Senior Staff Meeting

Posted on Wed Feb 22nd, 2023 @ 8:39pm by Lieutenant Commander Klarth & Captain Linda Wilson & Commander Sandy "Phantom" Risa & Lieutenant Commander Rayek trLhoell & Lieutenant Commander Yadira Risen & Lieutenant Brandy "Raven" Davies

6,208 words; about a 31 minute read

Mission: Into The Void
Location: Conference Room One
Timeline: The day after the captain's arrival

Ensign Manamea Toelau couldn't stop giggling to herself as she stepped into the conference room off of the bridge. Toelau was short at 4' 11" but she felt like what she lacked in height she made up for in personality and spunk.

It was only a few minutes before the meeting was to start, but she was still the first one in the room. She couldn't stop giggling because it was just so absurd, I mean she had told Elle that sure they could room together mostly out of morbid curiosity. I mean why did the ship's AI need quarters anyway?

It wasn't long after Toelau had sat down that Lt. Ripley came into the room and sat down right next to her. "Mana what are you doing here?" she asked. Ripley was wearing glasses and had her blond hair tied back. Her uniform was dotted with stains left by the various animals in the xenobiology lab.

"I could ask you the same thing." Toelau said.

"Well, the CSO didn't know if he could make it, so he asked me to come and take notes."

"Well apparently Lt Fitzgerald is going to be the bridge officer during the meeting, and Lt. Cathcart asked me if I could attend the meeting and take notes."

"But you're not even in the Operations Department," said Ripley.

"Well, I wasn't going to let that stop me," said Toelau. "You can't get noticed by the new Captain if you're not even in the room."

Ripley didn't want to be noticed by the Captain; she'd have much rather stayed in her lab with her animals, but she understood Toelau's ambition. She decided to change the subject. "Is it true that you have a new roommate?"

"Yes, it's true. I'm bunking with the AI," said Toelau.

"Why does she even need a room?" asked Ripley.

"That's what I want to know? She doesn't even sleep! She just read datapads all night"

This made them laugh but they stopped short when they heard the door opening.

It was Crewman Rongo Tchulka, he was an imposing figure as he was very muscular and tough looking. But Toelau and Ripley both knew him and knew that he was a nice enough guy, but shy and hard to get to know.

He came in and looked surprised that anyone else was already there. Instead of sitting down he stood by the doorway at attention. Always the security man. He was just going to watch the door.

Well, Tchulka being there had stopped their idle chatter so Ripley and Toelau read datapads in silence until Lt. Klarth came into the conference room.

Klarth saw Tchulka and shook his hand "Tchulka good to see you as always." Klarth came and sat near the young officers. "Tchulka is my best student in my advanced Mok'bara class. You should both join one of my classes."

"The Captain walked in. "Not bad! I see a lot of early birds. I like it when my officers are n time or even early. " She went over to the replicator, "Coffee, large, hot, two cream three sugars, cinnamon roll very warm and a large napkin." The requested items appeared in the replicator alcove. The captain took her items and sat down. "Go ahead and get yourselves some to drink and /or eat while you can." she sat down and began to eat her cinnamon roll while waiting for the others.

Toelau, Ripley and Klarth all stood when the captain entered, Tchulka was already standing. After the captain spoke Toelau and Ripley sat back down. Klarth walked over to the Captain and Tchulka continued to stand there.

"Captain good to see you, again," said Klarth "How have you been settling in?"

"Doing good Doctor. Getting there."

"Great to hear," said Klarth.

"Captain, I must apologize for my tardiness, but I was in Engineering conducting a tour and a 'meet and greet' with my staff," Lieutenant Commander Brendan Dernah said as he rushed into the Conference Room. Looking around, he saw some new faces and bid them well. "Good morning, ladies. I am Lieutenant Commander Brendan Dernah, Chief Engineer and who might you be?" And then he grabbed a hot chocolate with white chocolate mocha.

"Ensign Toleau in Flight Control, sir, but I'm taking notes for Operations." Toleau was surprised the Chief Engineer was even talking to her but she had an outgoing personality. "How do you like the ship so far, sir?"

Meanwhile Ripley was the shy type and only managed to say "Lt. Ripley from Xenobiology, sir." She found it hard to meet Dernah's eyes.

