S3:E9 All Bad Things Come To An End

[Nathan Ryder]

[Holodeck 1 - Conference Room - USS Challenger]

They were late, but in all fairness, a department transfer in the middle of a mission wasn't exactly a smooth process. It also meant that Kali had to retake a lot of vetting processes - including a psych profile reboot - which would explain why Counselor Ryder was tardy as well. He seemed to believe that she would transition just fine back into Ops given she had a newfound interest on tinkering with people more than machines these days and perhaps prevent her from de-oiling Chief Lek's chair so it squeaked incessantly every time he sat on it.

Halfway into the meeting, the door slid open and Kali quietly slipped in with Ryder in tow, and they were content to just hang back and make themselves as unremarkable as possible. They might as well have looked like yeoman really.

As the conference paused for a round of discussion, Kali muttered under her breath to Ryder, "Want to take bets on who rides or dies?" It was a morbid thing to say, but her tour of duty has had so many battles and deaths she was quite desensitized at the prospect of dying. "The Mjolnir's going to earn a good limp by the end of it, so I'm putting a hundred credits on them heavily damaged but the structure still stands. A smattering of cadets are going to make lots of mistakes, even as support. Phobos is going to get blown through like fly paper if they haven't patched their propulsion matrix yet. But another hundred on them being too prideful to ask Deimos what they've already solved months ago." She paused in thought. "Ip Man, now that's a ship to keep an eye on. What's the over-under on Akira class underdogs?"

[Holodeck 1 - Conference Room - USS Challenger]

As the two of them slipped into the conference woman, Nathan looked to the Captain with an apology in his gaze and a small nod of his head. They would have been on time, but Kali had a habit of going off on a tangent at the drop of a hat and even Nathan Ryder could get side tracked once in a while. In any case, he was sure they had not missed much.

As Kali muttered about placing bets, his gaze flicked from face to face. He was wary of anyone taking offense to her brand of humor, but found nothing in her words that he could really refute. "Over-under? With 'over' being Survival or Damage Dealt? Either way, I'd say somewhere in the neighborhood of 116." Not that Nathan had any idea who would be betting against her, or paying out the winnings. He certainly was not; he knew better than that.

As he thought this, he gave an up-nod to the Petty Officer then hand-signed the two of them talking after the meeting.

A gesture from the Andorian, ShranLahr, caught his gaze and his head tilted slightly with curiosity. With a hint of teasing in his tone, he spoke softly to the woman at his side, "I don't know how you got in trouble before your first Ops shift, but it seems your new Chief would like to speak to you after the meeting." Nathan had not expected the Operations Officer to use the kind of hand signals usually used in Sec/Tac, but still he was glad some people still knew such things.

[Olivia Briggs]

[Holodeck One, Conference Room - Challenger]

As the meeting got underway, Liv focused on what was being said, as the Captain acknowledged the use of science in medical if needed, mentioned the promotions of both her husband to Acting XO and Lahr, before making other announcements and introductions as they were joined by the other CO's.

Then her attention moved to each of the CO's that had appeared via the link set up by Lahr, understanding the need for such a large table, as Ruth spoke about each one in turn and what their role would be in the upcoming battle to stop Leyton once and for all. Appreciating just what all of this would involve, as well the importance of having so many allies, to help them.

Her and Kyle may of only just of arrived in the middle of all of this, but that didn't mean, that they hadn't been affected by all of this and now it was finally time to end this situation once and for all. That was something she looked forward too, so they could return to some kind of normality without this threat constantly hanging over them all.

So for now she continued to listen, as the briefing continued and others spoke about what they had learned and shared important information, that would go a long way to help in all of this, with the plan that had been put in place. Although when Kali and Ryder entered, Liv did acknowledge them as they took their places and taking bets on the situation was brought up.

She couldn't really comment about that as she wasn't one to indulge in betting, but it did lighten the current mood.

[Lek]

[Holodeck 1 - Conference Room - USS Challenger]

Ruth chuckled but left it at that.  For Lek, it sounded as though he'd actually had a reasonable time.... what would pass as a very good time for anyone else.  She liked Lek, she relied on him a lot and would when it came to the upcoming battle, and she couldn't imagine anyone else... well he and Gianetti, down in the Engineering department.  It was a comforting thought.

"Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen.  For those who don't know each other I'll do a quick round of introductions...I see that the Counsellor and Ms Reyes haven't yet joined us but I can rely on Mr. Lek or Mr ch'Verret and Dr. Briggs respectively, to get the information to them in due course if they don't show at all."  she looked around the table and then gave a nod to Lahr to do the honours with recording and so on.

"I'll introduce myself and my heads of department first, if other members of their department speak during this I will trust them to introduce themselves simply with name, rank, and department only.  I'm Captain Ruth Sigurdsdottir, Commanding Officer of the USS Challenger.  Then we have my Acting Executive Officer and Chief of Security and Tactical Lt. Kyle Briggs, and Acting Second Officer and Chief of Operations, Petty Officer First Class Shran'Lahr ch'Verret.  Our Joint Chief Medical Officers, Doctors Margaret York and Olivia Briggs, Head of Science, Lt. Cmdr Evie Wardropper, Chief of Flight CPO Hoshi Dradis, our Chief of Science Lt. Cmdr Evelyn Wardropper and our Engineering Chiefs, Lieutenants Lek and Gianetti.  We're also honoured to have with us Captain Hecate, and her first officer Commander Kuthoma from the Tal'Bath.  I will explain later why and how Captain Hecate is our ally and friend should I need to."

The Captain took a quick drink of water and then continued, letting the promotion sink in for Lahr with a quick grin to him and a small wink.  This was why, as much as the technical stuff, that she'd wanted him at the head of the table with her.

"I was hoping to have Petty Officer Reyes here, and announce her transfer to the Operations Department from Engineering, but I'm sure Mr. ch'Verret will welcome her in due course. Now for our guests." she said with another smile around the table.  "Hopefully everyone can see and hear me?".

[Holodeck 1 - Conference Room - USS Challenger]

Lek's eyes arched at mention of Reyes being transferred and he had to hold in the massive smile that threatened to light up his face. He only half heard the introductions of the other members of the meeting as he was replaying the news in his head and it kept getting better every time it replayed.

The information about the ships on their side and on Leyton's side was useful as it gave an idea of the threat to the Challenger. Lek's only real concern was that Leyton had an Akira on his side. The number of torpedoes one of those could launch in a single wave was a threat to any ship, point of impact shields or not.

When the doors to the conference room opened and it was Reyes, Lek scowled that someone could be so completely disrespectful to the captain as to show up late. He didn't say anything as she was no longer in his department, but she had no idea how lucky she wasn't given the punishments that ran through his mind at that moment.

[Holodeck 1 - Conference Room - USS Challenger]

As the conference paused for a round of discussion, Kali muttered under her breath to Ryder, "Want to take bets on who rides or dies?" It was a morbid thing to say, but her tour of duty has had so many battles and deaths she was quite desensitized at the prospect of dying. "The Mjolnir's going to earn a good limp by the end of it, so I'm putting a hundred credits on them heavily damaged but the structure still stands. A smattering of cadets are going to make lots of mistakes, even as support. Phobos is going to get blown through like fly paper if they haven't patched their propulsion matrix yet. But another hundred on them being too prideful to ask Deimos what they've already solved months ago." She paused in thought. "Ip Man, now that's a ship to keep an eye on. What's the over-under on Akira class underdogs?"

