What's Going On?
Posted on 17 Jun 2021 @ 2:20pm by Captain Easton Lawe & Commander Kristiana Petrova & Commander Marcus Wilcox & Lieutenant Alexandra Dering & Lieutenant Callisi Veera & Lieutenant Madalene Sabine & Lieutenant Cole Dering M.D., M.S. & Lieutenant Commander Beto Castilian
2,110 words; about a 11 minute read
Mission: Starting Again
And so the orders came down from on high that the USS Odin was to be cleared out. The language in the communique was naturally more formal and particular than that, but this was the basic gist of the matter.
Only Ensign Walker and the Odin "AI" were allowed to remain aboard, which of course was because they didn't have much choice.
Captain Mallory Thorne was ordered to report to the San Fransisco DTI office, and the rest of the senior staff was to report to Office of Student Affairs for Starfleet Academy. They were not told why, of course, because that would be too...un-bureaucratic and one could not have that. So, that's where the senior staff was destined. The rest of the crew was given full shore leave for the next week with the only caveat being that they had to do it off-ship. No one was told where the captain would be either...because what fun would that be?
Given that the actual office for the Office of Student Affairs wasn't big enough for all these people, they were directed to meet in a meeting room down the hall where they would sit, chat, and wait to find out what was going on...
Kristiana was the first to arrive, looking a bit nonplussed. She had no idea what was going on and didn't waste time voicing this confusion. "This is highly irregular," she muttered, making her way inside.
"I wish I knew." Callisi voiced, not too far behind Kristiana. The rabbitess cast her glance around the room that held them, partially looking for easy ways to leave the room, and partially looking for people already here and waiting. The multitude of people was a welcome sight, though it was obvious from the way they looked back that outside of historical animation and cultural references... none of them had ever met a Daughter of Ts'usu.
Madalene walked into the room, not thrilled at all, she had so much work to do and it was work that needed to be done on the Odin, and with Odin. "All I know is that it is very very frustrating and annoying," Madalene said crossing her arms and leaning against the wall.
"That's sometimes just how the ball drops," came a deep voice from the doorway into the meeting room. The voice belonged to a man, seemingly human, dark-skinned, and somewhat imposing with his broad frame and intense gaze. Still, he smiled. "I'm Captain Easton Lawe," he introduced. "I'm your liaison for this gathering, shall we say. I'll explain more once everyone has arrived."
This new figure was met with Callisi's fixed glance. A shame she only had the one eye. "Captain." she acknowledged and gave a nod. "Thank you for taking the time to meet with us." protocol was the lifeblood of her people. Proper etiquette was part of her DNA. "Please excuse any curt responses, we've had a long journey here, and have more questions than answers."
This was all very highly unusual, Lexi mused as she entered silently behind Captain Lawe. She had no idea what was going on orf why they had been summoned here, but it reminded her of school when one got called into the principal's office. She moved to the edge of the room and took a seat there in silence. Let the rabbit lady ask the questions for now; Lexi preferred to go unnoticed, get done whatever it was they had to do here, and return to her husband and her Engineering deck... in that order.
Captain Lawe nodded. "You all can say you've had a far longer journey than almost anyone else to get here," he agreed easily. "Some confusion is understandable, but we'll ask your patience just a little longer and then I'll explain what we're all doing here."
Stepping in, Marcus quietly surveyed the people quickly assembling. A few faces he did not know, many familiar and akin to family. He exchanged polite yet quiet pleasantries with those he neared but vectored himself to a more open space to balance out the people in the space provided.
Cole walked into the room a moment later with both his hands hidden in his uniform pockets. Without giving anyone else thought, he looked around for his wife, knowing she wasn't expecting him. He almost hadn't come, but it was still his duty to report in as a senior officer until his replacement had been chosen. Spotting her, he headed her way.
Lexi saw Cole enter and frowned at first. Hadn't he resigned from the CMO position? Immediately, however, she remembered what else he'd said to her. He had to stay in it until his replacement arrived which meant that he was still senior staff. As he approached her, she smiled and patted the seat next to her.
Giving her a smile back, he sat down, grabbing her hand and curling his fingers over hers.
Lieutenant Commander Beto Castilian had entered the room behind Cole. He was new to the Odin, had not yet reported in. Taking in the room and everyone in it as he made his way to the back of the room, he gave a nod along with a half-smile to those he made eye contact with.
Callisi pushed away from the back of the chair she was leaning against, "Would anyone care for something from the fabricator?" she offered, making her way to get herself a cup of tea.
Lexi raised her hand. She didn't really know the Rabbit Lady, but they could fix that later. "Coffee, please? Thank you."
Madalene gave a small smile, "a coffee would be nice, thank you," she said with her small smile still on her face.
Callisi gave a soft smirk, "Coffee and Tea, ancient rivals from what I hear." she paused to start putting in the requests, "You know, we don't have coffee where I'm from. Doesn't occur anywhere in the Empire. The Dalacari have something *like* coffee, except it's blue." she recalled. "It wasn't until our people met, that I encountered black, bitter coffee," she smirked, bringing over a small tray. A cup for her, a cup for Lexi, and a cup for Madalene... along with a smaller cup of cream, and a dash of sugar. "Just in case." she offered.