"I see so neither of you are senior officers but your superiors think highly of you to send you in their steads. That's brilliant! You two have managed to get off on the right foot and I certainly would love to see where it takes you," Dernah said.

Toleau was very happy for the compliment, but Dernah obviously had not yet heard about Lt. Cathcart in Operations. He should have been the one to attend the meeting, but he rarely left his office. But this was not the place to explain such things so she just said "Thank you, sir."

"None required nor solicited. I'm all for junior officers getting experience as Chief," Dernah said with a smile.

The newly assigned Romulan entered the briefing room moments after the Chief Engineer. On his collar sat an additional black centered pip, that hadn't been there the day before, marking his promotion to Lieutenant Commander. Also added to his uniform was a security officer's weapons belt which held his recently signed out Type II phaser.

Rayek glanced over the room, mildly disappointed that his need to be updated on his new department had kept him from arriving at the meeting earlier to scan the room without other present. Regardless, the new Security Chief wasn't going to shirk his responsibility because others might think him overly paranoid. The long-legged Romulan strode to the replicator and tapped out a requisition for a black Chai tea and a highly specialized security scanner.

With his tea in one hand, and the active scanner in the other Rayek did a circuit of briefing room, while the others were doing introductions. He watched the scanner for any indication that the room was being monitored or recorded. It pinged once in the vicinity of the room's security camera and with his new authorizations Rayek was able to check that the video feed was only being recorded to the ship's secure logs and required Command or senior security permissions to access only.

Klarth saw all the fiddling Rayek was doing with the scanner and the new pips and went over to congratulate Rayek. "Rayek looks like you got a promotion and a new job, congratulations. I guess they'll let anyone into security these days." Klarth said the words with a big smile indicating he meant no ill will.

Rayek looked over to the Klingon at his teasing comment and laughed in response. "Yeah, they must be really hard up to fill their diversity quota to let in the likes of me." To Rayek, it was ironic his being offered the Acting Sec/Tac Chief position... because if he were to be consulted regarding an individual in his exact situation - there is no way Rayek would have endorsed them to have been commissioned much less given the authority of a Chief's position. He inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement of the Klingon's felicitations. "Thank you. I hadn't realized how much I missed the rank and role. I guess I am more prideful that I would like."

Klarth chuckled a little at the diversity comment and then said "I'm sure you're going to be great at it" And he put his hand on his shoulder in a Klingon gesture of comradery.

Tchulka walked over to Rayek and said "Did you have any order for me sir, or should I keep watching the door during the meeting?"

The Romulan looked over towards the security crewman who but a week ago had escorted him with a scowling expression to this very room as his guard. Rayek would have thought the security crewman might have some hesitancy with working with a Romulan as his superior, but surprisingly that didn't seem to be the case. "Continue your current duties." Rayek answered.

"Yes sir" said Tchulka and returned to guarding the door.

Rayek would need a day or so to institute his own changes to the department. For now, what Lieutenant Commander Arkyn had in place would have to do until Rayek finished his assessment of the entire department.

Once he finished his sweep the Romulan placed the scanner on his belt. "The room is secure, Captain" Rayek announced as he took a seat to the left of the Orion Captain. Rayek didn't think to offer his introduction to the others. They would likely be informed of his new assignment and promotion during the course of the meeting anyways. Rayek sipped at his tea, while he waited for the meeting to begin.

"Excellent work Lt Commander." she said as she finished another bite of her cinnamon roll and took a sip of coffee. "Ok let call this meeting to order. As I think most everybody knows, I'm the new Captain. Captain Hadenbeer has been transported back home to heal and I apparently have been selected to replace her.. So I figured we'd start with our first senior staff meeting. Oh yeah, Elle! You're invited too. C'mon! So anyway, as you figured out, Lt Cmdr Rayek is now Acting Security Chief and Tactical officer." She looked over at Klarth. "Doctor! You're out of uniform. I expected better than that from you!" Yeah she was good at keep a straight face. yes he was out of uniform but he had no way of knowing it. Hopefully he would understand once she gave him the news of his promotion.

Elle appeared at the meeting "Sorry, Captain, I wanted to be fashionably late."

"For future reference Elle, don't be late. I expect my officers to be on time, clear?"

