JL l Capt DiAgessi, Cmdr Satie, LtCMDR Stacker, Lt Merlin, Empress Xue'Daio, Vokar | "Here, fishy fishy fishy..."

Posted on Sat Nov 4th, 2017 @ 11:21pm by Captain Aine DiAgessi & Captain Jacob Satie & Commander Thelin th'Zarath & Commander James Stacker & Commander Evan Merlin & Xue'Daio Nox Tr'Verelan

Mission: The Round Table

Central Ops was always a good place to be. Lots of activity, lots of people in various states of stress or relaxation, and the place where all information ended up. The lieutenant called Merlin found that he began to spend more time here, even on what nominally were his off duty hours. So he was on site when the Ops officer looked up sharply and said: "Ah… Three Stenellian ships just appeared on sensors."

Central Ops might as well have been filled with Vulcans, the way everyone here suddenly were all ears, the lieutenant thought and hid a smile. He strolled over to the Ops console. "Can you put it on screen?"

"Ah… Yeah, but there isn't much to see yet. They're moving very slowly, around, ah… warp 2-ish?"

He came to a halt next to his Ops collegue and clasped his hands behind his back. "Noted," he said. "Show me what you've got, we'll get the details soon enough. Transponder signal?"

"Ah… Just says they're Stenellis, nothing else." The Ops officer manipulated his console as he spoke and the view from the central screen shifted, displayed another corner of space in which three dots were slowly getting bigger. "Ah… d'you think we should hail them?"

The lieutenant thought for a moment. "At this speed they're still three, four hours out. Going nice and slow, not threatening, giving us ample time to prepare… Which means that if they want to be hailed, they probably don't wish to talk to underlings." He grinned briefly and tapped his combadge. "Merlin to Commander Satie, we've got three inbound Stenellis vessels. Would you like to come to Ops and say hi?"

The playlist the computer had selected at random from Jake's collection of Rock 'n' Roll was currently playing a Bruce Springsteen song, and as usual, Jake sang along at the top of his lungs to, "Born in the U.S.A." He had been unable to get through his workout before his shift in Operations today and so now he was mid-pushup when the song stopped and his combadge chimed, "Merlin to Commander Satie, we've got three inbound Stenellis vessels. Would you like to come to Ops and say hi?"

The moment had been expected in the next few days, but Jake had hoped he would be on station when it did. "I will be up there in a few minutes. Please contact the Captain, she will want to be the one to, "Say hi," Lieutenant." Jake ran through the refresher and was in a fresh uniform in five minutes time. He figured the Captain would already be on the bridge but had decided first contact deserved his best not the disheveled and sweat stained Jake of his workout. He stepped onto the Operations deck ready for his first look at live Stenellians.

"Will do," the lieutenant said cheerfully. "Merlin out." He grinned at his collegue behind the Ops station. "Thought that'd get his attention. One down, one to go. Anything new?"

The Ops officer shook his head. "Ah… no. No change in course and speed, no incoming hails from their side."

"Good, good." The lieutenant touched his combadge again. "Merlin to Captain DiAgessi, we have three Stenellis vessels on screen slowly ambling our way. I'm sure they'd appreciate it if the Station CO sends them greetings, so would you like to do the honours?"

Departing her office, Aine carefully navigated the stairs down to the main Ops deck, "Of course, Lieutenant," She nodded to Merlin as she descended, and found herself eyeballing the view screen with intrigued eyes."All are marked Stenellis, but the main vessel clearly isn't." Her finger tapped the screen at a nearby console, "You guys need to look past basic attributes and flagging to question the shape. Geometry, folks, geometry." She muttered, looking up to see Satie and catch his eyes at about the same time she tapped the combadge at her chest, "DiAgessi to Stacker, we have three inbound vessels. Two Stenellis, one that fits the criteria to be the Pendragon. Vokar is with the Ascendancy. I'm about to hail them if you'd like to make your way to Ops."

All talk in the combined wardroom and briefing room, buried deep in the heart of the Intelligence Department, on Deck 680, came to a sudden and arrested halt as the Captain's unbidden voice filled the air. The briefer was standing next to the wall display, mouth closing as Stacker continued to hold up his single index finger and looked across the table at Warrant Officer Parsuv. "Pendragon?" he mouthed, one eyebrow rising. That was not good: it looked as if the warrant had swallowed something bitter, he noted with wry amusement. "Aye ma'am, on my way." A quick tap of the comm badge turned it off. "Warrant, place the department on a heightened state of alert. I want sentries posted at primary access points and hourly visual checks of all secondary ingress and egress points. I'll be in ops," he added over his shoulder as he exited quickly into the hallway, not bothering to wait for acknowledgement.

Pendragon? A Starfleet ship? The lieutenant had heard the names 'Vanguard' and 'Vokar' briefly mentioned during the briefing - with the remark that the Vanguard would not be an issue during this situation and that people would have to be nice to Vokar-whoever-he-was (that information was also locked for some reason). He began to query CST's computer for information regarding the Pendragon with one hand, meanwhile looking at the CO. "Is there anything I need to know about either the vessel or this Vokar, or can I just go back to drinking my coffee while the Commander- Ah, there he is. Welcome to the evening crowd, Commander," he added with his usual cheerful grin.

Jake took up residence at his station, on which he could monitor communications, sensor readings, and station systems from the holographic display. The Pendragon was the central ship in the line-up. It was odd that it was transmitting a Stenellian vessel code but Jake had read that Vokar was very much a mentor to the young Empress. Once the team was assembled the Captain would hail the ships and Jake was eager to see the interaction. He would learn a lot about not only his Commanding Officer's style of command in tense situations but also about how an alien race communicated with not only words but their body language. Though the Stenellis had been known for some time in this sector of space, Jake had never seen one and his excitement was peaked.

