Stardate: 2368.04.10, USS Valmont Cmdr. Avanti Quarters - 1500
Avanti stared out the window towards Starbase 128 and the Discovery. The last eight hours had been like a blur to him, getting things organized and saying goodbye to people he had worked beside for the last two years. Saying goodbye to Sango had been easier than he had expected, but their relationship had been on the wane for awhile and as a Deltan, Sango wasn’t commitment oriented.

“Is that a Federation Star?” He turned to see the Yeoman assigned to help him pack staring at awe at the medals on his mantle. She seemed impressed by them.

“Yes, it is.” Avanti said, “Just pack it in with the others.”

“I’ve never seen one before. What did you do to get that?”

“Survived.” Avanti replied curtly, “127 crewmembers did not.”

“Oh.” She took a step back sensing she’d offended her commander, “I’m sorry I didn’t mean …”

“No, I’m sorry Yeoman Ayn. I don’t ask for commendations. They remind me of how many died or gave their lives in the line of duty.”

“Oh. I can understand that Commander.” She replied and started to pack the medals away as asked, “Can I ask a question Sir?”

“Of course.”

“How many lived? I mean, how many survived that might not of because of your actions?”

Avanti stared at her for a moment, “1000 or more, I would guess.”

“Maybe that’s why you have the medal.” She said quietly. “Will there be anything else sir?”

The Commander looked around his quarters, all his possessions were now packed up in several cases. He wasn’t much for collecting items and uniforms were easily replicated. “No Yeoman. Thank you.” He replied and picked up the bag and placed it around his shoulder, then grabbing the case. “Harmony and Peace be with you.”

Stardate: 2368.04.10, USS Valmont Shuttle Craft hanger Bay - 1700
Avanti approached the shuttle craft he was assigned and entered the hatchway with a minimal of ducking and crouching. It always amused him that he was too big for so much in Starfleet but back home he was considered abnormally small.

“Commander! Go to have you aboard,” Came the familiar voice from the pilot seat. Ensign Alacrity Fitzhugh was there, legs up on the console. One of the few humans that Avanti could look in the eyes, Fitzhugh was tall and slender with short cut blond hair and a smile that seemed to say “all is right if Alacrity was in the universe”. Everyone called him Speed, a nickname he lived up to in many ways.

“Speed? What did you do to pull shuttle duty?”

“Hey, I wanted to see you off properly.”

Avanti didn’t believe him, but he let it slide, “I could have teleported across.”

“No! no, no, no!” Speed said as he sat up and began to start the preflight with one hand, “A first officer should arrive with pomp and flash – Trust me.”

“Why do I get nervous whenever you say trust me?”

“Space induced paranoia, happens to the best of them. Oh Commander – hold on to something.” Speed said casually as the shuttle leapt from its docking station and into space at full thrusters. “Weeeeeeeoooooh!” Speed yelped out as he whipped the shuttle into a wide curve around the starbase.

“Speed!” Avanti said as he clung to the sides of the shuttle interior, “Slow down!”

“Hey! Can I buzz the bridge? They’re in dry dock right? I can buzz the bridge.”

“No Speed. Don’t!”

“It’s okay. It will be fun and there’s no regs on dry dock.”

“Ensign! Enough! There are at least four regulations and I don’t want my first official duty on the Discovery to court martial you!”

The communication screen lit up and a visual image came onscreen, “Shuttle Craft Newton 4. You are exceeding safe speeds for a dry dock zone. Please reduce velocity.”

Ensign looked at the visual of the flight controller officer, a young lady with long red hair and a stern but pretty face, “Whoa. For you darling, I’d do anything.”

She looked unmoved but noted the decrease in speed, “Thank you. Dry dock velocity should not exceed half thrusters,”

“You know, I agree. Been in deep space for awhile now and I have to tell you, you are the most beautiful woman I have seen in years. Maybe we could get together, you know, debrief me on this infraction of mine.”

Avanti rolled his eyes. There was a word for Speed the humans used – incorrigible.

Stardate: 2368.04.10, USS Discovery Shuttle Craft Hanger Bay - 1710
Avanti stepped out of the shuttlecraft and looked over at his companion, “Speed, try not to get into trouble.”

“Me? Trouble?” the Ensign smiled, “What trouble could I get into – I’m just a pilot sir. Wow! A galaxy class sir I’d love to get my hands on the flight controls of this baby.”

“It is not going to happen, Speed. It’s in your record – do not let near ambassador class or bigger.”

The ensign laughed, “Yeah right.” he said as he passed Avanti his bags, “You are not serious are you? You didn’t put that into my record?”

