Twas the Night Before... Diplomacy

Posted on Sat Apr 4th, 2020 @ 10:34pm by Commodore Loatha Targaryen & Captain Wilkan Targaryen & President Gruzy of New Xindus & Captain Nathan Bishop & Commander Nathan Hawkins & Commander Ash Randall & Commander Sherwin Porter & High Commissioner Jasmine Haynes & Lieutenant Commander T'Lisha "Hawkeye" Bishara & Patton O'Sullivan & Lieutenant Commander Chire & Lieutenant Commander Lily Snow PhD, MD & Lieutenant Gareb th'Endilev & Petty Officer 2nd Class Corvus Hannah & Secretary Jonathan Grayson of United Earth & Councilor Jahra Naron of Bajor & Captain Ryan Walsh & Zoey Parker & Lieutenant Dylan Blake & Cadet Senior Grade Anthony Porter & Colonel Mok'leth Kevan House of Kilrah & Civilian Jeyson Zarland

9,131 words; about a 46 minute read

Mission: Genesis
Location: Ten Forward Lounge, Starfleet One
Timeline: 2430-01-08, 22:00

OOC: Bishop if you want we can do a jp to discus what T'Lisha has in mind. Let me know. Lynda
OOC: Absolutely! Sounds good! Jeff

OOC: Last call....

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With their children under the watchful eye of retired Admiral Beatrix, Admirals Luzol and Teagarden decided that they wanted to have a night out with the crew to get to know them in a less formal setting. It was rare that they had a sitter and rarer still that they were on a mission together with the possibility of having fun together. They enjoyed each other's company and enjoyed the company of their teams.

Stepping through the door into the Ten Forward Lounge, they both smiled at seeing the crew and passengers of Starfleet One enjoying each other's company. They walked forward toward the bar.

Jasmine had joined the advanced security team, clearing the lounge for the presidents arrival, if the president chose to make an appearance. Jasmine noticed Admiral Beatrix, in the room. Jasmine gave a small smile, as she continued to scan the area.

Ryan entered the room and glanced around. He saw Jasmine in full security mode and wasn’t surprised. It was supposed to be a party for everyone but when you were responsible for the lives of others you were never really off duty. He got a drink and stood off to the side.

Patton entered and his eyes scanned the room for Zoey. He had been running late and was supposed to meet her here. His eyes landed on Jasmine for a second and kept right on going. He didn’t know what he thought he ever saw in her, Zoey was the perfect one for him.

Jasmine made her way over to Ryan. She leaned in next to him, but kept her eye on the floor. Scanning for any targets of opportunity. "The area is secured, if the big guy wants to stop by." Jasmine called out to Ryan.

Jasmine had been wanting to see him all day long. She had a really good night, the other night. This was about as close as she was going to get tonight, to being able to see him, and spend time with him.

“Understood,” Ryan replied. He knew she was working but just being able to see her was worth it.

Luzol looked over to the Captain and the Commander as they talked, she whispered in her husband's ear about the suggestions from the earlier briefing made by Commander Haynes.

William smiled at the answer before continuing, "Maybe we should get something from the bar? I don't think any of us want to talk about work tonight."

"Sounds like a plan. Anything in particular?"

Remembering his brief appointment as Arbiter of Succession and Federation Ambassador to the Klingon Empire, William nodded, "Bloodwine."

"You can't be serious. Last time you had bloodwine... well maybe we should ask Akero and Brotak about that," Luzol teased.

"We would if they were still alive," he grinned as he said it remembering the fight. "No, bloodwine will be fine."

The Fleet Admiral sighed, "Alright then. Just remember it's twice as potent as whiskey and I'm not above making you sleep on the couch."

"Noted," he said as he motioned toward the bar.

As his wife walked away, William approached the forward window for the ship and looked at the stars.

Commander Randall tucked her feet up under her in her seat and poured herself another glass of something, frosty and bright red and took a sip before she turned her attention back to one of her favorite activities; people watching. She had arrived a little early and staked out a spot that afforded her a view of the entire room, a table near the forward, observation windows.

"It seems we share a similar fascination Commander," the baritone voice of Nathan Hawkins sounded as he placed his glass down on the table. He smirked again,"Also it appears we both enjoy Zarland's colourful experiments."

You get used to seeing people in a certain way and, with Ash, that was in a Starfleet uniform and a utility belt around her tiny waist. Tonight, the Commander was in civvies, little artic white shorts and tank top that matched the color of her, plush-toy-like fur. Ash looked up at Hawkins and brushed her unruly hair out of her eyes and smiled. "I asked for something red to drink and left the details up to him." She commented, with a little laugh. "Would you care to join me, Commander?" She asked, indicating a chair with her right hand, the movement mirrored by the last foot or so of her tail.

"Thank you," Nathan smiled and pulled out a chair. "I've never been a lover of these events," he nodded at the room. "Like you I'd rather observe than partake."

"Sure..." Ash replied, and took a sip of her drink. "I'd be less into observation if there was music and a dance floor but, even then, this is a prime people watching opportunity. An informal gathering where junior officers and enlisted can schmooze with flag level officers and a Federation President is interesting. If I had any asperations for my own command, I'd probably be riding the schmooze train myself." She admitted, with a little bit of a grin. "I walked away from my last command so I have a lot of atonement to fulfill before I'm going to be considered for another."

"Hmm likewise," Hawkins agreed over the rim of this glass. "A younger me would have been gawking at the high ranking officers desperate for tips or putting myself in good favour," he shook his head slightly. "Those days are long gone."

