S3:E9 All Bad Things Come To An End

[Ian Galloway]

[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."

[Ready Room -  USS Challenger]

Lek nodded as the captain gave him free rein to implement his plan. Fortunately, neural frequencies were not difficult to jam and he could coordinate with the other ships in the fleet to duplicate the modifications he was going to do to the Challenger fairly easily. The only question he didn't have an answer to was whether they should blast the jamming out fleetwide as soon as they were in range or to hold back until a critical moment.

Given anything that broadcasted could be jammed, could also change frequency. Therefore, his initial inclination was to wait until the battle was well and truly joined before springing the jamming as a surprise when it would do the most damage. So, unless the captain countermanded that plan, that would be his working model.

"Yes Ma'am, we'll get right on it and the entire fleet will be ready by the time we engage."

[Kali Reyes]

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

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."

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..

[USS Challenger – Deck 6 – Holodeck 1]

She supposed that Chief ch'Verret would not be undermined because he simply took her aside before she stepped in. Other than dinner, this was the first time she really got a good idea on the Andorian, one of the very few races she genuinely found difficult to read.

Past experiences indicated a more blunt honesty went well with them.

"I never wanted to step foot in Ops again, but at least you're easier on the eyes," she replied, picking up the plates. Menial labor never bothered her if it kept her busy long enough. Lek would have learned that the hard way if he had gone through with his threat to have the hull scrubbed. "I just went through department transfer paperwork. You and I both know it's a pain in the antenna without the onset of a massacre looming over our heads. Unless I missed the part in the meeting where I have access to a fighter?" Now that would've been worth being early for.

She had no questions. Most of the time she could gauge a person by simply watching them do things. Her new chief had no problem doing a bit of menial labor too. That meant something.

Her proper gauging of the Captain however, may have clouded Kali's judgment a fair bit.

"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.

[Ready Room]

'Biggest battle?' Kali thought coldly, a nerved touched for the first time since - 'None of them read my service history. None of them.'

Starfleet, with all its boasts of forward thinking and peacekeeping objectives, cared more about how many photon torpedoes they can stuff in the armory than why a crewman passes out drunk outside of bar during shore leave. Or why they were late in the first place.

This whole business dwarfed what had happened on the Discovery that day. When an entire planet died right in front of her eyes and the eyes of the away team. Men, women, children melting right on the streets - pure biological warfare - and she drank and drank and Starfleet didn't even lift a finger to help -

Only those who knew her privately could catch the rage flickering in her eyes and her knuckles white trying to hold her very atoms steady.

"Deck One"

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

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.

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."

Funny enough, it was Chief ch'Verret's intervention that cut through the haze of rage goaded by her PTSD. But it was very clear she did not understand the Captain, who had transferred her out to another department and then chastised her tardiness when she had to jump through hoops of paperwork to follow the Captain's orders in the first place.

The Captain didn't even know her service history. By transitive property - the Captain didn't know her.

The Captain wanted her to sit. So she sat. The Captain wanted her silent. She did that too. Kali could play the Vulcan just fine for the Captain. Sadly, there was no snowglobes within reach she could toss at a wall to fix her distress. She tried solving the Marx formula in her head without using Gorem's variable as a shortcut. Ryder taught her that.

She resolved to give the Captain exactly what she wanted: Kali's professional opinion. Nothing more, nothing less.

[Zavrol Gohun]

Gohun listened to the plan and was concerned that they did not know what Leytons base looked like. It could be anything from Cardassian base to nothing. Something like Deep Space Nine could be more than a match for their group at the same time sending in a probe could also be problematic.
With all the emotions going wild Gohun had a hard time paying attention at all. The entire room was full of anger betrayal and even strong feelings of utter contempt. But focus he did and after he looked at his notes

After the briefing was finished Gohun looked at his pad and paper.
*  Enemy forces are USS Posiedon and Kumari-E both Akira Class, the USSFalcon, a Miranda Class and the USS Gol an Ambassador Class and an unknown base
* plans to neutralize the mind control seems scientifically sound also seemed way too easy to do.
Once the briefing was over Gohun felt very disheartened. He knew from the Enterprise's records that Q had called humanity a race of savages and part of him wondered if Layton was proving this point. But then he realized that they were not with the might of Starfleet they could just wipe Leyton and all his forces out. It was in the fact they chose to act humanly and just murder all of Leytons followers that proved they were indeed not savages. With that Gohun continued to listen to the briefing.

