Stardate ????
???? Raphael was floating. Drifting lazily in the darkness, faintly aware of his surroundings, he was floating. For how long he did not know.

Alone.

There was nothing within this blackness. The sensations of surfaces were not present here, nor was there the dim hum of the starship. It was an endless void, an absence of perception. Of where he was Raphael could not guess, but the distinct light of the stars he had spent his life among had also abandoned him to this darkness. He could barely see his own hand in front of him…

I can see The thought disrupted his mind. If I can see, there must be a light source
He tried to look around, to reorient himself, but his sudden motion sent Raphael into a tumbling spin. Rotating in place, he felt a menacing dizziness, vaguely recalling he had struck his head. However, when he touched his head the wound was gone. His senses were betraying him. With grim determination he set about achieving spatial stability.

Finally steading himself in the orientation he decided was up, the Chief Flight Control Officer of the Discovery managed to survey his surroundings. Within moments he located a distant glimmer of light, a spec in the darkness, beckoning him to go to it.

Slowly, he tried to move towards it, but conventional movements only caused him to pitch again. Pausing a moment, he began theorizing a means to advance, perhaps similar to zero gravity. With a bit of humor, he attempted to thrust forward by some combination of motions that horrible fused swimming and floundering. Feeling the fool, Raphael stopped and calmed himself.

If I only had the means to fly, perhaps then…
A realization donned on him. If this place did not abide by the rules of gravity and, he senses could determine any direction as up or down, perhaps he could simply decide to fly.

Kicking his feet back as if to launch himself, willing himself to fly, Raphael was startled to find himself advancing. The sudden sensations of flight took over; thrill filled his mind, and as he began to maneuver in every way he had ever done with a ship, until he saw the light again. It was closer now, but still calling him towards it, and he was more than happy to oblige.

Advancing through the darkness at speeds he thought he’d never move Raphael quickly made the distance and was astonished. There, emanating this light was the figure of a woman with wings, but the brilliance of her shining appearance forced him to close his eyes


Stardate:2368.07.08
USS Discovery; Deck 4; Shuttle Bay One – 0325-0340
As Raphael opened his eyes again the figure of the winged woman was still there, but was out of focus. His mind raced as his senses tried to adjust.

“Ez duzu espaziontzi bat beha, denean hegoak izan duzu” He murmured, finding his voice barely audible. He tried to force his eyes open again, but still everything was out of focus.

((assuming she doesn’t catch that, or ignores it))

“You’re awake. That’s a good sign.” Looking over him quickly she smiled to the man, “You have a mild concussion, I suggest taking things easier than normal for a day or two.”

Finally, Raphael was able to focus his sight to see the Chief Medical Officer standing over him; she shifted suddenly, and seemed to be speaking over her comm.

“Beraz, aingeru baten bila askoz” he murmured again, releasing a sigh. It must have been a dream.

((again assuming she doesn’t catch it, as she’s talking))

Shortly thereafter the doctor returned, “Alright aside from taking it easy you should be fine to walk around. And when I say taking it easy – I do mean taking it easy, that means no crawling under the Shuttle’s to look at them for a few days. I’m sure one of the other’s in your department surely knows what to do.”

Trying to sit up, Raphael began to protest. “I’m not about to…” The wave of nausea and the stern glare from Lana canceled his protest for him. “…fine Doctor. Orders received.” He sighed.

But I’m not about to let some irrikaz Ensign ruin weeks of modifications
The CMO, satisfied with Raphael’s condition left to attend to other duties, and Raphael requested Kampf keep any non-senior staff out of his shuttle before departing the bay.

Tracking down Lieutenant Scofield in Ten-Forward, he received a brief review of the events that occurred in his absence, though he was certain that he’d be given a more accurate account at the morning meeting.

Returning to his quarters for rest before the meeting, Raphael could have sworn he saw the winged woman again as his perception drifted to the blackness of sleep.

Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Deck 8, Commander Patanko’s Quarters – 0321 It was dark in the room, the only light source a display that played a personal letter.

“…you wouldn’t believe it, Rheanie. She just about came out of her skin, breathing hellfire and brimstone. You’ll end up just like your sister she said to me. You would have been so proud of me. I told her something like, ‘Chief Engineer aboard a Galaxy-class starship? A good career and a way to see the universe? Because that’s a bad thing.’ Well, you know Mom. She just went into her usual tirade about you never coming home, and her oldest not giving her any grandchildren. Blah blah blah.

Anyway, I just wanted to send you something to let you know that I’m coming! Starfleet Academy paperwork is going through right now, and I’ll be in within the next month. Just imagine, the oldest and the youngest Patankos exploring the stars. Romantic, isn’t it?” She smiled, and Rhea hit the stop button. Lanna looked so sweet at that moment, an expression that showed a purity of spirit, and she could nearly see her dreams shining through those dark eyes of hers. She nearly mirrored Rhea in looks; deep red hair, mahogany eyes, the biggest difference was the nearly twelve year difference in their age.

“Oh Lanna,” she said shaking her head. It must have been the sixth or seventh time she had viewed the correspondence, but she hadn’t gotten tired of it yet. Rhea had practically raised her littlest sister, in turn it created a special bond between the two girls growing up. She could only imagine how her mother reacted to her sweet baby girl going back behind her back to follow her sister.