Just about every species he'd ever encountered underestimated Ferengi hearing, which was odd given how obviously large their lobes were. It shouldn't be a surprise that ears that large were for more than oomox. Lek couldn't hear everything, but it seemed Reyes had the unmitigated gall to actually be considering taking bets on who would live or die. Even for the Ferengi, whose entire culture revolved around the naked pursuit of profit, that was an appalling thing to even consider. Especially considering they were taking about Starfleet lives on both sides. All Lek could do was shake his head in amazement.

"What could have happened to this feemale to make her so grossly uncaring?" He thought with a growing sense of frustration that this battle had to occur at all. "It's only because that petaQ Leyton got his hands on a Ferengi Thought Maker that we are even in this mess." That Ferengi technology was involved only served to increase Lek's anger, but then a thought popped into his head and he began to think of an alternative. He grabbed his PADD and began typing furiously as he tried to take his thought to a working prototype, the meeting completely forgotten as he worked.

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

NPC
USS IP MAN:  Akira-class
Captain Kamiko Shibata

"I, for one, will be glad when this bloody affair is over.  This civil war should never have started to begin with," the Japanese woman began.  "As it is, I have two pieces of intel that came to us recently about there being the very real possibility of extra enemy vessels being present at our target.  Last week, we intercepted a message which gave us the impression that there will be Cardassian and Talarian warships present for some kind of meeting with Leyton.  Their presence will not be strong - a couple of ships only, but we expect at least one of the newly upgraded Keldon-class from the Cardassians.  It is said these new monsters could possibly pose a threat to even the Sovereign-class.  We shall see.  Second, we caught a glimpse of a starship that seemed to be much like the Nova-class.  Her hull was darker, and according to our sensors she had quantum ablative armor.  We didn't get anything else, but her design seemed different from the traditional Nova-class.  It is possible Leyton's people came up with a new upgrade of the design, but we have nothing more on the ship," Captain Shibata provided.

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck 6 - Holodeck 1 (Conference Room)]

Lahr's antenna twitched at their mention.  It wasn't that he didn't like attention.  In fact, most social situations he went out of his way to be the center of attention - the joker usually.  What he disliked was responsibility and being looked to as a leader.  He'd lead his security team onto Innominatum on orders to retake the station and came back a member less.  That was on him.  Forever.  The nightmares still haunted him.

The Andorian nodded at the Captain's quiet words and left it at that.  They had a meeting to start.

Other than just recording, Lahr was taking in attendance and prepping the upcoming displays that the Captain would need.  So it took a moment for the change in not just Lt Briggs role, but his own to sink in.   Of course he'd heard before the Captain mention that she was wanting to make him co-Chief of Operations back when her husband first joined... but nothing had really come of it.  Now that Commander Waring got reassigned Lahr had assumed that a replacement officer was on their way over, possibly from one of the ships they would be joining forces with.   But to hear that not only had he somehow been named the actual Chief of Operations - which he supposed he was sorta qualified for - but also Acting Second Officer?!  That came as a shock.  Was that even allowed for someone coming up from the Enlisted ranks?  'See!' he argued with himself, 'someone in the Second Officer role should know this sort of stuff!'

He was glad that the Captain didn't pause immediately after that announcement but continued on this listing off the Challenger department heads because he needed a moment to not freak out.  Surely there were better options on the ship for Second Officer? Like Wardropper, or Lek, hell even Doctor Briggs would be a better choice!   Lahr made a conscious effort to keep his antenna perfectly still while his thoughts ran rampant.

'Don't panic!' he told himself.  'With a decent XO, the SO really didn't have to do much anyways, right?'   Lahr glanced over towards Kyle.  Briggs had better be the best damn XO going because the ship would be in trouble if it had to rely on the ship's clown in any moment of serious command.  Damn... how did this happen?   Was this the Captain's idea of a reward for his loyalty?! Roozh!

The Captain paused to take a drink and gave him a grin.   The look he returned her probably was frightening in its uncertainty but she went on.

Again more unexpected news for the Andorian.  Kali was joining Operations.  It wasn't as big of a transition as Security to Ops..  Lahr figured if he could fit in and apparently do well enough to make Chief in just under a year, the attractive former engineer should do fine.  The only downside to the arrangement that he could see was that with her being in his department and now reporting to him, he'd have to stop making passes at her.

The Captain went on to introduce the Federation fleet Captains.   At the Captain's nod Lahr brought up the holographic map - but rather than lay it on the flat surface of the table as she indicated, he had it displayed in three dimensions above head height.  Each ship as she spoke of it would have an enlarged representation of the ship flash up on the map blinking for a few seconds to show its allocated spot in the upcoming battle.

One by one up went the Federation ships: USS Challenger, USS Asgard, USS Einstein, USS Belfast, USS Pandora, USS Ip Man, USS Wing Chun, USS Phobos, USS Deimos and USS Arkansas

When the Captain motioned for more water, Lahr was quick to accept it from further down the table and pass it along to her.

Then the briefing resumed and up when the allied ship next:  RIW Saeirh Ehhae, 4 Scorpian fighters Citila, Ketela, Notosa, and Norol, and IKS Nih'jev and 2 To'Juj fighters - Surc and Duji

Lastly, Lahr added the known enemy ships.  These he made even larger so that they covered the entire potential battle area.   Thus far they didn't have good intel on the ship movements to know which ships might be where.   Known ships were:  USS Poseidon, USS Kumari-E,  USS Falcon and USS Gol.

By the time the Captain was done speaking and opening up the briefing for comments the map looked rather busy.

News of the Cardassian and Talarian presence, was disturbing.  Lahr called up a visual of the Keldon-class, and what stats were known about it when it was mentioned. The Andorian was quick to capture a visual representation of these ships and placed them on the map.  This was also done for the dark Nova-class.

What had originally seemed like a stacked fight against the enemy was unhappily becoming more balanced.  Lahr would have preferred a guaranteed win.

It was only after Lahr put these last ships up on the map that he glanced about to see if anyone else had intel and instead spotted PO Reyes and her ever present counselor.  Why didn't that surprise him?  Lahr prided himself on his match-making skills, yet there was no way he would have ever put the two of them together.  Maybe it was because Ryder protected Reyes way too much.  The woman couldn't seem to get out from under his thumb, at least that was Lahr's perspective of the relationship.  It was so not healthy for either of them, he thought.

The Andorian wondered with Kali working Ops now.. would that mean the counselor would show his face up there more often too? Lahr was willing to lay odd on it.  As he thought this, he gave an up-nod to the Petty Officer then hand-signed the two of them talking after the meeting.   Hand-signs were a common thing for those in Security and Lahr didn't think twice about using those same hand-signs with those he worked with in Ops.   If Kali didn't know them now, she'd learn them quick enough.

[Holodeck 1 - Conference Room - USS Challenger]

They were late, but in all fairness, a department transfer in the middle of a mission wasn't exactly a smooth process. It also meant that Kali had to retake a lot of vetting processes - including a psych profile reboot - which would explain why Counselor Ryder was tardy as well. He seemed to believe that she would transition just fine back into Ops given she had a newfound interest on tinkering with people more than machines these days and perhaps prevent her from de-oiling Chief Lek's chair so it squeaked incessantly every time he sat on it.

