Fandom Star Trek: USS Freedom

Kri'tak stood and brushed herself off, deciding to take a more Vulcan approach to the situation, deciding not to decapitate the android, who she acknowledged was only trying to help. Her rigid, defensive posture adjusted, attempting to mimick Kimberly's. "I assume you've got some idea how a warp drive works, could you go make sure everything's still in place?" She lingered for a second, trying to remember that word that she always heard people say in Starfleet. Thank you? Help? Wait, no-"Please."

Something about Kimberly's chipper demeanour befuddled Kri'tak. Countless conflicting calculations took place in her head, the same ones any Klingon of high esteem made: those of Honour. In the Empire, politeness was not a concept, besides one used in the mocking of more petulant cultures. Being so submissively spoken to was a sign of mockery from an equal, yet from a machine, what could be expected? A machine is all that this thing was. Kri'tak knew from experience how intelligent androids could be, having taken several of them apart herself. However, the thought still stayed: was this thing a person, and if so, how offended should I be?

Kri'tak moved over to the terminal to run a diagnostic. Over her shoulder, she blurted a question at Kimberly: "So, what are you, exactly?"
Epiphany

Kimberly #49

"Inspection it is then, I'll get right to it, Sir!"

Of course, the Chief Engineer wasn't in her direct reporting structure. Technically, they were both department heads and thus peers. But in practice, Communications had perhaps a dozen crew where engineering was quite a bit better staffed, given how critical engines were to a spaceship. Although by that logic, life support should be the most important department on the ship but it was relegated to environmental engineering, a 'minor' part of Engineering proper. Organics were delightful creatures but they so often made no sense at all.

Nor did she try. Prior Galorian Androids had sought to understand every incomprehensible thing said by the Terrans that had made contact decades ago. The attempt had nearly shut down their servers. Now, Kimberly simply flagged inexplicable behaviors, statements and facts for review and uploaded then by Direct Synaptic Synchronization whenever she had bandwidth available to her, which was 'usually' thanks to being in charge of Communications. The host servers on Galor III could worry about it.

The Klingon Chief Engineer's use of 'Please' resulted in Kimberly glancing up from her terminal, making eye contact with the Klingon and smiling. Not a terribly Klingon way to react, perhaps, but very typical of a Terran which she was engineered to resemble. Organic behaviors were driven by a combination of conscious and unconscious response. Kri'tak might know she was a machine but Kimberly looked human and when she behaved like a human, it usually resulted in the other person treating her like a human Usually.

"Sir?" Kimberly set up a diagnostic of her own, noting Kri'tak's own and concentrating her own request on a different subsystem. Then she pivoted to face the Chief Engineer. "It's an interesting philosophical question, isn't it. If you'd asked 'Who am I', I would have said Kimberly which might have led you to asking about my family, which would have resulted in me mentioning I'm the 49th in my Series which would have taken this whole topic in a different direction. But you asked 'What am I'."

"Starfleet classifies me as a Galorian-type android. I'm made of beryllium-titanium alloy with cutaneous sheath of self-renewing plastic. I have a duotronic brain but my Series is the first on my planet with an isoliner cortical processor, for faster performance under field conditions." Then Kimberly smiled again. "But as open-ended questions of that nature go, my favorite reply would be 'I'm me'. An individual with my own consciousness, although not necessarily my own identity the way organics have it. I've learned to enjoy the differences, though."

Passing the results of the diagnostic over to Kri'tak, Kimberly glanced back up and said, "If you don't mind me asking, Sir, what are you?"

Female, Klingon, Starfleet, all obvious answers. How would the Chief Engineer respond to the question, though? Kimberly didn't have a guess and she found she enjoyed waiting for the answer.
Error 420

Without hesitation, the engineer responded. “I am Klingon.” She said it before she even processed the question, before she even considered answering. It was her blood. It was her honour. It was her glory. Answering the question set a fire in her heart, pounding to the beat of the warrior’s drums. Her analytical mind quickly shut this down. A more organic response was more appropriate for the situation. “I read the dossier. You Kimberlies are something of a hive mind, right? There’s a saying on Klingon vessels, one mind, one destiny. I’ve never heard of a machine with a destiny before.”

Kimberly #49

With the initial diagnostic done, the black-haired android began to inspect the warp core itself. She was by no means a Starfleet engineer but several of herselves were crewmen aboard various ships, all warp-capable. Memories of maintenance along with general warp core design should serve to help her spot any unusual devices or physical bypasses in case the Vice-Admiral still had a trick up his sleeve.