“Harmony and Peace Speed.”

“Take care you big ox.”

Avanti turned around and looked over the hanger bay. A security officer was waiting for him but he didn’t move closer. Avanti grabbed his bags and moved closer; thinking the young man looked familiar.

"NO! No Gokk-bonking way!”

“Steward Tier! It is good to see you!”

“This is not Gokk bonking fair! I got away from you.”

Avanti sighed, “I see we are going to start where we left off.”

“In the name of Gokk bonking hell, why me? Why here? Why now?”

“Lieutenant! You want to rant at me over the loss of your brother or your perceived persecution; I will be more than willing to be there for you. We’ll make an appointment with the counselor. But not now. You have a duty to perform right now and you will do that duty. Do I make myself clear?” Avanti spoke clearly without raising his voice, but the sternness in his face was unmistakable.

Tier stood up at attention, “Yes Sir.” and moved to take the commander’s bag.

“I can carry my own bags Tier.”

“Yes Sir. I will escort you to the captain sir.”

Avanti followed behind as Steward took him through the ship
towards the bridge. Avanti spotted some familiar faces as he passed and was pleased to see that some people looked happy to see him. He soaked in the sights and smells of the ship, but mostly the sounds within the ship. For him, it was always a world of harmonics and balance.

“There’s something wrong with the warp core.” He said aloud.

Tier stopped, “What do you gokk bonking mean….Oh yeah. I forgot you do that. You want to go to engineering?”

“No.” Avanti lied quickly, “You are going through a retrofit and I am sure that Commander Kennedy has things well in hand. I read her paper on warp drive efficiency, it was quite interesting.”

The two continued on there way until they reached the turbolift. From there they continued in silence until the doors opened and revealed the bridge. It was bigger than the Valmont’s, quite a bit bigger. Tier continued to lead the Commander to the door of the Captain’s Ready Room.

I’m home. Avanti thought to himself.

Stardate 2368.04.10
Engineering USS Discovery 1200 hrs

Ensign John Warwick looked at the full diagnostic. Unfortunately the error wasn’t human error it was mechanical. As much as John didn’t mind working or being an engineer, he did prefer that things were simple to fix. Unfortunately as an engineer nothing seemed simple to fix. I should have become a counselor like mom wanted. John sighed as he gathered his tools and prepared to climb the ladder up six decks. Then I could solve everyone’s problem by telling them it would be ok and to dream of sunshine and cookie dough ice cream. He started to climb the ladder. Sure he could have taken the small lift in engineering, but John had always liked climbing the ladder. It made him feel like he was connected to engineering to be able to use his entire body to perform his work. Though like anyone else he didn’t really relish the idea of climbing six decks. According to the diagnostic the problem was in the matter reactant injector and the deuterium control conduit. Much more than that John would have to see for himself. As he reached matter reactant injector he could see the problem. In order to keep the measurements correct the matter anti matter system relied on force field to regulate how much passed through, and the force field John was currently looking at flickered weakly. Well that isn’t good. John thought as he pulled out his tricorder I wonder how the maintenance and refit teams missed this. It would take half a day to replace the emitters. The warp core would have to be taken off line and to properly correct the issue purged. Then the old emitters would have to be replaced, for the sake of ship ease all of the emitters, matter and antimatter.

“See never an easy fix.” John sighed to himself as he prepared to climb back down. “Ensign Warwick to Cmmdr. Kennedy. I’m sorry to report sir that I’ve found the problem and you’re not going to like it.” John tapped his combadge as he was climbing.

(Assuming a what do you bloody mean I’m not going to like it…Callie’s spent to much time with MacTavish)

“Well sir, it seems the force field emitters for he warp core are failing. As you know that’s not a very pleasant situation, I estimate with a team of two others it’ll take about a half day to replace them and since we’ll have to take the warp core offline that’s another half day in dry dock. It’s probably best in the long run if you convince the Starbase to lend me hose two hands instead of taking it away from our own duties. Since we’re in drydock anyway. Do you want me to tell the Captain or will you?”

Stardate: 2368.04.10
Cmdr. Kennedy – Forward Torpedo Bay – 1215
Six torpedoes later it seemed the crew she had assembled in this bay had finally found their rhythm and were moving along nicely. The volume on her music had gone down a notch and seemed to guide her along peacefully.

Peacefully until her combadge beeped again and Ensign Whippersnapper’s voice came forth.

“Ensign Warwick to Cmmdr. Kennedy. I’m sorry to report sir that I’ve found the problem and you’re not going to like it.”