"As clear as crystal sir, said Elle. "It won't happen again." Then she did a salute.

Brendan simply watched the room doing empathic scans for everyone. He wasn't reading their minds only their emotional state to help him get a better handle on his new crew mates. He was a trained and certified empathic therapist back on Betazed so he trusted his senses. There were no 'extraneous' feelings coming from anyone as far as he could tell but then again, he had only just joined.

Rayek inclined his head towards the Captain in a pleased manner when she praised his work and then again to the others at the table when the Captain mentioned his promotion and acting assignment. He was unaware of the Betazoid reading his emotions or he might have attempted to contain those more closely - but as it was he was feeling rather relieved to have been accepted into the ship's crew and was merely shielding his thoughts from the other telepaths in the room and not so much worried about his feelings.

When the Captain called out Klarth for being out of uniform, Rayek smirked and then smiled looking over to the Klingon. He'd already seen that Klarth was in uniform so that meant the Captain's declaration was a ruse - that would likely lead to an announcement of a promotion for the doctor. Rayek had been subjected to such a ruse once by a former Captain. The Romulan was grateful that Captain Wilson hadn't put his promotion on display like that and instead had meet with him privately earlier.

Klarth looked at the Captain and at himself and was confused. "Captain, I am in uniform. For I second I thought this was that dream where you look down at yourself and realize you're naked."

Rayek muffled a laugh, nearly choking on his chai tea at the Klingon's comment. So such odd dreams weren't just a Romulan thing.

"Oh I assure you Lt. Cmdr. You are out of uniform. It's incorrect. Missing something, something important!" Yes she had wicked sense of humor. Hopefully Klarth will forgive her when he figures out she's teasing his promotion. She wanted to see if he caught that she said Lt. Cmdr and not Lt. He really should be a LT Cmdr in her eyes. Yeah he crossed the line with the prisoner but he'd paid his dues and since he is the CMO, well Lt Cmdr sounded a lot better than just LT.

"Lt. Commander?" said Klarth confused. "My current rank is Lieutenant?"

"Really? are you sure? I don't think I'm mistaken. I'm pretty good about knowing rank. Do you think I'm mistaken, Lt. Cmdr Rayek? Of course Doctor if you don't want the promotion it's your choice." the Captain said with a wicked grin!

Rayek watched the Klingon's confusion with amusement. At the Captain's question, Rayek turned to the Orion and shook his head. "You are not mistaken at all, Captain. Perhaps seeing the pip might help him accept the reality of his situation."

"Of course I want the promotion Captain, I just didn't realize one was being offered to me," said Klarth. "But now that I do... this is a great honor."

"OK, Lt Klarth you are hereby promoted to Lt. Commander" She gave him the extra pip. "Congratulations! Lt. Cmdr."

"Thank you Captain," said Klarth "Do I have time for a speech?... It is my great pleasure to accept this promotion. I hope that I will perform my duties with honor and justify your confidence in me. Thank you." Klarth returns to his seat.

"Well said Lt. Cmdr." The Captain said as she shook Klarth's hand.

Rayek applauded Klarth's speech and offered his own felicitations to the Klingon. "From what I know you of Klarth, even after only such a short time, your promotion is well earned and overdue. Congratulations!"

"Where is Commander Risa? As first officer she should be here!" Captain Wilson asked.

"Actually I am here long enough to hear about the promotion of the good Doctor and you are quite right in that he is out of uniform. Congratulations sir, it is well deserved," Sandy said. "Please excuse the tardiness of my arrival, but I was unavoidably detained by a new crew member," she added, taking her customary seat at the table.

"Yep it happens! Well now that you are first officer, might happen more as people recognize you! I think you are about to become very popular commander."

Rayek, seated to the Captain's left, offered an acknowledging nod towards the ship's XO as she took her seat. He wondered what the Captain meant by her comment.

The doors opened as R'elle came in. "Sorry! Unavoidably detained!" she said as she took her seat after grabbing her usual coffee/hot chocolate mix.

"Ok now that everyone is here, let's get going. So I am getting to know you and you will get to know me. You've already found out I have a rather wicked sense of humor. But I do want a report from all department heads. So let's start with Security. Rayek, anything you want to report? Any concerns or anything?"