Halfway into the meeting, the door slid open and Kali quietly slipped in with Ryder in tow, and they were content to just hang back and make themselves as unremarkable as possible. They might as well have looked like yeoman really.

As the conference paused for a round of discussion, Kali muttered under her breath to Ryder, "Want to take bets on who rides or dies?" It was a morbid thing to say, but her tour of duty has had so many battles and deaths she was quite desensitized at the prospect of dying. "The Mjolnir's going to earn a good limp by the end of it, so I'm putting a hundred credits on them heavily damaged but the structure still stands. A smattering of cadets are going to make lots of mistakes, even as support. Phobos is going to get blown through like fly paper if they haven't patched their propulsion matrix yet. But another hundred on them being too prideful to ask Deimos what they've already solved months ago." She paused in thought. "Ip Man, now that's a ship to keep an eye on. What's the over-under on Akira class underdogs?"

[Holodeck 1 - Conference Room - USS Challenger]

As the two of them slipped into the conference woman, Nathan looked to the Captain with an apology in his gaze and a small nod of his head. They would have been on time, but Kali had a habit of going off on a tangent at the drop of a hat and even Nathan Ryder could get side tracked once in a while. In any case, he was sure they had not missed much.

As Kali muttered about placing bets, his gaze flicked from face to face. He was wary of anyone taking offense to her brand of humor, but found nothing in her words that he could really refute. "Over-under? With 'over' being Survival or Damage Dealt? Either way, I'd say somewhere in the neighborhood of 116." Not that Nathan had any idea who would be betting against her, or paying out the winnings. He certainly was not; he knew better than that.

A gesture from the Andorian, ShranLahr, caught his gaze and his head tilted slightly with curiosity. With a hint of teasing in his tone, he spoke softly to the woman at his side, "I don't know how you got in trouble before your first Ops shift, but it seems your new Chief would like to speak to you after the meeting." Nathan had not expected the Operations Officer to use the kind of hand signals usually used in Sec/Tac, but still he was glad some people still knew such things.

[Holodeck 1 - Conference Room - USS Challenger]

Ruth gave a rueful smile at Captain Shibata after accepting some water and nodding approvingly at Lahr for both the water and the map display which was better than anything she had expected.

She was about to give an answer to the Japanese Captain when Reyes and Ryder walked in.  She nudged Lahr and hoped that he got her meaning of 'deal with that afterwards' and a similar raised eyebrows to Liv and Kyle was to mean the same to them to deal with the late comers and find out what the excuse might be.  They'd had more than enough notice.

"Captain Shibata, thank you.  This new intel... and thank you Mr. ch'Verret for your efficiency, unfortunately means that our 'done deal' is a little more balanced.  Could be our mystery ship is Leyton's new little runabout so to speak!"  the CO sighed then continued.

"Still forewarned is fore-armed, and we can work some kind of battle plan around this.  If any of your senior staff have ideas please forward them to me, we shall reconvene in 24 hours otherwise unless anyone has any further questions, intel or ideas for the time being we can assume that we'll have a final brief in 24 hours and start the offensive as of 0600hrs the day after tomorrow.  Good luck everyone.  Challenger Staff please stay behind."

She waited for a few moments and sat down waiting for the various delegates to speak up or depart, then she would talk to her crew.  She tried not to look too sadly at them and remain upbeat and positive but right now she wished she had Will or Sukal with her.  She did have Kyle, Lahr and Lek... and they were a force to be reckoned with.

[Kyle Briggs]

[Holodeck 1 - Conference Room - USS Challenger]

Sitting next to the Captain in his new role as Acting XO, Kyle sat and listened to the briefing in silence. Ruth covered everything he had told her that he himself had learned from their prisoners and offered up some more he hadn't heard. This was going to be one hell of a battle. He reached over and took Liv's hand and gave it a slight supportive squeeze. He was silently hoping that the Sickbay wasn't going to get super busy with casualties.

As the CO was making her announcements about positions aboard the Challenger, Kyle noticed a slight glance from Lahr and wondered what that was all about. He had quickly learned upon his arrival that the Andorian didn't like having attention drawn to himself but Kyle was beginning to see what Ruth saw in the young man and he believed he would make a fine Second Officer.

Once the Captain called the briefing to an end, Kyle stood and fetched a couple of drinks for Liv and himself while the ones that were allowed to leave did so.

"Here you go, Gorgeous." he said as he sat a glass in front of Liv and then took his seat for the next part.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck 6 - Holodeck 1 (Conference Room)]

[Holodeck 1 - Conference Room - USS Challenger]

Ruth gave a rueful smile at Captain Shibata after accepting some water and nodding approvingly at Lahr for both the water and the map display which was better than anything she had expected.

She was about to give an answer to the Japanese Captain when Reyes and Ryder walked in.  She nudged Lahr and hoped that he got her meaning of 'deal with that afterwards' and a similar raised eyebrows to Liv and Kyle was to mean the same to them to deal with the late comers and find out what the excuse might be.  They'd had more than enough notice.

"Captain Shibata, thank you.  This new intel... and thank you Mr. ch'Verret for your efficiency, unfortunately means that our 'done deal' is a little more balanced.  Could be our mystery ship is Leyton's new little runabout so to speak!"  the CO sighed then continued.

"Still forewarned is fore-armed, and we can work some kind of battle plan around this.  If any of your senior staff have ideas please forward them to me, we shall reconvene in 24 hours otherwise unless anyone has any further questions, intel or ideas for the time being we can assume that we'll have a final brief in 24 hours and start the offensive as of 0600hrs the day after tomorrow.  Good luck everyone.  Challenger Staff please stay behind."

She waited for a few moments and sat down waiting for the various delegates to speak up or depart, then she would talk to her crew.  She tried not to look too sadly at them and remain upbeat and positive but right now she wished she had Will or Sukal with her.  She did have Kyle, Lahr and Lek... and they were a force to be reckoned with.

After the Captain finished talking, Lahr left his map up for others to study.  A few of the other Captains' reaffirmed their ships commitment to the plan but otherwise no one else was saying much.   Lahr had to wonder if it was because the Captain had everything so well planned out that there was nothing else to say... or if everyone was just too overwhelmed to know what to say and were just praying everything worked out in the end.   Lahr was in the latter category.

As the multi-ship meeting came to a close and the synced holograms of the Captains winked out of existence one by one, Lahr reached for a scone.  Maybe if he kept his mouth full of food for this next part, the Captain wouldn't call on him to talk.

[Olivia Briggs]

[Holodeck 1 - Conference Room - USS Challenger]

It wasn't difficult to catch the look Ruth had given her, following Ryder's late arrival and Liv nodded in response, to say that she understood as the meeting continued. Only looking towards her husband, when he reached over and took hold of her hand, feeling his love and reassurance through that gentle squeeze and promptly returned the gesture.

Having that support meant a lot to Liv and of course she would be lying to herself, if she wasn't slightly afraid about what could happen, but at least she had Kyle and Elijah to keep her sane, throughout it all.

As the meeting then came to an end, with the final comments and what would happen next, Liv allowed herself a moment to breathe and take everything in, once the other Captain's disappeared from view. Knowing that this was just the start of it, as she readjusted her position, before Kyle got up and returned a couple of minutes later, with a drink for them both.

" Thanks Babe" she replied softly, reaching for the glass to take a sip, before the next part of the meeting.

