Mission 2 : Frigid Frontiers

|| USS Indefatigable
|| Observation Room
|| 0752
|| Day 1

The news that the ship's repairs had been completed was a moral boosting piece of news for Reneé. While the cycle of doing reports before heading to the station's Promenade had indeed been a comfortable bout of repetition there was a certain air of stagnation about the whole business. Now they were finally able to be under way, doing their jobs. Not only that but they had a mission. It was in black and white on a PADD for all too see. Or for Reneé to see at least.

She was also happy with the fact the Observation lounge was brightly lit in comparison to their previous if rather impromptu briefing in the nebula. The colonel lightly tapped her combadge so it gave a small chirp to signal her to speak. =/\= All senior staff this is Lieutenant Colonel Lucas, can you please meet me in the Observation Room for the mission breeding? Thank you. =/\=

T’Lena came into the lounge in what seemed like the shallow end of a deep debate with her best friend struggling on the other end of it. T’Lena looked around to make sure the lounge wasn’t full before continuing at the door that opened for her.

“All I’m saying is that the pendulum totem thing didn’t matter at the end of the movie because it wasn’t his signal to tell him that the dream was over, you get it?” Zack said. The Vulcan stayed still and stood tall under the doorframe and raised an eyebrow.

“It was logical to think that your solution is the correct one; however, I am stating that the viewer was not supposed to know because the story did not make it clear.” T’Lena put her hands on her slender hips that her Starfleet uniform did no justice in hiding along with the rest of her slender physique as she leaned it against the back end of the open door.

“Don’t you get it?! It was hers, not his. He kept it as a memento but he didn’t need it anymore because he had the kids, and he could see their faces. He said he couldn’t remember their faces, so when they finally turned around, he knew for sure that he wasn’t in a dream, so he didn’t need it.” Zack swung his arms out as if to say ‘see, I’m right’, but the Vulcan didn’t phase. He turned around to see the Colonel and instantly blushed. He waved at her just before T’Lena picked him off of the floor with ease and positioned him outside of the door way.

“We shall continue this conversation at a later time. Please, allow us to have our meeting.”

“But there’s nobody else in there but like – one other —,” and the door closed on him. T’Lena turned around.

“Colonel,” she greeted professionally. T’Lena took a seat on the right side of the table.

"Lieutenant, how goes everything in engineering?" asked Reneé as she ignored Zack's rather nonchalant waving at her with a pinch of her nose's bridge. "I'm still waiting for the rest of the senior staff so for now we'll be doing a lot of heart-to-heart. At least until they get there?"

It wasn't anyone in particular, it was just that Des was already having that kind of day and she wanted to get this over with: focus on a mission. Something about her that no one seemed to realize was how easy it was for her to see things in black and white and how much death was just part of life for her. Maybe she was jaded, she didn't know, but not all of the other people in Sickbay agreed with her philosophy or her attitude.

Now there was another briefing.

It was nice to get out of Sickbay a little today and even though she wasn't all that keen on people, she would tough it out. She needed focus and so she smiled because it was polite to the others and took a seat hoping they'd leave her be until the briefing was done. Des just really needed to have a project to focus on, or get Richard to come over again...either worked for her.

T'Lena gave the Colonel a nod and leaned back into the chair.

"Ancient," T'Lena said in reply to the Colonel's question about Engineering. "Although multiple refits have kept the systems up to date with most of the latest technology, the housings are abundant with objects that weren't meant to fit into the spaces, or in other cases, there are empty spaces where old, outdated technology used to sit." She leaned forward over the table and looked at her captain. "I found a seventy-five year old Isolinear Crossover Link. If my uniform were not designed so tightly to our bodies, I would have put it in my pocket in order to display it for the meeting." She almost sounded like she were bragging but of course, Vulcan's don't do that.

"I have yet to inform Zack about this discovery, however I expect his emotions to be somewhat out of control when he sees it. A fine addition to his collection it would make."

What a night and an even better morning. Richard had rolled out of bed at 0500 Hrs. expecting to be hung over from all the scotch, whiskey, jager, and nearly no sleep. He found however that he had an extra kick in his step and no apparent headache. He gave Des a good morning kiss grab his belongings and headed to his room. After getting a warm breakfast and a new uniform Richard went to the docking bay where he helped oversee the Station crew disembarking. They were a great help but Richard didn't want them grabbing anything on their way out. After the Captain's call he finished up what he was doing and headed to the lounge.

The door opened and he saw the Captain and Richard gave a nod. The new CEO who he forgot the name of already but He gave the tall Vulcan a nod and then there was Des' gorgeous eyes Richard took a minute and then sat across from her. "Top of the morning ladies the last of the station crew is shoved off and my teams are doing a pre-launch security check as we speak."