Rhea leaned forward in the chair, resting her elbows on the desk and allowing her head to be cradled by her hands. She really should try to get some sleep, but there was something bothering her about the whole situation with Lanna. There was something that her sister wasn’t telling her; it was probably the reason for the message rather than an actual live talk. Lans never could hide anything very well. She…

Artwork, pottery, and her cello case all crashed to the floor as the deck quaked. Rhea was thrown head first into the display, receiving a rather large knock on her forehead. Stars erupted in her field of vision, and she sat for a few moments disoriented, head spinning, still hearing her trinkets rolling all over the floor. She stood up and had one thought only: Engineering.

Her eyes cast about for her uniform before she remembered that there were actually clean ones in her drawers. Rhea took three steps towards it before she was knocked off of her feet again, rolling over a shattered piece of ceramic and receiving a few cuts in the process.

Searching about on the floor, she saw her comm. badge lying amidst some of the shards of pottery. Her mind swam. It had only been a couple of months since she had come aboard the USS Discovery, and she had been doing her damnedest to remember the names of all the crew under her. Who was on shift tonight? Was it MeCall?

To hell with it.
=/\\\\= Engineering, report! =/\\\\=

She slid into her pants and began pulling on her jacket as the comm. beeped in response

=/\\\\=Two direct hits =/\\\\= came MeCall’s voice
=/\\\\= Structural integrity fluctuating, we’re rerouting power to compensate. =/\\\\=

=/\\\\=I’m in route, =/\\\\= Rhea replied, throwing her shoes on as she headed out of her quarters,
=/\\\\=Keep me updated. =/\\\\=

She ran down the hallway and was nearly to the turbo lift when the deck shook once more, nearly throwing her to the ground. The world spun again, but Patanko managed to keep her feet. The turbolift doors opened with a quiet swish and began rocking towards engineering.

=/\\\\= Hull breech on decks twenty and twenty four! =/\\\\= MeCall’s voice rang out in the lift
=/\\\\=Warp is down! Port impulse engine at ten percent! =/\\\\=

=/\\\\=Check the matter antimatter ratio=/\\\\= Patanko replied, buttoning the last of her jacket up. The lights inside flashed, indicating a ship wide red alert,
=/\\\\=Reroute all available power to the containment field, the last thing we need is for our bloody core to start fluctuating. =/\\\\=

The turbo lift doors opened, and Commander Rhea Patanko stepped into engineering. Her hair was disheveled from being knocked to the group numerous times, and her face showed a bruise forming just above her left eyebrow. She strode into the bay, watching the handful of her officers and crew running from terminal to terminal attempting to get power back to the warp core. Chief Petty Officer MeCall flashed her panicky blue eyes in Rhea’s direction.

“Commander!” she exclaimed, “We have no idea what happened! Three hits from an unknown source. Two hull breeches on decks twenty and twenty four, no casualties. Warp drive is down, and antimatter injector coils are unresponsive.”

The lights in engineering brightened and normalized. MeCall looked up slightly confused at the ceiling as Captain Blair’s voice rang out.

=/\\ \\= Now hear this," he said confidently,
=/\\\\=This is Captain Blair. Red alert has been cancelled. The preceding events were a drill. You may now return to your scheduled duties. That is all. =/\\ \\=

“MeCall,” she said, sweeping her dark hair out of her eyes and wincing as her fingers trailed over the rising bruise, “I’d like a full report on this evening’s events by 0700. Bring it by ten forward as soon as you have it done. Lord knows I won’t be getting any sleep after this.”

=/\\ \\= Blair to Engineering. Commander Pantanko, please give my regards to Lieutenant N'doog. The simulation he created was very good - perhaps a bit too good. I had not expected the situation to become that grim so quickly. Regardless, I very much appreciate his efforts on this. =/\\ \\=

=/\\ \\=Aye, Captain, I’m sure he’ll be pleased that his sim had such a profound result. See you in a few hours. =/\\ \\=

“MeCall,” Rhea said, grabbing ahold of the Acamarian’s shoulder, “Take a deep breath, and for goodness sake get some water. You look like you’ve just crawled out of your skin. We’ll debrief at ten hundred before you get some shut eye.”

She turned in front of the turbo lift to look back at the core. Ensign Dowel stood clutching at a console, clearly out of breath with adrenaline still coursing through his veins.

“Ensign,” she said.

He stood up straighter and attempted to calm his face, “Ma’am?”

She grinned toothily, stepping backwards through the opening “We live to fight another day.”

The lift doors whooshed, and she sighed heavily, “Sickbay.”

Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Lt. John Britt Reid’s Quarters– 0350

Ensign Antoinette La Rue had reported and John relinquished the Rim to her. He needed to get a bit of rest before the reports came in. The people under his command had proven to more than adequate but that didn’t mean there could be improvement. The ship relied on them to hold the breach so they could do their jobs. So much depended on the unseen efficiency of security forces on board. John would review the reports before 0800 staff meeting. Their input might give him insight on ways to keep the Discovery stable when chaos wants to reign.

John had checked with sick bay to be sure Ensign Parker was care for, the young man has suffered an concussion and scalp wound but other than that he’d recover quickly.
Returning to his stateroom the Lieutenant straitened to mess caused by shacking of the ship. The crystal heirloom that held a single antique silver bullet had slid to the edge of the bureau but had not fallen. John picked it up to set it safely away. As he turned it there on the bottom was his family’s creed.
I believe...
• that to have a friend, a man must be one.
• that all men are created equal and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world.
• that God put the firewood there, but that every man must gather and light it himself.
• in being prepared physically, mentally, and morally to fight when necessary for that which is right.
• that a man should make the most of what equipment he has.
• that 'this government of the people, by the people, and for the people' shall live always.
• that men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number.
• that sooner or later...somewhere...somehow...we must settle with the world and make payment for what we have taken.
• that all things change but truth, and that truth alone, lives on forever.
• in my Creator, my country, my fellow man.
It wasn’t so far from his allegiance to Star Fleet, but it was deeper and older and personal.