[Olivia Briggs]

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

Once the briefing had come to an end, Liv had said a brief goodbye to Kyle, before going straight to Sickbay. The reality of the upcoming battle weighing heavily on her mind, especially with the possibility of heavy casualties and the prospect of Elijah being sent somewhere safe. Apart from when she was at work, their son had never been away from either of his parents and whilst it was the right thing to do, in order to protect him, it was upsetting at the same time.

In fact there had been a few tears shed, before she had taken back control and began to get organised. Using the privacy of the CMO's office, Liv spoke with the sitter, the daycare staff and explained the situation, agreeing that the other children on board, would also be leaving the ship until this was over and the signal given to rejoin them.

With that plan in place, Liv forwarded the details to both Kyle and Ruth.

F.A.O. Captain Ruth Sigurdsdottir & Lt Kyle Briggs

I've contacted the relevant people and all children residing aboard Challenger, including Elijah will be ready to depart, once the time comes for them to do so. This will include daycare staff, our sitter and I would also recommend a security officer or two if they can be spared to accompany them, to a safe spot or Innominatum.

Regards

Dr Olivia Briggs

After that was done, Liv sat back and closed her eyes briefly, wanting a moment of solitude, before she got to work organising Sickbay for what was to come.

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

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

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."

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"

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

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.

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."

[Ready Room - USS Challenger]

The CO gave Lahr a look, and then a slow nod.  "Perhaps, Chief, perhaps... but I have questions first."

[USS Challenger – Deck 6 – Holodeck 1]

She supposed that Chief ch'Verret would not be undermined because he simply took her aside before she stepped in. Other than dinner, this was the first time she really got a good idea on the Andorian, one of the very few races she genuinely found difficult to read.

Past experiences indicated a more blunt honesty went well with them.

"I never wanted to step foot in Ops again, but at least you're easier on the eyes," she replied, picking up the plates. Menial labor never bothered her if it kept her busy long enough. Lek would have learned that the hard way if he had gone through with his threat to have the hull scrubbed. "I just went through department transfer paperwork. You and I both know it's a pain in the antenna without the onset of a massacre looming over our heads. Unless I missed the part in the meeting where I have access to a fighter?" Now that would've been worth being early for.

She had no questions. Most of the time she could gauge a person by simply watching them do things. Her new chief had no problem doing a bit of menial labor too. That meant something.

Her proper gauging of the Captain however, may have clouded Kali's judgment a fair bit.

[Ready Room]

'Biggest battle?' Kali thought coldly, a nerved touched for the first time since - 'None of them read my service history. None of them.'

Starfleet, with all its boasts of forward thinking and peacekeeping objectives, cared more about how many photon torpedoes they can stuff in the armory than why a crewman passes out drunk outside of bar during shore leave. Or why they were late in the first place.

This whole business dwarfed what had happened on the Discovery that day. When an entire planet died right in front of her eyes and the eyes of the away team. Men, women, children melting right on the streets - pure biological warfare - and she drank and drank and Starfleet didn't even lift a finger to help -

Only those who knew her privately could catch the rage flickering in her eyes and her knuckles white trying to hold her very atoms steady.

Funny enough, it was Chief ch'Verret's intervention that cut through the haze of rage goaded by her PTSD. But it was very clear she did not understand the Captain, who had transferred her out to another department and then chastised her tardiness when she had to jump through hoops of paperwork to follow the Captain's orders in the first place.

The Captain didn't even know her service history. By transitive property - the Captain didn't know her.

The Captain wanted her to sit. So she sat. The Captain wanted her silent. She did that too. Kali could play the Vulcan just fine for the Captain. Sadly, there was no snowglobes within reach she could toss at a wall to fix her distress. She tried solving the Marx formula in her head without using Gorem's variable as a shortcut. Ryder taught her that.

She resolved to give the Captain exactly what she wanted: Kali's professional opinion. Nothing more, nothing less.

The Captain realised that she'd touched a nerve, although she wasn't entirely certain why or how.  But that was good... in one way, it meant when she let Reyes vent, she could get all of it out.

[Sickbay - USS Challenger]

Once the briefing had come to an end, Liv had said a brief goodbye to Kyle, before going straight to Sickbay. The reality of the upcoming battle weighing heavily on her mind, especially with the possibility of heavy casualties and the prospect of Elijah being sent somewhere safe. Apart from when she was at work, their son had never been away from either of his parents and whilst it was the right thing to do, in order to protect him, it was upsetting at the same time.

In fact there had been a few tears shed, before she had taken back control and began to get organised. Using the privacy of the CMO's office, Liv spoke with the sitter, the daycare staff and explained the situation, agreeing that the other children on board, would also be leaving the ship until this was over and the signal given to rejoin them.