"So she's not ancient lieutenant," said Reneé with a mild tone of reproach to T'Lena. Before this posting she would have called the Indefatigable the same as any ship. A way to get from point to point in a fast manner. Now that it was her ship, her home, Reneé felt that same foolish and blind pride for it...her...that he had examined in the Fleet ranks for years.

"Besides you said it yourself. She's been refitted over the years. No...not ancient. Aged. Like a fine wine." she mulled before she turned her attention to Richard who walked through the door and made his report. She gave a small smile and a nod at the man as he sat down.

"Excellent news Mister Wayne. It's nice to see you bright eyed and bushy tailed after your...celebrations?" said the colonel with a sly hint of knowing. Then again on that night she had only seen the two walk away together. She didn't know the details.

Des smiled momentarily at the comment and let her eyes wander over to Richard before she smiled again and then went back to looking at the PADD in her hands. She had things to focus on and she had told Reneé already that she was going to be professional and right now they were gearing up for a meeting. This was the senior staff and she was the CMO and if anyone was fit for duty it was her...she wasn't about to slip up.

Chief Sullivan had just finished supervising the restocking of the damage control gear. Haligans, oxygen tanks, face masks, chemical warfare gear, fire fighting ensembles, and shoring equipment. Most of the gear they had on board were lost during the massive conflagration in the shuttle bay. He heard the call go out from Colonel Lucas for a briefing but he wasn't sure if he was needed or not. It was for the senior staff which usually meant an officers pow-wow, but now he was Chief of the Boat. Was that senior staff? The Engineering department had a Chief Engineer now so damage control would be represented by her. To hell with it, he would go. The worse they could do is throw him out. He nodded to the damage control man.

"Finish stowing this gear and then make sure we are ready for the fire suppression system test at 1300."

"Aye Chief,"

He entered the turbolift and when the doors opened he exited and walked in the observation lounge. It least the lights are working this time and he was in a clean uniform without smoke and blood covering his face. He nodded to the officers already assembled and took a seat next to the Chief Engineer.

"Good morning everybody,"

"Morning Chief," said Reneé to welcome the man to the room. "Was wondering who would be the next senior staff member to drop in. Wouldn't exactly be fair if the briefing didn't include the man to represent the enlisted ranks. How was your time off at the station? Enjoy yourself I hope. How are the rest of the crew?"

Oliver entered, seeing that most of the senior staff had already arrived, he made a mental note to be faster getting here. He had been to the gym, cleaned up, made duty rosters and was dropping off the last of the centralized crew rosters and shift responsibilities and duties that he had made to the individual departments. He could have easily just sent the information and rosters to the shift leaders or through the department heads, but Oliver liked to talk the ship and to see the different departments casually. Since his visits were random and unannounced he would see the actual crew dynamic and he was pleased with what he saw. There were no quarrels and everything was well above what he was expecting.

Oliver turned his head to the rest of the crew and as he approached his chair, addressed Renee by nodding and saying, "Colonel, good morning.", and after he had taken his seat he faced everyone else and addressed them, "Everyone."

"Morning Lieutenant. You've arrived just in time given that your presence would be required for us to proceed with the briefing." she stated as she waited for everyone to get comfortable in their seats. "Gentlemen, ladies. We have ourselves another mission from Starfleet Command. However the...pace will be less strenuous on our old girl."

She took a moment to glance at the details on the PADD to ensure the details she was about to give were indeed accurate. "This mission will be humanitarian in nature," Reneé told them as she placed the PADD down. "As Lieutenant Dougherty no doubt already knows given his secondary role as our Chief Strategic Officer the region of Task Force 72's area of operations is a ripe picking ground for pirates and other malcontents. Yesterday Starfleet received a report from the Littlewood colony that they had sustained heavy pirate attack. The fact the report came from a visiting freighter indicates the amount of damage to the colony's infrastructure. Also given that we almost had to be towed into a dockyard for repairs after a battle with one Breen ship...it hardly looks good on the Excelsior-class report. However this is a chance to prove that these ships can still do their job."

Reneé clasped her hands in front of her on the table and sighed out. "We don't know the full extent of the damage. The freighter report could be accurate or civilian exaggeration. Until we get there we won't be able to do a proper damage assessment. Chief Sullivan will be in charge of the engineering teams on the planet, focus on getting their critical infrastructure up. Doctor Hyde...it does without saying that you'll be aiding the wounded. Expect a lot of battle related injuries. Lieutenant Wayne I have a rather...special request for you. I want you to assess the colony's defensive capabilities; tactical systems, small arms compliment. See if the colony has any form of defensive force and train them if needed. Also see if you can bring any existing inventory up to a more modern level. You'll be commanded by Lieutenant Dougherty since I will be in orbit."

The woman gave Oliver and the other staff a warm smile. "As for you, Lieutenant T'Lena, you'll be up here working with Science. After the battle with the Breen cruiser we recovered some interesting technological pieces. Look them over, analyze them and report anything unusual you find. Is it new tech? The same old Breen stuff? Clues about any manufacturing details or facilities? The more information you can give me the better." Reneé blinked for a moment as she counted the orders given to ensure nothing was missed.

