Bridge Duty Escalates: Part 2

Posted on Sat Nov 11th, 2023 @ 8:43am by Captain Ryhl th'Zeles & Ensign Sar & Commander Chalan Kendri & Lieutenant Commander Johanna Lyngstad & Lieutenant Commander Jason Elliot & Ensign Dramin
Edited on on Sat Nov 11th, 2023 @ 8:48am

1,737 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: Campor III - Resupply
Timeline: MD: C15

Talking about Operations tasks reminded Ryhl of being a young engineer long ago. He looked down at the Nav scanner display. A flight of three Romulan fighters was practicing maneuvers on the far side of the planet. Other ships sat in orbit, including a Klingon Vor'cha class starship, the IKS KeQ'Var. It rested in geosynchronous orbit above the planet's largest Klingon settlement.

From her perch near the Science console-there was no medical console, for obvious reasons-she watched the goings-on. Normally, she'd be in her office, assisting the various crew and civilians with their mental hygiene needs, but she'd been asked to keep an eye on diplomatic things, given the recent attacks and general unrest. She didn't mind sitting here-it was interesting, anyway, and kept her brain sharp. She was more interested in watching the young Ensigns. Two dark heads were awfully close for a working relationship. Curious. Her eyes darted to the now-roving Commander. The woman appeared to be moving from station to station, checking work. Excellent. Feeva recognized this as the mark of a leader.

Dramin still had no idea why his superiors had wanted him to come to the bridge. He'd been asked to report there for his shift instead of the JAG office that morning, which was somewhat out of turn - but hey, why question it? A break from the monotony of legal research and case notes was always welcome. The Kelpien stepped out of the turbolift and glanced meekly around, hoping that someone, anyone, would at least tell him why he'd been sent up here out of the blue.

Jason emerged off of the port side turbolift, although it looked as if he wasn't alone, he looked around it looked to be busy so he wandered to one of the back stations to keep himself occupied until the captain was free.

Paisley herself was sitting in the panels behind the consoles where Jason had just sat. "Hey," she said, her voice muffled by the depth of the panel. Her face peeked out. "This one is closed, sir," she said, jokingly. "Wanna join me in here? It's kinda romantic. If you ignore the bugs." She laughed. "Seriously, though, can you go use my console? I am just repairing the kick plate here. Beta shift guy is destructive," she said.

"It's total chaos today, I got a page to come to the bridge, hopefully someone knows why." Jason said standing resisting the urge to be affectionate.

"Just general work day chaos," she said, "you know? I know you're mostly alone down there, away from this, but this is what it usually looks like on Alpha shifts," she said. "Before you go, hand me that socket wrench," she said.

Jason passed the wrench, "I shouldn't complain too loud."

Ryhl saw Jason and Paisley speaking on the opposite side of the bridge in the distance. He smiled warmly, eyes lighting up as he looked in their direction. He moved past several side stations, noticing the 6'7 Kelpian.

"You must be Mister Dramin. I wanted to take the chance to finally meet you and welcome you to the bridge. We don't have many lawyers onboard," said Ryhl. "I try to utilize as many advisors as possible.. Intel.. Engineering. The bridge is large enough.. Anyway, how are you settling into life aboard the Columbia?"

Dramin bit back a sniffle. So the Captain had asked for him, through his superiors, of course. It felt wonderful to be recognized - his commanding officer on his previous assignment had treated him as if he didn't exist, almost, often leaving him and his colleagues to do their thing in the legal lab for years on end. "Th-Thank you, sir. I am pleased to be here," He tried hard not to stammer. Now that'd have been a bit embarrassing. "I- I am settling in acceptably enough. You need not worry."

"I wouldn't consider it a worry," Ryhl said as his eyes warmed. "Crew comfort is essential. Your well-being is my top-priority. Feel free to approach me with any concerns." His antennae lowered before he moved towards the other side of the bridge.

The massive viewscreen showed an image of Campor III. Several ships were visible, including small streaks of green light from the Romulan fighters.

Three red glowing lights could be seen launching from the Vor'cha cruiser's shuttlebay. They seemed to be headed towards the Romulan ships as they practiced looping and banking maneuvers. As the green silhouettes could be seen against the planet's light, it was clear they were fighters.

Dramin's baby blue eyes, though a little bloodshot from lack of sleep, became bright and alert the instant the fighters deployed. "They can't just be practicing flight tactics, can they?" He murmured to himself as he maneuvered towards the viewscreen. "Not now, when they've learned to live together... well, peacefully, I hope-"

The Ensign's comments drew Ryhl's attention. "Let's zoom in on those fighters and see what they're up to", he said as he quickly moved towards his chair.