With that plan in place, Liv forwarded the details to both Kyle and Ruth.

F.A.O. Captain Ruth Sigurdsdottir & Lt Kyle Briggs

I've contacted the relevant people and all children residing aboard Challenger, including Elijah will be ready to depart, once the time comes for them to do so. This will include daycare staff, our sitter and I would also recommend a security officer or two if they can be spared to accompany them, to a safe spot or Innominatum.

Regards

Dr Olivia Briggs

After that was done, Liv sat back and closed her eyes briefly, wanting a moment of solitude, before she got to work organising Sickbay for what was to come.

"Hold those thoughts a moment please..." Ruth said politely as her console chimed.  She quickly read the note from Liv and sighed.  She had debated sending the twins back to base but knew that they'd never forgive her if she took them from the battle.  Plus she wasn't letting them out of her sight.. well off the Challenger again while Leyton was still at large.

TO: Dr. Olivia Briggs, CMO, Act. Lt. Cmdr. Briggs, CoS/T
FROM: Capt. Ruth Sigurdsdottir, CO
Subject: Children and non-essential personnel.

Acknowledged.  I'll leave it to Kyle to sort out who he sends over with them although I suggest an Ensign or higher plus at least 2 others for safety.

If I don't get a chance to before they are taken over, then please give Elijah a big hug for me.  Obviously we will pick them all up on the way back to Earth.

Regards, and I know how hard this will be for you.  I'm here if you need to talk about any of this.

Ruth

~END MESSAGE~

Message sent, Ruth turned back to the assembled company.

"Now where were we, ah yes giving Ms. Reyes a chance...."

The Captain looked up at the ceiling then down at the floor.

"I believe you were on the Discovery before transfer to the Challenger. I may have been a little hasty in my assumption that this upcoming battle will be the biggest you've ever seen.  For that you have my apologies.  You've seen service, you've seen tragedy, you've seen people be killed before.  I just don't understand your attitude.  Your initial service history... well let's just say that it's a damn good job that you had your godfather to pull strings for you is all I can say."

The Captain stood and got herself a drink.  Softening a little she said "Would anyone, that includes you Ms. Reyes, like anything?  Obviously you are permitted to answer, and you will be given your chance to speak, but I need to finish what I'm saying first."  She waited for the answer and got drinks as requested then sat back down after a long drink.

"I'm about to tell you something that I don't tell many people, so that maybe you can understand me a little better and understand why I'm hard on you.  I had the biggest beef at Starfleet for years, I was kept at Ensign for years because,.." she sighed and then continued.

"I was on a Starship that was stolen by an ex-Admiral, not Leyton.  We were all given shore leave as an effort to get us all off the ship.  I was trying to impress some Lieutenant that I liked and doubled back to get a dress on rather than uniform and run a brush through my hair, I wasn't the only one that was on that ship, but other than Captain Anderson, I was the only one that was punished.  The doctor was transferred and promoted, the Science Officer that was with me was given a perfunctory 'don't do it again' but was promoted and made DH within 3 months.  I was the one that took the rap, why?  Because when I found out why he was doing it, I kinda agreed with him.  He'd lost his family years ago, he thought he'd found a way to go and retrieve them.  My family meant everything to me, and that was before my parents and brothers were killed in a car crash.  Thankfully the twins were at school."

Ruth took a shuddering breath then continued.

"I couldn't believe that I was the one that had to take the fall for an Admiral, that other people who had been with us got promotions... but I kept it all inside, I knuckled down, I took it.  I transferred departments first to Security and then to my actual preferred department of Sciences, but it took a long time before anyone actually looked at me for my skills and talents not just that one single blot on my service record."

Ruth let out a long sigh.

"Your career in Starfleet ... well from what I've read, and I confess I've only skim read because I honestly haven't had the time with this war going on, you started off in deficit so to speak.  But you don't seem to have tried to, ... I'm not sure how to put this, so I'll go with blunt.  While your service record on paper shows a meteoric rise through the ranks I'm not sure if that is because of your skill at Ops, or people higher than you vacating the posts for one reason or another or a mixture.  However, I've had evidence of you not really 'gelling' with your superior officers.  Of being obnoxious and obstructive.  Lt. Metrikix actually reported that the only time you were animated on the trip on the Tal'Bath was when you thought you had got one over on some other Engineer. That you seemed to be... well the words she used were '...seemed to have just had some kind of dressing down from Lt. Lek and was rather rebellious about it...' I don't know if this is true.  If you didn't want to go over to the Tal'Bath then you should have taken that up with me, since it was I who requested that lek take you.  He had already chosen those to go with him.  I thought it might be a good experience for you."