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

[Holodeck 1 - Conference Room - USS Challenger]

Sitting next to the Captain in his new role as Acting XO, Kyle sat and listened to the briefing in silence. Ruth covered everything he had told her that he himself had learned from their prisoners and offered up some more he hadn't heard. This was going to be one hell of a battle. He reached over and took Liv's hand and gave it a slight supportive squeeze. He was silently hoping that the Sickbay wasn't going to get super busy with casualties.

As the CO was making her announcements about positions aboard the Challenger, Kyle noticed a slight glance from Lahr and wondered what that was all about. He had quickly learned upon his arrival that the Andorian didn't like having attention drawn to himself but Kyle was beginning to see what Ruth saw in the young man and he believed he would make a fine Second Officer.

Once the Captain called the briefing to an end, Kyle stood and fetched a couple of drinks for Liv and himself while the ones that were allowed to leave did so.

"Here you go, Gorgeous." he said as he sat a glass in front of Liv and then took his seat for the next part.

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck 6 - Holodeck 1 (Conference Room)]

After the Captain finished talking, Lahr left his map up for others to study.  A few of the other Captains' reaffirmed their ships commitment to the plan but otherwise no one else was saying much.   Lahr had to wonder if it was because the Captain had everything so well planned out that there was nothing else to say... or if everyone was just too overwhelmed to know what to say and were just praying everything worked out in the end.   Lahr was in the latter category.

As the multi-ship meeting came to a close and the synced holograms of the Captains winked out of existence one by one, Lahr reached for a scone.  Maybe if he kept his mouth full of food for this next part, the Captain wouldn't call on him to talk.

[Holodeck 1 - Conference Room - USS Challenger]

It wasn't difficult to catch the look Ruth had given her, following Ryder's late arrival and Liv nodded in response, to say that she understood as the meeting continued. Only looking towards her husband, when he reached over and took hold of her hand, feeling his love and reassurance through that gentle squeeze and promptly returned the gesture.

Having that support meant a lot to Liv and of course she would be lying to herself, if she wasn't slightly afraid about what could happen, but at least she had Kyle and Elijah to keep her sane, throughout it all.

As the meeting then came to an end, with the final comments and what would happen next, Liv allowed herself a moment to breathe and take everything in, once the other Captain's disappeared from view. Knowing that this was just the start of it, as she readjusted her position, before Kyle got up and returned a couple of minutes later, with a drink for them both.

" Thanks Babe" she replied softly, reaching for the glass to take a sip, before the next part of the meeting.

[Conference Room - Holodeck 1, USS Challenger]

Ruth turned to Lahr and said "I assume that could be transferred to our regular Conference Room on Deck 1?  I'd like that to be available as a sort of interactive map for anyone to consult at any one time if that's possible, for our crew I mean!"  she helped herself to another pastry and topped up her drink.

"Captain Hecate, you're welcome to stay for this, you are after all a personal friend and some of this is restricted to those in this room only, and the crew of the Challenger I mean rather than those on other ships although some will be asked."

Hecate inclined her head and said "I'm just staying for those pastries, Ruth... don't hog all of them!" chuckling as Ruth proffered the plate of them.

"Right, since it's more practical to stay here, and so I don't make myself hoarse, I suggest those at the other end of the table..." she eyed Ryder and Reyes particularly although them being at the far end was more to do with tardiness than trying to not be noticeable she was sure.  "...come closer."

"Right I'll get the horrible things out of the way first.  People are going to die... it's a battle, most likely a horrible and very bloody one.  Briggs, if you want Elijah taken to safety somewhere, I will ask for it to be done and immunity to whatever craft he's in to be given safe transit.  Otherwise, while I hate having to suggest it, if you don't already have your final wishes on paper I suggest you do so.  Yes, even you girls." the Captain said looking sadly at her sister.  Trying to liven the mood a little she said  "But Lahr gets my music collection and the cactus!"

"On a more serious note, Liv, Maggie.. you may end up treating those that were our enemies.  I know professionally you're required to stick by the Hippocratic Oath, however that doesn't cover your personal feelings.  If we happen to have ex-Admiral Leyton on board with injuries, Kyle and his staff will be on guard duty obviously, but he is to be treated the same way any other patient would be, ..."  '...unfortunately...' she said quietly but loud enough for those close to her to hear.

"Also to that end we must at all costs at least attempt to bring Leyton in alive.  HQ want to question him."

"Ops, Tactical, Flight and Engineering I'm relying on you to liaise with one another and with those in the relevant departments of other ships to see if there is anything we have which can give us the edge.  Mr. Lek I think you have a reasonable acquaintance with Lt. Metrikix on the Tal'Bath, I wonder if something could be worked there?"

"There's just one final thing before you all go, some of you know about this some of you don't ... and Liv, Maggie if it comes down to it I would like you to stamp in 'official CMO boots' all over HQ if necessary to get this.  The crew need a break.  Mentally and physically they are worn out... and that's before this final battle.  To that end, while we'll be required at the Court Martial or trial or whatever HQ decide to do with Leyton and his allies, the UK is not that far by shuttle to San Francisco.  I am therefore throwing open Waring Manor, there will be parties and barbeques, we have horses, quad bikes, canoes on the lake, woodland walks, lovely scenery around ... there are cottages and lodges on the Estate so you don't have to stay in the Manor itself if you don't want to... you're all, if I can swing it, and the entire crew, getting 1 month 'enforced' R&R once we're cleared to do what we like.  That will give spacedock long enough to repair anything that gets broken and all get really fully stocked up for us, as well as taking supplies back for Avalon."

She smiled a genuine smile then.  "That's the other bit of good news.  Maggie is getting married to Dr. Al-Hambra and staying on the base, as a move towards a better future we're renaming the base and bringing our new Base Commander back with us, he'll perform the first wedding there and we'll be allowed to attend before getting whatever our new orders are going to be... and even I don't know what they are beyond the supply and Commander drop off run.  I don't even know who that is going to be other than... not me! Lt. Taray will most likely be delivered of her bundle of joy by then too so old friends can catch up."

"OK people I think that's it for now, if you need me I'll be in my Ready Room, otherwise my quarters. Reyes, Ryder... a word in my Ready Room in 10 mins please, Mr. Briggs and Mr. ch'Verret I'd like you there too please.  Everyone else I want a 'Department readiness' report by the end of the day please.  Dismiss."

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck 6 - Holodeck 1 (Conference Room)]

[Conference Room - Holodeck 1, USS Challenger]

Ruth turned to Lahr and said "I assume that could be transferred to our regular Conference Room on Deck 1?  I'd like that to be available as a sort of interactive map for anyone to consult at any one time if that's possible, for our crew I mean!"  she helped herself to another pastry and topped up her drink.

The Captain's question about the map was confirmed with a nod.  "Yes, ma'am.  I'll have it saved and sent over immediately."  And with a few taps to his PADD, he had the Holodeck save that part of the program to the ships confidential files.  He would double check with her, later in private, about the wisdom of having the map open to any of the crew.  For now only those with the biometric permission for this meeting had access.

"Captain Hecate, you're welcome to stay for this, you are after all a personal friend and some of this is restricted to those in this room only, and the crew of the Challenger I mean rather than those on other ships although some will be asked."

Hecate inclined her head and said "I'm just staying for those pastries, Ruth... don't hog all of them!" chuckling as Ruth proffered the plate of them.

