After Docking - Stations Secure Inspections

Posted on Tuesday 8 December 2020 @ 00:42 by Commander Save'ena (Sav) Tillatix & Lieutenant Marbim Rejal & Civilian Sansa Draxx-Jones

Mission: Homeward
Location: Various, USS Merlin
Timeline: MD1 0849 Hours
4971 words - 9.9 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

Smiling at the interplay between Miles and Sav, Mathias called out to Sav and Sansa, "Wait for me!" heading over to catch the turbolift with Sav and Sansa

Sav touched the panel inside and the doors opened for Mathias. After he was in, the turbolift doors closed upon the occupants. Sav churred and said, "Welcome to the Party, Mathias." She turned to look at the controls, and as she did, she had a slight darkening on her muzzle, her races way of blushing. She murred lightly in thoughts of inspections, engagements, and Miles.

As the lift started moving, Sansa came to the surface. "So you and Miles eh? How's that going?" She asked with a sly smile.

Sav churred as she nodded to Sansa while winking to Mathias, then replied, "Doing rather well. He has accepted me, despite my past, my hang ups, my healing, and has been taking it slow with me, letting my recovery dictate how far and fast for our dating. *Blushes harder* Sansa-Fay, Miles has let me know he wants to make me his fiancee. Umm, he just hasn't followed through on it yet. I guess with the mission and need to get the crew to Earth for a well deserved vacation, and as he is XO, he just hasn't had time."

Mathias gave a nod towards Sav giving her a bit of a smile. "Thanks for waiting, and congratulations!"

Sav's blush deepened as she replied, "Thank you, Mathias.... but not quite yet. Ah first need him to show his commitment to the engagement... after he does, I will let you know." The turbolift slowed and stopped. "Mathias, are you coming on the tour, or just catching a ride? Fay-Sansa and I have to go by the battle bridge, aux bridge, engineering, and flight deck tah make sure stations secured."

Sansa let Fay take over once again. After the holodeck incident, Fay kept a discreet distance from Mathias but kept stealing glances in his direction. "So what does this inspection consist of?" she asked Sav.

"I would love to come along, the battle bridge wasn't on the previous tour. And neither were the other areas." Mathias replied, giving Fay a sidelong glance, but not saying a word for the moment.

Sav picked up the wary stances, the looks, and thought of what to do. First, she answered the questions, "I have to check that stations in the places to visit are locked out and shut down. Not to worry, I can do it quickly.. I am trained in DC. First, however..." Sav stopped the turbolift. She stepped out to be able to look at both of them and stated, "Okay, you two... is there something we need to discuss or make nice over? I don't want to run herd over two long tailed cats in a room full of rocking chairs, heard?"

Already sensing the approaching train wreck of the conversation, Sansa thought to Fay "Just tell them."

So Fay did. "The other day I kissed Mathias on the Holodeck. Sansa is concerned about how Hayley will take this news. Sansa is suggesting that we go and tell Hayley to get the matter out in the open. We will go and see her this afternoon."

Mathias looked at Sav then at Fay and Sansa, blushing. "Well that is uh..." at a loss for words. "Its a good idea to do so, Fay and Sansa. " And that was about all he was going to say. Yes he was in a real pickle like what he had said to Sav earlier.

Sav raised an eyebrow as she looked at the two. She turned to Fay/Sansa first. "Hey Fay, I can understand why. Mathias is a charmer, looker, rugged, and has an outstanding sense of self and pose about him. As you are still learning your way within Sansa's body, a young adult body, I can see you acting on your felt impulses. Just, next time, ask first. However, I feel that Haley will understand, especially as it was you in your curiosity and piquing interest to a very attractive guy, caught flatfooted."

Mathias could only chuckle at Sav's comments, his cheeks turning a darker pinkish hue, still tongue-tied.

She turned to smile at Mathias, churring. "I bet that really caught you off guard, and would cause a brainlock, fer sure. I have seen it many a time with good gentlemen suddenly being hit upon when not expecting anything as I have been other girls wingman, as it were. *churr-giggle* Now you know what to look for, and help out." She stepped towards the turbolift doors. As they whooshed open behind her, she said, "No harm, no foul, you two just have to settle from the 'shock and awe', as it were. Common, Battle Bridge time."