"Any questions?"

Danny shook his head no. Seemed pretty cut and dry to him. He had done his fair share of humanitarian work after the Klingon-Cardassian War and then after the Dominion War. Get in, rebuild, train, feed, assist, and then get out. Simple as that.

The idea of aiding wounded made Des' whole face light up so as to having any questions no--this was the part of the job that she did the best. Nothing made her feel quite more satisfied than having her medical bag slung over her shoulder and her medical tools in her hands, fixing up broken bones and gashing wounds and internal bleeding. It would help if she could keep her emotions better in check, but that wasn't like a Betazoid and while it seemed she was glad people were injured, she was just happy to be in her element.

T’Lena kept quiet. It wasn’t customary for a Vulcan to shake her head but there were too many people in the room to be the cause of the ruckus that would get everyone individually saying ‘no’, one-by-one. She put her fingers together while resting her elbows against the armrest. She found the idea of working with unknown technology too fascinating to ignore and the sooner this meeting was over, the faster she would be able to learn new things from old enemies.

Richard liked what seemed like a slow pace mission for once but he knew never to keep his guard down. He raised his hand. "Colonel, two part question do we know what kind of existing armament they have planet side and if we get into helping them build some things do I go through the COB for my engineering needs?"

"Unfortunately the mission statement was a little bit loose with the finer details Mister Wayne. I'm sure if you check the Federation Colonial Authority records you might find the original defensive armament manifest. Course the colony has been in existence for several years and usually colonies this far out from the central worlds tend to swap out the weapons for something for a bit more punch to them," she told him before she considered Richard's second question.

"Since Lieutenant T'Lena will be on board with the Breen debris the most senior engineering officer there would be...Lieutenant Fong. Ask him. He has sign off authority of manpower and equipment. Anything else for anyone?"

Richard nodded in agreement he had nothing but difficulties with dealing with this Fong character. He would do what he needed to do. He found after acknowledging the Colonel that his eyes meet Des.

Des took a breath and she took it all in, not really needing to ask about the wounded when she would see the situation when they got there. Telling the order of who to fix first was almost second nature by now, even if there was bound to be a mishap or two and her job out of all the others, was the most straight forward. Besides, being a doctor meant thinking on your feet and she needed to give her brain a good ol' exercise.

"If no one else has any more questions...?" offered the colonel to the rest of the staff. "I trust we have all an understanding of what we're doing? Good, very good. Return to your stations."





&

|| USS Indefatigable
|| Observation Room
|| 0823
|| Day 1

"Helm, I think we've spent long enough at port. It's time we made a hasty departure before we start to overstay our welcome." said Reneé as she entered the bridge. She had just come back from the briefing and had taken her station which was her command chair. Reneé crossed her legs as she listened to the helmsman work his magic, watching the station slowly disappear from the view screen.

"Aye, aye ma'am. Thrusters at full. Thirty seconds till we clear minimum safe distance."

With a nod Reneé tugged the slack from her jacket down as she cleared her throat. It was only when she didn't have Breen climbing through her ship or the threat of being blown to pieces that she could appreciate the bridge crew and their ability to do their jobs.

The helmsman tapped a few more buttons on the LCARS interface before making an announcement. "Colonel we've cleared the minimum distance for warp speed. Orders?"

"Lay in a course to the Littlewood colony, maximum warp."

"Course laid in. Should take us maximum of two hours to get there ma'am."

Reneé treated herself to a small smile at her next words. "Punch it lieutenant." The effects of her words were the ship's nacelles emitting a small glow before the ship started to lurch forward into subspace. With the Indefatigable heading to their new mission Reneé could plan how she could see the operation turning out in her head. Then again maybe it was best to simply leave assumptions till after all of the situation was clear. Plans rarely survived the first shots.

If ever.

<tag: All>

|| USS Indefatigable
|| Sickbay
|| 0823
|| Day 1


Des took a deep breath when she got into Sickbay, immediately packing her medical bag because she knew she would need it. She needed to have things stocked for any situation, so she grabbed both her dermal and osteo regeneraters along with different kinds of anesthesia--you never knew what people were allergic to. Smiling to herself, she grabbed a few different scalpels and her medical tricorder and then took the packed bag to her office.

Her office was her place of refuge when she was annoyed with everyone, or even when she just needed to focus on paperwork--even her nurses were afraid to talk to her sometimes when she was in there. That thought made her smile too. It wasn't that she was all together terrifying, but she had instilled some ounce of respect in her staff and it pleased her. The only person who ever braved her office without knocking or asking first besides of course the CO and XO, was Clementine.

"Mom?" she asked as she came in, smiling gently. "Good music selection."

Des smirked and leaned back in her chair. "What is it, daughter of mine?"