Rayek nodded as he was called on by the Captain to report first. He stood up from his seat, with his PADD in hand and with a few taps a display of the Security roster was put up on the wall monitor opposite of the Captain's seat. "At present time, the Security department is aligned alongside that of Tactical and together the department has a total of 96 staff, which is scheduled on a 3 shift rotation. I will be reviewing the effectiveness of this system with the current personnel to ensure that it is optimal to the ship's needs."

The Romulan then went on to report out the recent security issues on the ship.

"For those of you recently arrived, the ship's security was breached by an as yet unidentified individual who assumed the identity of one of the recently rescued personnel from Gabriel station. This individual then attempted to assassinate Lieutenant H'orri and attacked the Captain in the process. I'll be conducting an investigation into the means by which she obtained her stealth suit - either smuggled aboard when she was rescued or replicated using our own systems. There were failures in our security and I intend to address them, so that this does not happen again." Rayek looked towards the Captain as he made that statement - a sort of promise to her. Then looked to the rest of the assembled senior staff. "Any questions?"

"I don't have any at this time. Thank you Lt. Commander. Next, Medical. Dr, anything to report?" Linda said.

Rayek sat back down and turned his attention to his PADD, reading through past reports, as he listened to the meeting. Every few seconds, the Romulan would glance up from his PADD to do a quick visual sweep of the room - meet eyes with the security crewman to be certain the man was keeping alert - then return to his reading. The remains of his chai tea sat forgotten on the table in front of him.

"Well, we had many injuries a few days ago from the attack on Gabriel Station," said Klarth. "But 90% of those cases have been released. And the Vedala removed the two crew members that were injured more recently by an assassin. One of which happened to be the former Captain, The Vedala also removed the assassin who had been injured as well. All this to say that my main concern right now as we get ready to go on a glorious adventure to parts unknown is when are we planning to receive a resupply of medical supplies. We have enough artificial plasma and other supplies for now but you never know what you're going to run into."

"Very true Doctor. I expect that we will face a lot of unexpected things in our voyages. However for now, it sounds like we are all set. Ok, engineering, report Commander Durnah?" The Captain called on the next senior officer.

"Well Captain , I just came from a meeting with my staff and it appears that everything is well in hand. Other than that, I have nothing of any actual import to update."

"Ok, Lt Ripley, what is your report?"

Lt. Ripley said "First off, circling back to what Klarth said about issues with having enough medical supplies, Dr., have you studied Dr. Phlox's books on xenobiological medical treatments? They are 200 years old, but they are still seminal works on the subject. And my xenobiology lab has many of the animals Phlox utilized. I have osmotic eels that could cauterize wounds and Regulan bloodworms that could be used to cleanse someone's lymphatic system.

"I have seen some stuff about his work, but confess to being ignorant of many such practices," said Klarth. "I would certainly be open to touring your lab and discussing it further sometime."

Lt. Ripley was pleased by this and moved on to the next subject. "The first thing I'll say about the science department is that as you may imagine every different division has very different needs and wants. Stellar Cartography is thrilled to be here in another dimension in parts unknown and requested that we stay here for a minimum of 6 months. Meanwhile, xenobiology, and botany and many others want to start exploring new planets tomorrow. And the ship's Historians are especially excited about visiting new dimensions and studying alternate histories and they request that we spend a minimum of 6 months in every new dimension. And the Historians were also eager to interview Rayek about his dimension and said that 'It would only take a couple of weeks.'

Rayek's head lifted sharply from the study of his PADD at the Lieutenant's comment. "Given the chronological similarities of your universe and my own, I don't believe that would be wise as it could influence Starfleet's reactions to future events. I assume this Fleet does have a Temporal Prime Directive of its own, does it not? Well, mine did and I am expected to keep future information secure."

The Romulan turned to look to the Orion Captain. "That said, I will comply if you order me to do this." His words were stated simply but the way Rayek studied the Captain clearly said this was a test. Was she the type of Captain to overlook the warnings presented to her, or did she listen and weigh things before making a decision.

"No Rayek. If you feel it would be unwise, then you do not have to if you don't want to. I trust your judgement on this matter. As for 6 months? I don't know about that! We'll take it place by place. "

Rayek nodded his acknowledgement and returned his attention back to his PADD.