"The juncture of competence and capability with age and experience." Ash observed, and held out her glass for a toast. "To...been there...done that." She toasted, quietly, and took another sip of her drink.

"Bought the tee-shirt and wore the scars," Nathan lifted his glass to share her toast before taking a sip also.

Ash nodded. "I have a very pricey collection of tee-shirts. Most of them say, 'I'm with stupid.' And have an arrow pointing straight up." She joked. The Chief Engineer was known for being a bit crazy. But, stupid? Not so much. "The priciest is from being promoted and court martialed on the same day. Talk about your competence and capability in action." She added.

"Ouch," Hawkins winced. "For what it's worth I know how that feels, being pulled over hot coals and then hung out to dry." He swilled his glass, "Makes you wonder how we ended up here on the Federation flagship with such high profile VIP's."

"Well..." Ash started, and downed most of what was left in her glass. "...the official reason I'm aboard is to babysit the coaxial drive. it's my design so...yeah." She stated, with a little chuckle while she refilled her glass from the frothy pitcher and offered a refill to Hawkins. "I also have a long history with this ship." She added, and took a sip of her drink, lost in thought for a few seconds afterwards. "I think this is my fifth go around as chief engineer." She mused.

"You designed the coaxial drive?" Nathan asked surprised as she topped up his glass. "That's an incredible achievement. It's easy to see why you're prime choice, your skills must be invaluable in keeping the drive at peak performance. I'm impressed."

Ash shrugged. "Twenty-five years ago, while I was a prisoner at...I mean, sequestered, at the Dyson Institute..." The engineer joked. "...I was asked to look into how to make Coaxial Warp stable so I spent a couple hours looking into it and produced a drive design. I didn't see the point of the drive system, at the time, and still don't when Slipstream CAN be as fast and efficient without the risk of folding local space into an origami crane." She added. "But, stable coaxial warp had been elusive, for some time, and someone decided it couldn't hurt to see what I could make of it. Never received any feedback, a not uncommon thing with me, and knew nothing about it's development or deployment, until I saw it in use on this ship." She mused, with another shrug. There was more to it, much more, that Ash knew and couldn't even talk about.

"No one had told you your design was in use?" Nathan asked generally surprised and dissapointed Ash hadn't been recognised for her achievement. "That's hardly fair, you deserve the credit for the extraordinary work."

Ash shook her head. "There's a good reason for it but explaining the exact reason is above my pay grade to do." She stated. "Let me ask you this...Are you familiar with the history of this, specific, vessel?" She asked, trying to gauge what Commander Hawkins might know of where it came from. "If you are, then you'll understand why it's my drive design but I get no credit for designing it." She added, with a little wink.

His brow crinkled at her question and cheeky wink. "Of this specific vessel?" he echoed her question before shaking his head. "Aside from the historic tales of the Enterprise and, how our paths crossed when she rescued the USS Vigilance from near destruction I not aware of anything unusual or classified," he glanced sideways at the engineer. "Though something tells me I'm very out of the loop."

"You had to be there...literally, it would seem. Anyway, the design is attributed to a collaborative effort that included Commander H'wii and myself. H'wii, and I were at Daystrom together and we collaborated on hundreds of projects but none of them was as, pedestrian, as the Coaxial Drive." Ash mused. "And, to be honest, I don't want credit for it." She admitted. "H'wii was a friend of mine and, I am here, because he is no longer with us." She said, sadly.

Nathan nodded slowly as Ash explained her working history with the late Commander H'wii. That mission had been difficult on all of them, losing a member of crew especially someone so senior always left it mark upon their comrades and an never ending ache. "I'm sorry Commander I wasn't aware you knew H'wii so well, I understand your feelings of begrudging."

"We were known as Crazy Cat and Doctor Blowhole at the institute." Ash said, quietly and looked to Hawkins. "Would you drink a toast with me? In honor of H'wii?" She asked, quietly.

Twisting toward her Nathan nodded: "Of course, I would like that."

Ash topped off their drinks and held her out to make her toast. "To our departed comrade and dear friend, Commander H'wii. Great of mind and even greater of heart. He will be missed." she intoned, solemnly.

"May he rest in peace, forever in our hearts and memories," Nathan added clinking their glasses together.

Commander Randall nodded and took a sip of her drink before setting down her glass and looking across the room toward the bar where Chire and Blake were. "When our surprise simulation kicked off I wasn't in main engineering." Ash commented, and indicated Chire and Blake. "They were there holding down the fort along with F8." She added, with a little smile. "Hell of a way to be welcomed aboard on your first day. I can't help but wonder if I was lured away from Main Engineering chasing a residual energy trace." She observed, with a shrug. "I hope that's what it was, at least. I was in the no-mans-land between in the inner and outer hulls when things kicked off. A long, long, ways away." She finished.

Hawkins followed her gaze to bar and spotted the pair easily, Chire was unique and stood out in among the other officers. "I know, I was there too at the start," he added sipping his glass. "I was concluding their tour. Did feel guilty for leaving them behind especially after we discovered it was a simulation. They certainly won't forget it in a hurry," he smirked before glancing over at Ash: "You were between the hulls? That couldn't have been comfortable? I hadn't even realised that area was accessible."

Ash nodded. "There are access points between decks." She explained, without really explaining anything and looked back over to Chire and Blake. "They did very well, all things considered." She observed. "If we have to butt heads with that Battleship for real it'll be rough sledding. We go all out, we can beat it. But, we can't go all out in any confrontation with it, in these conditions, because there'll be a station in the way and, if we blow up the battleship we blow up the station along with it. It's a nightmare scenario." She mused, and took another drink. "Hope they're really here to talk, or we're boned."