"I was just wondering if I could train while you're gone...like do scans with the other doctor." Clementine tried slowly. "I'll be good!"

"If Doctor Grest doesn't mind, neither do I--it'll keep you busy." Des beamed as she sat up straight. "Remember the man from the club?"

"The one you took full advantage of? Yes--I was up when he snuck out," Clementine giggled. "If you want to know how I feel about it, it doesn't bother me. As long as he can keep a smile on your face, all is worth it."

Des was pleased to hear that because she was enjoying whatever this was right now with Richard. There were no labels, it was just fun, but still...Clementine had to be considered as well in this. Their lives were woven into one and the last thing that Des wanted was to be a bad mother--she'd worked too hard being both a mother and a father to her baby girl and she wouldn't jeopardize it.

"So...can I--"

"--no dating until you're 16 and at the Academy and even then, if your grades slip, young lady..."

Clementine sighed and turned to go. "I know, I know...you're a broken record, Mom."

Des smiled, happy again that morning and ready for anything.


<Taggles: Any>

|| USS Indefatigable
|| Bridge
|| 1057
|| Day 1

It had taken a little longer than Reneé expected to reach the colony. Of course space travel being what it was the journey had taken any real time and effort. Maybe it was because Reneé knew that people were suffering every moment that the Indefatigable sped through space. Reneé wasn't known for patience or her ability to wait and thus she felt even more useless being one of the officers to remain on the ship.

Once they had achieved a geo-sync orbit above the colony of Littlewood a communique reached the Operation's terminal. "We're being hailed ma'am. Not from the colony itself, from a freighter on the ground."

"On screen." ordered Reneé who was greeted by a middle-aged man who looked as if he had missed a good few nights of sleep. His skin was grimy and covered with dirt. It was obvious to Reneé that he had been through a lot. "This is Lieutenant Colonel Reneé Lucas, captain of the USS Indefatigable. We're here in response to your emergency broadcast."

"I'm happy to see that Starfleet has made a...timely response to our transmission. I'm equally happy to see that it came in the form of a ship. My name is James Beckett, I'm the colony's current administrator. I won't lie to you; we've been beaten badly. It's not very pretty down here Colonel Lucas. I trust we can count on your crew?"

"Of course, my crew are highly professional." replied Reneé with a hint of reproach. "My First Officer Lieutenant Dougherty will be my on-site representative. He'll be commanding the away teams on your world. If you need anything he is a man you can rely on."

"I look forward to meeting him within the Administration Compound as soon as he's planet-side. Beckett out."

With the line dead Reneé looked to Oliver and gave a small smile. "So how about it lieutenant? Ready to lead your first away mission with the crew?"

<tag: Oli>

|| USS Indefatigable
|| Main Engineering
|| 1100
|| Day 1


Deep in the bowels of the ship another set of preparations were underway. Chief Petty Officer Sullivan marched through Engineering barking orders and otherwise haranguing the technicians. He scowled and voiced his displeasure many times and the engineers now had to deal removing Chief Sullivan's size 10 from their hindquarters.

"We had ample time to get these power generators up and running for use on the colony surface. Why do we have 4 out of 7 inoperable? If you guys had been doing your weekly maintenance checks like you were supposed to you'd know they didn't work and we could have had them fixed already."
The junior Third Class Petty Officer shrugged his shoulders. "They were on the schedule Chief, but Mister Fong told us not to worry about them, the yard was supposed to have rehabbed them for us. He wanted us to focus on shipboard systems instead."

Sullivan glared daggers at the men. "The Yard? They take the good stuff for themselves and give us junk! Any ship going Engineer knows that. Lieutenant Fong---" He broke off. No use yelling at the Petty Officer. He didn't wipe his nose unless an officer or a Chief said it was ok. "Get these power generators up and running NOW!"
He wanted to yell at someone. His temper was reaching the simmering point. He stormed out of Engineering heading forward. He was on the hunt now. He fired questions off at every Officer, Chief, 1st and 2nd Class Petty Officer and even two rank and file crewmen until he found the answers he needed. His hunt led him to Integrity Field Systems where he found his prey. He stormed through the door. "Mister Fong a word with you...NOW"

LTJG Fong turned at the mention of his name. "Well Chief Sullivan what can I....." He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before he felt himself being lifted and pushed against the wall. "What is the meaning of this?" he managed to stammer out.
Sullivan got his face close to the Bolian officer, so close that Fong could still smell toothpaste and aftershave.
"I have tried to be nice and I have tried to be patient. You have sabotaged every effort that I have tried to put into making this Engineering Department run smoothly and efficiently. You have pulled men off of critical repair assignments during the Breen attack and you have made a mess of our entire overhaul period that I had to fix. Me! I had to fix the mess you made in the yards and now I find out that we have three...just three!! functioning power generators for the colonist that need them. Those generators needed a complete test run and they did not have one. You know that any equipment that comes from a depot level facility needs to be op checked to ensure readiness. Those power generators are a mission critical component are they not?" He didn't wait for an answer. "You pulled men off a mission critical assignment to do what?!" He was getting worked up now. "What was so important!?! Holodeck maintenance? Showers not hot enough in your quarters? Tell me Mister Fong?! What was it?"