John finished and went to rest while he waited for the reports to come in.

(OOC: This is the first part of a whole exchange that Aryn and I will build and post later, but I wanted to go ahead and toss this up to kind of set the stage for our conversation.)

Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Lt. Jesse Graham’s Quarters – 0335
Jesse’s screams finally faded into silence. His own ragged breathing roared in his ears, just as his ragged thoughts roared through his mind. He couldn’t form a coherent thought amidst all the chaos in his head. Dead…all dead…but I SAW them!...I SAW their bodies floating in space! Captain Craddock…where’re Cap’n Craddock’s legs? His wife deserves a whole body to bury…wait, there’s one of his legs over there…no, that’s MY leg…are those his legs floating past the viewscreen? No, those aren’t really there…am I really here?...Is anything real?...
His churning, tormented ramblings of thought were sharply interrupted by the door chime.

=/\\=“Lt. Graham?” the speaker announced, “it is Counselor Markus… Serene. May I come in?”=/\\=
Damnation! Jesse thought angrily. I don’t need any damn headshrinker tellin’ me---“ And then he thought about it and mentally slapped himself upside the head. Yer comin’ apart, hoss. Yer brains’re mush right now, and you’ve got th’ hounds a’ Hell barkin’ up yer backtrail. You DO need her right now, ya damned idjit. Somebody’s gotta break you outta this jail, or yer gonna get yerself or somebody else killed.
“Just a second!” Jesse called. He shakily rose to his feet, now feeling the Jack Daniels he had just chugged like a madman, tried to straighten his rumpled, slept-in uniform, and stumbled toward the sofa. He looked down at the bloody shirt wrapped around his hand, wincing as the glass still embedded in his flesh stung and throbbed. Gotta get to Sickbay soon.
“Come in,” he called. The door hissed open and the counselor entered his quarters. “Howdy, Miz Markus,” he said with a shaky grin as he sank onto the cushion. “Guess we got a lot to talk about.”

Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Lt. Jesse Graham’s Quarters – 0335

“Come in,” Lt. Graham called. The door hissed open and the Serene entered his quarters. “Howdy, Miz Markus,” he said with a shaky grin as he sank onto the cushion. “Guess we got a lot to talk about.”
Serene stepped into the quarters, her practiced eye taking in the condition of the room and the man before her trying hard to make it look like everything was ok. His voice however told her otherwise, that and the condition of the man’s mind. While she couldn’t read minds, her empathic abilities this close to the man were picking up waves of pain and anguish. It had to be more than just the drill they had just experienced. It had been a surprised to almost all of them but he shouldn’t have been this distraught over a simple drill; unless it had triggered some past memory.

Yes, that was it. As she looked at Lt. Graham she could see now, something in his past, but what?

“Jesse please,” she said with a smile that was bright and disarming, “call me Serene.”

She looked at him and saw the blood soaked shirt wrapped around his hand then back at his face so trying to hide what was bothering him. She smelt the alcohol and saw a dark colored bottle laying on the floor spilling some of its amber liquid on the carpet. Jack Daniels Old No. 7; she raised an eyebrow and gave a little smile; it had been years since she had seen any of that. She wondered how he had acquired Tennessee’s Finest here and now.

“Seems we do need to talk,” she said finally returning her gaze to him once more, “something is troubling you Jesse and I am here to help you. But I think you need to have that looked at first.” She gestured towards his hand as she walked over and picked up the bottle of Jack off the floor and the cap and put it back on the bottle.

“I think you have had enough of this for now,” she said looking at him, “yes?”

“Mind if I hang on to this for now?” She asked and held on to the bottle. Her gaze took him on and he might see the challenge in his eyes to refuse her taking the whiskey.

“Lets get you to sickbay shall we,” she said gesturing to the door, “we can talk more on the way.”

Walking to the door she it opened for her and she stood in the doorway waiting for him with a questioning look.

There was sternness to that look, but also compassion and understanding. As if she could see into his soul and see all the anguish there and that she was willing and able to help him overcome it if she would let him.

(Assuming he goes with her to sick bay, and some interaction there I will back post to later)

As they walked to the turbolift she looked ahead and not at him, yet she seemed to be studying him regardless.

“Something troubles you Jesse,” she said softly as they walked, “something from your past. Something in this drill triggered your memory of it and you are having a hard time dealing with it.” It was a feeling she had, and yet her ‘feelings’ were often right. It was her gift, she read people and sensed their emotions and how they reacted to what she said when she talked to them. Right now she was sensing that she was right though she didn’t know the details, yet.

“It cant be dealt with in our short trip to sickbay,” she said as they stepped into the turbolift, “but your body needs healing now and later we will deal with what is troubling your soul.”

She looked at him and smiled, it was comforting and assuring. She seemed quite confident that she could help him if he would only let her.

“I want you to go to sickbay and get your hand taken care of,” she said as the door opened and they exited heading to sickbay, “then I want you to get cleaned up and relax until the 0800 briefing.”

She stopped outside sickbay and turned to look at him, again her smile so comforting almost hypnotic. She raised an eyebrow as she looked at him questioningly.

“Think you can do that?” she asked, “If so, and you can agree to see me later today after the briefing in my office. I think we can forget this,” she said raising the bottle a bit for emphasis, “and none of this needs to go on your record. I won’t have to go to the Captain to discuss your behavior and life will be simpler for both of us.”