First a sigh. “What do you mean I’m not going to like it? Get on with it Warwick.”

“Well sir, it seems the force field emitters for the warp core are failing. As you know that’s not a very pleasant situation, I estimate with a team of two others it’ll take about a half day to replace them and since we’ll have to take the warp core offline that’s another half day in dry dock. It’s probably best in the long run if you convince the Starbase to lend me hose two hands instead of taking it away from our own duties. Since we’re in drydock anyway. Do you want me to tell the Captain or will you?”

“A full day of repairs? Is that what you are telling me Ensign?” She paused for a moment.

I simply don’t have time for a full days worth of repair on the warp core. This is dry dock… everyone is supposed to be resting, preparing for the journey to come. Instead we are chest deep in torpedoes, upgrades, faulty turbo lifts and now broken force fields!
Of course the thought of force fields brought up the thought of Rowdy… and then Warwick mentioned the Captain…

“I’ll tell the Captain. Don’t bother the Starbase. I’m sure they are already taxed enough. I’m sending Garrish your way. Lt. Garrish, assistant CEO. Let me know the minute it is fixed. Clear?”

((OOC: Assuming positive response here))

As soon as the Ensign tapped out she was tapping her own badge to get things rolling on this.

“Cmdr. Kennedy to Lt. Garrish”

“Yes sir. On my way to your location now sir.”

“Change of plans. Report to main engineering. I really want you here, but I need you there. Ensign Warwick reported for duty this morning and has already located a problem with the force fields in the warp core. I want you to take a look at it yourself. Not that I don’t trust the boy, but I’ve known him for four hours and while he’s impressed the pants off me in that time it’s still only four hours. I want your eyes to look it over. Get back with me once you’ve verified the diagnosis and then get to work on it. Captain Blaire wants us out of here in two days… and by God I don’t intend on letting him down.”

Over the line a slight laugh can be heard. “Callie… when have you ever let anyone down? I’m on it. Over and out sir.”

I let all those people on the Gallant down… I let Jason down… She let her thoughts trail off at that.

Turning back to the Forward Bay she sighed as she noticed that her team had kept up the rhythm they had begun before… but she had lost hers.

Stardate: 2368.04.10
Lt. Garrish – Main Engineering – 1220
Cole Garrish stepped out of the turbo lift in main engineering. In another time and place he would have been a great candidate for a football team. Tall and broad, a fact that is only accentuated by the gold uniform, he is an impressive sight.

The respectful pulls to attention the crew gave him as he walked by, giving each a small nod of ‘as you were’ as he passed, was something that size alone could not garner, however. He picked Warwick out of the crew immediately. The new shiny face matching the new shiny shoes on the eager young officer.

((OOC: Expecting a proper formal greeting from Warwick as Garrish approaches))

“As you were Ensign Warwick. I’m Lt. Garrish…” He held out his hand which envelopes Warwicks completely when they shake hands.

“The Cmdr says you have found a problem with her warp core… care to show me what you’ve found?”

While following the boy back up to the problem Garrish cannot help but consider what Callie has already said about him.

He’s already impressed the pants off me… Callie was always supportive of her crew, she knew that confidence was something that sometimes had to be given, but that statement was more than her usual confidence boosting speech.

Now that he had Warwick in his own sights he could understand what it was that she was impressed by. He was mighty eager. Excited even.

When they reached the matter injection Garrish took a look at the force field himself. Frowning when he noticed the same flocculation that Warwick had earlier. Stepping back out onto the lift he tapped his combadge.

“Lt. Garrish to Cmdr. Kennedy.”

“How does she look Cole?” Came the snappy response from Kennedy.

“Just as the kid said she would. We’ll have to shut her down to do the repairs. Run a full diagnostic before kicking her into gear again too…”

“Alright. Get whoever you need to fix it. I’ll let the Captain know.”

“Over and out sir.” He tapped his badge again and then looked down at the Ensign.

“Alright tiger. Let’s get this girl fixed.” The big man rubbed his hands together and turned back to the warp core…


Stardate: 2368
Cmdr. Kennedy – Forward Torpedo Bay – 1230
The rhythm was completely lost for her now. All the while she had been hoping that Garrish would find some fault in Warwick’s diagnosis. Not that she wished for Warwick to fail at something, but instead she simply didn’t want another problem for her crew to handle right now. Things were busy enough. Beyond that she did not want to tell the Captain this.

With a deep breath she activated her combadge.

