Inspection tour

Posted on Friday 17 July 2020 @ 16:12 by Captain Melody Jones & Lieutenant Marbim Rejal

Mission: A Whale of a problem (We're going to need a bigger boat)
Location: Main bridge
Timeline: MD1 1300
1730 words - 3.5 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

While on route to the coordinates from the probe transmission, Melody decided she would do a quick unannounced inspection tour. Melody picked up a PADD from her ready room and made a few notes such as a few key locations to visit including the main computer core, sensor maintenance, shuttle bays, main engineering, sickbay, marine barracks, cargo bays, and transporter rooms. She entered the bridge and approached Rejal.

"Number one, please join me." She inclined her head to the turbo lift. "I want you to accompany me on this unannounced inspection tour. It will give us a chance to look over the repairs that have been made and also a chance for you and me to discuss this latest development.

They entered the tubolift and the door closed. Once they were out of sight of the bridge crew, Melody took a sigh and let her shoulders drop slightly. She let herself relax slightly and adopted a more casual attitude since it was just her and the first officer. "Quite a morning wouldn't you say?" She addressed the computer "Deck 40. Sensor control." She turned back to Miles as the lift started to move "Might as well start at the bottom and work our way back up." She took a deep breath. "So what are your thoughts so far Number One?"

Smirking, MIles replies, "Sure, the bottom of the 'ol girl is a good place to start." Looking over at his Captain he then sighs. "Things on Cardassia aren't so exciting. Outside of the Wormhole by Deep Space 9, we never have had much happen in our corner of the Galaxy. Earth on the other hand," and he uses his non-dominant hand to start ticking things off, "Cochran reaches light speed and meets the Vulcans. The Borg try to come back and stop that, and Picard stops them. Archer introduced many species to your people, some he had to fight, and others generally accepted you as friends. Kirk encountered the Ve'ger probe or device, we really didn't know which, and lost two crew members while dealing with that. Khan Noonien Singh captured Project Genesis, killed Kirk's son, and Spock gave his life to protect and save Kirk and the Enterprise. After that Star Fleet had several run in's with Klingons and Romulans. Then apparently a probe sent to Earth looking for the whales sends Kirk back in time to bring some back to Earth in order to keep the planet from being destroyed. And now, we have a probe that found us, uses an old Federation signal and we are off to go find the source, and maybe a mystery ship. Looking at your history and past encounters, I would say that someone has had a hand in shaping your planet's destiny, and now I feel like that someone has caught us up in something larger than life ... I just don't want us to be the ones to pay the price ... you just got married, your daughter has just started a new relationship, or at least that is what I have observed, and Sav and I are working on strengthening our own relationship ... I worry about the crew if this turns sour ... Ma'am."

Melody let a whistle. "Wow, that is deep Number One and it covers a lot of ground. Are you implying that there was some outside force shaping the destiny of Earth? That mankind was guided and shaped by some unseen force? It's an interesting theory so say that out of all the planets in the galaxy, Earth was selected. I suppose, in the past human arrogance has led us to think that we were special, then again it's human arrogance that led to a lot of Earth's troubles including the Whale probe incident. All our actions have consequences and everything has its cost. As you say, there could be a price to pay for what we are about to discover but then again that's why we're out here, to explore the unknown and broaden our horizons. We have an opportunity here to answer so many questions. Who sent the probe? A new relationship with an unknown lifeform.One way to put it is.... Is the juice worth the squeeze?"


The turbolift came to a halt and they stepped out. "Your personnel file didn't say you were a philosopher as well."

Smiling, Miles ducks his head, "Although I learned much about Earth at the Academy, I've been researching the path of your world's, hmm, creation and evolution, and comparing it to what I know about Cardassia. Gives me something to think about while I'm running my workout programs on the holodeck."

There were two crewmen on duty in the sensor control room when they entered. They both stopped immediately and came to the attention when the Captain and first officer entered.

"Sir! This is unexpected... I mean... Crewman Phillips Reporting Sir!"

Melody held up her hand "It's quite alright Crewman. At ease before you sprain something. The first officer and I are just doing an impromptu inspection, but it's nothing to worry about."