“So, I will leave you here then,” she said waiting for his response.

It seemed if he was willing to get himself cleaned up and lay off the booze and come to the meeting in a reasonable state and then agree to see her after the meeting to discuss what was bothering him then she was willing to keep this incident off his record and deal with it privately between the two of them. But it also seemed that if she doubted he could or would do that then she was willing to deal with him in a more professional and stern manner. He no doubt knew that a Ship’s Counselor had powers similar to the Ship’s Medical officer and could remove someone from duty if they deemed that person a danger to themselves or others.

She waited for his suitable reply and for him to enter Sickbay to deal with his injury; she stood there a few moments and tried to sense if he seemed sincere in his assertions. If so, she would turn and go back to her quarters and rest and get straightened up herself. She didn’t exactly have time before the drill to get her uniform and self in order.

She worried about Lt. Graham, she would keep her word and not put anything in his record or say anything specifically about him to the Captain, though she was intending to speak to him about this drill and the negative effects it had on the crew. She didn’t think it would do any good but she wanted to gauge the Captain of this ship. She hadn’t had a chance to really get to know him in her short stay here, she was curious what kind of man he really was.

(SInce you posted here might as well just throw this out here too. Besides I am trying to end it now before the meeting and if Jesse's reply is 'satisfactory' then there shouldnt be any issues. )

Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Observation Lounge - 0745
Captain Blair, as he so often did, stared out through the viewscreen into space as he allowed his mind to wander through the upcoming meeting. For one final time, he pondered the proper position to take with his senior officers.

On the one hand, he was sorely tempted to refuse any sort of explanation whatsoever. After all, he was the Captain; if he felt it necessary to run drills, it was his right to do so, and none of them had any sort of standing to challenge his decision. There was something to be said for maintaining a certain amount of detachment, of aloofness, from the crew.

However, that was not Blair's way; it never had been, nor would it ever be. He valued this input of his officers, and made it a point to always consider what they had to say - even if he ultimately chose to act contrary to their recommendations.

And so, whenever practical, Blair made it a point to keep his senior staff informed. This time would be no different.

*************************


The department heads began filtering in shortly after Blair made his decision, and though he acknowledged each of them with a nod or a short reply to any verbal greetings, he otherwise kept his silence. He was not rude, but the Captain stood at the far end of the lounge, and by his body language, discouraged any potential idle chichat. He made mental notes of the varous dispositions of his staff, particularly of those who seemed less than pleased with the situation.

(assuming that everyone arrives on time)

Once all of the officers had arrived and made their was to their seats at the table, the Captain did the same.

"Good morning," he began. "Thank you all for coming. I trust that everyone is recovering from any bumps or bruises?"

(assuming no more than a polite response)

Blair nodded. "Good, then. "

Never one for meaningless subtleties, the Captain launched right to the heart of the matter. "As you all know, I ordered this morning's drill. It was a desperate - more than that, a hopeless - situation, which is what I frankly asked for. I am fully aware that this is not the sort of thing that is popular with the crew, and while I can understand that fact, I will calmly tell you now that I do not care."

He paused for a moment, letting that statement hang in the air.

(assuming no interjections)

"As you all realize, our recent missions have kept us very close to the Neutral Zone, and from all indications, that will not be changing anytime soon. It would appear that Starfleet feels that having a Galaxy class vessel so close will be a deterrant to any Romulan activities." The Captain paused for a moment. "Add in the fact that must now always be vigilant of a far greater threat - that of the Borg - and you may begin to understand, if not agree with, my decision. As it stands today, the Federation may face more threats than at any point in its entire history."

Blair made eye contact with each of the senior staff. "The fact is that crises often arrive when we least expect them, and are least prepared to deal with them. Therefore, I wanted a dry run to gauge the sort of reaction that this crew would have to such a crisis. Holo simulations have their place, but a training excercise, no matter how well constructed, can only teach so much - in the back of your mind, you know that the drill will end, that all will be well. If the crew faces what they believe to be a true disaster, we get a better look at how we will truly face despair and death... we learn our true measure."

Again the Captain paused, letting the staff process his words. "In short, I was very pleased with our crew. No one gave up; everyone continued to strive for a solution, to give their all. No one can ask for more than a person's best effort."

"With that being said," Blair continued, "I believe that we have room to improve. I want each of you to honestly assess your departments. Find out who did a good job - and who could improve. Figure out if there was anything that we could have done better. Small improvements could save lives, and avoiding mistakes could prevent disaster. I have no intention of making these sort of drills commonplace, but I want the crew to be as prepared as I can possibly accomplish. I will gladly trade a few minor injuries and hurt feelings for even one life, and I will not apologize for that position. I trust that you can all appreciate that."

(again assuming no dissention. If so, we'll edit)

"I expect a full departmental report from each of you by the end of the day. Commander Pantanko, I trust that we are still on schedule to have full warp drive today?"

(assuming affirmatives and such)

Blair nodded. "Excellent. Lack of warp drive gives me a stranded feeling. I'll be glad to be done with that."

The Captain next turned his attention to the CSO. "Lieutenant Leiran, I want to commend you for your ingenuity during our simulation. I would like for you to research this concept fully - if it proves fruitful, this could be an invaluable tool for Starfleet."

(assuming no argument)

He looked around the room. "Do any of you have anything to ask or add?"

(if anything, post it here. Assuming nothing to change the flow of things.)