Kri'tak's response wasn't surprising but Kimberly still smiled to herself, as her Emotional Emulation Engine approximated a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction at predicting the response. Those emotions vanished, though, beneath her curiosity at the Chief Engineer's next question.

"General memories are shared with our central servers on Galor II, yes," Kimberly said carefully, eyes still focused on her work. "Each Series also has its own servers for recompiling our baseline derived from specific, individual memories. Synaptic Synchronization also allows us to think as one, when we're near each other. We can even borrow processing power from neighboring units for solving especially complex situations. The Kimberly Series was designed for long-range operation, though, which is why I doubt my Synchronization uni will get much use beyond passing along non-classified memories I make." She tapped a spot on her breast bone, which revealed an indistinct hexagon of some kind set beneath her uniform.

The notion of having a destiny resulted in Kimberly pausing, wrinkling her nose and giggling at the thought before shaking her head. "On the contrary, Sir, machines are nothing but destiny. We're built for a purpose, after all, and we're made to fulfill that purpose. What is that, if not destiny? And yet, it's an interesting concept when applied to biological species. You're arguably designed to reproduce, yet reading your histories does produce the...impression that some of you leave a much bigger footprint than others. Some overcome all setbacks. It could be mere probability but perhaps there's something to this concept of destiny after all."

"Injector coils appear to be clear, Sir." Stepping away from her inspection, Kimberly fixed the Klingon with a direct look. "Do you have a destiny? How would you know if you did?"

Franklin placed his phaser and d'k tah in the drawer and let her close it. "Thanks." Franklin said, and stepped back. "Good work today, by the way. I enjoyed watching the Vice-Admiral get walked to the Brig." Franklin stated. He then left the room, heading to his quarters Frost had assigned him a small area near his own quarters. His bag was sitting just inside, someone had found it and returned it to his quarters. He reached in and began grabbing the few items he had brought along. He placed them strategically around the room and sat on the unmade bed. The room was no larger than 7 by 7, but it was perfect for him. This was likely Frost's extra room, or his hideout. That also explained the extra bunk in the room. He knew that Frost sometimes needed a get away from everything and everyone, and this was probably it. There was no port hole, and looked like it may have been designed as a utility closet. He found some strategically placed items and realized it was a holographic projector. He turned it on and was immiediately halted by a command prompt. It looked like something that would have been designed in the early 21st century and appeared to be a Linux based boot system. It seemed to demand a user and password. He entered his own name and a password, and he was greeted by the main holographic projector. Frost had obviously created it as a backup plan. It had the ships schematic and had all of the weapons designs. Except, they were different. He was obviously designing ships in his free time. He found the Freedom and looked at the schematics. The room he was in was listed as a "Spare room" with a "Captain's approval" restriction on it. The designs were sophisticated and strategic. He then found a Freedom 2.0. It was a Intrepid class starship with most of the same designs as the current Freedom, except they were cleaner and seemed to fit. Of course, the ship was designed around the weapons system. He then found the secret weapon. It's design was extreme. It was code-named "protocol one". It appeared to consist of a particle cannon imbedded in the forward phaser array. It was a beautiful ship. He just hoped he would live long enough to see it in action.


Franklin scrolled through quite a few ships, ones with advanced armor, advanced engine capabilities and stealth designs. Ships that wouldn't cloak but that were designed to avoid being detected. He soon found himself growing tired. It had been a long day and he hadn't slept in 48 hours. He closed the holographic interface and before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

RayPurchase MechanicalSnake Error 420 Epiphany RikuXIII Elucid AllDirectionBlind Grim Wraithe Stjerna Theo713

Savir vacated the chair at once, standing alert as the Captain approached. The strange course events had previously taken prompted him to do something he rarely did on purpose - reach out with his mind to get a general feeling of his superior's mood. Surprisingly, he seemed a lot calmer than before, melancholic even. His anger must have run its course, which was definiely positive information.

"The course has been plotted and the Freedom is ready to take the Vice Admiral back to Earth, sir" he informed, brief and practical. "However, we are still waiting for Commander Kri'tak and Lieutenant Kimberly to report back from the Liberty."

It occured to him that the two of them were taking their time, precisely twenty eight minutes and nineteen seconds of it, and that perhaps he should have already contacted them. They were both heads of their respective departments and could certainly handle themselves, but he couldn't help feeling like he'd done very little since the beginning of this uncalled for test and his unexpected promotion. He tapped his communicator, addressing Kimberly, who was likely to respond with more efficiency.