“Cmdr. Kennedy to Captain Blaire”

((OOC: Assuming response))

“Sir. I just wanted to inform you that a problem has been discovered with the warp core. We will have to shut down the core functions for at least 12 hours possibly more in order to properly repair the malfunction. I am of course aware of our launch date and all will be done to ensure that we are fully operational for that. I do not foresee any reason that this malfunction will be difficult to repair and impede our launch, however I wanted you to be aware of the situation.” As usual with her dealings with the Captain she was formal and to the point.

((OOC: Response from captain))

“Cmdr. Kennedy Out.”

I won’t let you down Captain… I promise you that…
“Hey! That is a warhead not a simple cargo crate! Treat it with respect!” She shouted down the bay as one of the torpedoes bumped lightly against a wall by accident.

“Sorry sir! I won’t let it happen again!” the little gold uniform responded quickly.

The volume on her music soared back up to full.

Stardate: 2368.04.10
USS Discovery, Deck 31 - Science Lab D, 0800
For once, taking the hint that Kate wasn't very talkative at the moment, Allen decided to remain silent during the rest of the short trip in the turbolift from Deck 36 to Deck 31.

When they arrived, they found Rena already in Science Lab D, preparing their positions.

"Thank you," Rena said warmly, "Shion, Gune, Allen, you already know the procedure... but please place the probes at the side of the lab for now. Kate, please place yours next to theirs as well."

After the probes are placed, Rena turned to Kate, "Now, I presume testing will take some time, so you don't have to stay here if there are other things you wish to get a start on, or if you wish to get acquainted with other people. I know it isn't the most interesting thing to watch after all."

(OOC: Pending response from Kate... just assuming it's kind of an 'okay'; after that she can leave the lab whenever she wishes)

"Now, let's see here..." Rena turned to the lined up probes, taking a handheld reader and scanning them. When she reached the second one, she nodded, "That one is registered as probe #5, so please put it in the test chamber, Allen."

"Gotcha." He replied, quickly doing so. In the meantime, Shion and Gune took up positions behind opposite computer terminals, while Rena stood to the side, monitoring their progress. Finally, Allen went to a third terminal adjacent to one by Rena. There was a soft sound of sliding metal as Rena's visor slid into place, blocking view of her eyes as she prepared to take notes.

"Alright," Rena said, "Gune, Shion, you know what to do."

Gune nodded several times, "Yes yes..." He quickly began typing on the computer, muttering as he went, "Initialize the waves with a multicentric force... multiplied by the limbic perimeter algorithm..."

Shion also said aloud what she was doing, but in contrast to Gune, it was in more understandable terms, "Initiating artificial vacuum... commencing startup sequence... requesting access to the encephalon core... partition online, A-LINE protocol in effect... activating quasi-reality projection simulators."

Rena nodded, murmuring to herself, "EMF force fields and encephalon projector online..." She turned to Allen, "Allen, how are the sensor readings?"

Allen checked his terminal, before reporting, "I've activated the probe now... The systems appear normal; no malfunctions detected."

"Right, Shion, let's start from the beginning with the level 100 processes." Rena instructed.

"Roger," Shion replied, "Beginning with particle detection test; simulating alpha radiation at 300ppsm."

Although nothing was readily visible within the test chamber, bright sparks of light suddenly appeared along the walls of the chamber.

"Yes yes... the field is holding at full integrity." Gune reported.

"The sensors are fluctuating between reading 298 and 303 ppsm." Allen quickly said.

"A small margin of error, as to be expected." Rena replied, "Recalibrate the sensor array."

"Calibration complete," Allen reported, "Now reading 300ppsm, static."

After a few more successful tests for particle detection, Rena turned her attention to thermal readings.

"Increase the temperature by a rate of a fiftieth of a degree Kelvin, Shion, until Allen says there's a change in the temperature reading." Rena instructed.

"Do we need to be that precise?" Allen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not in our field readings," Rena explained, "But for testing purposes, it helps to identify the margin of error and accuracy of the thermal sensor array."

After a moment, Allen said, "Temperature change detected at half a degree difference." He turned to Rena, "Shouldn't it be better than that?"

Rena shook her head, "It isn't necessary for this class of probe... stellar thermal readings aren't required to be so precise, because of the magnitude of their thermal energy to begin with."

After at least an hour, during which time the probe was also tested for its resiliency and sensor readings of solar wind and flares, Rena finally called a halt to the routine.

"Alright, I think that should be enough." Rena said, "Do a complete shutdown of the encephalon core, then deactivate the EMF force field..."

One down, three to go... Rena thought to herself.