Fong swallowed and he could feel his adam's apple against Sullivan's fist. He scrambled not for the right answer but the answer that would save him from Sullivan's fury. The man was a madman right now. No answer came to mind so he choked out. "The...sensors in the....quantum mechanics..lab were offline."
"The quantum lab?" Sullivan said incredulously. "The quantum lab?" He swung his body and launched Fong onto the floor. Fong scrambled away like a crab. "What are we going to need on this mission more Mister Fong? Working power generators or sensors for the God damn quantum lab?" The last part came out of Sullivan so loud Fong was sure people three decks up hard him. After that tirade all the energy and anger Sullivan had seemed to leave his body like air leaving a balloon. He was suddenly tired and didn't feel like dealing with the man anymore. He looked at the man cowering on the floor in front of him. "You are done Mister Fong. Get out of my sight. Just go. I don't care where you go or what you do but you touch another piece of equipment or give orders to another engineer on this ship I will blackball you from serving on another starship again. If you think I am playing games go ahead and try me. I've been doing this since you were in short pants and when push comes to shove I've got a jack in my pocket." He turned and started to leave. "Oh if you tell anybody other then the truth of what happened in here and why it happened the last face and the last voice you ever see will be mine. If I am going to get cashiered from Starfleet because of you I am going to make sure it is for a damn good reason. Good day Mister Fong."

<tag>

|| USS Indefatigable
|| Bridge
|| 1057
|| Day 1

"My First Officer Lieutenant Dougherty will be my on-site representative. He'll be commanding the away teams on your world. If you need anything he is a man you can rely on."

Upon his introduction by Lieutenant Colonel Lucas, Oliver sat up a little straighter and slowly nodded. He was trying to read the man but he wasn't getting much other than that he was stressed and some mild sense of relief. He kept his light blue eyes locked with this Mr. Beckett.

His intent was intended to be equal parts intimidation, and enforce a strong presence. Although the comment that Beckett had made about being able to trust the crew was grinding under his skin. And just like that the conversation was over.

"So how about it lieutenant? Ready to lead your first away mission with the crew?"

Oliver was facing Lieutenant Colonel Lucas even before she addressed him.

"Absolutely, Ma'am. But something is gnawing at me. I would feel better if everyone was armed, even it it is with concealed, type one hand phasers."

Oliver had the distinct pleasure of having so many once-a-career moments twice. Leading an away team of a new crew was one of those moments that he had already had before when he was a first officer the first time, and he was honored to do it. He was truly honored with the faith that Starfleet, and even more importantly the faith that Colonel Lucas had placed in him to be selected as her Executive Officer.

<Tag: LTC Lucas>

|| USS Indefatigable
|| Bridge
|| 1058
|| Day 1

"I suppose being armed wouldn't be out of the question." mused Reneé. It wasn't as if the colonists would question why their rescuers would be armed. After all it was a dangerous region of space even without the Breen pushing into Federation territory. The obvious presence of pirates was a testament enough so Reneé wasn't about to just send people down to an attacked planet with only the people of the colony to protect her crew. She didn't feel comfortable not giving her people the means to properly defend themselves.

If the administrator had a problem then he could take it up with her. That was the final thought. "Take type twos, some threes. You've more or less got the full reign on this so I'll let you decide how you handle your away team's armaments and deployment. If he requests to speak with myself or if you need a second opinion I'll be available but in truth you're the next best authority down there. Assemble your away team lieutenant, do me proud."

<tag: Olli>

|| USS Indefatigable
|| Bridge
|| 1058
|| Day 1

Oliver looked at LTC Lucas and smiled, "Aye, Ma'am. We'll have the colony up to speed and ready to be more self sufficient in no time."

Oliver turned to Lieutenant Wayne and arose from his chair, "Make your preparations and meet me in transporter room three in fifteen minutes."

He reached up and tapped his combadge, "Department heads, this is Lieutenant Dougherty, I need the first group of people who are going down to the planet to be armed and prepared to beam down. Lieutenant Wayne's security staff will determine the armament and assignment for security escorts for the specific teams. Group one will be departing the ship in twenty minutes."

<Tag all>

|| USS Indefatigable
|| Transporter Room
|| 1100
|| Day 1



Danny Sullivan heard the XO's announcement and grabbed his Engineer's tool kit and another small bag that held a change of uniforms and other essential items he would need on the surface and headed for the transporter room. He was sure there would have been some backlash over the Fong encounter but surprisingly there was none. Maybe the little worm had some brains after all. He arrived at the transporter room and began giving last minute instructions to the engineers that would be accompanying him.

