Mission 1.02 - And Not a Drop to Drink

Eiri stood at relaxed attention, with his hands behind his back, waiting for the room to empty. It seemed to be happening fairly quickly. He could feel the tension drain from the room, much like the people. He focused his attention on the Fleet Captain and prepared himself to do whatever was asked of him.

The feeling that he had to squelch was reminding him that his career could be on the line here. After White Star, he was lucky to be back in space so quickly. He examined her face for a moment, his own passive, and found his center with a single breath. He found at these moments it was always best to tap into his Vulcan side and remain passive and logical.

Adam maintained his place and precisely correct posture as the rest of the crew bar Eili filed out. This was where things would get either very interesting or very difficult. Or, likely, both. At least it was a chance to get to know the real reason they were going diving.

Lanzara waited as the others left the room, she stared at the others in silence for a few moments, "Computer seal this room, cease al recordings. Command over-ride Talem 1671 - Arcana" The computer beeped it's understanding, Lanzara sat back in her chair.

"Well aren't we the threesome?" she said with a slight sarcastic tone in her voice, "For the duration of this mission I am assigning you both Level 10 security and intelligence clearance" she paused and felt around in her pocket and pulled out a 6 centimetre long red crystal like stick, she placed it to her lips and inhaled, the tip glowed for a second and she then exhaled a red steam, a mild odour of something akin to water melon appeared in the room for a few seconds before disappearing without any trace.

"Any questions before I go any further?"
The scent made his nose twitch. Eiri pulled one hand from behind his back to itch it. "I have quite a few questions, Ma'am, but at the moment I am willing to set them aside until I have more information."

She seemed calm, to Eiri, not quite what he expected from how she presented herself. He expected her to be angry in some way, but it appeared that was not the case.
Lanzara nodded, "I am glad" she looked to the other person in the room, then in a flash it came to her, she remembered his face from a file she had read several years ago..."And Mister Carter has been at this long enough to know not to ask questions until the end" she smiled and inhaled on her crystal stick again, "Well I am sure you two are curious as to why I am here, it's quite unusual for someone of my rank and position in Starfleet just to suddenly appear and hop a ride on a ship no bigger than gnats penis" she frowned, "Sorry I didn't mean to insult your...mighty...vessel, it is just I am used to a more elegant ride." she paused, her face becoming more serious, "What I am about to tell you is level 10 classified and not to be discussed with anyone else on this ship, including your Commanding Officer. I need you to know that what I do is on the order of the President and the Federation Council, and no matter any personal misgiving you may have, you will follow my orders to the letter even if they go against your own personal morals and beliefs...the safety and future of the Federation and most sentient life in the galaxy depends upon this." she looked them in the eye, "Now is your one and only chance to walk away." she inhaled once again and this time let the steam escape her nostrils in two small fine wisps.
Carter gave a small smile, glad to have some idea as to where he stood with the Fleet Captain. He displayed no outward sign that her use of his name, unasked, had ruffled him. Truthfully, it hadn't. Either she'd checked his service record before boarding or she'd been aware of him during his SFI operative days. He was suddenly and keenly aware of how long it'd been since he'd worked an SFI op, and how much he'd enjoyed the rare chances he'd had to take part in them. And she was asking if he'd like to back out?

"Quitting's for other people, ma'am. I'm at your disposal for the duration."
Lanzara nodded and looked the the Vulcanoid with amazingly white hair, "And you Mister Ashshy?"
Eiri nodded. "Aye aye, Ma'am. I am in agreement with Mister Carter and I appreciate a good challenge." He smiled a little stiffly and nodded.
Without another word, Lanzara pulled a small holo-projector from her pocket and held it out in front of her. She looked around the room and saw a small bio-bed folded into the wall, she pulled it down. Placing the holo-projector in the centre she activated it, and the projection of a Cardassian male appeared directly above it and began to rotate.