Mathias opened his mouth to say something, decided not to. Blast it, Sav was on a roll and hitting key points. Now if he could only untangle his thoughts to actually speak coherently.

Sav led the way to the battle bridge. She turned to the two, "Fay-Sansa, Mathias, I have to ask you to wait here. I will override the doors to keep them open so you can watch, just don't go in. The battle bridge, the bastion of Merlin control in an inner sanctum, is the heart of the Merlin when engaged in extended ops. Merlin is a Space Control Ship, commanding other ships as well as coordinating fighters within an amphitheatre of battle. Thus, this space will stun anyone not authorized to be within, so... unless you want to wake up several hours later in the brig, I would ask for you to please stay here."

Sav touched the wall plate and the two doors swished open. The closed immediately behind Sav, but then they opened once more as Sav was at a side panel. "Okay, first I check the status of the panels, then the lockouts." Sav went over and pressed inert controls over at the Space Tactical Panel. It lit up with telltales, and then consoles about the room shown their own Telltales.

Sav sang out with her very pretty, singer's voice, "All secured and powered down..." She returned to her regular speaking tonals, "That there was no activity from the consoles when I passed them showed shutdown. I know which interface with key commands will show lockdown status, and that is what you now see, each panel reporting securely locked and waiting for ship leaving the Starbase before coming active to wait for Command use, with proper unlock procedures."

Sav released the panel buttons and the telltales went away. She came out from the Battle Bridge and the doors shut behind her. She now turned to touch the panel, saying, "Command Level 6 lock." She turned and smiled to them, "As the battle bridge has no maintenance scheduled, with that code command, it can only be accessed by Senior Officers of the Merlin now, period. Any questions?"

Mathias finally found his voice, "No questions here, and that looked amazing" he smiled.

Fay watched with mild interest. "I must admit, at first I found all this technology rather uninteresting but the complexity of the systems is worth note. I was telling Melody, the probe was grown from the elements present in the water on our planet using the combined mental energy out our entire race. Its results... were not the most refined."

Sav churred gently as she replied, "Not refined, but most functional. When thinking about needs, functional. When thinking about looks, refinement. You would love to see some L'Tandrey ships. They are grown with Crystalline Ceramic technology and look like quartzic structures in space. Still, that probe led to us here now, so I am very thankful for it." She winked at the two, then continued, "Okay, next up, Auxiliary Bridge, which is near engineering." She walked over to a Turbolift and entered, holding the door open for Fay/Sansa and Mathias.

The doors closed and she began explaining, "With the main bridge being placed high and exposed, based on old sailing ships, all starships have an Auxiliary bridge. These are placed deep in the ship near engineering. The Battle Bridge is for Command, Carrier, and Space Control Ships for enhanced functionality. Starfleet are Exploring ships, but in their travels, they have discovered the need for strategic ships with war in mind as other races are war driven, unfortunately. As the Aux Bridge is near Engineering, we will go to engineering after that, then on to the flight ops deck to make sure about its controls and make sure no fighters are in launch positions. For the rest of the tour, you both can follow me into the spaces. Questions before we reach the Aux Bridge?"

Fa thought for a moment... "Sav'ena, you're not from Earth but are you looking forward to going down to the planet?"

Sav churred gently as she turned to lead them toward the turbolift to get to the aux bridge. The Merlin was a very large ship and to go quickly about, one had to use the turbolift system. "Common, let's get moving." As they walked, she replied, "Fay-Sansa, yes, Ah actually am, ayuh. Ah was... I was on Earth during my Academy training, but I wasn't really able to enjoy it because I was suffering deadened senses from internal poisoning. The poisoning is mainly gone, my senses fully returned, and I am free to think and act, sooo, I really want to Enjoy visiting Earth this time, seeing and smelling of the areas I visit."