Nathan swished his glass: "I agree," he sighed. "Admiral Luzol has been running simulations like crazy as we try to draw up plans for as many scenarios as possible, none of them end well." He drained his glass in a single gulp and winced slightly at the taste. "We're seriously in trouble here, and its likely Weyon knows it."

"An intractable problem." Ash commented to Hawkins while she emptied the last of the pitcher into his glass. "The old saw is to turn your weaknesses into strengths and to turn the strengths of your enemy into weaknesses. It's, largely, true but, in our case, not relevant." She mused, with a little sigh. "No...in our case we need to remove the station and, The President, from the equation and that will take some foreknowledge and a willingness to break some rules." The engineer mused, with a little smile. "Big, important, rules." She added.

"Such as?" Hawkins asked curiously. Maybe they should have invited Ash to the meeting with Luzol, Bishop and the others, she certainty wasn't afraid to think outside the box or tread dangerous paths.

"Such as...what could you do if you knew the battleship was going to power it's weapons 30 seconds before it actually did?" She asked, with a sidelong glance at the 2nd officer. "And, what if we had a guaranteed exit to safety, for The President as well? Hypothetically that is?"

"It would certainly give us an edge, though how would go such a thing?"

"Hypothetically speaking, the former could be accomplished using a Temporal Parallax Lens and the latter with a quantum bubble." She explained, and held up the empty pitcher over her head while she pointed at it to indicate a refill was in order, and then set it down. "Of course, neither is hypothetical at all but, for the sake of our discussion, we're dealing in the hypothetical where rules are concerned. Well, and practicality. Particularly, where a Parallax Lens is concerned because the subject has to be stationary in order to shift temporal focus and reach the parallax effect." She added, while looking, expectantly, toward the bar for their refill.

Nathan tried to follow but she'd left him floundering slightly, maybe whatever it was in Ash's pitcher was stronger than he'd originally thought. "Would you not need a second Lens to receive the stationary object like a transporter pad to be successful?" he asked trying to grasp the bright engineers train of thought.

Ash titled her head at the question and considered for a few seconds before she answered. "The temporal lens is accomplished using chroniton isolation or, tunneling, of an object. It's totally passive. Instead of looking at an object in the visible light spectrum, or IR, UV, xray, etc, that bounce off it we look at the chronitons that bounce off it. Once we have the object 'in focus' in the here and now, we shift the focus, slightly, to create a parallax effect that shifts the apparent position of the object, temporally, about 30 seconds." She explained. "That's about as far as the effect can be pushed before there's too much distortion for the information to be useful. It's useless, in most cases, but may give us an edge in this instance. The temporal folks will pitch a fit if they notice." She added, with a wink.

Ash's replacement pitcher arrived and Zarland gave them a cheery smile before departing.

Nathan watched the liquid slosh around momentarily before returning to Ash and her intelligent conversation some of which had escape him: "We're still talking hypothetically I assume?" He asked. "The risks otherwise would need some very careful consideration and of course the Admiral's approval. While I trust your science and theory you know very well we cannot take this more seriously."

The Chief Engineer poured herself another glass of red, slushy, stuff and took a sip while she regarded Commander Hawkins over the rim of the glass and nodded. "For what it's worth, Commander, there's nothing hypothetical about anything I've just told you other than the approval to use it. That, the approval I mean, is totally hypothetical and, vanishingly, small in likelihood." She admitted, with a little chuckle and took another sip of her drink. "Let's see...Over complicated, overthought, impractical, of no novel use, can't be duplicated, reproduced or scaled up into normalized use. Not needed at this time or, likely, ever. Not covered or not allowed by one or more treaties with entities that no longer exist and, my favorite, totally impossible." She listed off, and looked to Commander Hawkins. "I'm a talented engineer with an in-depth understanding of exotic propulsion systems and that's why I'm here." She finished.

The human chuckled: "On that we can certainly agree on and I for one is glad to have you."

"Thank you, Commander." Ash responded, with a little salute of her, half empty, glass of red stuff.

"Ah biscuits," Hannah said as he stopped just inside the room. The doors closed behind him as he studied the people arrayed around the lounge. It was full of admirals, commanders and captains. "Oh my," he muttered. He had CEU testing coming up in a few days on emergency cardiopulmonary procedures and, well, he wasn't one hundred percent sure he got that last pneumothorax situated correctly. If he was having problems with a humanoid collapsed lung, then what else was he getting wrong? So he arrived to study. He would rather be in his quarters but, sharing a small four person room was not very conducive to studying when three of you worked the alpha shift and so were in their quarters at the same time.

While there were bound to be lots of other people in the lounge at any other given time, the low murmurs of conversation amounted to little more than just white noise. So background that sciences was studying it for dark matter radiation. It allowed for better changes of ignoring it and getting some studying done.

Plus there was...he saw his friend in the back of the room. He asked the friend to meet him here to exchange the package and, well, Hannah didn't want that to happen in front of all these people. He didn't want them to know about the package or discover the contents.

There was nothing to do but to get it done. Then try to find another place to study. As he crossed the room, he was glancing at his PaDD, looking up the regulations that covered this situation. Was this considered recreation or did he have to salute every single bit of shined brass he passed by? It was probably the reason he bumped into whoever he bumped into.

Two more people arrived at the door. "I told you that you didn't have to come with me," the ship's CMO said as the two of them stepped into the Ten Forward Lounge.