"This Gentleman, despite his appearance, is Lieutenant Commander Andy McKay, he is one of my best deep cover agents. For the past 20 years he has been working deep cover within the Cardassian Union, primarily he worked within the Obsidian Order, and during the Dominion War he was one of our greatest sources of real intelligence. For the last few years, since the end of the war he has been an aide to the Detapa Council..." she paused, and his image was replaced with a quadra-helix strand of DNA, "This is simply known as Harkening. It is an artificial virus, we know little of it other than it is infectious to all Humanoid life, Andy notified me 2 weeks ago that a rogue element of the Cardassian Union was working on a deployment method for this virus. There is no known cure, it was banned by a classified convention some 80 years ago, even the it's awesome prowess and ability to destroy all known life in the galaxy was realised...it was the only time all major governments in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants came together in a joint project...all of which can never be made public knowledge. A covert group was set up made up of all these races who scoured the quadrants destroying all traces of the virus...we thought they were all destroyed...we were wrong." she looked at them, "Questions?"

Eiri pulled a PADD from a pocket and started taking notes immediately. "I do have questions now, Ma'am. Do we know how the virus is delivered? Vectors? Or faecal-oral? Physical contact? Do we know the base of its genetic material? DNA or RNA? Are we picking up a sample or do we have one at present?" He looked up from the PADD again one eyebrow raised and then thought better of his questioning. "My apologies, Ma'am. I was overzealous. Please continue." He bowed his head respectfully and put his PADD down on the table.
Adam nodded as Eiri asked Talem to continue. He hoped there was intel on the specifics of the virus, but suspected all but the broad brush strokes of it would go over his head. Actually, one thing did occur to him. Before Talem could actually continue, he held up a hand apologetically.

"Sorry ma'am, but how big a presence do the Cardassians have on Aquoriat III?"
"None, the Cardassians are focusing on rebuilding, their planet is in turmoil, so I don't think they will pose much of a problem." she lied through her teeth, but she kept her ten exactly the same, no-one not even one of their best interrogators would know she was lying, "That is why it has been chosen for the intel drop."

She looked at the white-haired young man, "As for the Harkening, it is a DNA virus, although it has been known to be a reverse transcribing virus using RNA." she paused, "the virus is in a constant state of flux and mutation. No matter hard we tried to map it or find the main vector we could find nothing....nothing, for all we know it could be spread by bad breath, bodily fluids intact, ingestion, or by fucking rainbows" she sighed and inhaled on her raja stick again, " Andy I'll be bringing with him a copy of the virus at it's current stage so it can be taken to a classified research station. What I need you both to do now is to familiarise yourself with the history of the Harkening, it was first noticed on Corianal II in 2259."

Adam whipped his small PADD out and started a new file, jotting down notes as he listened, nodding.

Harkening

- Corianal, 2259
- No known cure
- Transmission unknown
- Cardies have it
- Aquoriat III
- Fucking Cardies

With a wry smile, he closed down the PADD. At least he knew the reasoning behind the cloak-and-dagger act now. This was big.

"Can do, ma'am." He glanced at Eiri. "Liutenant, if you'd like to divide the work, I can focus on the history of the virus if you'd prefer to look at its scientific background?"
Lanzara pulled her raja stick from her mouth after she exhaled for one final time. The briefing was over as far as she was concerned. She had given them enough information to keep them busy, and actually away from the real reason she was here. It was at times like this she was grateful for being a Trill, like a small percentage of her people she had very powerful telepathic abilities. Those with the same abilities as her generally became Guardians to allow them to transfer the personalities and memories to a non joined Trill during one of the more sacred rituals. She was able to completely shield her mind from other people, it was one of the reasons why she had made such a good an Intelligence Officer, and now as a Talem she had the memories of over 14 other life-times to aide her.

"Okay, you two can piss off now" she said with a slight nod, they were dismissed.

((This JP brought to you by Fleet Captain Lanzara "Baby Smokes-A-Lot" Talem, Lieutenant Eiri "Snow-White" Ashshy, and Crewman Adam "YIPEEKIYAY!" Carter.))