"Now a couple of questions.  Why were you late today you had ample warning about the meeting.  So anything that you needed to do, appointments and so on should have been arranged for times other than when you were supposed to be in the meeting.  Also, why you felt the need once you were in the meeting, to then talk.  That was the height of bad manners."

The Captain took a swig of her coffee and then finished.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is, I could give you a chance as your Department Head requests, but I could give you all the chances in the world, but if you don't change the attitude, you'll never change.  So, I'll let you know that yes, I'm giving you a chance in Ops... with someone that has knuckled down and become an exemplary officer... I use that term, because while enlisted he's pulled the weight of 3 commissioned officers in our fight against Leyton.  And the second reason that I'm giving you another chance is that I got two... my second being given the Executive Officer slot initially on this ship.  It was a confirmation that someone somewhere actually believed in me.  I'm hoping you can give me that same belief Petty Officer... show me that you can do this.  Now... short of throwing things at me... physically, I give you the floor... shout at me, scream, even profanities if you like, I promise that it goes no further than this room..."

She eyed those present.  "... and will not go on record.  From the time you leave this room you are in Ops and go thru Acting CPO ch'Verret, he will be responsible for discipline.  You will apologise to Lt. Lek for your attitude while working in his department and for any misunderstandings between the two of you... you will both shake hands on that.  So... have at me.  Help me understand why you're like you are, why you were late, and give me a good reason why you deserve this 2nd chance.  You get it anyway, just..."

She wondered if anything that she'd said would actually sink in, the message being... whatever life, career and whatever throws at you, knuckle down and don't make a fuss, then go take it out on something that wouldn't hurt in a holodeck, was the only way to get ahead in this career.

She held up a finger to make Kali wait a second, adding one more thing.

"...make me see... you.  And for what it's worth, sorry.  I may have taken it out on you a little before but your flippant attitude when you came in, trod on my last nerve, you see... I was just starting to write out my will.  The timing was... a little off shall we say."

The CO hoped that sobering thought might make Kali think very carefully about how she framed her reply, and what to do with the opportunity to speak freely.  Would Kali lambast her and really lay everything bare, or would she think, offer an explanation carefully and an apology too?

[Kali Reyes]

She eyed those present.  "... and will not go on record.  From the time you leave this room you are in Ops and go thru Acting CPO ch'Verret, he will be responsible for discipline.  You will apologise to Lt. Lek for your attitude while working in his department and for any misunderstandings between the two of you... you will both shake hands on that.  So... have at me.  Help me understand why you're like you are, why you were late, and give me a good reason why you deserve this 2nd chance.  You get it anyway, just..."

She wondered if anything that she'd said would actually sink in, the message being... whatever life, career and whatever throws at you, knuckle down and don't make a fuss, then go take it out on something that wouldn't hurt in a holodeck, was the only way to get ahead in this career.

She held up a finger to make Kali wait a second, adding one more thing.

"...make me see... you.  And for what it's worth, sorry.  I may have taken it out on you a little before but your flippant attitude when you came in, trod on my last nerve, you see... I was just starting to write out my will.  The timing was... a little off shall we say."

The CO hoped that sobering thought might make Kali think very carefully about how she framed her reply, and what to do with the opportunity to speak freely.  Would Kali lambast her and really lay everything bare, or would she think, offer an explanation carefully and an apology too?

[USS Challenger - Ready Room]

Why was she being reprimanded further? Why was she being forced to apologize to Chief Lek? She avoided him when she could, sure, but she's never said a word against him and whatever thoughts she had about him were her own. Grumpy Ferengi were a dime a dozen, but she's handled his kind before - usually when she owed them latinum. Sure she's been threatened with simple punishments in the past, but Lek just couldn't stick it on her. Kali was far too savvy to give him the chance to find a misstep on her part.

And he hadn't. She never scrubbed the hull. Because she never put his threats to the sword.

Was she transferred because of the Tal'Bath? Confusion wrinkled her brow. That was the only reason she could think of as to why. Before that, Lek never her called on her for anything. And she thought she had warmed up just fine to the engineers all things considered.

Or maybe the Captain saw something else that Kali didn't know about. She could only frown, her mood dipping further. It seemed the more the Captain tried to justify the dress down, the more anxious Kali realized that an audience got to hear all about it. This wasn't a private disciplinary meeting - it was like the whole ship had a first class seat to Kali's questionable service career.