"Lieutenant Kimberly? Please provide a report on the progress of the repairs."

Petty Officer First Class Jenkins, Armory then the security office

Jenkins smiled at the taller officer and watched as he placed the phaser and his d'k tah into the drawer, closing and locking it with a few keystrokes.

"Thanks." He said as he stepped away.

“You’re welcome sir.” She continued to smile in a polite and friendly manner.

"Good work today, by the way. I enjoyed watching the Vice-Admiral get walked to the Brig." Turning to leave, Jenkins escorted him to the door.

“Thank you sir, I’ll be sure to pass that along to my Squads and the Chief.” She turned in the opposite direction as she began her shift.
----------------------------------------------------

Senior Chief Conrad, Security Office then the Bridge

John was finishing up his report, polishing it and rereading it to ensure it would make sense and could be understood by the think tanks back at Command. When the door slid open with a hiss and click.

Glancing over his pad he saw Jenkins enter. “How’s it going Chief?” She asked with a smile as she made her way to the internal monitoring displays as they flashed different portions of the ship; showing a corridor, Main Engineering, Holodecks, Bridge. Each for a few seconds then flip to a new live feed.

“Oh you know how I love paperwork.” He smirked and shook his head, his tone sarcastic enough for her to understand. Taking the final sip of coffee, setting the cup down and stretching. “How’s the shift going. Anything to report?”

“No, not yet. But we did only just get underway, so give the crew some time.” She answered without looking at him, her eyes scanning the six screens for any signs of unusual activity. She spun around to face John, a big grin on her face. “Not to mention we completed our first mission!”

John nodded listening and agreeing with her statement, and joining her smile with one of his own. He made placating motions with both hands. “Easier there, kid. You had harder final qualifying training then what happened today.” Standing behind the desk, tapping the report he had just finished. “And you weren’t nearly this excited about completing that.” Moving around the desk, sliding the pad along the desk as he picked up.

“True, but I knew those were training. This was real!” She said, her infectious smile still on her face as fell into step with the Senior Chief as he walked to the door.

“Alright fair enough.” Nodding to his right hand women. “Just don’t get a big head about it.”

“Aye, Aye Chief!” Jenkins nodded and kept pace as he made his way to the turbolift. “By the way, I received Lieutenant Franklin’s personal and registered it in the inventory.” Turning the corner and heading down the passage to continue her rove of the ship. “He said we did a good job today!”

“Thank you Petty Officer.” Chief called out, a small amount of snark in his voice, but he knew Jenkins would know it was meant humorously. Senior Chief stepped into the turbolift and rode it to the bridge.

Stepping out and to the right, he stood at the back of the bridge to stay out of the way, but also to quietly observe the bridge crew and new officers. To help get a better idea of their routines and what would become the new normal for the ship. This was so he would know if there any signs of trouble, stress, or duress that would warrant a security response.

"…erly, Please provide a report on the progress of the repairs." Savir said, John presumed it was Lieutenant Kimberly. The Senior Chief had thought all crew members had been returned to the Freedom shortly after the bridge crew turnover. Maybe something had happened that was not notable enough to warrant his inclusion. His report to the First Officer could wait.

Frost went and took his chair, calmly taking his seat. "Give them a minute. If theres no response then take the Senior Chief and figure out where they went." He stated, motioning to the Senior Chief who stood calmly in the back. "I also want a full inspection on our warp drive. We pounded it getting here and i want to be certain that we didn't do any damage before we officially depart this evening." He stated and tapped his com badge. "Burns, I need a status report on any shifted cargo or any damage." Frost said. It quickly chirped. "Well we lost most of our fresh produce for the kitchen. Otherwise we're in good shape. One of my men failed to secure some of the cargo properly so we're sorting that out." Burns replied. "Thanks Lieutenant. Keep me updated." Frost replied. "Yes sir." his com badge said. "Comms, get a message to command. Tell them the Freedom is returning with a Prisoner and we will need an independent escort once we arrive. I have no intention of delaying this ship's departure this evening with paperwork." The Admiral stated, standing near the Captains chair. Frost checked his main computer, pulling up the main display. "Senior Chief, i hope the Vice Admiral had an uneventful trip to the brig?" Frost asked.