"Just be prepared for anything, Lieutenant Merlin." Aine replied, waiting until Stacker appeared to take a breath, steady herself, and nod towards the Operations officer, "Ops, open hailing frequencies."

"Frequencies open, sir."

"Pendragon, this is Captain Aine DiAgessi of Cold Station Theta welcoming you to Federation space." In her head it sounded so cheesy, so contrived, but how else would she greet them? 'Hey man, sup? Yeah, bra, just park it up top and c'mon down for a beer, man.'? It wasn't an option, not when so many lives and the future as a whole remained hanging precariously in the balance. Silence hung between them all like rain clouds before the deluge, and she knew it would either blow over to be tentative rainbows or the squall was about to begin. Either way the ball was now in the court of the scarred face of a rebellious Vulcan and the ethereal, star-like whisper of a woman beside him.

A glance to her right caught sight of Vokar, and she knew that while it was his vessel, he was her escort and chaperone - not the other way around. Xue smiled at the sight and sound of the greeting and the woman appearing on the screen before them. "Captain DiAgessi," She beamed, "I was expecting to see your mother, but this is a welcome surprise. Thank you for accepting our intrusion, you'll find that I mean no ill will, however, I harbor concern surrounding the whereabouts of Si'a Dai'Xun, the ambassador I sent to the Academy and somehow wound up with the honor to serve aboard USS Vindicator." The albino's hands came together in front of her as she strung her words together. Her head canted softly to one side in gentle question as she observed the Captain, and those immediately near by her on the screen, for simple signs associated with the stress her words would undoubtedly bring, "It's my wish to take up residence on Cold Station Theta, along with a small retinue, until the Vindicator is located and returned. Is that something that you and your crew would be amenable to?"

It was Aine's turn to look to those beside her, following the Empress's bright amber-pink eyes as she referenced Satie, Stacker, and Merlin. "Without question," she nodded, "you have every right to be here and Commander Satie and I will see to it that your needs are met." Anything more or less would have shown weakness, pandering, or hostility and the tawny Captain knew it well. The Empress knew it as well. It left then at an impasse.

The lieutenant looked at the screen with a great deal of interest. The contrast between the two persons in the center couldn't be greater: one who seemed older than his years (there was something odd there, the image between what the lieutenant saw and what he felt he ought to see didn't quite match, just one of those odd things which he encountered once in awhile), scarred in body and – unless the lieutenant was very much mistaken – in mind as well. And the young woman who looked deceptively diminutive, calm, quiet, gentle. He had no doubt that those qualities were only present as long as the Empress wanted them to be seen. He grinned to himself. They were coming to Cold Station Theta? No doubt they'd liven up the place.

The Vulcan remained silent throughout the exchange, studying everyone who was visible on the view screen and committing their faces to memory, his intention was to look them up as soon as possible and utilize his old contacts to bring as much information to the Empress as he could, to prepare her for the people she'd be dealing with, it may have been an odd way of taking up a diplomatic stance but the Vulcan knew little of that kind of process, what he did know was analysis and the careful manipulation of the data to ensure an advantage. "My crew, Captain DiAgessi, such as it is will remain on board the Pendragon, I, however will accompany her Imperial Majesty as an... advisor." he spoke, his voice carrying a little more gravel to its tone than it had in the past.

The Executive Officer watched the exchange, nodded at the mention of his name by the Captain, and studied the Vulcan carefully. Something wasn't sitting right with his appearance. Jake could see the man had suffered an ordeal and though he put on a show of vitality and strength, Jake thought very little was truly present. He would speak with the Captain about this after their subspace audience with the Empress. Unlike the Vulcan, Empress Xue looked as if she was at the height of power and beamed youthful exuberance from behind the veil of rigid formality she wore. To have arrived in a Vanguard ship gave Jake pause. The Ascendancy was fully space fairing and she could have come with a ship or fleet of her own people. It spoke volumes about what the young ruler thought about Vokar and the Vanguard to arrive with him like this.

In many ways Aine didn't expect anything less. Vokar would never leave himself wide open just in case sentiments turned sour or situations turned pear shape. Without a doubt the Pendragon, and her escorts, would wait just within transporter range and monitor things from afar. The moment something threatened their fearless leader and the brilliant dwarf star burning at his side, they'd be gone and war would likely commence. "Of course, Captain Vokar, by all means necessary. Please send across any requests or requirements and we'll see them met and waiting for your arrival. A lot has changed here on Cold Station Theta, it would be our honor to give you a tour when you're both feeling up to it." She smiled, gesturing back and forth between her and Satie. With a bit of luck, their hospitality and Stacker's due diligence would keep them all afloat for the duration of their stay aboard the station.

It was odd, perhaps, but speaking of Stacker the grey collar hadn't said a word since his arrival. This was not Stacker the Man who stood here now, but rather Stacker the Ghost. The only trace of humanity that could be seen was the thumb that slowly made circles beside his chin, in his trimmed beard, while the elbow pinned his other hand to his chest. It was either an expression of cold observation, thought, distance, or any of the above. But his eyes were in motion, and that said enough.

"Then it's settled." Xue nodded sharply, "We will arrive shortly."

---

Captain Aine DiAgessi
Commanding Officer
COLD STATION THETA, SB-1170

Commander Jake Satie
Executive Officer
SB-1170, Cold Station Theta

Empress Xue'Daio Nox
Queen of Apsha
Ruler of Aleine
Stenellian Ascendancy

Lieutenant Evan Merlin
Chief Strategic Operations Officer
COLD STATION THETA, SB-1170

Lieutenant Commander James Stacker
Chief Intelligence Officer
Cold Station Theta, SB-1170