Winking at the crewman behind the Captain's shoulder Miles laughs, "See Mam I told you, no dancing girls down here, just hard working sensor techs. Now, do you boys need anything, hows everything holding up?"

They both shook their heads. "No Sir, we're just fine down here. Sensors have been recalibrated regularly and everything is good."

Melody acknowledged "Very good. Keep up the good work here." She made some notes on her PADD. Turning to Rajel she gestured to the door. "Shall we continue?

The majority of the lower decks were engineering support, sensor pallets, cargo bays, and antimatter storage. As they proceed, several crew members were surprised to see the captain and first officer in the bowels of the ship but acknowledged the presence of the ship's most senior officers. Melody noted that all the repairs had been made to the high standard she expected from this experienced crew.

"Everything is looking good so far Number one."

"That's good. We took some serious damage down here, and it's nice to see that you can't even tell."

The pair made their way into main engineering. The chief engineer was inspecting some repairs herself so one of her deputies was on duty. He came over as when he saw them enter. " Good afternoon ma'am, Sir. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"What is our current status?" Melody inquired.

"Warp power is currently at 70%. The dilithium matrix is stable. The chief is off inspecting repairs to the main phasers and we have a team cleaning out the impulse plasma vents."

Looking around Miles lowly whistles, "She runs a tight ship down here doesn't she. That's a good thing I imagine. Also, when you get time would you send someone into Jefferies Tube Junction 3L - I may have left some repair tools there."

The young man smiled "I'll make sure someone picks them up and bring them to your office Sir."

From the far side of engineering, a voice called out. "Lieutenant, we're ready for the diagnostic you wanted."

He called back "I'll be there in a moment." He turned back to Malody and who gestured.

"By all means, carry on."

He inclined his head to both officers before walking off.

"Everything looks ok here," Melody added before turning and heading for the door. "I was speaking with Lieutenant Godding earlier today. We both have some concerns over this mission. First contact with an unknown race can be tricky, especially one that was communicating with a species that humans hunted to extinction. Did you know her maternal grandfather was First Officer aboard the USS Darwin. She's highly motivated to find out what happened to that ship. We decided to tighten up security just in case its needed, she'll keep us both informed."

Looking shocked, Miles replies, "I didn't know that. I did look the Darwin up, she's still listed as missing in action. It's odd that she just vanished, you think someone else would have gone looking for her, but I couldn't find any solid evidence that had ever happened. Hopefully, we can help Gooding learn something. I have noticed that all the crew seem surprised to see us, I thought these kind of tours were par for the course, are we setting a precedent today?"


"It's not every day you see the Captain and First officer strolling around the lower decks." Melody sais as they continued. "As for the Darwin, I was discussing that with Godding. What with the Praxis incident, the subsequent Klingon peace talks and the success of the Humpback re-population program, It seems everyone just forgot about her. Not a very fitting epitaph I agree. Let's hope we can bring Hayley some closure."


The pair continued heading up deck by deck calling in at key systems. The cargo bays, the Marine barracks, Environmental control, the shuttle bays, the science labs, sickbay, torpedo storage, the main computer core, stellar cartography, and the transporter rooms. Eventually, they ended back up in the Captain's ready room.

"I must say Number one, I'm very impressed. The ship and crew continue to perform excellently.... But I have noticed one problem."

She sat down at her desk, inviting him to sit opposite and looked at him very seriously. "It has come to my attention that a member of the crew has been doing some fine work and continues to perform their duty with dedication and valor. I've discussed this with our second officer and we have agreed there is only one course of action."

She reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a small wooden box and placed it on the table. "Marbim Rejal. I hereby promote you to the rank of Lieutenant Commander with all the rights and privileges thereto." She broke into a warm smile as he extended her hand. "Congratulations Commander. "

Flabergasted, Miles says something in Cardassian, something Melody has heard him say before that roughly translates to "well shit." Snapping out of his reverie, he smiles, "Thank you Ma'am, I uh, I hope I can continue to impress you and keep the Merlin out of too much trouble." Picking up the box he looks at his new rank pins, "I'll put them on shortly, again thank you, my Grandparents will be proud of me ..."

"I'm sure they are Commander, I'm sure they are."

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