<tag>

|| USS Indefatigable
|| Sick Bay
|| 1058
|| Day 1

Allison had asked for a transfer from Starbase 12 to the Indefatigable because of a man that she had met that was stationed there. Something about his directness with her and his sincerity about his attraction to her had made her long to be near him, but also to not approach him due to fear of how crazy it seemed. Being medical she fell under a secondary chain of command that didn't fall under the main channel of the ship. While the Executive officer made shift assignments and duty rosters, he did not do so for the medical department. That distinction was, by tradition, made by the chief medical officer.

"Department heads, this is Lieutenant Dougherty, I need the first group of people who are going down to the planet to be armed and prepared to beam down. Lieutenant Wayne's security staff will determine the armament and assignment for security escorts for the specific teams. Group one will be departing the ship in twenty minutes."

She heard the voice and automatically knew who it was.

While there was no immediate danger she was still worried and she knew that she was turning red thinking about his safety.

<Tag>

|| USS Indefatigable
|| bridge
|| 1103
|| Day 1

Oliver turned to Lieutenant Wayne and arose from his chair, "Make your preparations and meet me in transporter room three in fifteen minutes."

Richard gave the XO and started implementing the final assignments for his crew and sent the Master-of-arms a list of issued arms to the crew. He also was fast at work submitting different requests to Ops and Science to be ready for any supplies they will need to update their defenses.

Richard turned to his right hand. "Chief Stormer you will be running the show up here while I am planetside. I will let you know anything I am gonna need from the armory make sure you keep your wits with you we are to close to the border and with pirates wanting to make a name for themselves keep a diligent watch."

Stormer nodded and Richard pushed the finalize button and headed to his personal locker and grabbed a few things and headed to transporter room three.

|| USS Indefatigable
|| Sickbay > Transporter Room
|| 1100
|| Day 1


"On my way," Des responded to Oliver.

She had already made sure that she was packed up and ready to go, grabbing her medical bag and pulling her hair back so it wouldn't get in her eyes. This was important to her and to securing her place as one of the important members of the crew regardless of already kind of being that--she was the doctor...she fixed everyone up. Still, she knew that it was her job to get this done without a hitch and so she hurried to the Transporter Room with a smile on her face and her medical bag slung over her shoulder.

"I'm ready when the rest of you are," Des said grinning.


<Taggles: Any>

|| USS Indefatigable
|| Sickbay > Transporter Room
|| 1100
|| Day 1

Sullivan gave himself and the rest of the Engineers a quick once over to make sure nothing was left out. Seeing nothing out of place he began watching the others file into the transporter room. He saw Doctor Hyde come and and he gave her a nod.

"Good morning Doc"

<tag>

|| USS Indefatigable
|| Transporter Room
|| 1105
|| Day 1

Richard walked in to the transporter room followed by his squad of security officers he was taking planet side some had cases of arms and equipment they were taking down. Richard believed in being prepared for anything and everything so he crew had their uniforms on per regulation but they all also had full black tactical vests on filled with anything and everything they would need. Unlike most of his squad that had rifles all Richard had on him was his issued phaser and on a leg holster his backup Type III.

As his team made their way in Richard nodded at the COB and then his eyes meet Des's. "Well looks like the party is ready to start this should be fun."

Richard looked around to make sure his team was in position and looked back at Des and smiled knowing no matter how professional he was when she was concerned he will have an extra set of eyes on her in case things hopped off

|| USS Indefatigable
|| Transporter Room
|| 1105
|| Day 1


"Good morning, Sullivan," Des responded with a wide smile, "Dougherty."

The Betazoid in her was showing despite her deceptive normal irises, and for some reason titles just didn't seem to interest her today. They all had a job to do and she would do it to the best of her abilities, even though she admitted that her smile changed a little bit when she saw Richard enter. Still, she was determined to do her job and do it well just to prove that should a relationship arise in such a space, that it could be handled properly and she certainly wanted to prove she could do this.

"Good morning, Wayne," she said as she let their eye contact linger than with the others just to let him know she was in this without being unprofessional about things. "I think I over packed just in case, so if anyone finds themselves feeling in a bind, I'm your girl. I even treat paper cuts," she joked with a laugh.


<Taggles>

|| USS Indefatigable
|| Transporter Room
|| 1105
|| Day 1

"Good morning everyone, we all have our assignments and know what we have to do. If anything comes up that you are hesitant about bring it to my attention. We also must remember that this is their colony. We are here to assist them to become more proficient and teach them, not to run things for them. Offer our assistance and guidance but we should peep out of their local politics and not interfere with their internal struggles."

Oliver stepped up on the transporter pad and readied himself for the cool tingle that was associated with transporter travel.

Oliver made eye contact with the transporter technician and nodded to him and flatly said, "Energize."