She looked at Mathias, smiled widely, and added, "And I really want to visit Scotland, a place where supposedly I will be looked upon as a Fae and desired for company and talking, just being a tourist. I look sooo forward to that." While she was explaining this, Sav unconsciously ran her left hand over her lower abdomen momentarily. Sav murred, then asked, "Hey Fay, has Sansa, Melody, or Draxx given you insight to any places you might want to visit?"

"Sansa very kindly showed me some information on Earth. It has so many different ecosystems. San Fransisco looks interesting. A great city by the ocean. The deserts are something completely foreign to me, coming from a planet that is entirely water, but looks interesting and yes, there a vast forests and hills the look peaceful yet teaming with life. I would also like to visit some Humpback whales in their natural habitat."

Churring Sav replied, "That sounds awesome, Fay-Sansa. Yes, there are diving suits to allow visiting the Whales. I think that would be nice, but I would have to wear a Life-Support-Belt if I did so. I don't think they make a suit to handle mah tail, ayuh. *giggle Churr* On the Forests, there are redwood trees that grow up to 115 meters and a diameter of 9 meters. I have to go back to visit and hit the tree road, able to fully enjoy it this time." She hrrmed, then said, "In case you two didn't know, Mephetians are a tree dwelling race. We love climbing, our tails provide balance and protection, and we have natural climbing claws on hands and feet."

The Trio entered the turbolift. Sav touched the handle and the turbolift called out, "Destination, Aux Bridge". She turned to face the two, then brought up her hands to show the 3" curved climbing claws come out from between her fingers, as well 4" claws extended from between her toes, showing that there were actually egress openings in her shoes to allow them to extend. "Mah claws." She retracted them.

She added, "In San Fransisco, there is shopping to do. I think you will have fun looking at all the fashions, knick knacks, and interesting items that abound." She got an evil grin on her face as she turned to frame Mathias between fingers as she asked, "So, Fay-Sansa, a purple dress with matching lilac purse for Mathias.

Fay regarded Sav's claws cautiously, but with interest. "Most impressive. As for the dress," She paused then "I think we better have that conversation with Hayley before we proceed. " She cast a quick glance at Mathias. That last sentence was as much Sansa talking as Fay.

"Make it a full length one and the colour being dark purple. And I don't want a clutch purse, it will have to be a shoulder bag aka a satchel." he said with a straight face. Though there would be detected a twinkle in his eyes. He's had the argument with different sorts claiming that full length tunics he's worn in RenFaires were dresses for men. "And can't forget the bedazzled sleeve edges with rhinestones." Mathias added, trying to add some levity to hide his concern.

Sav regarded Mathias, nodding her head while her tail shook twice in agreement. She barely contained her laughter as Fay's expressions showed that she didn't realize they were joking.

Fay frowned unable to be sure if he was serious or not. Sansa picked up on this and thought to her "I don't think he's serious."

Aloud Fay commented "Clothing is another one of your customs I find difficult to grasp. What is considered appropriate to wear and what is not. In our natural form, we have no outer garments and it feels quite alien to me to have to cover the majority of myself in this... fabric. In fact, I'd be much happier without clothes but Sansa forbade us from leaving our quarters undressed again after... after the mistake the first time. We were halfway done the corridor before she realized, though the run back to our quarters was rather... liberating"

From inside she heard Sansa think "Just when I think you can't surprise me anymore...."

Sav burst out in a churr-giggle. The turbo lift doors opened and she led the way out. "Well, Ahma teasin' Mathias as most races males don't wear feminine dresses, as most races females don't wear clothing cut fer men. Ifin yah notice, we have different intimate bits. He caught right on, though, ana embellished on it, ayuh. As far as clothin', its tah not advertise yer 'wares', t'e male and female intimate bits, tah those yah don't wanta mate with. Now, t'ere are nudist places ona earth tah visit, but yah will haveta check ifin Sansa is okay wit' that. "

Sansa made her presence felt at that comment, taking over briefly just to say. "Oh Hell No!" before letting Fay surface again.

Mathias shook his head, "that just wouldn't be a good idea, especially where Sansa is concerned. " giving a nod.