Lahr glanced up from his work on the file transfer at hearing the Captain invite the Romulan Captain to remain.  Despite being less suspicious of Hecate after her assistance in regards to the twins, Lahr didn't feel it all that appropriate to discuss Challenger only matters with her present.. but then it wasn't his call.  He glanced to Kyle wondering what he thought of the matter.

"Right I'll get the horrible things out of the way first.  People are going to die... it's a battle, most likely a horrible and very bloody one.  Briggs, if you want Elijah taken to safety somewhere, I will ask for it to be done and immunity to whatever craft he's in to be given safe transit.  Otherwise, while I hate having to suggest it, if you don't already have your final wishes on paper I suggest you do so.  Yes, even you girls." the Captain said looking sadly at her sister.  Trying to liven the mood a little she said  "But Lahr gets my music collection and the cactus!"

The Captain's outright statement that people were going to die, caught Lahr by surprise.  Especially her plain stating that it was likely to be horrible and bloody.

**M'lenda .... there were no chance... her EV suit was shredded and her body was broken almost beyond recognition with a large blast burn encompassing nearly the entire back half of her body.**

The image from the past flashed in his mind at the Captain's words.  His antenna writhed unhappily.

Then there was the reminder to record his last wishes.   He hadn't done that for the station retake mission.  He'd been so naive then to think that the 'good guys' would win unscathed, as such none of his team had done up their wills.  Not having a will hadn't kept M'lenda alive. Nor had it prevented his team from being injured. He'd nearly lost his legs entirely.  Lahr glanced down at his lap.  Under the fine cut of his uniform, his legs showed little of the damage down to him a year ago.

** His legs, in a word, were hamburger.  The skin was charred and bubbled where it remained, but with parts of it missing from the sheer force that had hit him when the first shield failed, leaving those spots with only cooked tendons and muscles. Large and small shrapnel, from the blown out door, were embedded in his legs. The right leg mostly.  His blue blood seeped from several of these. **

Having the Captain name him as the recipient of her music collection and her cactus in the event of her death, Lahr did not find amusing though by her tone she meant it as such.
Lahr kept his gaze on his lap.  His antenna had stopped writhing to droop slightly now.

"On a more serious note, Liv, Maggie.. you may end up treating those that were our enemies.  I know professionally you're required to stick by the Hippocratic Oath, however that doesn't cover your personal feelings.  If we happen to have ex-Admiral Leyton on board with injuries, Kyle and his staff will be on guard duty obviously, but he is to be treated the same way any other patient would be, ..."  '...unfortunately...' she said quietly but loud enough for those close to her to hear.

"Also to that end we must at all costs at least attempt to bring Leyton in alive.  HQ want to question him."

Lahr glanced over towards Liv wondering at her reaction.  It must be difficult to have to treat the enemy after so much violence.   Lahr doubted he could be that generous... not after having lost people to the fight against Leyton.

"Ops, Tactical, Flight and Engineering I'm relying on you to liaise with one another and with those in the relevant departments of other ships to see if there is anything we have which can give us the edge.  Mr. Lek I think you have a reasonable acquaintance with Lt. Metrikix on the Tal'Bath, I wonder if something could be worked there?"

Lahr nodded at the order to cooperate with the other departments.

"There's just one final thing before you all go, some of you know about this some of you don't ... and Liv, Maggie if it comes down to it I would like you to stamp in 'official CMO boots' all over HQ if necessary to get this.  The crew need a break.  Mentally and physically they are worn out... and that's before this final battle.  To that end, while we'll be required at the Court Martial or trial or whatever HQ decide to do with Leyton and his allies, the UK is not that far by shuttle to San Francisco.  I am therefore throwing open Waring Manor, there will be parties and barbeques, we have horses, quad bikes, canoes on the lake, woodland walks, lovely scenery around ... there are cottages and lodges on the Estate so you don't have to stay in the Manor itself if you don't want to... you're all, if I can swing it, and the entire crew, getting 1 month 'enforced' R&R once we're cleared to do what we like.  That will give spacedock long enough to repair anything that gets broken and all get really fully stocked up for us, as well as taking supplies back for Avalon."[/color]

She smiled a genuine smile then.  "That's the other bit of good news.  Maggie is getting married to Dr. Al-Hambra and staying on the base, as a move towards a better future we're renaming the base and bringing our new Base Commander back with us, he'll perform the first wedding there and we'll be allowed to attend before getting whatever our new orders are going to be... and even I don't know what they are beyond the supply and Commander drop off run.  I don't even know who that is going to be other than... not me! Lt. Taray will most likely be delivered of her bundle of joy by then too so old friends can catch up."

Lahr zoned out at the repeated 'good news'.   The Andorian didn't need a break.  What he needed was a solution to the problem of Leyton.

"OK people I think that's it for now, if you need me I'll be in my Ready Room, otherwise my quarters. Reyes, Ryder... a word in my Ready Room in 10 mins please, Mr. Briggs and Mr. ch'Verret I'd like you there too please.  Everyone else I want a 'Department readiness' report by the end of the day please.  Dismiss."

Hearing his name called to attend the Captain in her ready room was not a good thing.  Unless you were getting .. except usually those were given out in happier times.   Lahr didn't want recognition, he just wanted his friends and those he considered like family kept safe.
After being dismissed from the multi-ship and the Challenger only meetings, Lahr considered cancelling the one on one talk he had gestured to Reyes about earlier.  He had intended to talk to Reyes about his expectations as her department head but now with the captain wanting to talk with them altogether, Lahr wondered if maybe he should just let her tardiness slight this one time and let the Captain deal with it as they were apparently ready to do.

[Lek]

[Conference Room - Holodeck 1, USS Challenger]

Ruth turned to Lahr and said "I assume that could be transferred to our regular Conference Room on Deck 1?  I'd like that to be available as a sort of interactive map for anyone to consult at any one time if that's possible, for our crew I mean!"  she helped herself to another pastry and topped up her drink.

"Captain Hecate, you're welcome to stay for this, you are after all a personal friend and some of this is restricted to those in this room only, and the crew of the Challenger I mean rather than those on other ships although some will be asked."

Hecate inclined her head and said "I'm just staying for those pastries, Ruth... don't hog all of them!" chuckling as Ruth proffered the plate of them.

"Right, since it's more practical to stay here, and so I don't make myself hoarse, I suggest those at the other end of the table..." she eyed Ryder and Reyes particularly although them being at the far end was more to do with tardiness than trying to not be noticeable she was sure.  "...come closer."

"Right I'll get the horrible things out of the way first.  People are going to die... it's a battle, most likely a horrible and very bloody one.  Briggs, if you want Elijah taken to safety somewhere, I will ask for it to be done and immunity to whatever craft he's in to be given safe transit.  Otherwise, while I hate having to suggest it, if you don't already have your final wishes on paper I suggest you do so.  Yes, even you girls." the Captain said looking sadly at her sister.  Trying to liven the mood a little she said  "But Lahr gets my music collection and the cactus!"

"On a more serious note, Liv, Maggie.. you may end up treating those that were our enemies.  I know professionally you're required to stick by the Hippocratic Oath, however that doesn't cover your personal feelings.  If we happen to have ex-Admiral Leyton on board with injuries, Kyle and his staff will be on guard duty obviously, but he is to be treated the same way any other patient would be, ..."  '...unfortunately...' she said quietly but loud enough for those close to her to hear.

"Also to that end we must at all costs at least attempt to bring Leyton in alive.  HQ want to question him."