Stardate: 2368.04.10
USS Discovery, captain's ready room - 1720
The door chimed to the ready room and Noah Blair smiled with anticipation.
“Come in!”

The doors opened to let in the Domtarian Commander, although he had to turn slightly to fit through the opening. It had been two years since he had seen Avanti, and in Blair’s eyes the man had gotten bigger. At 6’8”, Avanti towered over the captain, but his body was wide and dense, at least the size of two humans side by side. He had white wire-like hair that grew straight upwards, and a serious face although it did break into a smile upon seeing Blair.

“Captain Blair. It is good to see you again,” Avanti spoke.

"The pleasure is all mine, Commander Avanti," Noah beamed.

“It is good to be back. Seems like so long ago even though it was only two years. I hear that Commander Gavison received his own commission?”

The Captain nodded. "Indeed he did. The USS Charon, a Saber class fast frigate. Apparently, he was needed urgently - he barely had time to pack a bag before he had to leave." Noah grinned. "Not that I would begrudge him any enthusiasm for earning a command... and of course, it did lead to me getting you back. How was your tour aboard the Valmont?"

“It was a tough mission, not what was expected from the start.” Avanti looked down at the chair and decided not to sit; he didn’t have a good record with chairs. “There were multiple factions that wanted to better their positions. A few took militant stances and we were more trying hard to prevent a civil war than oversee a peace treaty. The Valmont was attacked a few times in hopes to stop the negotiations. But we did prevail.”

Noah fixed the XO with a bemused expression. "I heard a rumor that you ripped out the Captain's chair - with an ambassador still in it?"

“Oh. That.” Avanti looked embarrassed, “He came aboard as an ambassador but he and his men tried to take the Valmont by force. He was giving a long winded speech about his superiority and sat down in the captain’s chair. I… decided to take action. Turns out his followers didn’t have much drive once he was incapacitated.”

Noah did his best to contain his mirth - and only succeeded somewhat. "I can't imagine why."

After a few chuckles, Avanti moved to change the subject. “So is this a shakedown run once we leave drydock?”

Blair nodded. "More or less. We'll sail from here to the Cedulon system, where we will take some meaningless sensor readings, all the while posturing to the Romulans that the Federation is strong enough to send a Galaxy class that close to the neutral zone."

“Neutral zone, well that will be interesting.” Avanti said in that understated way that Blair remembered well, “I’d like to meet as many of the chief officers as possible before we get too far – you know, get to know them and let them get to know me. I would think the transition will be smooth as I modeled my command style on Gavison. Can we arrange a social gathering?”

Noah nodded. "Indeed, I was thinking the same thing. I think that it would be a bit rushed to try to do so this evening, but a dinner of some sort tomorrow night - our last in port - seems appropriate to me. It will give the staff a chance to meet you, and for that matter, each other - you are not the only new face for this cruise."

The Captain paused for a moment and eyed the Commander's bags. "That being said, I see that you haven't settled in yet - perhaps you should go and see if the XO's quarters are to your liking?"

“Thank you sir. I will do that.” Avanti replied.

"Oh, and Avanti?" Noah interrupted as the big alien stood to take his leave. "Welcome home."

Stardate: 2368.04.10
USS Discovery, His Quarters – 1500

Sitting in his quarters looking over the systems report for the ship, Bateman was disappointed that there were so many errors. Turbolifts, replicators...oh wait, that was repaired, now the warp core... far too many gremlins...

Seeing that the Turbolifts seemed to be the only problem not being taken care of at the moment, Bateman opened up the code for each turbolift and looked over each line, comparing it with what it should be.

Finding no errors there, Bateman took one of the working turbolifts done to deck 42 where the non working turbolifts were sitting; Bateman pulled out his tricorder and began scanning each component. Twenty minutes later, Bateman scanned the audio pickups and discovered that there was a small flaw in it causing it to be knocked a millimetre out of alignment.

Moving to the other two turbolifts, Bateman found that the problem was the same, and likely to occur in the other turbolifts before too long.

Walking to a nearby replicator, Bateman got a padd and started to design a new mounting system for the vocal pickups as he moved back to one of the working turbolifts.

Moving to engineering Bateman stopped at the main workstation and asked the engineer there Who was in charge at the moment.

Being told that Cmdr. Kennedy was the CEO and was currently away from engineering, but would likely be in the forward torpedo bay as she had been there most of the day.

=/\\=Lt. Bateman to Cmdr. Kennedy: Might I see you for a few moments, I have a solution to the turbolift outages. =/\\=

Time: 14:30
USS Discovery, Counselling

As it had been already a long day, and the tight knot at thee back of her head kept moving to the front, Venn was only mildly embarrased that she could not completely recall the man's name as Nick entered the office.

