated as a Conference Centre for a massive inter-species Conference starting next month for 2 weeks.  The idea being that previously not warring, well not lately..." she corrected with a wry smile,

"... not exactly enemies but not best buddies kinda near-ish neighbours would come to some sort of mutual... I'm not sure what the word I'm wanting is as truce isn't exactly right but they'd band together, with whatever compromises - that's where the conference comes in - say for allowing Planet A to use the trade lane between Planets C and D that was previously off limits blah blah... and some of the planets opening up to Federation vessels... that being something that really needs thrashed out finding a way to let our 'neighbours' know which are true Federation vessels still run by our side and which are Leyton's... but I digress.."

She had a quick mouthful of the Ratkajino kindly brought across by Wilson and she gave him a warm smile and a nod.

"But either way it's to thrash out what is needed to implement a joining together to assist (or not) the Federation and each other against a common foe - Leyton.  To this end we're going to have around another 50 delegates and their entourages coming into Innominatum over the next few weeks.  We need the guest quarters up to scratch, we need customs working efficiently, we need a delegates dinner organised and since we've just set up to have our base of operations in the large conference room on Deck 14, we need somewhere else for us to actually host the conference so I thought maybe Holosuite 1, it's huge, and we can have it done out like some kind of amphitheatre or something. Make it look and feel nice, atmospheric controls set to adjust in their own little space.  It's a potentially volatile situation, since not all of our neighbours have got along amicably in the past.  Still I leave it in your capable hands and you know I'm here to help in whatever ways possible I value your input."

Another sip of coffee before she gave the other pieces of news.

"The other news is that Praetor Aedile, you will remember her Mr. Sukal, will be arriving next week she's already confirmed her attendance.  She sends greetings and kind regards to those of us she remembers, I've passed on to those who have transferred.  Her husband met with an... untimely..." Ruth dragged out the word with some relish, a rather sly look in her eye, clearly indicating that it hadn't been an accident. "... death... he was practicing with their weaponry and one of the guards managed to find a weak spot in his armour, unfortunately nicked an artery, so she's recently widowed.  Let me in on the fact that the big guard that jumped in to her defence when her husband tried to kill her while she was here last, is actually her lover.  Who knew?! But you'd not know in public, he's still just Captain of her Praetorian Guard so don't allude to it unless we're private!" she smiled.

"So that's one bit of good news and Aedile is a friend, she's already said her being here is more to see what she can get out of other delegates to her advantage, without compromising the friendship between Innominatum, Challenger and the like.  Her planet is about 50 clicks West of where we jumped thru with the White Dwarf, so a convenient place to put in if we need to."

Ruth sighed heavily, vaguely wondering how much of a rest any of them let alone she were actually going to get over the next few weeks, but she knew if she didn't Sukal would get Maggie to put her in stasis or at least threaten it!

"Finally, then you can all hit me with questions and whatever or go sun yourselves on a beach in the holodecks... We will have another visitor next month, one that I'm particularly glad to welcome.  And couldn't have timed it better.  You may or may not know I transferred here from the USS Athena.  Well my old crewmate Lt. Sven Aune, known as 'Stryker' will be joining us for a month to learn some more techniques and so on in Security.  He's particularly interested in forensics if I recall.  Oh and one last thing.  We'll also be getting more medical staff in, particularly one Dr. (Ensign) Oscar Chang.  So Maggie should be pleased!  He'll be on the Challenger with us, there are 3 other Ensigns and 4 medical crewmen to share around between the ship and the base... so we're more kitted out now hit me with any questions or concerns and then let's go disperse or I think if Sukal's eyebrow at me gets any more pronounced he'll be Vulcan pinching me to get me to actually take some time off!  You'll forgive me Sukal, I needed to get you aware of this to have procedures in place before we have approximately 500 more people descending on Innominatum with no or little extra security measures in place.  Lena, Lt. Taray I will forward a list of delegates and their parties to you, Sukal you don't need to ask, soon as I have the lists myself so that you can set up along with any information I can get from Sciences regarding species traditions.  Not all would agree to a full pat down for example so scanners will need to be set up.  A lot of work but I know you can do it and you'll have Sven to help too once he's here."

Ruth sat back and put both hands around her coffee cup indicating that she was done talking.

Lena spoke up "Is this 'Stryker' to be trusted?  and will he be on the Outpost?"

"I trust him with my life Lena, had to on a couple of occasions against the Liberation.  I'm not a stranger to evil dictators, I'm just glad Athena dealt with Manumit once and for all.  Just as we can deal with Leyton.  But I digress, yes he wouldn't be Chief of Security on the Athena otherwise.  Just we communicated and he didn't realise I had a base under my control as well as the ship, and he wanted to see what operations were like here and if he could use any of them on the Athena.  So yes he'll be on the Outpost, we're based here next month as I want to be able to get this Conference overseen plus the Twins will be being picked up to go to Academy." she answered.

That was something else she needed to worry about. She was thinking about getting her sister's stuff onto base and having their quarters here rather than on the ship so that if they did have to set out in the Challenger, or were attacked the girls could still get off to Academy quickly.