"Ops, Tactical, Flight and Engineering I'm relying on you to liaise with one another and with those in the relevant departments of other ships to see if there is anything we have which can give us the edge.  Mr. Lek I think you have a reasonable acquaintance with Lt. Metrikix on the Tal'Bath, I wonder if something could be worked there?"

"There's just one final thing before you all go, some of you know about this some of you don't ... and Liv, Maggie if it comes down to it I would like you to stamp in 'official CMO boots' all over HQ if necessary to get this.  The crew need a break.  Mentally and physically they are worn out... and that's before this final battle.  To that end, while we'll be required at the Court Martial or trial or whatever HQ decide to do with Leyton and his allies, the UK is not that far by shuttle to San Francisco.  I am therefore throwing open Waring Manor, there will be parties and barbeques, we have horses, quad bikes, canoes on the lake, woodland walks, lovely scenery around ... there are cottages and lodges on the Estate so you don't have to stay in the Manor itself if you don't want to... you're all, if I can swing it, and the entire crew, getting 1 month 'enforced' R&R once we're cleared to do what we like.  That will give spacedock long enough to repair anything that gets broken and all get really fully stocked up for us, as well as taking supplies back for Avalon."

She smiled a genuine smile then.  "That's the other bit of good news.  Maggie is getting married to Dr. Al-Hambra and staying on the base, as a move towards a better future we're renaming the base and bringing our new Base Commander back with us, he'll perform the first wedding there and we'll be allowed to attend before getting whatever our new orders are going to be... and even I don't know what they are beyond the supply and Commander drop off run.  I don't even know who that is going to be other than... not me! Lt. Taray will most likely be delivered of her bundle of joy by then too so old friends can catch up."

"OK people I think that's it for now, if you need me I'll be in my Ready Room, otherwise my quarters. Reyes, Ryder... a word in my Ready Room in 10 mins please, Mr. Briggs and Mr. ch'Verret I'd like you there too please.  Everyone else I want a 'Department readiness' report by the end of the day please.  Dismiss."

[Conference Room - Holodeck 1 - USS Challenger]

Despite his obsession with his new theory, Lek did hear the captain mention that people would die and he hated knowing that was true. Even though the Challenger was much more powerful than when she originally launched, in ship to ship battles, the weapons used were just too destructive to avoid damage; and damage meant deaths happened.

Lek wasn't certain he could come up with something to improve liaison with the Tal'Bath, but he did think Metrikix was a good engineer and they should be able to come up with something.

"Yes Ma'am." He replied to acknowledge the captain and returned to his PADD to work on his idea and he was excited to see that it was taking practical shape. He was certain he could have a working prototype before the battle started and that it would be a decisive advantage when deployed.

Lek only half heard the captain's invitation to their estate for leave and he wasn't certain how he felt about that. He wasn't even certain he knew what he wanted to do with 30 days of leave. Besides, leave was dependent on the outcome of the battle and it was never wise to assume anything before a battle. Odds were, while the others were on leave, he would be in spacedock overseeing repairs to the ship.

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck 6 - Holodeck 1 (Conference Room)]

The Captain's question about the map was confirmed with a nod.  "Yes, ma'am.  I'll have it saved and sent over immediately."  And with a few taps to his PADD, he had the Holodeck save that part of the program to the ships confidential files.  He would double check with her, later in private, about the wisdom of having the map open to any of the crew.  For now only those with the biometric permission for this meeting had access.

Lahr glanced up from his work on the file transfer at hearing the Captain invite the Romulan Captain to remain.  Despite being less suspicious of Hecate after her assistance in regards to the twins, Lahr didn't feel it all that appropriate to discuss Challenger only matters with her present.. but then it wasn't his call.  He glanced to Kyle wondering what he thought of the matter.

The Captain's outright statement that people were going to die, caught Lahr by surprise.  Especially her plain stating that it was likely to be horrible and bloody.

**M'lenda .... there were no chance... her EV suit was shredded and her body was broken almost beyond recognition with a large blast burn encompassing nearly the entire back half of her body.**

The image from the past flashed in his mind at the Captain's words.  His antenna writhed unhappily.

Then there was the reminder to record his last wishes.   He hadn't done that for the station retake mission.  He'd been so naive then to think that the 'good guys' would win unscathed, as such none of his team had done up their wills.  Not having a will hadn't kept M'lenda alive. Nor had it prevented his team from being injured. He'd nearly lost his legs entirely.  Lahr glanced down at his lap.  Under the fine cut of his uniform, his legs showed little of the damage down to him a year ago.

** His legs, in a word, were hamburger.  The skin was charred and bubbled where it remained, but with parts of it missing from the sheer force that had hit him when the first shield failed, leaving those spots with only cooked tendons and muscles. Large and small shrapnel, from the blown out door, were embedded in his legs. The right leg mostly.  His blue blood seeped from several of these. **

Having the Captain name him as the recipient of her music collection and her cactus in the event of her death, Lahr did not find amusing though by her tone she meant it as such.
Lahr kept his gaze on his lap.  His antenna had stopped writhing to droop slightly now.

Lahr glanced over towards Liv wondering at her reaction.  It must be difficult to have to treat the enemy after so much violence.   Lahr doubted he could be that generous... not after having lost people to the fight against Leyton.
Lahr nodded at the order to cooperate with the other departments.
Lahr zoned out at the repeated 'good news'.   The Andorian didn't need a break.  What he needed was a solution to the problem of Leyton.

Hearing his name called to attend the Captain in her ready room was not a good thing.  Unless you were getting .. except usually those were given out in happier times.   Lahr didn't want recognition, he just wanted his friends and those he considered like family kept safe.

After being dismissed from the multi-ship and the Challenger only meetings, Lahr considered cancelling the one on one talk he had gestured to Reyes about earlier.  He had intended to talk to Reyes about his expectations as her department head but now with the captain wanting to talk with them altogether, Lahr wondered if maybe he should just let her tardiness slight this one time and let the Captain deal with it as they were apparently ready to do.

[Conference Room - Holodeck 1 - USS Challenger]

Despite his obsession with his new theory, Lek did hear the captain mention that people would die and he hated knowing that was true. Even though the Challenger was much more powerful than when she originally launched, in ship to ship battles, the weapons used were just too destructive to avoid damage; and damage meant deaths happened.

Lek wasn't certain he could come up with something to improve liaison with the Tal'Bath, but he did think Metrikix was a good engineer and they should be able to come up with something.

"Yes Ma'am." He replied to acknowledge the captain and returned to his PADD to work on his idea and he was excited to see that it was taking practical shape. He was certain he could have a working prototype before the battle started and that it would be a decisive advantage when deployed.

Lek only half heard the captain's invitation to their estate for leave and he wasn't certain how he felt about that. He wasn't even certain he knew what he wanted to do with 30 days of leave. Besides, leave was dependent on the outcome of the battle and it was never wise to assume anything before a battle. Odds were, while the others were on leave, he would be in spacedock overseeing repairs to the ship.

[Conference Room - Holodeck 1 > Ready Room, Deck 1]

Ruth looked at Lahr and saw the antennae bush telegraph working overtime.  'Crap... I forgot about M'lendra and how it affected Lahr, I forgot about them retaking Innominatum and Lahr's injuries...' as she stood up she laid a hand on Lahr's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze as she bent to his ear and whispered.

"I'm sorry my friend, I had to put it bluntly for those that don't know, I didn't intend it to hurt you."