Tony Porter looked slightly down at his down the man who told him this, noting how weird it felt to be taller than his own father. "I know..." he trailed off. Ever since Tony had been assigned to his first posting on this ship just a few days ago, everything was sort of surreal. He hadn't seen his father in years, and now they were suddenly thrust together not only on the same ship, but in the same department. And now the man whom he called 'Dad' was not only his father, but his boss.

The truth was that Tony hadn't seen his dad in so long that he kind of wanted to spend time with him, but he wasn't about to admit that to him. "I just thought it would be good if we were seen together, you know?"

Sherwin smiled slightly, seeing right through his son's mental veil. He nodded, "Yeah, I get that," he said trying to sound cool. "Do you want me to get you a drink?"

The younger Porter looked around Ten Forward. Dang this place was huge for a starship. The Lounge was as big as the one he frequented at the Academy. "Sure, I'll take a beer...bartender's choice," he said as he gauged the room.

The CMO blinked. "Uh, sure," he said as he stepped away wordlessly toward the bar as the reality of how much his son had grown up during his absence began to sink in.

At the bar the resident civilian Jeyson Zarland watched the doctor drew closer and tried to read his expression. The Bolian had a fair understanding of human emotions, sayings and habits but he was still learning the finer detail. "Something troubling you Doctor Porter?" he asked as Sherwin perched him at the bar area still looking a tad bewildered.

The doctor looked over at the Bolian, "Mr. Zarland, good to see you," he smiled. He hadn't seen him since his most recent physical. "That obvious, huh?" He said as he glanced back at his son, who it had just been almost knocked over by none other than Corvus Hannah. He shook his head, "with all my personal, medical and psychic training, I think I still have no idea how to understand my own son."

"I'm sure you will in time," the Bolian offered a soft smile. "Being a parent isn't suppose to be easy, or they say. It's something I never got around to."

"No, it isn't," Sherwin replied as he placed his son's drink order plus a hot toddy with Crown Royal for himself. "My husband was so much better at it than I was. I don't think I was cut out to be a single parent." He looked at the Bolian, "I feel like my counseling skills work much better on everyone else than myself."

"Did serving in Starfleet take you away from him and your husband, or were you permitted to bring them with you?" Jeysen asked as he poured the drinks

Sherwin took his drink, sighed, and downed it in one long gulp. "My husband died," he said gritting his teeth as the alcohol burned at the sudden onslaught, "on a previous Enterprise." He looked at his son, a sudden longing in his eyes. "I couldn't..., uhh, deal." He motioned for another one before he would take his son's beer to him. "I dropped him off at his grandparents' house and ran away to the outskirts of the universe...until Teagarden found me."

"Ah," Jeysen chewed his lip momentarily realising he'd potentially overstepped as Sherwin explained his situation. "I'm sorry to hear about your loss, I wasn't aware," he said sombrely as he fixed the Doctor another drink.

Sherwin sighed, "it was a long time ago. I'm just glad it's not too late to salvage my relationship with Tony."

Placing the glass on the bar Jeyson offered him a soft smile: "No time like the present,"

Sherwin took his second drink from the bartender, picked up Tony's beer, and raised them both in salute. "You're right, thanks!"

As his father stepped away toward the bar, Tony moved further into the room. He didn't get very far before someone ran into him. Tony lost his balance slightly and grabbed the guy's shoulder to stop from falling. "Dude!?" he yelped giving the guy an annoyed look.

"Biscuits!" Hannah said, stabilizing himself before falling over. At least it wasn't Rigby...again. And he wasn't mishandling weapons. "Ensign, I'm sorry," he said, hastily pocketing his PADD.

"S'okay," he said rolling his eyes a bit. He almost kept walking, but the dude seemed like a nice guy and Tony knew literally nobody else on the ship, except his father and his two bunkmates, who worked opposite shifts and never saw. "I'm Tony," he stuck out his hand, "I'm new here."

"Welcome aboard," Hannah said, taking the hand briefly. "I'm Hannah, well, Corvus Hannah but, well, people just call me Hannah." He frowned for a moment. "You're not a counselor are you?"

"Umm, no," Tony said briefly looking down at red uniform. "RN for now," He dropped his hand after the introduction and looked back up at the concerned man, "but hope to get my MD some day. Why?"

Hannah smiled as he shrugged. "I don't have good luck running into counselors," he said somewhat cryptically. "An RN? That's cool. You new to the ship, I don't think we've met yet. I'm a combat medic on the ship, attached to the Haz Teams. You want to join me and Richter over there?" he said, nodding in the direction where his friend was sitting. It would make the exchange a bit awkward but, well, he didn't know Tony and didn't think he'd be much of a problem. And, he was just an ensign, probably straight out of the academy. "Don't worry about him, he's okay for a Haz team. Head's not too big and if it gets there, then we'll just stab it with a fork to pop it."

"Uh, yeah, sure," he shrugged as he glanced back at his dad back at the bar, noticing that he seemed to be still ordering drinks. He looked back at Hannah and gestured toward Richter. "Why not?"

"Great! It's always good to get to know new people on the ship. And outside of medical. Nurses are okay but they can be a bit crazy, and doctors...well...the doctors on this ship are great. Doctor Porter has been awesome, I've got to learn a lot from him. I'm sure you'll get to like him as well." Hannah kept up the dialogue as they made their way through the crowded lounge to the table Richter was holding for them.

"Richs," Hannah said, using the 'nickname' for his bunkmate and friend, "This is Tony, he's an RN in medical. Tony, Richter, Hazard team. We got any food coming our way yet?" Hannah asked, taking a seat, just taking it on assumption that they were all great friends already.