"Very well," the Captain concluded. "Dismissed."

Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Observation Lounge - 0754
Lt. Serene Markus walked into the Observation Lounge, she nodded and gave a smile to all those already assembled. She took her usual seat, well the seat she had acquired a couple months ago when assigned aboard the Discovery. She saw the Captain standing here gazing out the view screen; she expanded her empathy ability to sense the feelings of those within the room. She felt the Captain’s sense of resolve and determination; probably ready to defend his decision to have such a surprise drill which many others thought was ill-timed and ill-conceived.

Since the encounter with Lt. Graham, she had gone back to her room and after cleaning up and dressed in a proper uniform. Then she had sat down and thought about all the emotions she had sensed from people. There was a lot of anger, confusion, pain, and anguish. Mostly it seemed anger at the false sense of danger they had all felt when it seemed they were truly under attack and might be killed at any moment. She herself had felt trepidation at the thought of the Borg aboard the ship; given her past she didn’t think it was an unwarranted emotion. But she had been more shocked than angry about the deception. Deception? Yes that is what she felt; crewmembers were angry at being deceived about the nature of the drill. It had been a lie and many thought such behavior was beneath their Captain.

Serene was only now learning about their Captain; she had not yet had a chance to really sit down and talk to him, something she intended to do in the near future. For now, she wanted to attend this meeting and to listen to his reasons for having these drills. She wouldn’t come out and tell the Captain that he had been wrong in having such a surprise drill; it was not her place and who was she to make such decisions. Her job was people, not running a Starship. He knew his crew better than she did and those command decisions were his to make. Her place was to let him know how his crew was dealing with it and if any personnel were having serious emotional problems.

She glanced at Lt. Graham when he entered (assuming he does of course) to gauge his condition and appearance. She was hoping he had gotten himself together before this meeting; she would keep her word and not report any of her concerns regarding his current emotional state as long as he had himself under control. She would prefer to deal with him on her own, that was her job, and as long as she felt he was letting her help him and he was handling himself than no reason it had to go any further than between them. She believed in dealing with client-counselor confidentiality as long as the client was not a danger to themselves or others. She would watch Lt. Graham closely and insist on him seeing her to deal with his issues; if he did this and made progress things would go smoothly.

Serene turned her attention to the meeting as it looked like everyone had arrived and the debriefing was getting underway. She noted Lt. MacTavish as he sat down, she made a mental note to track him down later today and set something up. She had sent him several requests to schedule a session with her but so far he had ducked her efforts; she smiled as she thought about how he didn’t know how tenacious she could be. He would find out shortly.

"Good morning," he began. "Thank you all for coming. I trust that everyone is recovering from any bumps or bruises?" The Captain said as he took his seat.

She kept quiet and observed and listened to the responses of the other officers.

Blair nodded. "Good, then. "

Never one for meaningless subtleties, the Captain launched right to the heart of the matter. "As you all know, I ordered this morning's drill. It was a desperate - more than that, a hopeless - situation, which is what I frankly asked for. I am fully aware that this is not the sort of thing that is popular with the crew, and while I can understand that fact, I will calmly tell you now that I do not care."

He paused for a moment, letting that statement hang in the air.

"As you all realize, our recent missions have kept us very close to the Neutral Zone, and from all indications, that will not be changing anytime soon. It would appear that Starfleet feels that having a Galaxy class vessel so close will be a deterrant to any Romulan activities." The Captain paused for a moment. "Add in the fact that must now always be vigilant of a far greater threat - that of the Borg - and you may begin to understand, if not agree with, my decision. As it stands today, the Federation may face more threats than at any point in its entire history."

Blair made eye contact with each of the senior staff. "The fact is that crises often arrive when we least expect them, and are least prepared to deal with them. Therefore, I wanted a dry run to gauge the sort of reaction that this crew would have to such a crisis. Holo simulations have their place, but a training exercise, no matter how well constructed, can only teach so much - in the back of your mind, you know that the drill will end, that all will be well. If the crew faces what they believe to be a true disaster, we get a better look at how we will truly face despair and death... we learn our true measure."

Again the Captain paused, letting the staff process his words. "In short, I was very pleased with our crew. No one gave up; everyone continued to strive for a solution, to give their all. No one can ask for more than a person's best effort."

"With that being said," Blair continued, "I believe that we have room to improve. I want each of you to honestly assess your departments. Find out who did a good job - and who could improve. Figure out if there was anything that we could have done better. Small improvements could save lives, and avoiding mistakes could prevent disaster. I have no intention of making these sort of drills commonplace, but I want the crew to be as prepared as I can possibly accomplish. I will gladly trade a few minor injuries and hurt feelings for even one life, and I will not apologize for that position. I trust that you can all appreciate that."

"I expect a full departmental report from each of you by the end of the day. Commander Pantanko, I trust that we are still on schedule to have full warp drive today?"

Blair nodded. "Excellent. Lack of warp drive gives me a stranded feeling. I'll be glad to be done with that."

The Captain next turned his attention to the CSO. "Lieutenant Leiran, I want to commend you for your ingenuity during our simulation. I would like for you to research this concept fully - if it proves fruitful, this could be an invaluable tool for Starfleet."

He looked around the room. "Do any of you have anything to ask or add?"

"Very well," the Captain concluded. "Dismissed."
Serene listened as he explained his reasons for his drill and whatever the other officers had to say. She was surprised at him; she didn’t take him as the kind that would feel the need to explain himself. From what she read in him, she doubted that he liked doing it but he also felt his officers needed to know; perhaps they could handle it better once he explained.