Sarah heard the noise from the view screen and the commotion as the Command staff realized what was happening. She turned to Sar. "I don't know what's happening, but it can't be good. Should we stay here, do you think?"

"I believe it is in our best option to gather as much information as possible," he said quickly. Sar felt as if his heart pulsed faster around Sarah. If he weren't Vulcan, he would consider it excitement. He planned to speak with Nurse Lissa about these... Feelings. "The Senior officers might also potentially value our input."

Sar's light tan-khaki eyes honed in on the shape of the Klingon fighters as they squared up with the Romulans.

Sarah nodded in agreement. "Yes...Perhaps we should wait for instruction," she said. She raised a hand to her Comms badge and into Rachel's ear. =/\=Should I cover the consoles or return to the office?=/\= She looked at Sar.

Rachel responded quickly "Please remain, I may need assistance in power redistribution or damage control coordination. Hold your station for now."

Sarah nodded. ==/\==Yes, ma'am.==/\==

"Are you ok?" He sometimes acted strangely, and she didn't yet always understand. "I am staying here, at the Bridge."

"Indeed.. I have simply been experiencing new internal thoughts since we have connected. These new sensations appear to cause both a physical, as well as psychological impact on me."

Sarah smiled. "I think I have experienced similar sensations. I think that's called "attraction," Sar," she said, quietly, and gently.

Sar blinked quickly, an eyebrow raising curiously. "Indeed you may be correct. There may be other sensations I also experience. Maybe.. Affection. We must discuss this in more detail at our earliest convenience." His eyelids lowered, gaze intent on her.

Sarah chuckled. "Yes, of course. The Bridge isn't the place for this," she said. "Perhaps a meal later, after our tasks are finished."

Kendri went straight for her seat, and accessed her console to see if there was any subspace traffic to give any clues as to what was going on. "Captain, should we try hailing... well everyone?" she asked.

After quickly making his way from the far side of the bridge, Ryhl slid into his seat. "I walk away for one second," Ryhl said to Kendri. He braced his hand on his knee before raising his voice.

"We're going to need to open some channels... Hail the KeQ'Var... Also, call up the Mendocino. Tell them to head back this way." The California class starship was scouting further into the sector, not far away.

The Ops Chief quickly found a frequency that had almost no interference and opened a broadcast "Channel open Captain."

"Captain of the IKS KeQ'Var... What are the intentions of your fighters?" Ryhl stood as he spoke, walking from his chair to the center console where he could monitor navigation.

Crap. In the panel, Paisley was finishing her internal work. She raised a hand to her Comms badge herself. =/\=Sar, I am nearly done with this kick-plate. Please assume the consoles while I finish, and then I will take over for you. I will let Lt. Soros know. Thanks.=/\=

She climbed out of the wall, and turned to finish screwing the metal sheeting to the wooden hull. It was a good distraction-IF something was happening, she'd need to be on for that. Damn it!!

Sar heard the call from the opposite side of the bridge. "I shall prepare to move to your station, Commander", he said, turning to look far across to the Chief Engineer. He turned to Sarah, continuing to work on EPS flow planning.

A dimly lit Klingon bridge appeared on the view screen. A Klingon woman sat in the command chair. She rose as she addressed Ryhl.

=/\=This is Vurla Captain of the KeQ'Var, We are expanding our air space to protect our Settlement! Do not interfere.=/\=

"HoD Vurla," the Captain began, "We believe there is a misunderstanding. A greater issue is at play.. One that we must all investigate together. Are you aware the Romulans also lost a fighter?"

The Klingon captain seemed silent when confronted with the fact about the Romulan loss. This did not settle well with Ryhl, his stomach bubbling with growing tension.

The Romulan fighters broke formation, drawing the Klingons apart. Flat, silver Romulan snakehead fighters squared up against the squat KDF NuQDuj fighters. The latter looked like condensed b'rel starships, with small flat wings and a round cockpit instead of a long-necked saucer.

Both ships were armed in a similar manner. Romulan Snakehead fighters produced more advanced targeting systems, but the Klingon fighters were more simple to use and produced more damage. The Snakeheads were also faster and more advanced. The KDF pilots possessed a brutal talent that even the Romulans respected.

After drawing the Klingons away from each other, The Romulans looped wide banking turns back inwards. Soon all of the fighters were streaking towards each other, the quicker Romulan ships speeding away from their pursuers into the center. They increased speed, steadily pulling away from the Klingons with a faster maximum impulse speed.

"Ensign Veers, bring us face to face with the KeQ'Var.. I want to look into their bridge from the fore porthole." The viewscreen hung down vertically like a screen. The front of the bridge projected several meters forward where a long rectangular window provided a natural view of the path ahead.

"Aye Sir." The young man said.

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