Tony's eyebrows went up as his new friend talked about Doctor Porter. He cracked a half-smile, "I'm sure I will."

Tony almost said something more, but they quickly reached the table, so the new Ensign reached his hand across the table to shake Hannah's friend's hand before sitting down. "Hey Richs, I'm Tony." He looked at the two of them, "so you guys been on the ship long?"

"Richs is original Haz," Hannah said, "I've been here a few weeks now. Imagine my surprise getting posted to the flagship!"

"It's okay," Richter said as he saw the waiter approaching with the drinks he ordered for himself and Hannah. He didn't know they'd have another guest so didn't order anything for him. "It's a big ship and lots to do, which is good, downtime sucks. And I hear we're getting a second ship with Patton as the XO, that's going to make things more exciting. But Hannah would know more about that, he's been hobnobbing."

"That would be great to get another ship," Tony said as he waved his hand toward their drinks. "Drink up, Guys, I've got a beer coming," he said before adding, "This is my first time serving on any ship. I mean, I've traveled before when I was younger, but that was before the Academy." A flicker of sadness crossed his eyes briefly as someone else came up to the table.

The Chief Medical Officer stepped up to the table beside his son and handed him the beer he'd gotten for him from the bar. "Here you are, Tony. Who are your friends?" He looked around the table, "Oh hello, Hannah."

Tony reached up and took the drink from Sherwin's hand. "Thanks, Dad," he tried desperately, but failed to hold in a smirk as he turned back to the others at the table.

Hannah stood as the CMO approached, more out of his growing respect for the CMO. Richter also slowly stood, his mouth agape as he looked from the CMO to the ensign, then to Hannah and around again. "Damn it, Cor, I'm going to be hanging out with you a lot more often! That's surely going to be my route to promotion!" Then, realizing that he was ignoring a full commander he suddenly thrust his hand toward the empty chair at the table. "Please join us, Commander?" he asked the doctor. All they needed now was for Commander O'Sullivan to just saunter over and join them as well. Or the admiral. Or, he swallowed hard as he caught a glimpse of him, the Federation President. Which would be akward as Richter didn't vote for him.

The CMO smiled at the sudden enthusiasm displayed by Hannah's friend, the wave of excitement was so high that the mixed race Betazoid/Ullian had to clamp down on his mental barriers so as to not get blown over by the intense emotion. Fortunately, his years of being ship's Counselor prior to obtaining his medical license and the intense training to control his own empathic and telepathic abilities allowed him to be extremely adept at mental blocks. He glanced at the offered chair at the table. "Thanks, I'd be glad to join you," he said as he sat down.

"Dad?" Hannah whispered. "Guess I wasn't wrong about you liking the CMO. But...if you get in trouble and restricted to quarters, is that military punishment or being parentally grounded?" Corvus grinned.

Tony took a swig of his beer. It was one he hadn't had before: slightly sweeter than he normally liked, but with a strong aftertaste. He chuckled at Hannah's question, "a little bit of both, I guess," he responded as the four of them delved into conversation.

Chire had been absolutely dreading this. She was not a conversationalist and large gatherings were difficult for her, she had to be very conscious of where her wings were and hold them up so no one stepped on the tips. Glancing around she looked for a spot to hide from the majority of the group against the wall somewhere.

"I'm guessing you don't like these shindigs either?" the voice of Lieutenant Blake sounded close-by. Though technically Chire was his CO he felt a small connection with her as they arrived at the same time only hours before that horrible simulation.

"I don't often know what to say to be honest." She replied, eyeing the newcomer carefully.

"Me neither," Blake shrugged his shoulders. "I certainly didn't enlist to take part in stiff parties like these."

"I understand their importance. And you are human, you should have far less difficulty than me. You can at least blend in. I look like the human children's television star Big Bird standing over here. I have actually seen the show and I enjoyed it, but I do understand his inability to fit in." Chire wondered if he would get the reference, it was ancient after all and someone had put her onto the show as a joke which backfired when they figured out she actually liked watching it.

A voice interrupted them, "I don't know... I always preferred Elmo." The Admiral approached, "I don't think we've met. William Targaryen," he smiled, "Most people know me as William Teagarden."

She stiffened, a habit when meeting those of much higher rank, even though this was a social situation. "Chire, yes sir. I know who you are."

Blake too stiffen at Admiral's arrival but was relieved his attention was focused upon Chire for now. Something about television character which he hadn't understood.

"Then it would seem you had me at a disadvantage," the Admiral answered. "How are you settling in?"

Chire thought about teasing for the briefest moment, but this was not the person to do that with, no. "Well. My quarters are very . . . spacious and comfortable and my colleagues capable it seems."

The El-Aurian senses made him feel like there was more to the comment, but he wasn't going to pry. Part of the realization of his life was people sometimes restrained themselves around him. Only a few people were ever real with him from the start. "We try to be helpful," he answered with positivity. "I'm glad to hear that our accommodations meet your needs."

"Compared to some ships, it's an improvement. Do you enjoy gatherings such as this?" Chire asked curiously.

"More than when I was younger," the Admiral answered. "I try to have a get together for our crew before major mission events."

"Here's your bloodwine," Admiral Luzol handed her husband his drink. "Is he boring you two with this tales of heroism?"

If she'd had eyebrows she would have raised them. "No," Chire responded, "We've heard nothing about heroism yet. Only his liking of social gatherings such as this. I am Chire," she said the newcomer and shifted so her wing was pointing to Blake, assuming he would introduce himself.