The Vulcan in her begged Kali to make this stop. Make the Captain stop. This must be her real punishment - embarrassing her in front of her superiors. Implying she was incapable of doing her job -

And the Captain kept going, holding a finger for continued silence like she was an untrained dog. Kali could only sit there stunned. She wanted her to explain everything? Now?

She thought about just bolting out of the room. Her nerves were shot and her battle stress fractioned her thoughts into a panic.

"I will apologize to Chief Lek," she managed to say, her Vulcan half taking control. "And if there's nothing else, I would like to be dismissed and resume my duties in Operations."

Anything. Just make her stop.

[Kyle Briggs]

[Holodeck - USS Challeger]

Once the meeting in the holodeck broke up, Kyle spent a few moments with Liv as they discussed Elijah. They had decided to send him some place safe. Liv was broken up about it as she had never been away from him other than a few decks.

"We're making the right choice." Kyle reassured her. "Hell. If I had my way, you would be going with him. But I know you wouldn't go."

"Go ahead and send the request through. I need to get to the Ready Room. I love you, baby. Things will be fine and we'll be back with him in no time." Kyle added as he gave her a big kiss before exiting.

[Ready Room - USS Challenger]

As he had been asked to be there, Kyle walked up and opened the door without waiting. He walked in as the Captain, Lahr and Kali were talking. He nodded to them all and stood toward the back out of his way. He wasn't sure what had been discussed before his arrival but he caught the tale end and took a step forward.

"If I may Captain? I agree with Mister Lahr. I've served with Kali before and while her ways may be a bit unorthodox, she's very good at what she does. She has a way about herself but she's worth a second chance." Kyle offered.

He stepped back as they finished their conversation and awaited his turn.

[Lek]

[Ready Room -  USS Challenger]

Lek nodded as the captain gave him free rein to implement his plan. Fortunately, neural frequencies were not difficult to jam and he could coordinate with the other ships in the fleet to duplicate the modifications he was going to do to the Challenger fairly easily. The only question he didn't have an answer to was whether they should blast the jamming out fleetwide as soon as they were in range or to hold back until a critical moment.

Given anything that broadcasted could be jammed, could also change frequency. Therefore, his initial inclination was to wait until the battle was well and truly joined before springing the jamming as a surprise when it would do the most damage. So, unless the captain countermanded that plan, that would be his working model.

"Yes Ma'am, we'll get right on it and the entire fleet will be ready by the time we engage."

[Nathan Ryder]

[Ready Room - USS Challenger]

Having accompanied Kali to the Ready Room, Nathan was present for the entire dressing down the Captain gave her and to say he was unimpressed would have been an understatement. The Captain may be in a poor mood, but in his opinion she had no right to take it out on Kali. Perhaps Kali could have been more professional in her arrival, but the Captain was the one that had implied they should treat her as a friend.

As Kali sat down, Nathan stood tall; his hands coming to rest at the small of his back. He could feel her shutting down and wanted to interrupt the flood of words falling from their Captain's lips, but he held his tongue at least until after Kali had spoken. When it seemed she had fully embraced her Vulcan half and would say no more than the absolute minimum, he decided he had to speak up.

"If we are to be discussing this in such an open forum, I feel the need to share my professional assessment of the situation. I was present during the beam over to the Tal'Bath and the entire visit there and saw far more of the situation than Lt. Mekrikix." His voice was calm as he kept his gaze on the Captain. "Petty Officer Reyes may have a penchant for speaking her mind, but anyone would chafe at the way Lt. Lek treats those he views as beneath him. Although he did not say it in so few words, it was quite clear neither of us were welcome as part of his team."

"No doubt both of them have their faults, but the Ferengi are well known to be biased against both women and Humans. Surely his attitude is to be taken with a grain of salt." Having had his say on the subject, Nathan turned his attention to the unanswered question. "As to why we were late, I was under the impression that you wanted Reyes' transfer to Ops completed as soon as possible. Such a transfer includes a psychological evaluation and it did take a bit longer than expected; for which I take the blame and offer my apologies."

[ShranLahr ch'Verret]

Acting CPO ShranLahr ch'Verret
[USS Challenger - Deck One - Ready Room]

Lahr had hoped that by his saying that he and Reyes had talked that the Captain might let him deal with the issue.  He was even hopeful of such when Lt Briggs even agreed.  But nope.  It seemed both women were in 'a mood'.

Reyes had said nothing since his arrival but the Vulcan hybrid seem abnormally silent.  This was Kali they were talking about.  While he didn't know her well, the couple times they had met she'd been rather animated in her conversation.  To have her seeming so coldly Vulcan... was to be frank... odd, given what little he knew of her so far.

