From: Takako Nagumo
Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 03:34:36 -0500
Subject: USS CHESAPEAKE: Getting Settled
SD 90226.0835
****************************************
MD 01.0930
Scene: Turbolift -> Bridge -> Ready Room
****************************************
The turbolift trip seemed weirdly familiar yet strange. Brennan
had been on countless turbolifts, and he'd been "on my way" to the
bridge of seven different ships before this one.
But this was different. He finally allowed himself to laugh for
the first time this morning, his first day as an Executive
Officer.
He was still smiling when the 'lift doors opened onto the
CHESAPEAKE's bridge. He strode out, tapping his left hand with a
blank PADD in his right, and proceeded down the ramp to the
command area. As a newly-commissioned ship still docked in port,
with all the umbilicals still connected and in operation, there
was little reason for a fully-staffed bridge, so he was not
surprised to see only one other officer on deck. The young female
officer who sat at the helm -- an Ensign -- saw Brennan and his
pips, and immediately stood up and came to attention.
"Sir."
"Stand easy, Mister...."
"Lewis, sir."
He nodded. "Mister Lewis. Thank you." He looked around the
bridge, taking in the details. CONN, OPS... doors to the Ready
Room, forward turbolift... aft turbolift, TAC/SEC, Science
Stations, doors to the Observation Lounge... the CO's chair, the
two chairs beside them.
He stared at the center chair for a moment. Then he looked at
Lewis, who still stood "at ease." She seemed nervous. I must've
been like that, too, once, he mused. He coughed lightly.
"The XO has the conn."
"XO has the conn," Lewis acknowledged.
"Mister Lewis," Brennan continued, still standing, "where are you
currently assigned?"
"In Flight Control, sir."
"Very well, Mister Lewis. Please resume your station."
"But, sir, we're in..."
Brennan just grinned. Lewis soon smiled back, seemingly deciding
to play along. "Yes, sir."
"Thank you, Ensign." He sat down as she walked away and took her
own seat at the helm.
His grin faded as his eyes glanced over the controls on the
armrests. Tapping a few keys, he started checking on the status
of the ship. In the bowels, the technicians had completed their
last-minute checks of the impulse and warp engines, and the
results looked excellent. A beep notified him that the weapons
check was also finished, with all of the materiel loaded and
secured. He read through the rest of the log, noting the status
reports from all the different areas of the ship. Many of the
crew was already on board... including the Chief Science Officer,
a Lieutenant Murray, who had reported for duty within the last
hour. He would make time to meet her before the day was out.
He downloaded the status reports onto his PADD and stood up. He
saw Lewis glance back quickly as he proceeded up the ramp, then
stand at the Security/Tactical station, looking over the
communications and weapons control panel.
I started here, he thought, and a small smile crossed his face.
He looked at the layout, noting the differences between the
earlier Nebula-class versions and the current Hood-class, with all
the upgrades and modifications. He was going to sit down with the
specs later that afternoon, he knew -- he had done so sometime
during the first day of every new posting. It was a necessity in
his line of work, but it was also a comforting ritual, a way to
ease himself onto a new ship, a new situation, new surroundings.
He glanced up to look at the doors to the Ready Room, and thought
about Captain Amanda Bell. The preliminary status report he
wanted to give her was in his hand, but he also wanted to discuss
with her what they can expect from each other in their working
relationship.
He had managed to pull up and read through her biofile before he
came up to the bridge. She seemed to be a good officer, a
competent captain....
But that incident on Calliope IX. There was something not right
about that. He knew he could probably look up the public records
of the hearing for himself, but he was less concerned about what
was determined in a courtroom than what had been in her mind as
she had let that situation get out of hand.
"Mister Lewis," he said, as he walked back down the ramp, "is the
Captain in her Ready Room?"
"Yes, sir."
"Thank you." He looked at the view screen for a moment. The
screen was mostly filled with stars, but in the lower left-hand
corner he could see a part of Vulcan. He looked back at the
Ensign. "You have the conn."
"Aye, sir. I have the conn." He sensed that she was trying to
control her giggle.
He grinned as he turned around and walked toward the Ready Room.
He rang the chime, and when the doors hissed open, he entered and
stood at ease in front of the desk.
As with any CO who has just received a new command, Captain Bell
was amidst a pile of PADDwork. She looked up at her Exec and
nodded acknowledgment. She quickly eyed the PADD in his hand,
then looked back up at him.
"Commander. Do you have something for me?"
"Yes, sir." He handed her the PADD. "Current status reports.
Nothing out of the ordinary. Impulse power and warp drive have
passed their final checks, and the defense system has also been
checked, with weapons loaded and secured. All other systems also
report normal."