When ordered to piss off by a less-than-friendly superior, Adam's policy was that the better part of valor lay in discretion. So it was that he found himself pissing off to the bridge, where he hoped to find either his duty station or someone willing to direct him to same.

Instead, what greeted him was a wall of sound. Late 20th century Earth punk, probably. Or pre-Surakite Vulcan metal, it was difficult to tell. Either way, it was good enough music to blare in a cockpit, which seemed to be what Smyth was up to.

Grinning cheerfully at the cockpit's single occupant, and gesturing that he wasn't here to disturb or interrupt her, he planted himself at one of the Wanderer's aux consoles and logged in. It wouldn't be prudent to start digging around about Harkening on an easy-to-see terminal, but now would be as good a time as any to get started on the background intel gathering for the Wanderer's intended surveying mission. Cracking his knuckles, he got down to business.

With his orders, Robert very quickly set about following his orders. It wouldn’t take him long; it was the sort of task that over his experience he could do with very little thought. In some ways it was almost an automatic reflex allowing his hands to do all the work at the PADD and programming a couple of isolinear chips with the new routines.

Robert often found it easiest to work whilst pacing around, it tended to relieve his stress, on a ship this size he was thinking to himself,

“Where in the hell will I do it here? Bloody ship, cant pace, but at least I know a few hidey holes I can do this in peace. ”

He wanted a bit of peace, mainly due to the new starts and to stay clear of the Fleet Captain. As he was sitting doing his work he could see the new start Hayley. Remembering catching a glimpse of her in the meeting, he thought the look on her face was priceless as she sat next to Rha. Typically Robert didn’t feel very xenophobic, but Rha was something else. He didn’t dislike Rha, just was still a little unsure how to approach him.

Maybe Hayley would be a potential friend, maybe not. Time would tell.

Corbet grinned at the new arrival, then ordered the computer to reduce the volume by half.
"Sorry about that. After meeting the brass I suddenly felt the desire to be crude and blow things up."

Noticing a lack of the pistols in the background, he turned to Corbert.

"Any chance of some of the Who? Could do with a bit of Pinball wizard, or maybe some Generation. You got any on your provate collection?"

One thing Robert could definately say he liked about Corbert was her amazing taste in classic music. He would never admit it to Jules but he could only take so much orchestraic music before he wanted to hit something badly.

Eiri followed Adam's example and pissed off as well. He went on the search for a science station, his attention completely on the PADD in his hand, his mind was on the meeting. It had been awhile since he had served with a Trill and that Trill had been unbonded. He wished he had been a little more prepared for the arrival of another telepath. Of course, he got nothing from her, which was even more frustrating.

Normally, he had the upper hand, but now. He didn't know if he was doing busy work or something important. He shook his head to clear it and sighed. It was what it was. He went back to research. So far, he didn't have much more then what he already knew.

He turned a corner and found himself looking down a wide hallway at the bridge. There was a terrible sound coming from that direction. It sounded vaguely like Klingon music. He turned and went the other way. It wasn't long before he found that the ship really was as small as it looked from outside.

Rha made a beeline for the bridge as soon as Jules released him to do so. He wanted nothing to do with that woman and his mother had taught him that it was alright to tuck your tail and run sometimes.

The loud music was surprising. He stepped onto the bridge and let it wash over him for a few moments before slipping into his seat. He put his paws behind his head and leaned back in the chair, relaxing as the loud, raucous music vibrate every inch of fur on his body. It was almost as good as a sonic shower.

Fletcher groaned when he found the door to the wardroom locked. He had just hauled two bags of supplies up from the cargo bays, and now that the rather severe Trill had locked the door, he was pretty much stuck.

He considered walking back down to engineering, and seeing if anyone was there, but decided not to. He'd get to know the crew later. Now was time to work.

He leaned against the wall by the wardroom, waiting, and dozed a little. As Eiri walked past he jumped back up, his eyes snapping back open.

"Sir," he said politely. "Are we allowed back through?" he asked. "I need to stock my medical supplies."