RayPurchase MechanicalSnake Error 420 Epiphany RikuXIII Elucid AllDirectionBlind Grim Wraithe Stjerna Theo713

"Diagnostic is coming back clear." Kri'tak changed the subject after a few seconds of hesitation. Initiate a restart on the warp core. Please." Kri'tak moved to the console on the right of the warp core, the central fixture of the room. She idly tapped away at calibrations, endlessly sophisticated mathematics. The question gnawed at her, but she tried to put it out of her mind, gesturing for Kimberly to move to the opposite console.

Kimberly #49

Obediently, the android moved to the opposite console and executed the chief engineer's command. Then she titled her head slightly as the executive officer contacted her for a status update. Curious. She was assisting with an engineering matter. Wouldn't the chief engineer be the more appropriate point of contact? Just barely perceptible beneath her uniform came a flicker of light that lit the fabric right at the breastbone. Perhaps Commander Savir thought she was the less essential member of the repair team, allowing Kri'tak to focus on her duties.

"Repairs are nearly complete, Sir," Kimberly replied, tapping her comm badge to acknowledge. "We're restarting the warp core now. Once finished, we should be clear to return to ship."

Kimberly then looked towards Kri'tak to see if the chief engineer had anything to add. She'd already made her concerns about the potential for sabotage known to the Klingon. If she thought it was significant enough to voice, she'd do so or not. More to the point, suggesting they take additional time could be perceived as a challenge to the other officer's authority, which she definitely had no intention of doing.

Unless instructed to otherwise by Commander Savir, Kimberly proceeded with warp core reinitialization on her command.
Error 420 MechanicalSnake

Senior Chief Conrad, Bridge

"Senior Chief, I hope the Vice Admiral had an uneventful trip to the brig?" Frost asked.

John looked at as the Captain asked the question, a small smirk flashed across his lips before he retained a neutral expression. “Yes sir,” Walking towards the captain’s chair. “Once he was…” Leaving a pregnant pause, as if he were searching for the right word to describe the cowed officer. “Restrained, the Vice Admiral was more than willing to be compliant.” Looking to Markus and giving him a subtle nod, as if giving him credit for the ease with which the Chief of Starfleet Security followed his crewmen's instructions.

As he spoke the Senior Chief approached the First Officer, presenting his datapad in his left hand, giving the Admiral a polite respectful nod as he passed by. “Commander here is the AAR of the boarding, along with the assessments and findings from the Squad Leaders and my own report as well.” His expression was neutral, but his body language and tone hinted at a level of pride in his Team.

"Repairs are nearly complete, Sir, we're restarting the warp core now. Once finished, we should be clear to return to ship." Kimberly replied.

John was close enough to hear the reply and smiled genuinely to Savir. “If you need me to escort our Chief Engineer and our new Lieutenant back home, I can.” It was not meant in a condescending manner, or in anyway to belittle the knowledge or skill of the two officers still on the Liberty. He was just trying to be helpful to ensure the ship could get underway on time to make a rendezvous to drop off the prisoner.

Nuitari Delphiki MechanicalSnake Error 420 Epiphany

"Senior Chief, go accompany them. Make sure they get over here safely. I want to be underway as soon as possible." Frost said, turning to his First Officer. "Savir, please find acceptable temporary quarters for the Admiral. If necessary he is free to use mine while we are en route back to earth. I know he has things he needs to do and he needs a private place to conduct them." He said. "I will be writing up the formal charges for the Vice-Admiral in my ready room. Conrad, let me and Savir know when you are back aboard. Savir, get underway as soon as the Admiral is comfortable and our Officers are back aboard."

Senior Chief Conrad, Bridge then USS Liberty Engineering Bay

John listened to the orders being issued and smiled politely at the end. "Aye, aye Captain. I'll bring them home safely." Turning to each senior officer giving each a respectful nod. "Gentlemen, if you'll excuse me." With that Senior Chief left the bridge and made his way first to the Armory to equip himself with a similar duty belt as Jenkins was wearing. Even though the Liberty had been cleared by his Team and was currently under the control of the Admirals staff and that he was not expecting violence, it was better to be prepared for it.

Once he had his gear secured it was only a short walk to the transporter room. "Beam me over to the Liberty's Engineering section."

The crewman nodded. "You got it Chief." His fingers already gliding over the controls to acquire, lock on and scan the target location. "On your command."

John nodded and said. "Energize." It was brief increase in light and than a fading of light as the dematerialization and rematerialization process happened flawlessly.