And with that plain, simple word the staff leaders were off on their first mission away from the Indefatigable. Seconds later the group was standing in the middle of a once beautiful courtyard surrounded by gardens that looked at though about half of the foliage had been burned or trampled. Uprooted plants and hedges littered the walkways, scorches on buildings that have differing levels of damage from small black marks on the walls to some being in shambles.

Oliver immediately looked around and took mental notes of the immediate area, scanning for the Colony administrator, James Beckett.

<Tag all>

||Littlewood Colony
||Courtyard
||1106
||Day 1

James had heard the sound of the transporter beam making its signature sound within the courtyard. For some reason the man sighed behind his desk. He had been on the grounded freighter for hours to make contact with any Starfleet vessel that would have been the one to render assistance. Now James had managed to move back into his office which had been turned upside down by the ransacking pirates. It had taken him a while but the colony administrator had wasted no time in righting his office. Right now it was doubling as a bedroom with a sleeping bag laid out on the floor.

A man entered the room dressed in a olive set of BDUs with a phaser rifle slung across his chest. Julian Crawford was the commander of the local militia garrison. His tactical vest and clothes were spattered with blood and his face looked dirty and dishevelled. “That’s them Starfleet officers for you Administrator.” Reported Julian in a thick, gravel-like English accent.

“Yes. I thought it might be.” Replied James who stood up from his chair. “I suppose we must play the good hosts and welcome them to our humble abode.”

The two men left the office and walked down towards the courtyard where the Indefatigable away team were waiting. It was obvious they weren’t from the colony given how clean and battle-free they looked. When James and Julian stopped walking it was the commander who decided to speak first.

“Rather heavily armed for a relief mission aren’t you?” growled the man who crossed his arms. His eyes looked to the two militiamen who patrolled lazily on the high ramparts that surrounded the courtyard. “The pirates have came and gone. No one here to spoil your lovely uniforms.”

“Please, commander. These are of course our guests.” Interjected James who nodded slowly. “You must forgive Commander Crawford. For all his martial prowess he does lack the social graces when it comes to dealing with people. This is where I come in of course. I’m Administrator Beckett. We thank you for your timely arrival but I must ask which one of you is the Colonel’s executive officer….?”

tag:Olli ,all

||Littlewood Colony
||Courtyard
||1110
||Day 1

Oliver shot Commander Crawford a look that would shatter tritanium. His offhand remark was not only unnecessary, but openly hostile. At this point Oliver was willing to attribute it to fatigue, frayed nerves, and possibly the feeling that he had interlopers horning in on his turf. He understood that with everything that had happened to this colony that the administrator, by inviting help from outside, may have inadvertently insulted the man. But his tome was loud and clear.

"I’m Administrator Beckett. We thank you for your timely arrival but I must ask which one of you is the Colonel’s executive officer….?”

Oliver closed the distance between them and stood about an arm's length away.

"I am Oliver Dougherty, Colonel Lucas' representative and executive officer. I am in command of the away teams that will be assisting your colony. We will be assisting your with any help that we can provide."

Oliver made a mental note to have a word in private with Lieutenant Wayne when the opportunity presented itself.

<Tag all>

||Littlewood Colony
||Courtyard
||1112
||Day 1

"We're glad to have you here." said James who pretended not to remember his commander's previous comments. "Of course any small amount of hospitality we can give is certainly yours. Don't let some of the colonists' comments put you off. We're grateful. It's just we're looking for someone to blame and Starfleet is an easy scapegoat. Nothing personal of course. One of those natural reactions."

James took a breath as he looked off into the distance. He considered the far off mountains where the mines were located. They had been bombarded like the majority of the colony and thus crippled beyond their repair abilities. Without the mines the ore wouldn't flow to the cracking plant for processing and the purpose of the colony wasn't being fulfilled.

"The colony doctor is in the medical facility. Your doctors will need to simply follow the medical signs. My head engineer however is in the mountains taking care of our power plants. They sustained heavy damage. There is a shuttle waiting to take you there, they'll need to speak with the pilot. As for you and...your soldiers. There is a situation I require a mediator for..."

<Tag: All>

||Littlewood Colony
||Courtyard
||1115
||Day 1

Richard had spent the last few moments assessing the village and the surrounding obvious defenses. He was looking at the people and the amount of arms that was readily available to defend themselves. Richard had heard the commander's issues with the amount of might Richard had brought down on this colony and Richard didn't blame him for his concern.

The fact is this colony while it had made an effort at its on defense it fell very very short. No matter what this Mr. Crawford thought there was no telling that there might be another pirate attack. Or worse the Breen would show up and make the pirates look like allies.

James tired to take count of every rifles and side phaser he could see and everyone that was armed among the colonist. He paid little attention to his men that where with the first team and those beaming in in waves. He knew they knew their jobs and Richard was not one to micro-manage. If they need any more of his direction one of his squad leaders would let him know.