[[tag Eiri]]

Ayan pulled his head back out from an access panel under the ops console, where he had been rewiring and fixing a shorted circuit.

He looked up the ramp from the helm seat at the crew that had assembled, surprised at the number of people that could fit on this small a bridge.

He waved a little at the assembled crew. "It's catchy music, all right," he said, speaking quickly. "But I don't really get it. Doesn't sound like anything my old roommate at the academy would play, either. Humans have so many different types of music sometimes that it can be hard to keep up. Not that the Bajora don't, too..."

He eventually shut himself up and looked around at the assembled crew. "I'm Ayan, by the way," he said with a grin, realizing he hadn't met all of them yet. "Retol Ayan."

[[Tag bridge folks]]

Corbet Changed the music from the sex pistols to "The Who: Happy Jack".

"I'm Corbet, but my friends call me Jen."

Corbet wandered back over to the tactical station and began fiddling with the security protocols.

"Jen, huh? I'm Adam."

Now that Corbet wasn't busy killing things, Adam looked up from his console, which now displayed an orbital view of Aquoriat III.

"Good to get your name too, Ayan. And you," he turned to Rob, "must be the Big Scotsman I've heard so much about."

Cornet smiled.
"yea, that's Rob, he's the other half of security around here."

Lanzara heard footsteps coming towards the Ward room, she did not turn her back to look at who it was, being a Trill she could recognise people by their footsteps, it was as individual as ones own voice. With her back towards the person she spoke, “What can I do for you Lieutenant?”

Those dreaded bastarding words...juniors always felt that those words were their get out of gaol free card. Lanzara looked at him, and looked around the room, it was empty apart from them, "Granted" she said in a nonchalant tone.

Julian nodded, and tugged the bottom of his uniform top downward.

"I like to think of myself as a rational, logical person, despite my age and my rank, ma'am. I understand that this is not the environment you had hoped to be thrust into to complete your own mission, and that were it not critically necessary for you to make your way to Aquoriat with all due haste, you would not be aboard my ship.

"That said, I would like to have the...opportunity, I suppose, to test my crew a bit. See their grace under fire, if you catch my meaning. This is going to be a learning experience for all of us, myself included. And make no mistake ma'am, I want each of us to take something from it."

Was he sucking up? If he was he was doing a strange job of it, "Lieutenant, my mission will have no influence on your own unless things go horribly bad, if they do I hardly think a ship of this size will be of any use, it won't so much be grace under fire as instant death."

Julian nodded, and responded "Understood Ma'am. Those of us not trained in Science and Intel will just have to do our best to complete our assigned mission and stay out of your way."

He looked down at his PADD briefly, and sighed.

"We have our clearance to depart. We'll lift off in five. Will you be joining us on the Bridge, or coordinating your efforts from the lower deck?

"I will be along shortly, I first have to go through your crews logs, official and personal." she looked at him directly in the eyes.

Julian stared directly back at her, unflinching.

"I'm sure you're aware, ma'am, that some of us maintain a professional demeanor while aboard, and rely on our personal logs to vent petty and minor frustrations that are not appropriate to air while on duty. I would ask politely and respectfully that you keep an open mind about anything you discover," he replied.

"Personal logs give you a far better insight into the mind of a crew member, much more so that reading the bland official logs" she stared at him "And of course I will be over looking all personnel and official communications one and off this ship for the past week or so...just to make sure everything is tickity-boo" she took a step back, "Make sure when you speak to Luc at 2200 this evening, as if your habit, you remember not to mention my being here...security and all that."

Julian smiled pleasantly, and said "I wouldn't dream of it. Starfleet internal affairs are a complete bore to him anyway. I'm not so concerned about my own personal logs as...a few of my crew who tend to run away at the mouth."

Julian looked back down at his PADD and saw the clock ticking away.

"Feel free to peruse our logs as necessary, ma'am. I'll look forward to your accompaniment on the Bridge."