Stopping by Lek she said "Any Lek Special's up your sleeve, Chief?? Oh and if you want there are cottages on the estate... you could be away from the main house with your special lady..."

The last said very quietly.  She knew that both Lek and Reyes didn't see eye to eye and while she was happy for senior officers to have accommodation outside of the Manor, junior ranks would be under her roof and 'kept an eye on'... this was going to be the same for Crewman Gohun and Lt. Litt and any of the others.  There was room to pitch tents if anyone wanted to camp, but she needed to have them 'available' and not straying too far especially when they would be required to give evidence at Leyton's trial.  She didn't want anyone to think they were being left out or higher ranks having preferential treatment.

Ruth nodded to the twins and Hecate smiling on her way past, and saw their sorrowful looks.  Arya looked close to tears, even Katya looked a bit down at mouth. Hecate seemed to be trying to placate them over something. She only caught odd words.

"... no children...no one else I'd want to leave it to..."

"... but we're not related, really..."

"... we couldn't possibly..." It made Ruth pause enough in her thoughts to wonder if she'd been right to remind them that this could get bloody... but that was the reality of war.

Pausing only once more before the door the Captain gave a look to Reyes and Ryder.

"I trust you'll be in my Ready Room inside 5 mins, try not to be late this time."  for all she'd tried to lighten the mood with the quip to Lahr before she was in a very serious mood, it was not the time to mess with her, if they were even one second late she'd read them every dot and comma in the Riot Act and then throw the book at them after.

[Ready Room]

Ruth slipped in behind her desk and sat waiting for Lahr, Kyle, Ryder and Reyes, in the meantime she opened a blank document and wrote the ominous words.

'This is the Last Will and Testament...'

[Lek]

[Conference Room - Holodeck 1 > Ready Room, Deck 1]

Stopping by Lek she said "Any Lek Special's up your sleeve, Chief?? Oh and if you want there are cottages on the estate... you could be away from the main house with your special lady..."

The last said very quietly.  She knew that both Lek and Reyes didn't see eye to eye and while she was happy for senior officers to have accommodation outside of the Manor, junior ranks would be under her roof and 'kept an eye on'... this was going to be the same for Crewman Gohun and Lt. Litt and any of the others.  There was room to pitch tents if anyone wanted to camp, but she needed to have them 'available' and not straying too far especially when they would be required to give evidence at Leyton's trial.  She didn't want anyone to think they were being left out or higher ranks having preferential treatment.

[Conference Room - Holodeck 1 > Ready Room - USS Challenger]

Lek followed the captain after the meeting as he wanted to bring up his idea, but rather than have to work his plan into the conversation, she asked him if he had any ideas and he immediately launched into describing his idea.

"I do in fact have an idea Captain. Leyton has made liberal use of a Ferengi Thought Maker and I believe that gives us an opening we can exploit. The device allows the user to control the neural activity of the target and thus make them subject to suggestion.

"As it requires two of these devices to work, that means every ship Leyton has must have a device that is paired to a central control device on his flagship. If we reverse the polarity of the neural frequency on which they operate, we can break the victims free of their influence, or at least jam their thoughts long enough to get them to freeze or panic at a critical point of the battle.

"Every ship in our fleet can easily configure their lateral sensors to emit a inverted neural wave pulse at a high enough power output to easily override Leyton's ability to control his minions. I've already worked out the frequency and bandwidth modifications needed to jam his neural net. I believe we can truly end this once and for all, and, with minimal casualties. After all, we're talking Starfleet personnel we will be facing. I get some of Leyton's people are true believers in his cause, but most are not and we owe it to them to save as many of them as we can."

[Kali Reyes]

A gesture from the Andorian, ShranLahr, caught his gaze and his head tilted slightly with curiosity. With a hint of teasing in his tone, he spoke softly to the woman at his side, "I don't know how you got in trouble before your first Ops shift, but it seems your new Chief would like to speak to you after the meeting." Nathan had not expected the Operations Officer to use the kind of hand signals usually used in Sec/Tac, but still he was glad some people still knew such things.

[Holodeck 1 - Conference Room - USS Challenger]

It seemed that even her lowest whisper carried fast. Kali stilled at Lahr's finger movements and then feigned confusion to Ryder. "That's what you got out of a few finger wiggles? And here I thought he was just flashing gang signs as a show of dominance." Which was fine, she's seen far worse displays of alpha posturing that was far from sanitary.

A Saurian monk that read her fortune by reading the crease lines of her throat said that her presence would undoubtedly 'raise alarms simply by being with existence', which most likely meant she turned heads at a whim. She may not be pleasant company to the more rigid officers, but she knew how to turn heads for weal or woe. Her therapist (not Ryder this time) called it attention-seeking behavior.

It was even more pronounced because before she even had the chance to step in Lahr's direction, the Captain belayed the order for the ready room. She danced from one foot to the other and then decided that the Captain was higher on the food chain.

[Ready Room - USS Challenger]

"If this is a performance review, can I at least contact my defense counsel?" she began, half-joking. Because clearly she was called in for something negative if she had to deal with both past and present superior officers. "Long distance calls across the galaxy are a pain, especially when the comm buoys are sometimes targeted first during a firefight."

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

[Conference Room - Holodeck 1 > Ready Room - USS Challenger]

Lek followed the captain after the meeting as he wanted to bring up his idea, but rather than have to work his plan into the conversation, she asked him if he had any ideas and he immediately launched into describing his idea.

"I do in fact have an idea Captain. Leyton has made liberal use of a Ferengi Thought Maker and I believe that gives us an opening we can exploit. The device allows the user to control the neural activity of the target and thus make them subject to suggestion.

"As it requires two of these devices to work, that means every ship Leyton has must have a device that is paired to a central control device on his flagship. If we reverse the polarity of the neural frequency on which they operate, we can break the victims free of their influence, or at least jam their thoughts long enough to get them to freeze or panic at a critical point of the battle.

"Every ship in our fleet can easily configure their lateral sensors to emit a inverted neural wave pulse at a high enough power output to easily override Leyton's ability to control his minions. I've already worked out the frequency and bandwidth modifications needed to jam his neural net. I believe we can truly end this once and for all, and, with minimal casualties. After all, we're talking Starfleet personnel we will be facing. I get some of Leyton's people are true believers in his cause, but most are not and we owe it to them to save as many of them as we can."

[Conference Room > Ready Room]

The Captain had a grin all over her face. "You know Lek, sometimes your ideas might seem crazy to those not used to them, but you've proved them to work in the past.  I like it... we'll run with it, it's an ace in our deck.  I'll leave it to you to do the honours and get whomever you need to do... well whatever!  It's in your hands, I trust you, Chief."

[Holodeck 1 - Conference Room - USS Challenger]

It seemed that even her lowest whisper carried fast. Kali stilled at Lahr's finger movements and then feigned confusion to Ryder. "That's what you got out of a few finger wiggles? And here I thought he was just flashing gang signs as a show of dominance." Which was fine, she's seen far worse displays of alpha posturing that was far from sanitary.

A Saurian monk that read her fortune by reading the crease lines of her throat said that her presence would undoubtedly 'raise alarms simply by being with existence', which most likely meant she turned heads at a whim. She may not be pleasant company to the more rigid officers, but she knew how to turn heads for weal or woe. Her therapist (not Ryder this time) called it attention-seeking behavior.