Ensign Toelau said "It appears I am speaking for Flight Control and Operations." (Where Lt Davies was she didn't know or mention). "I'll do Operations first: Lt. Fitzgerald and Lt. Cathcart are both very concerned about how much energy is required for the dimensional drive and the updates from the Vedalas has only made it worse. They recommend a three hour warning before using the dimensional drive to give them time to slowly divert power to the dimensional drive from our other systems. And they say that it would not be possible to use the drive and warp at the same time. Lt. Cathcart said 'Did you ever try to use a toaster and a coffee maker in your dorm room at the academy at the same time? The circuits weren't strong enough and would trip. Well, the difference here is instead of tripping systems, things might start exploding'."

At the Ensign's report from Operations, Rayek lifted his head once more to look towards the Chief Engineer, wondering if he had the same concerns as the Operations Chief. It was possible being new to the ship the Lieutenant Commander wasn't fully up to speed on the dimensional drive and its limitations. The fact that Elle had done the jump to this universe without any prior preparation proved it was possible to jump without the advance warning but he wondered if there had been complications to the drive because of that. The Chief hadn't mentioned anything of the sort though in his report.

Rayek made a mental note to study up on the dimensional drive theory a bit more.

"And the report is far more positive from Flight Control," Toelau continued "We have looked at the data from the Vedalas and report that trips through the Void might be a little rocky but it won't be anything that us pilots can't handle."

"Good. Ok, Elle, anything you'd like to contribute?" Linda figured she'd give Elle a chance to say something. After all, she was the ship so she might know something no one else does.

Elle looked kind of taken aback. She had been a secret for so long that she was still not used to be treated like a person instead of an appliance. "Personally I think the Operations department is being a bit overly cautious and that jumps can be performed much quicker especially in an emergency but they aren't wrong that the best thing to do is divert the power more slowly. You'll get more life out of the equipment that way and end up needing fewer repairs....As to a report. Generally the Lionheart is in tip-top shape and ready for this new mission. Assuming we don't get too banged up, we won't need an overhaul at a Starbase for several years...As far as personnel it might be more appropriate for R'elle to report on some of this, but I'll just give an overview, I would describe ship moral as average and that the news that Janeway is no longer hunting the ship has made opinions of me much higher and more positive." Elle looked at Captain Wilson and said "And even though you only recently got her, opinions of you Captain are mostly positive as well."

Angry that the helm data computer misinterpreted the order of destinations, Brandy's persistence he ad paid off. Sensing Ens Toelau had already spoken, =/\= Davies to Captain, My apologies for not being there but, there was a little problem in the helm computer. I have since corrected it and Ens. Toelau's report is accurate. Davies out=/\= Brandy was still agitated by this. One mistake and oh brother how in the name of the four deities would they get back.

"OK, nice work Commander. I think we all appreciate that very much! Councilor, what have you to report?" Linda asked

"Well the crew is a little on edge, some more so than others. A lot has happened very quickly so it's hard for them to adapt but overall I think they'll be ok. They're a good crew. This has been a big change for them so adapting will take a little time but overall I'd say everything will be ok." R'elle said.

"OK thanks councilor. Good to know the crew is holding on. I know it's been a lot of changes. Trust me I know how they feel! Not easy for me either but we all will adjust. OK, I think that's everybody unless somebody has something to add?"

Sandy looked around to see if anyone had something to say. "If there are no more pressing questions, then I want departmental readiness reports as soon as possible," Sandy said, looking at the Captain.

Rayek nodded his acknowledgement towards the First Officer.



Myles rounded the corner, his eyes felt as though a flash bomb had been set off in front of him. If he could see, he would know an energy with the colors of a prism rolled and roiled around his body.

He entered through a door that slid with the sounds of a pneumatic hiss. His eyes cleared cleared just enough to see a room full of people. “Where am I?” he wondered. He could tell it wasn’t engineering. “The dimensional drive is being engaged. I should be in engineering,” he added before he collapsed in the doorway.