After a few moments, it came to her, sudden and sharp, and she winced with theeffort, before greeting him warmly.

"Ah, yes. How are you, Nick? What can I do for you this afternoon?"

((OOC: Waiting for responses))

"I see. Well, why don't we have a seat if you have some time and we can talk it over a bit first. Would you like something to drink?"

Venn stood, willing her body into steadiness, and moved across the room with tight control, feeling her muscles coiled and aching as the tension in her head spread along her lean frame. Stopping before the replicator, she requested a warm cocoa with whipped cream and sighed softly, pushing aside a memory of Max Romanov's cocoa as a child.

"So, you were saying...?"

Stardate: 2368.04.10
Time: 13:30 USS Discovery, Counselling.
As it had been already a long day, and the tight knot at thee back of her head kept moving to the front, Venn was only mildly embarrased that she could not completely recall the man's name as Nick entered the office.

After a few moments, it came to her, sudden and sharp, and she winced with theeffort, before greeting him warmly.

"Ah, yes. How are you, Nick? What can I do for you this afternoon?"

Ahh, a helpful and friendly attitude! The cynic's one true weakness! Well, what else would I expect from a counsellor - if they don't put you on edge they're not well trained enough.
"Well, I was wondering if you could help me with a little problem of mine. I need an opponent for my next live-fire boarding drill."

"I see. Well, why don't we have a seat if you have some time and we can talk it over a bit first. Would you like something to drink?"

"Just water, thank you." I'm hard enough to control even without caffeine or alcohol in me.

A sugar high does not bear contemplation.
Venn stood, willing her body into steadiness, and moved across the room with tight control, feeling her muscles coiled and aching as the tension in her head spread along her lean frame. Stopping before the replicator, she requested a warm cocoa with whipped cream and sighed softly, pushing aside a memory of Max Romanov's cocoa as a child.

That's weird. Her movements should be more fluid, the muscles are tensing oddly...
"So, you were saying...?"

"Is there something wrong, Counsellor D... Constantine? Your body appears to be in some distress."

Now, if that's only a body language problem, then she's probably tense, stressed, and/or fatigued, pick two or three. But she could also be ill... if I'd actually taken a field medicine course, I might have some idea what the alternatives are. Oh, well.

....wait... Has she found out about my holodeck program? I could understand her being tense and stress when meeting me if she knew about that...
OOC: Some back and forth with the counsellor about her current state. Picking up again when they get back to Nick's reason for visiting.

"Anyway, the drill. It's pretty simple in theory - one of the non-security officers is appointed to lead a 'raiding party' of off-duty officers and crewmen in an attempt to take control of or destroy the ship. That officer gets to pick who they use, how many, when they 'attack', and it's up to myself and the security staff to try and stop them without warning or foreknowledge of their plans. I think it is best if I give leadership of the opposition to whichever of the other senior staff is most in need of... well, some stress relief. Running up and down corridors with a phaser rifle set on stun is *fun*, and it's certainly a break from their regular duties. Anyway, all the details are on this PADD. I'll leave it with you, and you can give it to one of the other senior officers - I think you'd know who needs this better than I would, yes?"

OOC: Any discussion relating to the boarding drill in here.

"Oh, and one other thing: If it's not too much of a problem, I'd like someone to head down to the brig, have a chat with Lieutenant Valkriss. She's only got a few days left on her sentence, and if she's calm enough, I'll ask the Captain to suspend those last days so she can be on duty when we launch. It's always a shame to miss the start of a mission, I find."

Stardate: 2368.04.10
USS Discovery, Holodeck 3- 1600
Today had been the most boring day ever. Three hours of mathematics, three abyssal hours of algebra and geometry and some other stuff Jack had blocked out of his memory. Then it was exo-climatology, followed by vulcan philosophy. That last hour had been too much. If any nine-year old boy could feel enthusiastic about the teachings of Surak, it wasn't Jack Valen.

Today had pushed him over the edge. He just had to do something fun, something daring. Something that could get him into spectacular trouble if he was found out.

So when he got home from school, he entered the code he had spied his mother using, and stole her phaser from her bedroom.

Hiding it behind his skateboard, he smuggled it to holodeck three. Using the technique his older friend Joanna had taught him, he tricked the computer into letting him inside without parental authorisation. He threw his skateboard down onto the floor, and thought for a moment about what he would do.