It was even more pronounced because before she even had the chance to step in Lahr's direction, the Captain belayed the order for the ready room. She danced from one foot to the other and then decided that the Captain was higher on the food chain.

[Ready Room - USS Challenger]

"If this is a performance review, can I at least contact my defense counsel?" she began, half-joking. Because clearly she was called in for something negative if she had to deal with both past and present superior officers. "Long distance calls across the galaxy are a pain, especially when the comm buoys are sometimes targeted first during a firefight."

[Ready Room]

The COs bonhomie with Lek changed to a stoney look at Reyes words as she looked up from the console.

"Sit down Reyes, you won't be needing a lawyer, a priest by the time I've finished with you might be more appropriate however, or perhaps a parent to console you. You'll lose that jokey tone with me and learn to show some respect.  While I left the door open for you, common courtesy and manners should be that you wait until you are spoken to other than announcing that you are here, and I do not count joking about a performance review 'announcing your arrival'.  What happened to a simple 'Reporting as ordered, Captain' if you had to speak at all?! I suppose I should be grateful you were at least punctual this time."   Ruth was not in the mood given she'd been contemplating her will.

"You will sit, and you will be quiet until the rest of the people I've invited to this arrive, and I suggest in the time you have you think very carefully about your position and behaviour over the last ... while, in the meantime.  You can be grateful to Leyton in one way, the fact that we are about to face one of the biggest battles you'll ever face hopefully, means we need every pair of hands that we have, but I need loyal hands... not ones that seem to think this is all a bit of a lark either.  So I'll leave you to contemplate in silence until the others arrive, and don't worry Chief Petty Officer ch'Verret is one of them so he'll be able to say whatever he wished to say to you once I'm done."

Ruth then turned to the console again and awaited Lahr and Kyle.

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

PO1 ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger – Deck 6 – Holodeck 1 (Conference Room) >>> Ready Room]

[Conference Room - Holodeck 1 > Ready Room, Deck 1]

Ruth looked at Lahr and saw the antennae bush telegraph working overtime.  'Crap... I forgot about M'lendra and how it affected Lahr, I forgot about them retaking Innominatum and Lahr's injuries...' as she stood up she laid a hand on Lahr's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze as she bent to his ear and whispered.

"I'm sorry my friend, I had to put it bluntly for those that don't know, I didn't intend it to hurt you."

The Andorian started at the unexpected touch to his shoulder and looked up from his lap to the Captain at her sympathetic words.   Once more she'd read his mood more than he wanted.  At this rate she'd soon be advising him to seek the help of the counsellor.

Lahr forced a smile and nodded.  "It's all good Captain.  I'll get through this.  We all will."

Stopping by Lek she said "Any Lek Special's up your sleeve, Chief??"

Pausing only once more before the door the Captain gave a look to Reyes and Ryder.

"I trust you'll be in my Ready Room inside 5 mins, try not to be late this time."  for all she'd tried to lighten the mood with the quip to Lahr before she was in a very serious mood, it was not the time to mess with her, if they were even one second late she'd read them every dot and comma in the Riot Act and then throw the book at them after.

[Conference Room - Holodeck 1 > Ready Room - USS Challenger]

Lek followed the captain after the meeting as he wanted to bring up his idea, but rather than have to work his plan into the conversation, she asked him if he had any ideas and he immediately launched into describing his idea.

[Holodeck 1 - Conference Room - USS Challenger]

It was even more pronounced because before she even had the chance to step in Lahr's direction, the Captain belayed the order for the ready room. She danced from one foot to the other and then decided that the Captain was higher on the food chain.

Lahr watched as the Captain left with Lek quickly following with Reyes looking like she was going follow.

Reyes.  She gave us five minutes.  You're mine first." He stood up and motioned for Reyes to come hither while he began packing up the unused food.   "Gimme a hand with getting this stuff into the replicator for recycling."

He used the trolley to gather up the foods and directed Kali to gather up the dishes. (he ignored if Ryder remained behind too)

When done he turned to Kali. "I'm not sure if the change in department was something you requested or not, but from my perspective... you are starting fresh.  Your progression from here on is all on how you choose to perform your new duties.  And I'll be frank...  your arriving late to the meeting didn't give a great impression."

Lahr liked to tease the Captain that he was lackadaisical, but even at his worst – when he was drinking just prior to his shift, he knew he was responsible enough to clear his head with an anti-intoxicant shot and show up for duty on time.   The chief had drilled that much into him.

Lahr glanced at the time and motioned for Reyes to walk with him as they made their way to the Captain's Ready Room.
"I'm gonna consider this your one free pass.  After this, what you do will reflect on the tasks you get assigned.  If you want the bridge – which is a prime spot – show that you are up to task by being on time and getting the work done."

He went on to talk about the job itself.

"Ops tasks individually are not hard, but that doesn't mean they aren't important.  We are just as crucial to the running of the ship as any other department.  Things however get challenging for us when we are asked to deal with several tasks at once.   You'll need to prioritize, and multi-task.   But I'm sure it was the same in Engineering, so I'm trusting that you'll do fine.   If you find that are falling behind the workload, don't be afraid to call in assistance.  You got any questions before we meet with the Captain?"  he asked as he entered the turbolift..

"Deck One"

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

[Ready Room]

Ruth slipped in behind her desk and sat waiting for Lahr, Kyle, Ryder and Reyes, in the meantime she opened a blank document and wrote the ominous words.

'This is the Last Will and Testament...'

Before the five minute deadline, Lahr and Reyes (maybe Ryder too?) arrived on the Bridge.  However as the others entered the Captain's Ready Room, Lahr was called aside by the Grelek who was on Bridge duty.  Lahr went to speak to the Vulcan briefly, clarifying the man's question.   By the time he entered the Captain's ready room, Ruth was already partway into her disciplining speech.

[Ready Room]

The COs bonhomie with Lek changed to a stoney look at Reyes words as she looked up from the console.

"Sit down Reyes, you won't be needing a lawyer, a priest by the time I've finished with you might be more appropriate however, or perhaps a parent to console you. You'll lose that jokey tone with me and learn to show some respect.  While I left the door open for you, common courtesy and manners should be that you wait until you are spoken to other than announcing that you are here, and I do not count joking about a performance review 'announcing your arrival'.  What happened to a simple 'Reporting as ordered, Captain' if you had to speak at all?! I suppose I should be grateful you were at least punctual this time."   Ruth was not in the mood given she'd been contemplating her will.

"You will sit, and you will be quiet until the rest of the people I've invited to this arrive, and I suggest in the time you have you think very carefully about your position and behaviour over the last ... while, in the meantime.  You can be grateful to Leyton in one way, the fact that we are about to face one of the biggest battles you'll ever face hopefully, means we need every pair of hands that we have, but I need loyal hands... not ones that seem to think this is all a bit of a lark either.  So I'll leave you to contemplate in silence until the others arrive, and don't worry Chief Petty Officer ch'Verret is one of them so he'll be able to say whatever he wished to say to you once I'm done."

Ruth then turned to the console again and awaited Lahr and Kyle.

Lahr stepped up beside Kali.  "Not worry Captain, Petty Officer Reyes and I have spoken already.  I'm hoping we have an understanding." The Andorian looked to Kali with a nod before turning back to look to Ruth.  "If you recall, I was no prize crewman either when you first began as XO.  You helped change that without the heavy-handedness.  Give Reyes the same chance you gave me."