"Thank you, Commander." She quickly skimmed the log entries, then
looked back up, directly into his eyes. "Would you say we will be
ready to launch in seven days, as the Admiral ordered?"
He met her gaze without hesitation. "If everything continues to
go as smoothly as it is going presently, yes, sir, I believe so.
I will, of course, keep you informed."
She nodded. "Of course." She glanced at the PADD again, then put
it on top of what seemed to be her "in" pile. "Was there
something else you wanted to discuss?"
He smiled pleasantly. "Yes, sir."
"In that case, Commander, please, take a seat." She stood as he
took his seat. "Would you like something to drink?"
"Yes, please. Hot chamomile tea. Thank you."
She punched up a mug of tea, as well as coffee for herself, and
came back to her seat. She handed him his mug, then sat down,
sipping from her own mug. She put it down, then put her hands in
her lap, out of view. "What would you like to discuss?"
"I thought we might want to get to know each other a bit -- figure
out what we expect of each other, and so forth."
*********************************************
MD 01.1400
Scene: Corridor -> Science Department Offices
*********************************************
As Brennan stepped out of the turbolift, he addressed one of the
computer panels on the wall.
"Computer, where is Lieutenant Anne Murray?"
[Lieutenant Murray is in the Office of Chief Science Officer.]
The lights along the hall lit up in its customary helpfulness,
although Brennan did not need it. He walked along, nodded and
smiled greetings to the crew passing by, and, finding the proper
door, opened it and walked in.
He was greeted immediately by a young Vulcan officer who was
working at a nearby console. "How may I help you, sir?"
"Would you please tell me where I can find Lieutenant Murray?"
"She is in her office, sir," he said, pointing down a short
corridor, "second door on your right."
"Thank you, Lieutenant..."
"Serak, sir."
"Thank you, Mister Serak. Carry on."
He walked briskly the few steps to her door. Looking in, he saw a
young, black-haired woman seated at the desk working through some
PADDwork that could compete quite easily with the pile that he had
seen on the Captain's desk. He began to dread the massive number
of messages he was probably going to have to deal with as soon as
he was done here.
She seemed to sense his presence there in the doorway, and glanced
up from her work. Noticing his pips, she put down her reading and
stood up, her tall frame unfolding gracefully.
"Sir."
"Lieutenant Murray, I believe?" He smiled. "Daniel Brennan, XO."
He stepped into the office, then extended his hand over her desk.
"Good to meet you, sir," Murray replied, shaking the proffered
hand. "Anything I can do for you?"
"No, just checking in." He indicated the PADDs with his eyes. "I
see we've put you to work already, in any case." He put his hand
on a chair in front of the desk. "May I?"
"Please. I'm sorry I didn't offer."
"Not a problem." He sat down, as did Murray. "So... how are you
settling in, Lieutenant?"
Respectfully Submitted,
Takako Nagumo,
CDR Daniel J. Brennan
XO/FO, USS CHESAPEAKE (NCC-31813)
Task Force Beta, Green Fleet
NRPG:
Amy, Masako: I hope those openings were enough for you to
continue... :) This is not my best, but it *is* being written at
3 o'clock in the morning.
All: Since Masako has started us off on the CHESAPEAKE's "real"
postings, I think we'd better start working with mission dates. I
suggest:
01.0700 CAPT Bell reports to CINCGREEN
01.0715 CDR Brennan reports to CINCGREEN
01.0730 Bell and Brennan board CHESAPEAKE
01.0745 LCDR th'Tellan reports to CINCGREEN
01.0800 LT Murray reports to CINCGREEN
01.0845 LT Murray reports to CAPT Bell
01.0900 The CSciO and the Vulcans (doesn't it sound like a 50's
singing group? )
01.0930 Brennan on the Bridge
01.1400 Brennan visits the Science Department
Also, my first NPC:
ENS Andalucia "Lucie" Lewis (21). Female Human, 5'8", slim build,
short brown hair. Fresh out of the Academy -- and I mean fresh;
this is her very first posting. She elected to bypass ALB to get
field experience. I haven't any *real* plans for her at the
moment; her main purpose right now is to act as FCO until we
get a PC for the billet. But since I haven't thought this
through all the way, and I may eventually come up with something
for her, please consider her a protected NPC.
--
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Takako Nagumo
http://www.oocities.org/TimesSquare/6318/
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CDR Daniel J. Brennan XO USS CHESAPEAKE, Green Fleet
LCDR Sian-Mairead Flynn, MD CMO USS ALEXANDER NEVSKY, Green Fleet
LTjg Alex Ripley SCI USS SARATOGA, Silver Fleet
LCDR Duncan A. Morrell INS ALB Holodeck 4
CDR Julianna M. Sforza COMREC Commander, Starfleet Records
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