As everyone rose to leave, Serene stepped up to the Captain as he rose to leave.

“Captain?” She said in a tone that made it clear she had something to say, “I would like to have a word with you now if you have a moment. I can give my personal report now if you don’t mind.”

She knew that he didn’t really know her yet either and this was the first, so called, crisis situations since she had been aboard. She preferred to handle things in person where she could as it allowed her to use her ‘abilities’ to gauge reactions to her reports. Besides, written reports were not her thing.

(Might have some backposting later, as I see what others post. )

Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Observation Lounge - 0800
Meet the time. The time was important. It would not do to be late. Thankfully, Rena was not late. She could feel the bits of fatigue gnawing at the back and edges of her mind, but gave them no heed. Focus on the present. What needed to be done. At this point in time, what needed to be done was listening.

"Minor bumps accounted with various personnel," Rena acknowledged to the captain's opening, "But nothing major on my end."

Never one for meaningless subtleties, the Captain launched right to the heart of the matter. "As you all know, I ordered this morning's drill. It was a desperate - more than that, a hopeless - situation, which is what I frankly asked for. I am fully aware that this is not the sort of thing that is popular with the crew, and while I can understand that fact, I will calmly tell you now that I do not care."
Rena nodded as she paid attention to the Captain as he continued with his explanation. It made as much sense to her as she presumed it did to the captain. There was undoubted merit in such exercises. So long as they weren't frequent.

"I expect a full departmental report from each of you by the end of the day."
Rena nodded again, her face a gentle smile as she ran a review plan through her mind. Her train of thought was derailed however, as she was addressed.

The Captain next turned his attention to the CSO. "Lieutenant Leiran, I want to commend you for your ingenuity during our simulation. I would like for you to research this concept fully - if it proves fruitful, this could be an invaluable tool for Starfleet."
Rena nodded once more, "It is a fairly new approach. As far as I'm aware, there hasn't been much research done with regards to the results of technological assimilation by the Borg. I'm personally quite intrigued by the hypothetical design of the ship we were facing."

That said, her mind now wandered to what Uzuki had managed to build via simulation in that short amount of time. Probably nothing substantial yet, but she was personally keen on heading the project to see its results...

Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Observation Lounge – 0745
Avanti sat at the staff meeting and listen to the Captain talk about the simulation. He thought the exercise was a good one and the fact that there was no true danger to the ship did much to soothe the uneasy feeling that he had during the attack. All was right in the universe, after all.

The first officer was not known as one who had to speak at a meeting, he actually preferred to listen. He certainly did not need to chime in his approval of the Captain’s test, as he found that humans often thought that to be a sign of weakness. What did Lt. N‘Doog refer to it as? Something about a brown nose.
"With that being said," Blair continued, "I believe that we have room to improve. I want each of you to honestly assess your departments. Find out who did a good job - and who could improve. Figure out if there was anything that we could have done better. Small improvements could save lives, and avoiding mistakes could prevent disaster. I have no intention of making these sort of drills commonplace, but I want the crew to be as prepared as I can possibly accomplish. I will gladly trade a few minor injuries and hurt feelings for even one life, and I will not apologize for that position. I trust that you can all appreciate that."

"I expect a full departmental report from each of you by the end of the day. Commander Pantanko, I trust that we are still on schedule to have full warp drive today?"

Blair nodded. "Excellent. Lack of warp drive gives me a stranded feeling. I'll be glad to be done with that."

“Yes. I too miss the feel of the warp core running.”Avanti said with a sigh. He was distracted by the lack of a warp core humming in his head. He was sensitive to harmonics and vibrations so he was feeling like he was in a room where everyone had been talking and then suddenly stopped.

The Domtarian could not help but keep going over the feeling he had when the “attack” was happening and he felt nothing. It was an odd feeling, almost stifling in a way considered how often his feeling of the world had save his life and those around him. What is it I am feeling right now? Fear? Disappointment? Anger? It was a simulation.
...

"Very well," the Captain concluded. "Dismissed."

As everyone rose to leave, the ship’s counsellor Serene Markus stepped up to the Captain as he rose to leave. He wondered briefly to himself if he should speak to her about these mixed feelings. Although he had not had much luck with counsellors so far in his career.

“Captain?” She said in a tone that rang very clear in Avanti’s mind, “I would like to have a word with you now if you have a moment. I can give my personal report now if you don’t mind.”

Avanti had stood up to wait for everyone to leave and then speak to Blair as was his usual routine. “Would you prefer privacy Counsellor or may hear the word you have for the captain as well?" He asked sincerely.

During the meeting, Serene had been watching the others and using her abilities to gauge their reactions to the Captain’s words. What he said made sense on the whole and his officers seemed to accept his decisions despite some misgivings of the outcome and how it affected them emotionally. She had to admire these people, they followed orders of this man because they trusted him even if they didn’t always agree with his choices.

One person in particular drew her notice because of a different reason; The XO Commander Avanti seemed to be blank emotionally; it was as if he felt nothing in regards to the drill and how it affected him. This piqued her interest somewhat and perhaps later she would speak with him to see if he wanted to discuss it with her. He seemed to have some confusion written upon his face.

When she rose and addressed the Captain about speaking with him privately, the XO came up and addressed her before the Captain could answer.

Avanti had stood up to wait for everyone to leave and then speak to Blair as was his usual routine. “Would you prefer privacy Counsellor or may hear the word you have for the captain as well?" He asked sincerely.
“Of course Commander,” she said turning to look 'up' at him and giving him one of her ever-present smiles, “I do not object to your presence if the Captain has no issue with it.”

Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Lt. Jesse Graham’s Quarters and en route to Sickbay – 0335 to 0340
As the counselor entered his quarters, part of Jesse cringed at the thought of making himself vulnerable to her ministrations; pride demanded that this raw pain be kept hidden from others. Yet another part of him sighed with relief at the thought of unburdening himself of the pain that he thought he had already dealt with. He didn’t want to be broken anymore, and that part of him desperately hoped that she could help.

Her smile was a ray of sunshine in his storm-tossed world as she greeted him. Embarrassment wound through him as she stepped over to where he had left the bottle of Jack and picked it up. He could only give a shy grin and a nod when she suggested that he had had enough and offered to keep the bottle.

When she stepped to the door and offered to walk him to Sickbay, Jesse’s hand throbbed in sympathy and he readily rose to walk with her.

Jesse was mostly silent as they walked and Serene spoke of recognizing that his tortured past contributed to his distress on the bridge during the simulation. He was inwardly pleased that she seemed to understand, that maybe she could help him beat back the demons of Wolf 359. He had thought that he had put the worst of the trauma behind him, that he had put the dead to rest, but today’s performance seemed ample evidence that he had not. He realized that this must be dealt with, even as he realized he couldn’t do it alone. Complacency in this would mean a risk of putting others in harm’s way, and he silently vowed that he would never let that happen.

As they reached Sickbay, Serene spoke of getting his hand fixed up and relaxing until the meeting with the captain.

““Think you can do that?” she asked, “If so, and you can agree to see me later today after the briefing in my office. I think we can forget this,” she said raising the bottle a bit for emphasis, “and none of this needs to go on your record. I won’t have to go to the Captain to discuss your behavior and life will be simpler for both of us.”

“So, I will leave you here then,” she said waiting for his response.

Jesse knew that Serene was genuinely concerned, and he was touched and grateful that there were those special souls who had a desire to help their fellow beings. “Much obliged, Serene. You hit the nail on the head.” His voice broke a bit as he acknowledged the pain still tearing at him. “ I’ve got some Texas-sized demons still bitin’ at my heels. I thought they were dead, but I guess they were just nappin’. You’ve got my word, I’ll see you later today.” Further words failed him, and he could barely look her in the eye and could only say simply “Please…help me.”

She gave him a reassuring smile in farewell, and walked away as he entered Sickbay.

Moments later, his hand good as new, Jesse went back to his quarters, fell into bed, and hoped the demons would stay away…just for a little while.

Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Observation Lounge – 0755
Jesse’s mind still felt a fragile mess as he entered the Observation Lounge. But he did feel a bit better after having a short nap, a bracing shower and a fresh uniform. He noticed Serene looking at him as he came in, and he gave her a shaky grin, a small nod, and briefly waggled his newly-healed hand at her. Even though others didn’t know of the inner Hell he had faced during the sim, Jesse still felt self-conscious as he filed past his fellow department heads and took his seat.

Captain Blair led the meeting in his usual brisk, no-nonsense fashion. Jesse admired the style of Blair’s leadership and as Blair spoke about his reasons for the sim and his frank assessment of everyone’s performance, Jesse further resolved to try and exorcise the demons, adding to his list of reasons that he would honor Blair’s confidence in bringing him aboard the Discovery. Even in his brief service with Blair, Jesse already knew the man was eminently worthy of the best that Jesse could give, and to do anything less than fully commit to emotional and psychological wholeness and top performance would be a disservice to the man, the ship and the fine crew with whom he served.

When Blair demanded departmental reports by the end of the day, Jesse hoped that his pending session with Serene would afford him enough clarity to frankly assess the Ops team’s performance. As his mind drifted back to the sim, the memory of seeing the corpses in space and the horror that he felt threatened to overwhelm him again. Anyone looking at him would have seen his face go pale and a shudder run through him, but he mentally braved the storm and tried to see past the demons to what occurred during the sim in a frank and analytical matter. The fact that it was almost impossible to do that reinforced the notion that he had to get help, and soon. He resolved to do what needed to be done to get Blair his report, but he knew that after that was done he would probably need to request some down time to get himself straightened out, at least for the short term.

When Blair dismissed the meeting, Jesse rose from his seat and stepped into the corridor. He didn’t trust himself to man the Ops console right now, so he tapped his combadge and made arrangements to have a replacement cover today’s Alpha shift.

(OOC: If anything major is to happen during Alpha shift today, t_catt, just PM me and I will flesh out exactly who is manning Ops today. Otherwise, Crewman Generic Q. Anonymouse it is-heh.)

With that done, Jesse contacted Serene’s office to make an appointment for that day, and then went to find an open Holodeck . A good horse under open sky on a dusty trail would hopefully keep him ahead of the demons for a little longer.

Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Main Security Office– 0550
Chief Petty Officer Edward Kaster snapped to attention as Lt.Reid entered the office,”At ease Chief…. Do you have the reports?”

“They are on your screen sir.”

John sat behind his desk across from the watch officer. As the screen light up he reviewed the deployment of team as viewed by their NCO. Each NCO seems to focus on the same issues. It concerned John but nothing that couldn’t be worked out.

Closing the reports he made his way to the Wardroom to await his Officers reports. John needed to compare reports. His Officers had to be dispatched from different locations from the teams had to meet up at the point of the problem. How had they handled planning on the run and coordinating the teams.?

Lives depended on how quickly they could respond and adapt. He knew LaRue would still be on the bridge so he’d review with her later.