"While I am grateful for your permission Lieutenant, I just want to make it clear I do not need your permission." she looked at him, "Given the history of some of your crew, I am actually quite looking forward to seeing how their minds work" she looked at him. "It must be difficult for a new CO to have people serving under him who have been..ah how did they put it...sideways moved from the 1st Fleet."

"Yes ma'am, you've made it abundantly and perfectly clear to me that you do not require my permission for anything while aboard, up to and including outright taking over command of my vessel. And as to my crew, I see my new members as a challenge. If the Admiralty saw it fit to move them out to the Frontier, then it is up to me as their commanding officer to be the exemplary role model that their previous commanding was obviously not."

Lanzara rolled her eyes, "Yes of course, it's not because this is considered a back-water assignment of no importance to the Federation..." she pulled a raja stick from her pocket and inhaled on it, "Since we're speaking off the record...grow a pair of balls. If you want to get anywhere in Starfleet you need to stand up for yourself Lieutenant, unless you want to command a shuttle like this for the rest of your career."

"Let's not mince words, then, shall we ma'am? There's a reason each and every one of us is out here in the Frontier, where we're far away from the watchful eye of anyone important other than our direct superiors. Except for maybe you, who is apparently on a mission from God or whatever higher deity you place stock in.

"And again, since we're speaking openly, and off the record, let me make one thing clear, ma'am, I have balls. Brass ones, just like your rank pips. And if your mission does anything to jeapordize a member of my crew, it won't be pretty for either of us. You may win in the end, and I may end up dead or be stuck on a backwater planet with no rank, but you'll fucking feel it in the morning."

Lanzara laughed almost manically and very loudly for a few moments, "Well that's better" she said and looked at him. "Your bridge is waiting for you Lieutenant, as so is my laughable excuse for quarters" she turned to leave the ward room, just as she did she spun on her heel and spoke in a controlled and sinister tone, "But just remember Lieutenant, I have been threatened by far bigger boys than you and I am the one still standing to tell the tale. You don't want to make an enemy of me...people have a habit of disappearing when they piss me off...Computer restore all recordings, command over-ride Talem 1671 - Arcana" she gave the Lieutenant a curt nod and left the Wardroom.

a JP by

Frenchie

and

Bitchy

After leaving the Wardroom she decided to drop by her quarters to see how the hook-up was going. Lanzara walked to where she knew her quarters for the next few days would be, if you could call them quarters. They were going to jury-rig a escape pod to the main systems so she would be able to access everything she would need to carry out her mission. She rounded the corner and was met by a man working on an open panel.

“You’re the one sorting out my connection to the ship?” she said in an off-hand manner as she stepped closer.

Standing to his feet, Robert immediately recognised her, not only from reading her file, a habit he had made sure to always do as tactical officer on his previous post. He was unable to find very little, it all appeared to be above his grade, all he got was a picture and her current position. Seeing her in the briefing, he got the impression from Jules posture that know one was ready for her.

“Ma’am, yes I am currently tying the pods security override protocols into that of the ships system, we should be operational according to the PADD in about 45 seconds.”

Lanzara nodded, "Good I am going to need a live feed and over-sight of all terminals on the Wanderer, as well as a cut off switch for all communication systems...and then a feed to the main computer processor and core, I have to upload the programme." she looked at him, waiting for him to question her.

“Ma’am I understand that you are my superior, and my superior’s superior, but that require tagging you into a large portion of our systems, the drain on power would be substantial, and I would feel comfortable with Lt. Durand’s support on your order.”

Lanzara stared at him, people really needed to realise she was Intelligence, she did what she had to, "I'm thinking of a number...I'll give you a clue...it's how many fucks I could give about how you feel or how much power it may take" she continued to keep his eyes locked with hers, "Do you now what this bar under my pips means?"

“All due respect, but all you Intel people do is come aboard use and abuse a ship, fuck us over, you couldn't care less about the people or the ship, so before you feel the need to come in ask how us how many fucks you could, I am going to ask the same thing how many fucks do you think i give!” Robert knew this was the quick end to what he believed was an honorable career, but if she couldn’t show him respect he sure as hell would not do the same.