"Commander! The Captain would like get the ship underway," John took a few steps into the Main Engineering bay, his hands resting comfortably on his hips. "Is the Liberty ship-shape?" He looked around at the multi-leveled room, his eyes scanning for all entrances and exits, places for cover, angles of fire. With those thoughts he angled his approach to the two officers so that he was not out in the open. His tone and body language were his usual friendly demeanor, even if he did not have a smile on his face.


Error 420 Epiphany Nuitari Delphiki

Kimberly #49

The dark-haired android noted the arrival of the Senior Chief and marked it with a single raised eyebrow. "Warp core has just been successfully restarted. We've made an inspection for any signs of sabotage but our cursory search found nothing. I haven't ruled out the possibility but it may be low-risk."

Kimberly glanced behind her at the thrumming engine of the Liberty and nodded once in satisfaction before turning back to John with a smile. "If the Captain is satisfied with our efforts, we can return to the ship now."

Error 420 Epiphany Nuitari Delphiki

Senior Chief Conrad, USS Liberty Engineering Bay

John listened to the report, he had read the briefing on her and her service record, so far this Kimberly 49 was living up to the expectations. Thorough, precise and matter of fact. He gave her a friendly nod and a small smile. "Well, if the Commander has no objections with your report?" John looked to the Chief Engineer to see if there was a criticism, contradiction, or argument to the contrary. When none came forth, which was slight surprising, John nodded and stepped away from the console he was leaning on. "The Captain would like you two back on the ship so we can get underway." He tapped his comm badge. "Freedom, three to beam back."

The transporter chief would begin the transport cycle once all three were locked in, and a moment after that all three would be standing on the pad on the Freedom.

Error 420 Epiphany Nuitari Delphiki

"Once they are back aboard, set us for warp 4 back to earth. Nice and steady helmsman. Don't hurt my ship." Frost said and retreated to his ready room. While there he felt the ship enter warp speed and begin taking them home. After a short time he slipped over to his couch and laid down, reading a earth-era book. Around 4 hours later, his combadge chirped. "Captain, we are approaching Earth." his combadge stated. "Understood, i'm returning to the Bridge." He stated and returned to the bridge. In the view-screen he could see Earth and a couple starships guiding them in. "When did we get our fighter escort?" Frost asked. "I asked them to join us in returning to earth." The Admiral said, arriving on the Bridge. "Aye aye sir." Frost said in reply and took his seat. "Follow them in, let's offload our guests and get to work, shall we?" Frost said, and pulled up the ship logs over the past 4 hours. The vice-admiral had a full medical checkup, courtesy of Marcus, as it appeared. Frost wondered where he could be, but as long as he wasn't being escorted to the brig, Frost was sure he was staying out of trouble, or at least hadn't been caught yet. He tapped his combadge and waited for the chirp. "All senior staff report to the bridge. Senior Chief Conrad, prepare to unload our prisoner into Earth custody. A shuttle will meet us in orbit to retrieve the prisoner." Frost said into his combadge.

RayPurchase MechanicalSnake Error 420 Epiphany RikuXIII Elucid AllDirectionBlind Grim Wraithe Stjerna

Kimberly #49

Once back aboard, Kimberly proceeded directly for the bridge with the intent of resuming her post. With red alert off, though, she allowed her Emotional Emulation Engine protocols to relax and promptly did a bit of scenery-gazing on route. The Freedom was an impressive ship and she hadn't been aboard so many Starfleet vessels to be bored of them yet. The Galorian Androids didn't have any ships of their own, had never seen the need for them as they'd been programmed to tend to the needs of their makers. If asked to construct one, they certainly wouldn't have made it to the specifications of this vessel. Although human-centric in design, the doors and corridors, even the access panels, accommodated a variety of shapes and appendages. It remained a source of fascination for her entire Series.

By the time she arrived on the bridge, Captain Frost had already retreated to his ready room. She promptly relieved her replacement, reviewed the current status of all ship communications and associated equipment, and then took the time to monitor comm traffic specifically directed from or to her ship or its accompanying vessel. Given how busy the Sol system was, there was more than enough data to entertain her for the next four hours.

Once the ship arrived and Frost returned, Kimberly swiveled from her station to study the Captain and the Admiral, always keen to learn about human interaction. Of course, she was already present when the Captain summoned senior staff to the bridge so she simply waited patiently for further direction once the others arrived.

Senior Chief Conrad, USS Freedom Brig

"All senior staff report to the bridge. Senior Chief Conrad, prepare to unload our prisoner into Earth custody. A shuttle will meet us in orbit to retrieve the prisoner."