Sav stopped at a clearly marked set of doors, 'Auxiliary Bridge'. Sav focused upon her speech once more and entered into the room. "You can come in. The Aux bridge is near engineering as a backup for when controls on the main bridge are out, having maintenance performed, or other reasons for the main bridge to be out of order. It is not designed to be a replacement, having less tactical control, but a temporary way to control the ship." She went to the helm position and touched two controls. The helms status showed secured and locked. She thought for a second, then said, "Normally you have to go to each position, but, I'm going to cheat a little as I am trained in damage control." She brought her left wrist over and the large, crystalline 'bracelet' suddenly had a holographic control display showing the Aux Bridge. Around the bridge, consoles lit up to show their status. Sav laughed lightly, then went to the Captain's Chair. She pressed some buttons, said aloud, "Command Level 5 lock." The chair now showed a specific sequence of lights. Sav went back to the helm and brought up her wrist computer, all panels went back to off. She turned and smiled to her accompaniment. "And, why these final ship tours. Somebody forgot that the Captain's chair has tie in to systems for quick checks, and some control tie ins. It needs securing as well. Okay, Engineering is just nearby, we walk to it, and then Flight OPs and we are done. Enjoying yourselves so far?"

Fay nodded "You certainly make it interesting. When did you become interested in flying a starship?"

Sav churr-laughed a the memories that brought up. "My Father took me to work with him. He worked as a lead maintenance mechanic at the Starport near where we lived. He placed me in a maintenance pod, I was six, and I touched the control panel, and took off. Let's just say Dad and his friends were amazed at that pod doing intricate maneuvers about the hanger bay. I have never looked back since." She churred in a pleased tone, "Up ahead, there is Engineering and the 'warp' core.

Mathias's eyebrows raised taking a bit of another look at Sav, as pieces of a puzzle where she was concerned clicked together. He didn't say anything. Just had a bit of a smile as he continued on the tour with Fay/Sansa and Sav.

*** Main Bridge ***

Making sure that everything was locked down and that his diagnostics were searching for any issues, Miles stretched and tapped his com badge. "Computer, what's the current location of Commander Tillatix?"

Responding, the female voice stated, "Commander Tillatix has just left the Auxiliary Bridge and is nearing Main Engineering." Muttering something in Cardassian, Miles moves to the bridge replicator, "One dozen Meya Lillies." Once they appeared, Miles taps his combadge, looks around guiltily then says, "Computer, perform a site to site transport to Main Engineering, authorization Rejal Alpha 12."

***Main Engineering***

As the trio round the corner to Main Engineering, they find Commander "Miles" Rejal casually leaning against a wall holding a bouquet of a dozen lilies. Each flower has three long, papery-thin white petals, each with three prongs at the tip. There is a single line running down the inside of the petal, shading in color from pale pink at the tip to deep crimson at the base. The leaves are dark and glossy and open in a rosette. With a mischievous grin on his face he bows to Sav. "I heard some intruders were wandering around my ship so I'm came to see what was going on. Somehow my side arm got changed into these, I'm not sure what I should do with them." Looking Sav up and down he adds, "Perhaps Milady would wish to hold them and present me with her other arm, I shouldn't want her to become lost."

Sav snickered, besides blushing, at Miles antics. "Why good Sirrah, as we are the intruders, you must keep an eye on us. As fer the flowers, Red Lilies signify Passion, and mine sure burns for my Beau." She glanced back at Fay-Sansa and Mathias, then said, "Screw it" as she leaned up and gave Miles a kiss upon his lips. She drew back, breathing in shallow breaths, whispering, "I like..."

Whispering back, Miles imparts, "They are rare and beautiful, just like you, my love."

She glanced back to Mathias and Fay-Sansa, then said, "I won't tell if you don't tell..." as she winked to them.

Fay smiled "That is soo thoughtfully of him, bringing you a special gift like that."

Mathias smiled once more, as several more pieces clicked. Now he knew who Sav's beloved was. He gave a nod of approval. From his first meeting of the XO earlier, Mathias thought him to be a good one.

