Reporting in

Posted on Fri Feb 12th, 2021 @ 3:34pm by Lieutenant Commander William Rogers & Captain Abigail Laurens

Mission: New Beginnings
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: Prior to launch

With no possessions of any sort to stow in his quarters Buck opted to forgo getting to know the space and instead asked the computer to locate the captain so he could report for duty.

Abigail was, as she had been since she'd first come aboard the ship, in her ready room. The mountain of PaDD's in front of her seemed to be growing by the hour, each one required her personal attention.

The chime of the annunciator brought a welcome distraction. "Enter!" she called, setting the PaDD down in front of her and turning her full attention to Lieutenant Commander Rogers as he stepped through the parted doors. "Commander," she said warmly as she stood up. "You are a very welcome sight indeed. Can I get you a drink?" She ignored the several half full chai latte mugs on her desk and took a step toward the replicator.

"Captain." Rogers saluted. "A glass of water, please. During the Eugenics Wars, and just from where I grew up I guess, I learned you can tell a lot about a place from the water they serve. First thing I order when I get somewhere new is a glass of water."

Ordering the glass of water and another chai latte for herself, she took the two drinks and handed the water to him and motioned for him to take a seat. "What do you think of the ship so far?" she finally asked with a smile.

Buck sat as instructed. "It's big." He said after taking a moment to taste his water. "I'll have a better impression once I've gotten to pilot her, but I reckon this things bigger than the city block where I grew up!"

Abigail smiled as she watched him. "We're scheduled to launch tomorrow morning, just waiting on a few last minute crew to arrive and for some plans to be put in place. The only downside we have is that we aren't going to be able to test the Quantum Slipstream Drive until after we clear into the Delta Quadrant, so right now I'm really just hoping that which ever engineering crew put it together read the instructions properly and wasn't having a bad day." She shook her head and took a quick sip of her chai. "But other than that, everything seems to be in hand and on schedule."

"More time to run training drills in that case." Buck suggested. He shrugged. "But....from what I've read if they've not set things up right I don't think we'll live long enough to realise."

"Well, in that case, lets really hope they had a good day," she said with a laugh. "The new Chief Engineer seems competent enough and has said that they've done routine testing on the ship, but that said once we're away from Earth I want you to work with Tactical and run some tests on weapons systems and make sure there's no issues with primary helm control. I'll leave that in your capable hands."

"I'll get something in the books. You happy for us to do the sub-warp tests here or do we have an appointment to keep getting us into the DQ?"

Abigail leaned back in her seat and steepled her fingers beneath her chin. "We should be fine to do the sub-warp tests here before we travel through Pathstone. I think we're looking at a five or six day trip time to get to Pathstone on this side, I imagine that should provide sufficient time for you?"

A nod was given by way of reply. "I met Commander Rozia when I came aboard. She was interesting."

"Rozia..." Abigail paused, pondering. "Yes, the new Chief Engineer." She gave a quick nod. "I've met her a couple of times, she seems... passionate?" Abigail laughed recalling the first encounter they had had on the ship. "She seems to know her stuff, I am hoping that translates well with maintaining the ship."

Buck rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I think it'll be tougher reigning her in. Reckon she likes to tinker."

"Well, then we might be in trouble," Abigail said with a laugh. "Let's hope, for all our sakes, that she keeps her tinkering away from primary systems. I'm not in a hurry to blow up any more ships."

Buck replied with a chuckle of his own. "Yeah, getting blown up one time is enough for me."

"Have you had a chance to familiarize yourself with the bridge and your station yet?" Abigail asked curiously. "The bridge is a lot shinier than the old Akira class. Lots more consoles, much more space. Windows, not view screens."

"Did the basic training for the station but all I've seen of the bridge is what I passed on my way here." The helmsman paused for a moment, lips pressed together, then took a pull from his water. "Not a fan of the windows. Feel like an explosive decompression waiting to happen."

Abigail suppressed a smirk. "We discussed this," she said, unable to keep the humor from her voice. "No more explosions. Though I would suggest you spend some time on the bridge before we launch. Make sure you're familiar with your station and the controls. If anything needs changing, get Commander Rozia onto it straight away."

"It's what I was planning to do once we got finished here."

"Excellent," Abigail leaned back in her seat, offering a slight nod. "I won't keep you any longer Commander, I'm sure you're chomping at the bit to get out there and see what you're working with. If you need anything, my door is always open."

"Thank you, Captain." Buck drained the last of his water and stood. "I'll add this to the pile and get out of your hair." He held up the PADD containing his orders.