Since he hadn't known about his official bump to Acting Chief of Operations and Second Officer, or that Reyes would be joining Ops, he didn't know about her service record or if there were any past infractions.  Rumor had it that she intentionally pushed Lek's buttons.. but then rumor also had it that Lahr was still selling drugs - which he emphatically wasn't - so he was leery of believing in everything he heard.

Lahr remained standing beside Reyes, declining the Captain's offer of a drinking, hoping that the Captain would just let him handle his own personnel... but she too seemed upset.  Reyes' late arrival and whispered conversation seemed to have really touched nerve with the Captain.   And while he felt awkward being present for this reprimand, which showed in the agitated writhing of his antenna, he knew the Captain and trusted that this was intended to bring Reyes closer into the 'family' not drive her into further disobedience.

Yet at the end of the Captain's long and personal dialogue, Reyes' reply was hardly the rant of an explanation that the Captain had said would be okay.. the Petty Officer merely acknowledged the order to apologize to Lek and asked to be dismissed to work.   His antenna stopped their writhing and sagged slightly.   It didn't feel like to him that things were settled at all.

Then the counselor spoke up.  Offering both defense for whatever transpired on the Tal'Bath pointing out Lek's sometimes less than charming personality, and an explanation for the delay.  Lahr side glanced over towards the counselor.  Despite his own dislike of the pair's personal relationship, Lahr was glad the counselor was there for Reyes'.   The Andorian knew he himself wouldn't have wanted to face a public reprimand by the Captain without someone being there for him.  Lahr gave the man a slight acknowledging nod of his head.

While the Andorian appreciated the man's defense of Reyes, he didn't know if he quite believed it was due to a psyche-evaluation that they were late.  The meeting had been set for the start of Alpha shift... 0815 in the morning.  Having a psychological exam in the time earlier than that seemed rather odd.  Beside which Lahr figured that the pair were together often enough that the man could have written up an evaluation based on just his current knowledge of her at the time.. but maybe the man was a by-the-book sort and needed standardized evaluation criteria to be professional.  Anyways, Ryder wasn't in his department so he didn't have a say in what that man did or how he did it.

Lahr looked to the Captain wondering if she was as doubtful as he?  He hoped not because then this could become even more uncomfortable unnecessarily.   Maybe it was time for him to speak up?   Let the Captain know that while he supported her unconditionally that this disciplinary meeting had run its' course and should be wrapped up.  Lahr turned back to the counselor.

"Thank you for clarifying that, Counselor Ryder.  Perhaps next time, you might keep a closer eye on the time - save us all a bit of unpleasantness."

He looked to Reyes, part of him wanted to thank her for not taking up the Captain's offer to make a huge scene.  While the Captain might say that it wouldn't go beyond that room... some things could never be unsaid once spoken and knowing what those things were, was not easy.

"Permission to be dismissed along with Petty Officer Reyes?  Operations has a lot to organize, ma'am."

[Ruth Sigurdsdottir]

[OOC - Skipping quotes but refer to all from my last post to this]

[Ready Room - USS Challenger]

Ruth realised that Kali wasn't going to speak given her response.  However, she needed to address something both Kyle said and Counsellor Ryder.

"Thank you Mr. Briggs... if you vouch for her that's a good sign.  I think everyone is getting a little riled in this situation. Mr. Ryder... like Mr ch'Verret suggests, please organise your appointments a little better.  You are correct in thinking that I wanted the transfer as quickly as possible, because we need more experienced people in Ops for this upcoming battle, however there was a suitable period between me issuing the transfer order and the notification of your requirement to attend the briefing, still water under the bridge now.  I did read that much in your file Ms. Reyes... you are excellent in Operations procedures.  And I'm quite used to unorthodox... which is why I thought you and Mr. Lek would get along better."

The Captain shrugged and then smiled and held out a hand.

"May we agree to get along from here on out?  Good luck in Ops Ms. Reyes.  Everyone dismissed besides Mr. Briggs... I'd like a quick word please regarding our firepower."

She gave Lahr a quick look. "Mr. ch'Verret... everything ready by 0600hrs day after tomorrow?"

Waiting until she had an empty room bar Kyle and the door was shut.

"OK, out with it... was I too harsh on her?  I'm sorry but her attitude is worse than Katya's when she's in a mood and you know what us Viking women can be like!"