As if the sight of one admiral was bad enough Luzol had now joined them, Blake felt sure he'd melt in a moment especially as Chire shifted herself so he was in full view. Nervously he introduced himself to them both: "Lieutenant Junior Dylan Blake," he answered wishing desperately he too had a drink.

"Fleet Admiral Luzol," she answered. "As you may've heard this is my husband and the CO of SF1," she motioned toward William. "You're both new to the ship?"

"Yes Ma'am." Chire spoke first sensing Blake's extreme nervousness where as she became less nervous if someone was asking her something directly.

Blake nodded happily allowing Chire to do all the talking.

Luzol continued, "Happy to have you onboard." The Fleet Admiral looked at her husband, "Maybe we should get something to eat. I'm famished."

William nodded, "We are happy to have you aboard the ship. If you'll excuse us," he glanced at his wife with a smirk, "and my wife's boldness."

"Don't worry," she said casually, "He'll pay for that later."

Chire watched them leave and then turned to Blake. "You really are not comfortable in these types of situations. Do you want to leave? We can go together and you can hide behind me." There might have been a tiny hint of humor behind her statement but the only place giving it away was her amber eyes.

Dylan's shoulders sagged as the admiral's left. He felt deflated and ashamed at the same time by his crippling shyness in their presence. Normally the happy go lucky young man enjoyed banter and being in the centre of attention, or at least he had back in the academy and his last posting. Here, rubbing shoulders with a pair of admirals, senior staff and other VIP's he felt lost at sea especially since he'd just arrived. "Certainly feels like I need to go and hide in a hole out of shame," he sighed. "I'm more used to the smaller below deck gatherings you know, rubbing shoulders with the admirals and senior staff is a little overwhelming."

She brushed him with her wing. "I was only teasing. You will get used to it. You approached me without any difficulty. Stop thinking about rank and start noticing things about the other person, it will help. Do they close their lips completely after speaking? Do they do anything with their hands when they are conversing? Of course you still have to listen to what they say. But also focus on the little things and you will not be so overwhelmed."

"Talking to you is easy," Dylan shrugged his shoulders. "We work together and attended that session with Porter and Sonden, feels like I know you already."

Chire shook her head. She was a large bird woman, no one was comfortable talking to her she believed. "If that's the case you now have already met the Admiral, you should feel better speaking next time. Did you want to remain or leave?"

"Maybe," Dylan smirked. "Hopefully next time I won't choke on my words," he glanced around the room feeling more settled with Chire's advice and presence. "I going stay of little at least have a drink. What about you?"

"I'll stay with you," She nodded and then suddenly perked up wondering if she could get one of those fruity blended drinks she liked so much. She glanced toward the bar hopefully. Surely with a replicator one could get anything? "What would you like to drink? I'll get it."

The Admiral interrupted, "Sorry, I forgot to mention, Commander Kaldiran got called away on assignment. You're my Acting Ops Manager, Commander."

"Thank you sir," Chire said, caught off guard by his sudden return. She looked at Blake with her feathery eyebrows up.

The Admiral nodded and moved off with his wife.

With the admiral again off to mingle Blake mirrored Chire's expression. "I congrats ma'am," he smirked. "I'd better behave myself a bit more," he jested.

"Do I need to do an evaluation of your work?" She answered him back. "Let's go over there," she said pointing to a spot near the bar that didn't have quite so many people. Chire's feathers suddenly fluffed up and twitched around her body, looking a bit ruffled. Without her knowledge a single feather fell to the floor slowly and landed in front of Dylan's foot.

Gracefully it fell and with great curiosity Blake watched it flutter. He swooped down and retrieve it. His fingers lightly caressed the sleek, strong, yet delicate structure before feeling himself blush with embarrassment. The Commander wasn't a creature to admire or study she was his colleague, no, his superior officer and fondling her shed feather was both strange and potentially offensive to her akin to touching inappropriately or un-welcomed.

Chire had moved on ahead as is unaware she'd shed a beautify feather and proceeded to bar without him. Dylan hurried to catch her. "Commander," he started.

She turned around, turning her head curiously to see what he wanted. Perhaps he'd changed his mind on his drink order.

Under her sharp gaze Blake faltered slightly, feeling embarrassed. "You, erm, dropped this," he showed her. "I didn't know what to do with it, so I erm, bought it back."

"Oh." She said looking at it. But she didn't raise a hand to take it. "Yes well, that happens sometimes. It's like losing a hair from your head, you have no control over it. But, I understand humans like to collect things like feathers and shells when they go for walks. Since you can't do that in space, you may keep it if you like. We generally only use them for things like padding our nests. But I don't have a mate."

Blake felt confused. Losing a strand of hair was, well, normal for him and many of his other colleagues it was something he never really thought of, unless you discounted when his bunk partner had pulled a bunch from her brush and allowed it collect on the floor like mini tribble minus the mass breeding and cooing. Loosing a feather to Chire was normal too, but to him, well, it wasn't, it was just weird. Made a even more confusing when she suggested he kept it, surely it was just guesture of kindness and nothing more, right?

"You don't mind?" he asked after a pause having tried to string his words together to make sense of his confusion. "Isn't it a bit personal?" he tried again. "I mean its a little piece of you, doesn't it have sentimental value or something?"

Chire seemed to think about it as if she could see he was struggling somehow. "Not really, though I suppose I wouldn't like it if some random stranger picked it up and kept it when I knew about it. But it doesn't bother me if you keep it. But you don't have to." She didn't reach for it though, letting him work through his thoughts and decide what he wanted to do. "Come, let's get a drink."