Lanzara internalized her smile, "That's the wonder about being me, I don't actually have to give a fuck about you or any other canon fodder in this fleet. I see the bigger picture, I see the future survival of the Federation. I stand between the darkness and the light, I live in the shadows, I do what has to be done so people like you and your haggis eating family back on Earth can sleep safely in their beds at night? You think you people on the frontier are the only ones to take risks? You think I just sit in an office and send people to their death, Playing god with peoples lives?" she stared at him, "I have to make more decisions before breakfast than most Admirals do in their entire career, I have to fight battles that no-one will ever know about just so we can all watch a new day dawn. Don't you ever think to question how or why I do my job, I do my job because I was chosen for this position, I have been selected by the Federation Council and the President, and they are the only people who ever have the authority to question my actions or my motives" she pointed to her collar,

"You know what that bar means? It means respect. People with this bar don't have to earn it; they've already earned it. They did the big job, and when they were needed for a smaller one, they stepped back and did that too. People with this bar are the ones who are willing and able to do whatever the Federation needs from them, from moment to moment. They don't have to earn your respect; this bar means they've earned the respect of everyone in the Federation."

Already Robert felt he had a great deal of respect for this woman, maybe not with the country slagging, but for the acknowledgement of the job she does.
“You don't think I am willing to do what it takes, You don't believe I will risk my life for the Federation, well then you need to learn a thing or two about respect, I will give my life for the Federation, I will look to the big picture and the small picture, but my job is keeping everyone on board this ship alive, along with the ship itself, so when i say i need to run a job past my CO, YOU will listen and respect ME!!! Robert knew right now he had just ended his career.

"I don't care what you are willing to do, what I am asking you to do appears to be the problem, you are a Staff Warrant Officer in Starfleet and are sworn to follow my orders, what I see in front of my is an obstinate son of a bitch. Do what I have ordered. And to make it even clearer, this isn't a request it is an official direct order. " she paused for a slight moment "Learn? I have to learn about respect!? You have to learn about just where you actually lie in the grand scheme of things. Lets make things clear I am The Fleet Captain of the United Federation of Planet's Starfleet, I am the Deputy Director of Starfleet Intelligence and I am here on the direct order of our Commander-in-Chief, the President, and the Federation Council...while you on the other hand are a Staff Warrant Officer who has moved from Security on a mid-sized ship to Operations on a ship the size of a midges arse...The safety of the Federation requires you to do as I have ordered, so god-damn do it!" her voice remained clinically cold as she spoke.

“I am sorry.....everything will be operational as soon as possible, it also appears the 45 seconds required for the power tap to take place has been extended to one hour. I will have everything operational as soon as possible Ma’am”
Robert was beginning to think what was once respect he had for the woman, oh a moment or so ago, was now becoming sadness, he knew sadness in his own life that left him with certain personal issues. But this woman quite clearly did not look like she had ever had a moment of happiness.

“Make it 30 minutes Mister Ainslie and we shall have no issue” she looked at him, and opened the escape pod, she looked at him, “And thank you for the lively debate” she said in a sarcastic tone and she walked into what were now her quarters.

“No problem Ma’am, and it will be done when its done.... I wouldn’t want your pod being jettisoned into space when we go to warp.”

Lanzara laughed, what was it about the crew on this ship thinking she would be scared by their threats, "Oh such a poorly veiled threat." she laughed again "It would be such a shame that if my requests aren't completed within 30 minutes that you would somehow be infected with a, lets say, covert poison that leaves no traces and is 100% lethal." she looked at him, "or worse, your remaining relatives were suddenly to go missing without a trace." she stared at him, she could and had done a lot worse in her life, and she was damned if she would allow him to think for a moment that she was scared of him or his threats.” she smiled, “I hope we understand one another.”

“We do Ma’am and I say again, it will be done when it is done.” He couldn’t care less at this time what her threats were.