Raditz was first, he was solid officer and good leader, if a bit quiet. John wasn’t surprised when he handed him a written report.

Ensign Kato was next followed close by Teir. Before Mamoru could speak Steward broke into his usual diatribe, between the colorful descriptions the solid report came through. They seemed sure of their teams, but they wanted to know more about their enemies. They charged into what they thought might be a Borg attack with little more than rumor of tactics. These things seem like well organized zombies of old stories and games, but this was no game.

When the Officers were finished John dismissed them. He spent the next hour researching anything available on the Borg attacks against Star Fleet.

Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Lieutenant Zavaleta's Quarters - 0700
Despite his head in the cloud nature Raphael never remembered his dreams, a fact which allowed him little comfort after his rest.
Awakening to a world twisted by dizziness, the CFCO sighed heavily as he tried to rectify his awareness of his surroundings.
He closed his eyes tight and tried to stop the room from shifting in and out of focus.
Staring at the back of his eyelids he allowed his mind to wander, to float back to the last scene he'd seen in the darkness of unconsciousness.
Raphael remembered feeling lost and alone after hitting his head, of the drifting, and then suddenly of a light in the distance, an angelic form the details of whom just escaped him.
If he never remembered dreams, why then did he remember this delusion?

"Malditos" Raphael cursed, opening his eyes and determined to get up. "The Doc's right; I'm not fit to fly. But I'll be damned if I'm bed ridden."

Propping himself up, Raphael reached for a data pad. It would be best if he had a flight schedule for the next few days set without him; he'd already contacted Dotalsi to cover his Alpha shift this morning.
The last thing he needed was to worsen his condition by straining himself; that and the doc bearing down on him and perhaps amending her diagnosis.


Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Observation Lounge - 0800
Raphael had been on time for the meeting, a feat which took more effort than expected.
He gave a silent nod of acknowledgement to the Captain before moving to the side, content to keep things orderly.
The CFCO was not angry over the exercise that had put the crew on edge the night before, if anything he admired the use of the simulation; he used a similar technique on a smaller scale for flight sims with randomized encounters.
However his injury had meant he had missed the whole thing; his only real explanations of what occurred passed on to him by an angry, and partially intoxicated aFCO (whom, Raphael was certain would be soundly sleeping it off by now).
This left Raphael feeling disconcerted, as he was unsure that he'd have anything to contribute beside the accounts of his staff.

As the rest of the staff was entered, Raphael spared each a glance, a simple acknowledgement of their presence.
That is until the chief medical officer entered.
Glancing briefly at Lana, Raphael blanched as he saw the same spectral wings she had had when he awoke in the shuttle bay; a sight he had deemed was his mind playing tricks on him.
He'd not expected to see it again. Looking away, Raphael closed his eyes tight to avoid an awkward double-take, and began to blink his sight back in focus towards the Captain as he began to speak.

He was probably just overtired.

Trying as intently as he could to maintain his attention on the Captain’s speech, Raphael actively avoided looking towards the chief medical officer again.
He remained silent until Blair asked if anyone had anything to ask or add, and produced the data pad.

"Captain, an amended flight schedule during my remediation."

((additional information if needed))

Upon dismissal Raphael hurriedly returned to his quarters; he wanted to sleep, to ease his mind.
He could get Thorn's report and Scofield's sober account during the Beta shift, and then submit his report to the Captain.

Stardate 2368.07.08
USS Discovery, Main Security Office– 0550
“They are on your screen sir.” The Petty officer Kaster was saying.

Tier was mad. Very Mad. Perhaps too mad. Yes, he could acknowledge that he was taking this “simulation” as a personal affront and that he was sure that deep down, somehow, Commander Avanti was behind it. It was the type of thing the commander would do. Throw a ship into chaos and see what happens. The XO probably wanted to see how it would affect the “harmonics” of the ship.

Raditz was talking about his team. Tier pondered the envitable report he would have to give.

I’ll give you some gokk-bonking harmonics you oversized gokk-bonker of a commander. I’ll cram a gokk-bonking harmonic so far up you that it will hum when you eat gokk-bonking breakfast.
“ Permission to speak freely,” Tier asked aloud, not even noticing that he just stepped over Kato’s turn to speak. He also didn’t wait for the response. “What the gokk-bonking hell was that? I’m all for simulation and surprise simulations but what are we doing running a gokk-bonking sim with live weapons without some protocol or notice? My team responded well, as I would expect them to, we communicated and met up in excellent time but there weren’t any invaders? So what did we gokk-bonking learn? We can run like gokkbonkers demons when the pressure is on? I could have told the gokk-bonking commander that! I need a gokk-bonking enemy to fight and I rather not have someone accidently shot in a unannounced combat sim. Not that any of my guys would make that kind of gokk-bonking mistake! But things can happen.

“Don’t get me wrong, I am in gokk-bonking awe of Lt. N’Doog’s simulation. I have been in fire fights and attacks since I was a child and he completely fooled the gokk-bonking hell out of me. Frankly, I think we might be able to use that sim if we were ever infiltrated to divide and conquer the gokk-bonking Borg.

“But overall, my team performed well under the gokk-bonking test and I was very pleased with their efficiency and speed. Thank you sir.”

Tier felt a bit better but noticed that Kato was staring at him with a funny look. “Problem Ensign?”

“Umm... It was my turn.”

“So get on with it Ensign. Don’t stand around with your mouth open like a gokk-bonking dolt. The Lieutenant is waiting.”

Avanti’s fault. This is all his fault