Slowly Dylan nodded and slipped the beautiful feather in his pocket having finally decided to keep it. "Thank you," he smiled. "It will always remind me of our first day here, and what a day it was! We certainly deserve a drink after that simulation."

When they approached the bar he glanced at her sideways: "What are you going to have?" he asked. "I've heard the barman can knock up some interesting stuff. Though I'm more of simple beer sort of guy."

"Well my species doesn't drink alcohol, it does weird things to us. But I do love fruit, so something blended sounds lovely." She replied, practically clicking her beak in anticipation.

"It does weird things to you?" Dylan questioned. "Too much beer does weird things to me too, but I doubt their's much alcohol here just the fake stuff all taste but no punch."

"Even synthehol doesn't agree with me. But no matter. Enjoy your drink and I will enjoy mine."

"Yes, please?" Zarland scooted over inquiring to their order.

"Just a beer, whatever you have," Blake ordered for himself. "And some sort of fruity soft drink for the Commander, pertinently blended."

The barman nodded, "Anything particular?" he asked Chire.

"No, whatever you come up with will be fine," Chire answered giving what she hoped would be construed as a smile.

"Sure thing," the bolain was polite as ever.

Enjoying the casualness of the evening aboard Starfleet One, President Gruzy stepped into the lounge to have a nightcap. He was happy to see so many people gathered and enjoying a night together before the diplomatic mission tomorrow. They didn't know what the mission would bring, but at least they would enjoy their time together now.

He stepped up to the bar.

"Mister President," barman Zarland approached the VIP trying to keep his manners in check. "What can I tempt you with this evening?" he asked

The Xindi pondered carefully, thinking over the options available before narrowing it down to two choices, "Well I had Springwine recently and enjoyed it, but I wouldn't mind something with a bit more oomph. Let's go with Klingon Firewine."

"A good choice," the civilian acknowledge brightly. "Something to warm you you right to your toes."

"Here's hoping," he said in a mock toast as he lifted his glass. He looked around wondering where Jasmine and Captain Walsh may be. He downed a drink, hoping he didn't irritate Jasmine by not submitting the drink to scanning. Something told him she'd already done a thorough analysis of the room and its contents.

Ryan had been watching those who showed for the get together when he heard his name. “I am here.” He said as he walked over to where he was.

Jasmine had been keeping a close eye on all the delegates, especially the ones around the president. She was really watching Zarland, she did not like how close he was to the president. Jasmine remained silent, but vigilant to the task at hand.

The Xindi accepted his drink and looked at the Captain, "Nice to have you here. Barkeep, give Mister Walsh and Miss Haynes a Firewine as well." He lifted a finger, "and before she says she's on duty, do it anyway."

The Bolian barman chuckled slightly at the president's humorous insight into Haynes. The woman had already started to protest as he'd expected having already attempted to soften her prickly exterior previously. "Of course sir," he bobbed his head respectfully.

Jasmine had anticipated this move, and was prepared, before coming taking the drink, she pulled out a hypro-spray and injected herself with a suppressant to slow down the affects of the alcohol. She took the glass. To be polite, she took a baby sip and smiled.

"Come now you can do better than that," he said with a laugh. "No worries though. You probably gave yourself an anti-intoxicant anyway. I still remember decades ago doing the same when I served on the Resurrection."

He took another drink, "I'll be fine for the night. You two go have some fun."

Ryan held his glass having yet to take a drink. “We are never really off duty in our line of work. This is a nice get together.”

Jasmine just grinned, but she did not give in. She took another small sip to be polite. However, she was not going to gulp down any alcoholic beverage in one setting. She was chief of security, not a diplomat. She needed to be alert at all times, not intoxicated.

Lily had entered the lounge for the other door. She pushed a cart into the room and stopped by the bar. "Here is what you requested for the evening." She stated to the bartender before she walked to the main windows of the lounge and stared out them.

"Thanks Snow-drop!" Zarland waved cheerfully with a cheeky grin before indicating to his colleague to unload the delivery.

Bishop entered next. He didn't want to be here. Ever since learning the 'battle' with the Dominion had been a simulation he had been down. he was convinced that they failed was because of his leadership or rather his poor leadership. he sighed and pushed the thoughts aside as a pasted on smile appeared on his face. Looking about he saw Hawkins talking with Ash and he would say hi to them later, He also saw Porter with his son, looking like two peas in a pod despite their difference in height. There was the President at the bar talking to the bartender. His eyes still searching until they settled on a lone figure looking out the main windows of the lounge. He approached her silently and slid up next to her a genuine smile on his face.

"Hello Lily, fancy seeing you here." He bantered despite his feelings of failure.

Lily couldn't help but to start blushing when she heard Bishop talk to her, because she jumped a bit. "Hello Nathan. I only came to drop off some cakes and pies that I was asked to make." Then see looked at the man from the corner of her eye. "I'm guessing you are still upset about that little simulation?" She asked as she inched closer to him.

"I didn't mean to startle you. I apologize. Though I'm glad you are here." He sighed "Is it that obvious? And yes I am still upset. I feel like I let the Admiral down, the crew down with my performance."

"It was the Kobayashi Maru test from the Academy." Lily said in her British accent and lowly. "So you were meant to fail." She looked up at Bishop with a smile. "Besides the little surprises make life worth living. And you are the only one that has seen certain sides of me that no one else has."

"I know but it doesn't make it any easier to swallow or accept." Bishop countered, "I like surprises for the most part this was an exception." He smiled back at her, "I'm glad you showed me all your sides Lily. I'm very impressed with what I've seen and I do want to know you better."