"Computer," he began, a grin emerging on his face. "Create the battlefield from the Battle of HarOs." He remembered learning about the battle in school. He remembered klingons had been involved. He didn't remember much else.

As the historical landscape seemed to materialise about him, Jack asked the computer to create an army of klingons armed with bat'leths behind him, and to make him their leader. Then he asked for an army of romulans to face them, armed with small knives. The images of the opposing armies came into being, frozen in place.

"Computer, access music files listed under Valen nineteen. Set to random play once the program is initiated. And computer, disable the holodeck safeties."

=/\\\\= Authorisation codes are needed to disable the holodeck safety features. =/\\==

"Ah hell, forget it them. Just start the program."

At once, an enormous sound filled Jack's ears. The roar of the klingons' battlecry. The stampede of boots rushing to tackle the enemy in mêlée. The screeching guitars that filled the whole landscape.

Jack set his mother's phaser to its highest setting. Then he roared as loudly and impressively as his nine-year old lungs would permit, and ran to join the charge.

=/\\\\= Fear, and panic in the air... =/\\\\=

Aiming his weapon at a romulan in the front ranks, he fired. He missed. He fired again.

=/\\\\= ...I want to be free, from desolation and despair... =/\\\\=

A romulan was vaporised. Jack laughed as the image simply disappeared. He aimed again.

=/\\\\= ...And I feel like everything I sow has been swept away... =/\\\\=

Another romulan became so many photons. And another. And another. And another.

=/\\\\= ...But I refuse to let you go. =/\\\\=

Another person came into his field of vision, he pointed his weapon at them, ready to defend himself.

"Computer, end program!" came its screeching voice.

Everything else melted away. The fields, the armies, the screaming and the music. Jack was left standing, panting for lack of breath, in the bare, grid-lined holodeck, with his mother's own phaser trained on her chest. She lunged forward and snatched it from him.

"What were you thinking boy? Taking this from our quarters! Entering here without permission! Playing soldier like it's..."

She stopped her tirade short as she saw the setting on the weapon. There was a silence which made three hours of mathematics seem like an eye-blink.

"You... you had this... you were going to, to..." she whispered, nearly inaudibly. She seemed transfixed by the readout on the phaser. Jack saw his chance. He ran for the doors. Lieutenant Valen turned vaguely to face the door. "You were going to..."

"No!" Jack screamed, spinning around as he reached the exit. "I just wanted to have some fun in the holodeck. I know I broke the rules, but I wasn't going to hurt anybody!"

"No more," his mother was starting to shake. "I just can't... no more." She began to murmur things Jack couldn't hear, tears glistening beneath her eyes. She gulped, took a deep breath and croaked. "Go to your bedroom. Just go."

Jack ran.

Stardate: 2368.04.10
Time: 13:30
USS Discovery, Counselling.


"Is there something wrong, Counsellor D... Constantine? Your body appears to be in some distress."


Venn smiled and ordered up his water, bringing their drinks to the poofy sofas. Setting them down she reached back and worked her fingers at the thick hard knots along her neck.

"It's nothing, I think I slept badly, and sitting so long in one spot tends to... anyhow. About this project."

"Anyway, the drill. It's pretty simple in theory - one of the non-security officers is appointed to lead a 'raiding party' of off-duty officers and crewmen in an attempt to take control of or destroy the ship. That officer gets to pick who they use, how many, when they 'attack', and it's up to myself and the security staff to try and stop them without warning or foreknowledge of their plans. I think it is best if I give leadership of the opposition to whichever of the other senior staff is most in need of... well, some stress relief. Running up and down corridors with a phaser rifle set on stun is *fun*, and it's certainly a break from their regular duties. Anyway, all the details are on this PADD. I'll leave it with you, and you can give it to one of the other senior officers - I think you'd know who needs this better than I would, yes?"

As he described the challenge, her eyes brightened, the soft emerald sparkling as the gears within her head turned, grinding out ideas faster than she could catalog them.

"It sounds quite intruiging. You know, I would be greatly interested in the results. Perhaps you might consider sending me a copy of the reports, as well?"

"Oh, and one other thing: If it's not too much of a problem, I'd like someone to head down to the brig, have a chat with Lieutenant Valkriss. She's only got a few days left on her sentence, and if she's calm enough, I'll ask the Captain to suspend those last days so she can be on duty when we launch. It's always a shame to miss the start of a mission, I find."

"Actually, I had planned on a visit myself today. Now, hadn't you asked me about some stress relif techniques because of a co-worker? Do you have time to talk about those concerns now?"