Senior Chief nodded and double tapped his badge to acknowledge the order to transfer the prisoner. John still had his weapons belt on as he moved to the cell holding the Chief of Starfleet Security. "Are you going to cause me any trouble sir? Like trying to escape?" He asked as the guard lowered the security force field to the cell.

"No, Senior Chief. I won't try to escape" The Vice Admirals head hung low in a resigned fashion. John did not anticipate there would be any issues as he escorted him to the shuttle bay for the transfer of custody, but he still had a security crewman come along as per protocol.

The walk from the Brig to Hanger 1 did not all that long, and they arrived shortly before the rendezvous with the Starfleet Prisoner shuttle was due to land. "Bridge, Senior Chief Conrad, We are standing by to transfer custody." John said into his comm badge.

RayPurchase MechanicalSnake Error 420 Epiphany RikuXIII Elucid AllDirectionBlind Nuitari Delphiki

Soon, the Shuttle designated to retrieve the Vice-Admiral arrived in the shuttle bay. Franklin was standing in the shuttle bay watching the transfer take place. Once the transfer was complete, Franklin nodded to the Senior Chief and went to the turbolift. He waited for the lift to be loaded and calmly stated: "Bridge."

Frost walked with the Admiral to the Transporter room where he was to beam back to his own ship. "Thank you for the ride, Captain." the Admiral stated. "It was my pleasure sir. Feel free to visit anytime." Frost said in return. "Energize." The Admiral stated, and disappeared. Frost went back to the bridge and took his seat. "I'm tired of seeing that blue ball out my window. Helm, Full impulse until we are out of the safety zone, then warp 5 to Federation Outpost Riviera." Frost said, not looking up from his datapad which contained new orders. Frost looked up when Franklin arrived on the bridge. "Alright. All Senior Officers to the briefing room. We have new orders." Frost said, and stood up, walking into the briefing room. Once the senior staff had joined him, he pulled up the orders on the holodisplay he had integrated into the table. "We have new orders. Apparently, there has been evidence of cloaked ships near the Federation Outpost Riviera. We are being sent to reinforce the 2 ships already in place there. Once we arrive we will be assuming full command of the station and its defenses to ensure they are prepared for an attack. Senior Chief, i want your team ready just in case there is a Romulan ship hiding there. We'll need the Outpost at full readiness as soon as possible. Kimberly, i want you to begin scanning for any sign of non-Federation and Federation transmissions once we are in the area. We should arrive at the outpost in 3 hours. Until then, prepare your sections, get to know your crewmen and women. Hopefully this time we're not dealing with a rogue Federation officer who wants to test the abilities of this ship. If you need any supplies or anything of that sort, ask for Lieutenant Burns. He is more than capable of acquiring anything you need." Frost said. "Any questions on our current orders or any questions for me?" Frost asked.

RayPurchase MechanicalSnake Error 420 Epiphany RikuXIII Elucid AllDirectionBlind Grim Wraithe Stjerna

Kimberly #49

The Captain's orders to leave Earth weren't entirely surprising. While this recent mission might have upended whatever their original mission parameters had been, Kimberly had little doubt leaving Sector 001 was part of this ship's purpose. Even as the Helm got the ship underway, Kimberly turned back to her Comm station and performed her own duties. Mostly consisting of last-minute reports sent, routine Starfleet updates received and coordination with Starfleet Traffic Control to ensure they were aware of the USS Freedom's flight path in the interests of avoiding difficulties out there.

When the Captain issued his orders to gather in the briefing room, Lieutenant Kimberly turned her station over to a relief officer and followed Frost off the bridge. She took a seat when invited to and waited patiently for the other senior officers to turn up. Once the Captain got the meeting underway, Kimberly listened with rapt attention.

"Of course, Captain," she said when his orders got to her.

Once Frost invited questions, though, Kimberly gamely took the first one. "You mentioned you're assuming command of the station. It's my understanding that most outposts have officers in place for that. Has something happened to Outpost Riviera?" She flashed a brief smile, designed to soften the direct question in a way humans generally liked. "Of course, if it's the Riviera located in the Ochs' system, it's a peaceful sector of space with a colony mostly known for its contributions to the arts. Perhaps there is no local element with experience in these sorts of situations?"

Two other ships to coordinate with. Even as she waited for the Captain's answer, Kimbelry began planning a coordination program to work with those additional resources.

Bumping in case anyone is still interested in continuing.

RayPurchase MechanicalSnake Error 420 Epiphany RikuXIII Elucid AllDirectionBlind Grim Wraithe Stjerna