Lanzara walked into her pod, “30 minutes Mister Ainslie” she said as the door closed behind her.

a JP by;

Rab C. Nesbitt

and

Shadowy Bitch

"Yeah, you can call me the big Scotsman, Rob, Ainslie....just for the love of god not Scotty. And, yeah Corbet is right I am the other half of security, or well I was, Jules is adjusting our remits, so i believe when it actually comes to tactical issues you will soon be approaching Jen over me. Well to be honest I don't really know what is going on."

Rob knew he was going to have to start adapting to his overall role on the ship.

Adam laughed.

"Greatest secret in the universe is that no-one really knows what's really on. Fact of bloody life. Rob works for me, mate, if it works for you.

His terminal bleeped and he spun his chair to face it again.

"Aha! Got some initial results on our good friend the mysterious water planet." He gestured at his terminal with a dramatic flourish. "As I suspected! The water planet is covered in oceans. This changes everything."

Snorting derisively at the uselessness of his first results, Adam turned back to the bridge at large.

Julian strode back onto the bridge, shutting the hatch with a heavy "clunk" behind him, and spinning the wheel freely with one hand to lock it.

"Computer, seal the bridge," he said, "and shut off whatever the hell that noise is."

As the music ended, his crew turned to face him, with expectant looks on their faces.

"Smyth, you're at tactical. Ainslie, take over the console right behind mine. Retol, take the Conn. The rest of you grab an aux station or open station, and hunker down. Set course for Aquoriat III, warp 6.5."

He quietly pulled the panel off of a bulkhead, and began re-arranging iso-linear chips, and plugging cords into where they very obviously didn't belong.

"Listen very closely, because I probably just bought us no more than a minute of radio silence before everything gets re-wired, and the grand high poobah of upper butt crack starts listening in again. She does not have to give us an explanation of what she is doing, she does not have to run anything by any of us. She is the Fleet Captain of the United Federation of Planets' Starfleet, and the Deputy Director of Starfleet Intelligence.

"I would also like to point out that she is a cold-hearted bitch that will do anything to get a rise out of you so that she can verbally assault you. She will not listen to reason, she doesn't care what any of you think, and she has no desire to hear your opinions on anything. So: if at any time I think what she's doing is going to put any of us in danger, make no mistake. The bitch is getting spaced. Carry on."

Ah, thought Adam. Bugger.

Captain Durand's anger was palpable and, given Talem's attitude towards him in front of his crew - the crew of his first command, on his first real mission - completely understandable.

Why had she provoked him like that? Surely she didn't think this was the best way to get results from subordinates. She'd been cordial towards Adam and Eiri in the intel briefing - well, at least until the end. Had it been because she saw them as closer to equals with their intelligence backgrounds? Or was she trying to instil loyalty in him and the Vulcan?

He fervently hoped that Talem's mission wouldn't clash with Durand's, and that the Captain and Fleet Captain would find a way to settle their differences. But he wasn't naive enough to think that everything would be roses. Durand's small rebellion could be the beginning of a schism. If both missions were accomplished quickly and cleanly, that schism might be avoided.

He opened two new panes in his console window. The first was a small window displaying a camera feed looking at the bridge over his right shoulder. He didn't like hiding what he was doing from his new crewmates, but given the stakes Talem had pointed out, it was prudent. In the second window, he started a new search on the background of Corianal and its relationship to Harkening. Thus occupied, he got to work on building dossiers on both the official and hidden reasons for the Wanderer's visit to Aquoriat III. Forewarned was forearmed.

Ayan nodded his head at Julian, a broad smile coming across his face when his assignment was mentioned. He stepped down the ramp to the Conn position and sank into the chair with a pleased noise.

He turned his head around to listen to the end of Julian's speech and nodded his head again. He had been loyal to all of his Captains so far, and he felt no reason to do otherwise this time. Julian had the right of it, and he had Ayan's loyalty for putting him back in Conn.