As the last few officers made their way into the room in a generally timely fashion, Easton nodded a polite greeting to each of them. Once they were all arrived, he pushed himself off the wall where he had been leaning and waiting. He cleared his throat to make sure he had everyone's attention. It was a small, not particularly loud gesture, but he made for a commanding presence.
"My name is Captain Easton Lawe," he said--again for those who were here early and for the first time for those who had just arrived. "I am here as a sort of tour guide." He smiled crookedly. "While the powers-that-be are meeting with your captain and reviewing the ship, you all have been brought here to provide some mentorship and help yourselves, in the process, to reacclimate to being in Starfleet.
"What does this mean specifically? Well..." He tapped his comm badge. "Send them in."
A few moments later, the doors parted and a good handful of young men and women (and nonbinary) walked into the room. They were all wearing cadet uniforms and they lined the wall as they entered. "You lot are going on a field trip with this group of cadets. Each of you will have one cadet to shadow you in the process who is on track in your field of expertise. During this wilderness adventure, you will help them to learn more about life in their chosen field while also practicing the lessons of Starfleet.
"Any questions so far?"
Madalene just looked around, "really, why now?" Madalene said trying to keep her cool, but very frustrated as she had so much work to do, "...I mean there is so much to catalog and research," she added looking at the man and all the cadets.
The resident rabbitess turned to Madalene, "I'll tell you why, later." she paused, then turned to look the cadets over, a soft smile on her face. They were innocent in this. Finally, Callisi's glance returned to Captain Lawe. "I have two. Have they been vetted on the details of our journey, and are they allowed to ask about details of our journey? Cadets demonstrate such curiosity, I simply need to know if we're allowed to indulge their curiosity during this camping tr... wilderness exercise." a pause, "Apologies."
Having just finished 'serving his time' as an Academy instructor, Beto Castillain inwardly sighed and then smiled. It seemed there was no escape from enquiring minds, just yet.
For now, Lexi studied the cadets in silence. This seemed highly unorthodox given where they had just been, and she found that her mind was screaming the same questions that the Rabbit Lady had just asked. Therefore, she turned her eyes back to Captain Lawe for now and awaited his response.
Likewise, Petrova too remained quiet, from where she was seated, leaning back and seemingly relaxed through and through, though those who knew her could tell she was paying attention with every fiber of her being. She too had questions but, for now, she'd remain silent. Who knew, maybe her questions would be answered for her.
Cole rubbed at his forehead while looking down towards the floor, feeling stressed yet not surprised considering where they were. How could he be a role model for a medical cadet at this time? He now regretted not talking to the ship's counselor, instead only to his brother, who would not have sent in any report.
Eyes scanning from cadet to cadet, Marcus was baffled by the situation. He understood the orders, understood what was happening, but questioned why. He sighed slightly as he resigned to the fact that why may not be an immediate answer.
Looking at the cadets her tongue clicking in her mouth, it wasn't like she didn't like teaching it was just well, all the data, all the data that they collected was now being examined by someone, or someone's that weren't there, that didn't experience it to help understand what they were looking at. But, now she had to what, babysit a cadet and not only that but be out in nature, which was not her first choice ever.
"You're free to discuss your recent experiences," Lawe agreed. "Although primary focus between you and your mentee should be about your experiences in your department to help them learn what they may face while actually out in the field serving Starfleet."
At that Kristiana raised her hand. When Lawe glanced in her direction she asked three to-the-point questions. "When are we leaving, where are we going and how long are we staying there?"
Easton smiled again, and there was something a little...well, almost wicked to it. Definitely amused. "You leave tonight. Bags of supplies are already prepared for each of you. You're going to a preserve in Kenya. And it'll last a week."
"Kenya?!" Kris exclaimed. She didn't want to go to Kenya. She was Russian! Born and raised! She didn't know how to handle the heat! Cold, she could deal with. Hardships, sure. Wilderness, survival? Bring it on. Cadets? No problem. But heat? Like, real life African heat? That so wasn't her.
Callisi blinked at that reaction. Was Kenya some war-torn contested space? Some inhospitable containment zone? Some fringe world devoid of life or reason? Why would they send cadets there, then? Survival skills, certainly, but the mortality rate must be acceptable. Starfleet was soft like that.
"Is Kenya that bad?" she muttered, mostly to herself...
"Desert area. Very warm," Kris leaned over to her lagomorph friend, whispering. "I don't like the heat."
Lawe chuckled. "I guess that's just one of the lessons to teach the cadets: you don't always get too choose where you get sent."
The question that plagued Lexi was: how does one teach engineering in a wilderness? Seriously! Teaching engineering required, well, technology; and from what Lawe was saying, they were going somewhere that sounded more like survival training than anything remotely resembling what she did for a career. Still, she would do what she had to and what she could; that was just how Starfleet worked. Do what you're told, and fuss in private if you don't like it. Or just learn to like it. She gave Cole's hand a squeeze, assuring both of them that it would all work out... she hoped.