TIME JUMP - MORNING OF BATTLE....
[0400 Captain's Ready Room - USS Challenger]

Ruth hadn't slept all night, she'd been drawing up battle plans, scrapping them, and then making new ones.  She'd also finished writing her will, and had forwarded it to Starfleet HQ with a note that it could be amended at any point in the future, but for now this was to be the accepted document.

Yawning she replicated herself another cup of very strong Ratkajino and then decided that she wanted a fresh brewed cup so recycled it and took herself up to the Mess Hall.

[Mess Hall - USS Challenger]

[As Ruth and Jackie Mulligatawny, Mess Hall Manager]

Anticipating the pre-Alpha shift crew coming in for breakfast before their shift and those coming off the Gamma shift, there were people busy in the galley.

"Rough night, Captain?!" Jackie said passing Ruth a mug of fresh coffee.

"You could say that Miss Mulligatawny, I'm just a lacking in the ol' shut eye, had a lot to get done." Ruth answered trying a smile.  She couldn't panic the crew saying that she herself was worried sick.

"Please, it's Jackie...Should I do you a nice fry-up, breakfast of champions, or quick bowl of porridge." the Mess Manager asked.

"No, no thank you Jackie.  Besides didn't you get the call for all non-essential personnel to go to Innominatum.  I'm not saying you're not very welcome, but we could have done with replicated rations throughout the battle!" the Captain said concerned.

"A few went, those with kids.  Which I understand.  I only have a cat, and he's a contrary, solitary creature at the best of times!  When I said I was staying, a lot of them refused to go, that's loyalty to a level that is rare, I wasn't going to knock that!" Jackie said with a warm smile.

"No more you should!"  Ruth said with a smile.  "There is a quote attributed to the famed old Earth French general Napoleon Bonaparte that 'An army marches on its stomach' so I suppose unreplicated food will be a morale boost and if we're in the midst of a battle and can't come to the Mess Hall or Officers Mess then getting some food to various departments on a hover trolley would be most useful."

"Already got contingency plans for that... I've been baking bread like there's no tomorrow..." Jackie paused thinking on that sentence but with a wry smile and a waggle of the head from side to side, ears touching the shoulders rather than a negative shake, from the Captain made her continue.  "...So we can make sandwiches, and I have all the flasks and canteens and lidded mugs ready so if you're giving the OK for people to have drinks at their stations..." the manager said enthusiastically.

"Well, not yet, but there is possibly going to be a point where that happens.  Right, you offered a fry up.  How about I let you do me a Full Scottish if we have any haggis?" Ruth said with a grin.

"No haggis I'm afraid, boss.  I know how much you like it.  I'll stock up as much as won't go off when we get to Earth.  And we will, we have you leading us, Mr. Briggs shooting at people, that sexy Andorian who's name I can never pronounce..."

"Lahr... mostly if you are young, female and cute you can get away with Lahr.  It's Acting CPO Shran'Lahr ch'Verret really but you know..." Ruth said on a half laugh.  "But you're right he is sexy but don't tell him I said that!"

"Well, Lahr who is sexy but the Captain never admitted it, doing whatever wizardry he does, and Mr. Lek down making sure everything still works and Mr. Dradis making sure we're still flying..." Jackie continued.

"...oh heavy on the sugary stuff going to flight department, you know what Hoshi's like for his cakes and doughnuts!" the CO giggled.  "Not that I'm going to say no to some on the Bridge either.  Coffee and sugar.  I think even our CMO team would agree with that!"

"I was coming to them... that crew to patch us up if anything happens too.  So.  Full English rather than Full Scottish.. we have lean bacon the way you like it, and black pudding. So... mushrooms we have, eggs, grilled tomato... how do you want your eggs?" the manager asked relaying the order to the cook.

"Poached if possible, runny yolk but the rest... all the white cooked... can't stand snotty whites!" Ruth answered.

"Sausages, and plenty of toast.  Before hand... Pineapple Juice, Apple? Orange? Something more exotic?  And cereal or you still going for that porridge." Jackie asked still taking Ruth's order.

"I'll have some muesli with cold cold milk please, pineapple juice and more coffee please, this one is done.  And thank the galley staff for me, I'm grateful."  the CO smiled in the general direction of those she could see cooking.

"I'll bring it over, but here's a top up on your coffee for now." Jackie said with a warm smile.  She knew Ruth was worried, but she was glad that she'd managed to persuade her to have something to eat.

[Olivia Briggs]

[Ready Room - USS Challenger]

TO: Dr. Olivia Briggs, CMO, Act. Lt. Cmdr. Briggs, CoS/T
FROM: Capt. Ruth Sigurdsdottir, CO
Subject: Children and non-essential personnel.