Still, though, dislodging Brass into space was a big deal. He was happy Julian was loyal to his crew, but the idea made him pause for a moment. The Fleet Captain was up to something, and Ayan was torn between not wanting to know what was going on, and worry about Eiri. SI was just too intense for him, and he wished his friend wasn't involved in...whatever it was he was involved in.

He took a deep breath. Deal with that later, Ayan. You get to fly again. Be happy about that. It won't come to this. New captain is just overreacting. He turned his attention back to his station and manipulated the console.

"Course laid in, Sir," he said, his voice excited. "The airlock is sealed, all crew are aboard, and we're prepared to separate from the station. Ready on your command."

Meanwhile, Hayley had finished her work in the cargo bay. She was eager to read up on Caitians, but she felt the need to be proactive.

"Computer, is the Wanderer presently outfitted for amphibious operation?"

"Negative. Prolonged exposure to an aqueous environment will likely result in damage to onboard systems."

Well shoot, looks like you never learned to swim, girl. Hayley lay a comforting hand on the cargo bay wall and closed her eyes. With a mix of deep concentration and meditation, she searched for an answer.

"Computer? Can the Wanderer's shield arrays be reconfigured to continuously project gravitons along vectors perpendicular to the hull?"

"Affirmative. Contact Combat Systems Specialist Smyth, Corbet for access codes."

Hayley slid her hand down the wall and slapped her knee with it. "Well now we're gettin' somewhere, sweetie!" She spun in place and leaned back against the wall, gears whirling about madly in her head.

"Griffith to Lieutenant Durand, requestin' an audience, sir. I have an idea that you may find of particular interest."

Julian chuckled a bit under his breath at the term.

"I'm not a king, Crewman. You don't need to request an audience. Report to the Bridge, let's hear your plan."

Corbet had moved to the tactical position. She was vaguely aware of the conversation but was working furiously at her console.

"Of course, sir. On my way."

Hayley made her way to the bridge, punching calculations into her PADD as she walked. She waited patiently behind the hatch as it was unlocked to allow her entry. Assuming that it had been locked for a reason, she turned and spun the wheel behind her.

Turning to the Lieutenant and snapping to attention, Hayley described her train of thought. "Sir, I've been thinkin' about the aquatic environment of Aquoriat III, and my research indicates that in its present state, the Wanderer won't be able to handle prolonged contact with the water. However," she said, turning to Corbet, "the Combat Systems Specialist has clearance to reconfigure the shield arrays to continuously emit gravitons perpendicularly from the ship's hull."

She turned back to the Lieutenant. "While we're in contact with the water, goin' to warp obviously wouldn't be a real good idea, but if we siphon power from the idlin' warp drive, we can excite the gravitons to a higher energy state and thereby produce an atomic repulsion field completely encirclin' the ship. My preliminary calculations show that the repulsion field would be sustainable at the planet's atmospheric pressure. At least, this would mean that the ship could touch down and land on the liquid surface of the planet without actually getting wet, and at best, the Wanderer could actually navigate underwater, if only temporarily, although that would present a new set of challenges."

Pleased with herself, and grinning at the prospect of new challenges to tackle, Hayley widened her stance and placed her hands behind her back in the at ease position.

Fletcher McNeil wrote:

"Sir," he said politely. "Are we allowed back through?" he asked. "I need to stock my medical supplies."

Eiri looked up from his PADD. "Of course, Petty Officer. The meetings are over. You are the medical personnel? My name is Eiri Ashshy. It is a pleasure to meet you. One of my majors at Academy was genomes." The short, white-haired Vulcan tipped his head and smiled, his arched eyebrows lifting a little.

Julian thought for a moment. Most of the engineering parlance was completely beyond him, but it sounded like a reasonable idea.

"Ainslie, take over tactical. Smyth, head down to deck two with Griffith and proceed with the modifications. Miss Griffith, if you need to take the Warp Core offline to make the modifications, that's fine, just let me know in advance since I'm certain Fleet Captain Talem would like to be informed."