Just as he was scanning the mountains where the mines had been attacked he heard Beckett say something about need a mediator. That perked Richard's attention. "Sir, Lt.jg Richard Wayne I am head of Security and am looking forward to help your commander." As he nodded at his counterpart "With the safety and security of your colony but what is this situation and how may we help?"

Tag: Lucas

||Littlewood Colony
||Courtyard
||1116
||Day 1

For a moment James watched for a reaction from Julian when the gold-shirt officer spoke. However for some reason the militia commander hadn't said anything to Richard and instead let the man go on with his cheery 'here to help' speech. James mulled over what to say to the man as he looked between Richard and Oliver.

"Mmm. I'm sure Commander Crawford won't mind talking over colonial defences. He knows the details better than I. Sadly Mister Wayne your skills would be wasted in this little problem. To summarise...given that the supply ships are easy prey for the pirates in this area we have turned to other sources of supplies."

James placed his hands into his pockets before rolling back and forth on his feet. "We've turned to the Ferengi. Their ships won't be attacked since the pirates rely on them for buying and selling as much as we do. However we've reached a wall in our negotiations. Perhaps having Starfleet nearby may make them more...agreeable to our plight?"


tag: all

||Littlewood Colony
||Courtyard
||1116
||Day 1

Danny hung back and watched the officers dicker with the colony leader. His ears perked up at the mention of the colony's engineer. Security and diplomacy was not his expertise, Engineering however.... He shot a sideward glance at LTJG Fong who would be working with him on any engineering missions that would come up. He waited for a lull in the conversation and then stage whispered into the XO's ear. "With your permission sir, I believe our engineers should get to work on the power generators."

<tag>

||Littlewood Colony
||Courtyard
||1116
||Day 1


It seems like everything is being taken care of...

Des was pretty taken with the colony so far as it seemed that everyone wanted to get down to business. She was a multi-faceted woman and while she was half Betazoid and could be bubbly and in it for the fun of things, no one could tell and it let her be serious sometimes. On top of that, she'd been talking herself into the zone since she had been told what was going to be expected of her around here.

Nothing quite put Des in a good mood like curing the sick and/or wounded and she had packed for this ocassion. She had even over packed her medical bag just in case and hoped that she could put her skills to good use and impress the locals. Everyone was talking about important things here, sure, but right now Des wanted to do what she had been sent here to do. So, she sidled up even if it might be wrong for her to speak up when the others were being addressed.

"I'm the doctor," Des spoke up, giving them a wide smile. "If you could point me in the direction of where I should put myself to work..."

Taking a deep breath, Des stood her ground, wanting to really get started. It might have seemed strange just how excited she was to get working, but that was just kind of how she worked. All that mattered was getting to work and she liked to assert herself in such situations as well so it seemed win/win as long as she didn't make anyone upset with her.


<Taggles: Any>

||Littlewood Colony
||Courtyard
||1117
||Day 1

James blinked as his train of thought was yanked away from the Ferengi topic and towards Des. He seemed to falter with his words as if his weary and overstretched mind was struggling to cope with rapidly changing topics and circumstances. If anything he needed a good few hours sleep.

He nodded to the woman and tried to direct her with both hands and words. "Out the courtyard doctor, and to the right. Follow the path along until you reach a collection of tents. Look for a Bajoran doctor. He'll be your counterpart and I'm sure he'll be rather grateful for your assistance."

<tag: Des>

||Littlewood Colony
||Courtyard > Medical Tents
||1118
||Day 1


Smiling, Des found herself nodding and thanking him, making her way over to the tents because she thoroughly wanted to get started. Taking a moment to compose herself, she walked into what looked like the main tent and smiled even brighter when she saw a Bajoran male working away, but she couldn't assume things. Approaching a nurse, she held out her hand and spoke with authority as this wasn't her first time around the block with something like this.

"Doctor Desdemona Hyde of the USS Indefatigable," she announced, catching the attention of the handsome doctor. "I was told that you were in need of some help around here and I'm ready to roll my sleeves up and assist."

"Doctor Gret is just over there," the nurse replied with a nod, pointing to him.

Darian smiled and nodded. "Pleased to meet you Doctor Hyde. I'm Doctor Gret Darian."

"Des, please," Des said as she shook the hand he offered her, smirking a little at his grip. "If you prefer the surname, then I will make sure to use it, but it would be easier to be on a first name basis...I'm half Betazoid if that helps."

"Oh, I see," Darian chuckled, nodding. "I couldn't tell at first glance because of the iris pigmentation. First name basis does not bother me in the slightest. Want a walk through?"

"The lack of black pigmentation is a blessing," Des replied as she took off her duty jacket and rolled up the long teal sleeves of her shirt. "A walk through would probably be beneficial."

That said, Des smiled brightly and listened intently to everything that Darian had to say and made mental notes. She knew she was going to enjoy it here even though there were wounded and that in itself made her insides warm.


<Taggles: Any>