Acknowledged.  I'll leave it to Kyle to sort out who he sends over with them although I suggest an Ensign or higher plus at least 2 others for safety.

If I don't get a chance to before they are taken over, then please give Elijah a big hug for me.  Obviously we will pick them all up on the way back to Earth.

Regards, and I know how hard this will be for you.  I'm here if you need to talk about any of this.

Ruth

~END MESSAGE~

[Sickbay - Challenger]

The sound of a message alert, brought Liv back to reality, making the CMO open her eyes and focus her attention on the response. She quickly accessed it and looked over the information, with a tinge of sadness. However now that it had been done, there was no time to worry or be upset as it was the right thing to do, even if it was difficult.

Besides she had to make the most of what time was left with her son, until they could be reunited on the way back to Earth. The earlier conversation with Kyle playing on her mind but her place was here, even if her heart wasn't.

Still she had to keep it together as she logged off and stepped out of the office. Once Maggie arrived she would see about getting a couple of hours off to see Elijah before he left.

[Time Jump - Briggs Quarters, The Next Morning]

It had been bizarre not waking up to the sound of Elijah playing or calling for either her or Kyle. However there had been some good news, that he had reached the safety of the outpost and his parents had managed to speak to him.

For now and with her needing to get to Sickbay shortly a shower was in order then perhaps some breakfast. Getting up quietly, Liv then headed to the bathroom.

[Kyle Briggs]

[Ready Room - USS Challenger]

Waiting until she had an empty room bar Kyle and the door was shut.

"OK, out with it... was I too harsh on her?  I'm sorry but her attitude is worse than Katya's when she's in a mood and you know what us Viking women can be like!"

Kyle grinned and shook his head.

"Nah. Kali's strong. She's been dressed down worse than what you just gave her. She'll be fine. Like I said, she may be a little unorthodox in her ways and she does tend to sound like she's always joking but aside from your Mister Lahr, I can promise you, there's no one else you'll want at Ops when it comes crunch time. She's the best I've ever worked with." Kyle answered.

They spent a few more minutes going over the weapons systems before calling it a night.
________________________________________________________________________

[Time Jump - Briggs Quarters, The Next Morning]

After hearing that Elijah had reached the outpost safely and getting to talk with him for a few minutes, Kyle and Liv had spent the rest of the night quietly holding and comforting each other. Elijah had spent the night away from them a few times before but never not on the same ship. It took a little while to get use to the fact he wasn't there.

He felt her climb out of bed and watched as she made her way to the bathroom. Once the water started, he too headed in and joined her. He stood behind her as the water fell onto both of them and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"He'll be fine, you know." Kyle assured her. "He's in very safe hands and we'll see him again soon. I promise."

Knowing this morning called for all business, they quickly showered together and headed for the Mess Hall for some breakfast.

______________________________________________________________________

[0530 - Mess Hall - USS Challenger]

As they entered the Mess Hall, they spotted Ruth at a table.

"Mind a little early company?" Kyle asked as they approached.

[Richard James Litt]

[USS Challenger · Holodeck 1]
As Litt and Dradis.

Litt and Dradis passed the meeting just listening from the plans and taking notes of everything that was said from the present ones. They agreed to get along with the other departments.

Once the captain called the meeting ends, they both left together and walked in silence for a few minutes, until Chief Dradis broke that silence.

"You heard the captain, kid! We're going to a battle, and it's going to be a big one, and things can get pretty messy, and maybe some people we know will die."

Litt was scared as hell, but he was trying very hard not to show it to Chief Dradis.

"I know sir... And I'll be ready when the time comes..."

"I know you will Lieutenant, but right now, I need two things from you." Litt looked at him nodding with attention "First of all if you didn't have one, I need you to write your last will. And after that, I need you to go to the shuttlebay and check all the flight systems from the shuttles."

"Aye sir... I'll do it." He started to leave when Chief Dradis called him again.

"One last thing... You don't need to be afraid... You know what to do." And then, he left leaving Litt.

[Richard James Litt]

[USS Challenger · Litt's Quarter · 0500]

Right after the meeting, Litt did what Chief Dradis asked him to do. He checked all the vessels in shuttlebay and sent a report back to him telling that everything was okay. After that, he took the place in the Helm until the shift ends and went straight to his quarter.

He was very thoughtful for most of the night, thinking about the battle, imagining everything that could happen the next morning. It was about 0200 when he finally slept.

He woke up from a bad dream. He quickly took a shower and suited up. After that, he decided that he was staying in his quarter and have a simple meal until the time finally arrived.