Gareb entered, clad in his rarely worn dress uniform. The Andorian doctor somewhat out of his elements, with there being no patients. He laughed a little to himself at the thought of someone choking or something. "I need a drink. " he said aloud.

T'Lisha was next to enter dressed casually and sauntered up to the bar and ordered her drink. She was actually looking for the Admiral and Bishop hoping to engage them in conversation. Looking through the throng of people gathered made it nearly impossible to see them so she walked towards the large window. Staring out at the stars she heard the voice of Bishop. Turning to see from what direction she heard the voice, she then saw him standing with another of the crew. Walking over, "Good evening Cmdr. Bishop, Dr. Snow, interesting get together isn't it? And no Cmdr. Bishop I can sense your feelings of failure. You did not fail, as all of us were just as surprised as you were by the simulation. I was pissed because normally my pilots would be airborne in less than 5 minutes. I am also sure the good doctor was caught off guard as well, so any misgivings would be felt by all the department heads, and not just those of us on the bridge", T'Lisha said in an attempt to ease some of the feelings of anger and second guessing.

Bishop smiled as T'Lisha joined them. "Hello Commander Bishara, good evening and yes it is." He replied to T'Lisha's question. He offered a wan smile at her words saying he wasn't a failure. "I appreciate and thank you for that T'Lisha. However I'm the XO of the ship. I should have been better prepared. I wasn't so I'm a combination of being pissed and being caught off guard. Not to mention second guessing myself. It won't happen again." He promised firmly. "I think your department and the others preformed well under the circumstances presented by the simulation. However it did show where we need to improve. Starting with the Executive Officer."

"Don't sell yourself short Commander, it takes courage to react and give orders in a moments notice. Being on the bridge is nearly the same as being in the cockpit of my fighter in the middle of a hair raising dogfight. Snap decisions and judgement calls have to be made and you don't have time to think wether you did them wrong or correct. Chances are you made the correct choice", T'Lisha said sipping her drink. Turning to the doctor, "Wouldn't you agree Dr. Snow?"

Lily dropped her smile as she was attempting to bury her own feelings of attraction to Commander Bishop, misgivings about T'Lisha's use of her telepathic powers, and her own fears. "It was the Kobayashi Maru test from the Academy." She said in a mix of her British and Icy accents.

"Yes, it was Lily and even knowing that doesn't make the result anymore palpable." He smiled at T'Lisha, "I like to think I did T'Lisha but the results say otherwise."

A familiar voice interrupted, "Says the recently promoted Captain." Admiral Teagarden had stepped over and interrupted their conversation with Admiral Luzol in tow.

Bishop spun around to face the Admirals, "Admiral Teagarden, Admiral Luzol. I just feel I should have done better sir." He looked to Luzol. "Thank you Admiral for the promotion. I won't let either of you down. I promise you that."

"Of that we are certain. Otherwise you wouldn't be wearing that new communicator," William answered. "As for the simulation... well few can beat the Kobayashi Maru. Even I've had some difficulty with it," he grinned.

Bishop glanced down at the new communicator, "There is that." He admitted. "Difficulty? I doubt that Admiral."

"A wise man once said 'It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not weakness, that is life.' The simulation was a test of character. You couldn't win," the Admiral answered as he tugged on his tunic. "But you did your best. That's what counts."

"It may be a test of character Admiral but I don't accept that I/we couldn't win. As for doing my best evidently not." Bishop replied stubbornly.

Lily placed her hand onto Bishop's arm. "No need to get upset Nathan." She said in her rich British accent as she looked up at the man. "That is the point of the test. Perhaps later I should tell you what happen when I took that test in the Academy."

Bishop nodded at her words and offered a weak smile. "Not upset Lily, well not too much. I just think I should have done better. As for telling what happened when you took the test, that is a story I would love to hear."

Luzol interrupted again, "I think you did fine. Both of us do. But, for now, the Admiral and I have a meeting to prepare for."

Bishop knew when to stop and now was the time. He nodded, "Thank you Admiral. I won't keep you or Admiral Teagarden any longer. I appreciate both of your confidences."

"Captain, walk with me?" Lily said the Nathan. "Admirals." She stated with a nod.

"Of course Commander." Bishop replied pleasantly, "Admirals, Commander T'Lisha if you'll excuse us."

"We were just leaving," Luzol said before her husband could speak.

William sat down his drink, "Apparently I'm leaving. Good night."

"Well....sure you two go ahead, I can catch up with Bishop laters. Think I will go look in on my fighter," T'Lisha said as she downed her drink. A little disappointed for not catching Bishop sooner, she made it a point to speak to him at a later time.

"Wait, I need to talk to the Captain about isn't pressing, so I can wait a few," Lily said with a rare smile on her face. "I can wait over there." She gestured towards the bar.

Bishop turned back to T'Lisha a smile on his face, "Well Commander, it seems we do have the time." He said pleasantly, "What did you wish to talk to me about?" He inquired.

"I actually think I have an idea that might help us get better prepared for the next random simulation. If we used the one that we went through as a template, we might do better. It just might give us the edge we need to safe guard our people and the president", T'Lisha said quietly to Bishop.

Bishop listened as T'Lisha proposed her idea. When she had finished, hr spoke. "An intriguing idea T'Lisha and one that is worth a shot at exploring especially if there is a chance it will improve our performance. Go ahead and implement our past performance as a template and we'll go from there."

Mok'Leth was basically sitting by himself quite involved eating and drinking and just enjoying watching all of what was going on and getting very drunk.

 

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