It took a second for Rayek to react to the unexpected entrance of the now unconscious individual in fleet uniform. Was this yet another senior officer he hadn't met? He had studied the roster in depth during his time here. The man's face, what he'd seen of it before the collapse, had not been one he recognized. Given recent events with Shorn though, Rayek wasn't taking any chances. The Romulan was out of his seat, moving around the conference table hand covering his phaser ready to draw, while he motioned wordlessly for Crewman Tchulka to check the downed figure.

First Tchulka checked the man for any weapons, only then did he check if he was breathing.

"Ok, looks like someone decided to drop in." the Captain said. She hoped this didn't happen a lot. It was difficult on security if people kept dropping in from other dimensions. Fortunately Rayek was on it very quickly.

"Doctor Klarth, if you would hold a moment, while we assess the scene." Rayek would move to block the Klingon from attending the figure until the crewman checked the prone figure over for weapons.

Klarth followed Rayek's instructions and did not approach but he did get out his tricorder and start to get a reading. He had a bad feeling that this man was not from their dimension.

The old chinese curse 'May you live an interesting life' came to mind for Linda. "Ok well never a dull moment it seems on this ship. Ok LT cmdr Dernah, you put in a request to be transferred to ops. Well I have looked over your record and you do seem to have a talent for it and as we have an opening at the top, I'll approve it. Engineering can get along without you!"

Once the figure was cleared by Tchulka, Rayek assisted with turning the man over, then motioned Klarth to do his assessment. With an unobstructed view of the man's face, Rayek was certain that he wasn't a part of the ship's complement - nor a rescued member from Gabriel station. "Does anyone know who this man is?" He looked around the room to the other officers.

It was easier for Klarth to exam the man up close. He was most interesting in knowing who this was and where he was from. But he also wanted to know why he was unconscious.

With the sudden appearance of the unknown individual, Sandy's first move was to protect the captain. Pushing her to the floor and covering her with her own body, she pulled her phaser, hollering, "Report!" she yelled.

"Sorry captain but my first duty is to protect my captain at all times" Sandy said, as she waited for the reports.

"I..understand Comdr. I appreciate your caution!" Linda said. Well kinda hard to argue with her when she was trying to make sure linda was safe.

At the First Officer's shout for a report, Rayek glanced over to the pair on the floor. "The officer is unarmed and unconscious. It's safe to let the Captain up." It was then that he noted the Commander's phaser in hand. The Romulan's expression twitched.

On Rayek's previous Starfleet assignments the only ones to carry sidearms or weaponry of any kind were the trained Security personnel, unless the weapon was signed out for an away mission where a threat was suspected. It seemed that at least that one thing was different on Lionheart. Perhaps the incident with Shorn was not an outlier but just the way things were conducted in this universe? Rayek made a mental note to himself to review this fleet's protocol for officers carrying weapons on the ship.

Sensing Rayek's curiosity, "Rayek, yes I do have hand phaser and I do keep it on me at all times. When becoming Executive Officer, I share the protection of the captain just as you would. If I have over stepped my job just let me know later and we can discuss it in my office" Sandy said. Allowing the Captain to regain her footing, "Are you injured Captain?" Sandy said looking at R'elle to see if she was injured.

"No I'm fine." Captain Wilson said.

R'elle was fine but observing everything that was going on. She was very interested in the new crewmember who had popped up.

The Romulan frowned, recognizing that either his expression or his thoughts and emotions had betrayed him to the Betazoid. He attempted to shore up his mental shields and tamp down on his emotions while he acknowledged her words. "Understood, Commander."

Given that no one had responded yet to his question as to who the collapsed officer was, Rayek directed the question to Elle specifically this time. "Elle, does his DNA match any individual recorded in any database the ship has on file?" Rayek looked to Klarth next. "Are you able to scan if he's even from your universe?"

Elle said, "According to my scans his name is Myles Richardson and he is a Lt. on the USS Pfeiffer, where he is a tactical officer who plays a mean game of parrises squares. But this is not the Richardson from our universe and this one's rank is Commander."

Rayek inwardly groaned at the confirmation that this was another individual, like himself, who was from another parallel universe. Was he from Rayek's dimension? If so was he also from the future? So many questions and yet while unconscious the man could not provide any answers.

The Romulan looked to the Klingon doctor. "It's your call as to what to do with him, Doctor. Does he need to go to Sickbay?"