Sav came over to the 'warp core'. She touched the panels and tell tales came alert as she read them. "The 'Warp Core' is called that because warp drive is impossible without the energy of a Matter-Antimatter reactor. Basically, the Warp Core is the largest energy generator on the ship, an Anti-Matter Matter Reactor, or AMC for short. In the L'Tandrey Protectorate, they are known as AMC Reactors. In the Federation, Warp Cores. Potaeto, Potahto, same thing. However, in port, it does not need to be running, the Fusion Reactors generate more than enough power for everything not related to traveling across vast distances to meet new friends, such as Fay, who has a friend in Sansa. The consoles are all showing secured and locked. Our final destination is Flight Ops Deck for the Fighters to make sure it is secure." She suddenly moved Miles about to be facing Fay-Sansa and Mathias. She now asked, "Any questions? And... *she glanced at Miles* teasing of my beau is allowed, ifin yah want." She churred as she hip bumped Miles.

With his face turned, Miles glares at Mathias and Sansa/Fay, "Just remember, the inside of the brig is a cold and lonely place." Turning his charm back on and sliding his arm around Sav's shoulders he nods, "Ask away."

Fay paused in main engineering and listened. The last time she had been here was core was running at about 80% and it sounded to her like a symphony of music. Now, with the core powered down all was quiet. "Yes, on the tour we were shown around by one of the engineering Staff and Breana was very friendly. I hope to speak with her some more."

To Fay, Mathias remarked. "It is indeed rather quiet." listening to the room with a keen interest.

He directed his attention to Miles. "Commander Rejal, no need to send us to the dungeon." he gave a chuckle "I am not one to get in the way of romance between you two. However, before the flight of fancy begins, I'd love to see the Flight Ops Deck. Then Fay and I can make our way to the station to our various destinations."

Sav closed her eyes while her ears flicked. While all in fun, a term that Mathias said tried to bring up bad memories. But, with conscious effort, they didn't. Sav opened her eyes and replied, "At least you get stale bread and clean water in this one. Anyways, Fay-Sansa, it is always quiet when not underway, the constant noises and thrumming actually being missed upon the first days of shore leave, well, at least in my experience. The Fight ops is next, by the way. So, yer next fancies of fun?"

Fay interjected. "Actually, I'll be staying on the Merlin until tomorrow morning when we will be beaming down to Starfleet Command with Melody and the other bridge officers. I think some of them are meeting us there."

Mathias pulled out his PADD and looked through his to do list. "Well, looks like I won't be going down yet either, not until tomorrow. I need to get my report in order before presenting it. Guess I got caught up in the moment with the sweet-talking going on here." giving a bit of a chuckle. And giving a look towards Sav and Miles, then back to Fay.

Fay tried to hide the smile of knowing Mathias was staying on the ship a while longer, but not very well. "So, what happens in this flight operations deck?" she asked Sav.

Sav churred lightly, replied, "First, let's get to the turbo lift, this way. I will explain on the way." As they left engineering, Sav launched into her 'tour-guide' voice. "Flight ops performs several functions, all of which deal with small craft entering, leaving, and manoeuvring around the Merlin. There is shuttle and runabout traffic in hauling people and goods about, worker pods for maintenance, and then fighter launches, tracking and receiving. As Merlin is a carrier, as in having fighters for engagement, the Flight Ops Deck is its own type of bridge, this centered around a holovid of surrounding space with tracking and advising small craft. When I first came on board, I was CAG for the Merlin. Then, as Melody moved from Helm to Command, I became helmsman."

Miles looked over at Fay/Sansa, "I'll be at the same meeting, so I'll see you tomorrow. Once Sav is done checking on and closing things down, I'm taking her to dinner, somewhere, not sure yet where."

Sav got an 'aha' look on her face as the doors to the turbolift opened for the group. "And so that is why I'll be by myself at my hotel suite tonight. Tis okay, Ah need tah get some clothes shoppin' done." Once the doors closed, Sav touched the handle and the turbolift said, "Destination, Flight Ops." It whirred to life.

Sav turned to face the three. "Okay, anything the group wants to talk about while we head to Flight ops? And, anything means tour, being tourists on Earth, eats, customs, whatever, mm'kay?"