Venn sipped at her drink, savoring the taste as it played over her tongue. The titan's grip on her muscles began to release a little and the smile on her lips belied the observations she was making, making down and mentally cataloging his actions and words for later analysis.

Stardate: 2368.04.10
Time: 13:30 USS Discovery, Counselling.
"It sounds quite intruiging. You know, I would be greatly interested in the results. Perhaps you might consider sending me a copy of the reports, as well?"

"Of course." It's not as though making extra copies is a difficult task, after all. "Oh, and one other thing: If it's not too much of a problem, I'd like someone to head down to the brig, have a chat with Lieutenant Valkriss. She's only got a few days left on her sentence, and if she's calm enough, I'll ask the Captain to suspend those last days so she can be on duty when we launch. It's always a shame to miss the start of a mission, I find."

To this point in the conversation, Nick had been sitting ramrod-straight in the sofa, bolt upright, eyes glancing about the room as though he expected to be assaulted by flying psychology texts bearing phaser rifles. The water was clasped in his hand but he hadn't drunk any.

"Actually, I had planned on a visit myself today. Now, hadn't you asked me about some stress relif techniques because of a co-worker? Do you have time to talk about those concerns now?"

This was the point where Nick's body language changed. His arrangements and his doing a favour for the ridged-forehead one had both seen him acting as though in hostile territory, but when the subject switched to his new subordinate...

"My new Ensign arrived earlier today. I saw something in her hand as she was trying to find her room assignment from one of the docking bay terminals. I thought I'd remembered something about 'worry balls', and as you confirmed, they actually are a stress relief device. I will have to have those confiscated if she shows up for duty with them. I know, you have to be pretty hard on someone to enforce that particular part of the dress code, but the thing about duty in a security department is... Well, it's not that out of the question that Ensign La Rue will find herself leading a dozen of my enlisted men somewhere where rescue is a fortnight away and they have to survive combat conditions until relief can reach them. If she cannot cope with light ship-board duties without a mental crutch, the first time she tastes actual prolonged combat she's going to disintegrate. When an officer comes apart in battle, the people under them are dead. That simple, really. So, consider this a friendly warning: You may be seeing a lot of that ensign on this cruise."

...instead of guarded and cagey, he was speaking faster, gesticulating more - to the point that he'd actually spilled a little of his water on the sofa - and actually leaning forwards and concentrating on the counsellor. It was probably the first time in the conversation that they'd reached a topic more important to him than escaping from the counsellor's office unanalysed was.

Stardate: 2368.04.10
Time: 13:40
USS Discovery, Counselling.


A single brow arched, delicate and with some slight amusement. Dress code violation? She watched him for signs that he might be kidding, or even somehow trying to be amusing, but finding no hint of such intention, she sipped at her drink and watched him over the rim of the mug.

When he appeared to take a breath, she smiled and cocked her head slightly. Wayward strands of dark silken hair fell in front of her eyes again.

"La Rue. Yes, I believe I am familiar with her file. She's fairly young, isn't she? Poor thing, you know, before going to that extreme, why not give her a few days to become acclimated to the ship? You might find that her use of the device is in no way related to her occupation, but more to being on such a big ship, far from home, at a young age. But, if it will put you more at ease, I can call her in and have a chat with her to see what is going on. Would that be okay?"

Stardate: 2368.04.10
Time: 13:40
USS Discovery, Counselling.
"Counsellor, the extreme reaction to a potentially mentally unstable junior officer is to formally require them to be analysed by the ship's counsellor, and if they're rated as marginal or unsuitable, have them reassigned to a desk job." A hint of amusement creeping into Nick's voice here. "It happened to me three times as an Ensign." But just as quickly, he's back to being serious.

"Doubtless, you're better at reading people than I am, so you can deal with her if you'd like. There are a couple of conditions, though: whatever stress problems she has have to be sorted before any of my men's lives depend upon the Ensign. Ideally, it should be sorted in a way that neither of us has to log on her permanent record. Get something like this down in your file, and your only hope of advancement is a Forlorn Hope."

I wonder if she knows what a Forlorn Hope is? She probably didn't take as many military history lessons as I did.

Stardate: 2368.04.10
USS Discovery, Engineering – 1600

Receiving no reply from Cmdr. Kennedy, Bateman asked the computer for Cmdr. Kennedy's location and proceeded to the forward armoury.

Arriving there, Bateman asked a petty officer where he could find Cmdr. Kennedy he was pointed to an officer who was elbow deep in a torpedo, and he could hear the music from thier headphones as he walked up.

Tapping her on the shoulder lightly Bateman awaited a response.