Klarth found a small emergency medical kit in the room. He opened it up and took out a hypo-spray and dosed Richardson with it. "That was a stimulant. Maybe we can just wake him up?"

Rayek nodded at the doctor's remark then motioned Tchulka to return to the watch point by the door, while he stepped back a pace so that the foreign Commander wouldn't react negatively to being surrounded by mainly Klingons and Romulans.

Allowing the Captain to get up, Sandy looked at the very confused Commander on the floor.

Despite the stimulant administered, there was no sign of recovery from the unconscious Commander, yet before the Romulan could suggest bringing the man to Sickbay yet again, the body suddenly blinked out of existence as if it had never been in the first place. Fvadt! The Romulan tensed, alert in case he was next to be taken.

The briefing room screen turned on and the same Vedala face that had shown on the main viewer yesterday appeared.
"Our apologies. There was a slight miscalculation in our decision to send that one to aid you. He was not compatible to this universe. Continue on, you'll find another to replace him soon enough." Then without allowing any opportunity to question the face disappeared.

Klarth hoped the poor man was returned to his own universe. Klarth couldn't help but picture that they were all traveling through some sort of Vedala revolving door. He hoped that he would never be so easily spit out as this man had been.

It was troubling to the Romulan that the Vedala were obviously watching them and directing their every move. Rayek turned to look to the Orion Captain. "Orders?"

Linda sighed. "Yeah don't have to be a telepath to know what's on your mind! The same thing that's on mine. Very creepy that they are watching us! Ok best thing is to keep an eye out for anything unusual. I have some preparations to make but we will be departing within a day or so. What we will find? Who knows? Not sure even they know!" she nodded her head in the direction of the main view screen. "If anybody needs me I'll be in my ready room!"

Sandy moved over to R'elle's side,"You alright girlfriend?" she asked.

R'elle nodded. "I'm fine Hon! Just taking it all in! A lot of changes! And a lot more to come. Who knows what differences there are in these different universes! It's kind of exciting!" She leaned close to sandy. "I like the new captain. She's very dynamic and got the right personality for this kind of mission. Able to adjust to change quickly! I think this is going to be wonderful!"

The Captain's abrupt departure without dismissing the senior staff left Rayek comparing this Orion with the only other Orion he'd known previously. Jada had also been less than formal with her staff. He recognized it instilled a closer loyalty. Still, Rayek was not comfortable just walking out after the Captain without following proper protocol. He turned towards the First Officer, noting silently the closeness between her and the counselor. "Are we dismissed, ma'am?"

"Oh yes. Everybody is dismissed." Linda said. She shook her head. That was a slip she rarely made. too much stress, too much on her mind.

"See you all later," said Elle to no one in-particular. Then she said with a smile to Toelau "See you later roomie." then she blinked out of the room.

Toelau and Ripley started to get out of their seats. Toelau whispered to Ripley "I told you she was super weird." and Ripley whispered back "Remember she can probably hear you." Toelau got a sour look on her face as the two of them started to walk out of the room and said "Well, if she has nothing better to do than eavesdrop on me than that's her problem not mine."

Klarth came over to Rayek and looked down at the spot where the officer from another universe had been a short time ago. "Never a dull moment, huh?"

The Romulan looked back to the Klingon doctor and nodded in agreement. "Apparently not." Rayek paused a moment before adding, "I'll likely be working til past 20:00hrs. but if you're available after that I wouldn't mind company in celebrating my apparent promotion." The fact that he had once been ranked Commander, and the First Officer of a Space Station in the Gamma Quadrant was not something any in this universe were aware of. The Romulan idly wondered if he should volunteer any of this 'other universe' information to the Captain and Commander Risa, but in the end decided to just leave well enough alone.

"Lieutenant Commander, that sounds like a great idea. I'll be there," said Klarth

"Til then, Doctor." Rayek gave the Klingon a brief nod before heading out intending to resume his investigation into the how and why Shorn attacked, so that a similar incident never occurred on the ship again.

Dernah left the room looking distracted. He'd gotten the transfer he'd wanted, but he still didn't look happy.

...When the last person left the room Crewman Tchulka realized he was now guarding an empty room and he departed too. He had become distracted thinking about lunch so he was headed to the mess hall for something to eat.

 

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