"Do you know where would be the best place to see some Humpback whales would be?" Fay asked.

Sav shook her head and replied, "Not personally, no. However, if you go to the local Chapter of the United Earth Oceans Organization, say in San Fransisco, they maintain the safety of Earth's oceans. They can let you know where the whales are, and then it's up to you to get out there with an organized tour, or maybe a personalized tour as you are a Special Visitor to check out how they are being treated by the current inhabitants of Earth."

"I will look into that, Thank you." Fay replied.

The turbolift arrived at flight operations.

The doors opened upon an anteroom. Sav led the way through this room, touched the wall plate, and the doors opened upon the large expanse of the Flight Operations Control Center. She walked towards the centre holovid projector. "That centre, round console actually projects a holovideo of what is happening around the Merlin for craft and any space debris within the theatre of operation." Once beside it, she turned to a master tactical console. "This console is attached to the others. I will run a security check from this one." Sav touched the console, then activated several keys. Around the room, consoles lit up with their status. Sav churred as she said, "Special check for Fay-Sansa and Mathias." The holovideo projector lit up and projected the Merlin in the centre, with worker pods and shuttles moving about, and with other ships docked within the starbase. "As everybody is a friendly, there are no 'red' marked craft. As none are Merlin's craft, nothing is marked in the colour of the watch." The display turned off while showing symbols across its control interfaces. Sav called out, "All secured and shut down." She turned to smile to the other three. "The colour of watch depends upon what the current Chief of the Watch Office see's easier. Some pick blue, other's pick green, but there is always a specific colour up to represent Merlin Aux Craft and keep track of them. Questions?"

When the rounds had been completed, Fay approved Sav "Thank you for sharing your knowledge and insights. It was very enlightening."

Sav smiled, replied, "You're very welcome, Fay-Sansa." She held open her arms, "As I am now officially off watch, besides of which you're a civilian, did you want a parting hug?"

Fay thought for a moment but heard Sansa think "Go on, have a hug." so, she opened her arms wide and embraced Sav.

Sav gladly embraced the young teenager. She knew Sansa loved hugging the very 'furry and soft' Mephetian. She churred in a low, pleasing rumble, as her tail came around to press Fay-Sansa close to her. In releasing Fay-Sansa, she stated, "Ana, there yah go, mah specialty hug."

Miles got another mischievous grin on his face, "As I'm off duty, I'll take a hug too..." Once he got his arms around Sansa/Fay, he picked her up and spun her around a few times before putting her down on the floor. "Remember you two, try to have fun while we're here. If you need anything let me know."

Mathias looked at Miles, and then at Fay. Shrugged and gave Sav an embrace. He also looked over towards Miles. "You know, I'm an equal opportunity embracer. If you'd like one as well, I am not against it." giving a half-smile. "I hug my brother as well as my parents and sisters. I don't know if that is your sort of thing so, if you don't want to that's okay with me either way."

Sav looked surprised as her body froze momentarily. She had not mentally prepared for this... but, with hugs going around.. she relaxed, a small churr sounding out, as she returned the hug in the spirit given. She was wanting to be friends with him, she knew his presence, and so this was perfect practice, for her. She releases the hug when Mathias does.

Looking over at the girls, Miles holds his right arm out, "Come here Mathias, and slap your right arm against mine so our hands can grip the inside right at the elbow." Once Mathis complies, Miles adds, "This is a modified Klingon handshake. They use their right arms for those they trust, shows they have no weapons in that hand. Anyone ever offers to do it left-handed, watch out for a knife in your side."

Since he was offering an embrace, Mathias looked at Fay. "How about you?"

Fay was moving toward him before he had finished speaking, with more on her mind than just a hug. This time, Sansa caught her before she planted her lips on him again. Woah there! Easy Tiger! Hayley, remember! Fay took the hint and confined herself to giving him a big hug though it did slightly last longer than 'just a friendly' hug.

She stepped back and said. "We better be returning to our quarters. Thanks again Save'ena." Fay acknowledge Miles with a nod and cast a brief glance at Mathias, waving her hand in goodby before and with that she made a dash for the turbolift.

OFF: