An place to interact and socialize IC apart from the main thread. :)

The setting... Utopia Planitia shipyards. Observation Lounge.


Commander Vylana Xan had spent the last six months buried in bureaucracy, logistical quibbles, and a fair amount of head scratching. It was a mystery to her that an organisation that had achieved what could legitimately be considered actual miracles of technical innovation, could not manage to weed out the petty minded middle-managers whose sole purpose in life appeared to be making things as difficult as possible for everybody else. True, she had no actual responsibility for the construction of the new ship, but she had been given the unenviable task as acting as liaison between the shipyard officials responsible, and Starfleet, who presumably felt she needed punishment for some dreadful crime she had committed in this, or possibly another, life. Admittedly, the idea on paper made sense. As Executive Officer, her job was to act as liaison between the various crew departments, and handle the day to day logistics of keeping the vessel running. She found she was surprisingly good at it... on paper. But paper did not account for such things as supply delays, illness, or the bane of her existence the past six months: reports filed in triplicate to people she had never even met, who would reject something simply because she used phrasing they felt was ambivalent.

How did she end up mired in such a mess? She was a field officer, not one of those decorative staff toadies, or the obsequious desk jockeys whose appearance could make any front line officer curl up and die inside with frustration. But here she was. She had somehow managed to keep the various people talking to one another, and by some strange conjunction of the stars... the ship was ready. On time.

Tomorrow, they went out for the first physical trials. The simulations had all been very impressive. The Steamrunner class was small. It was not designed for grand diplomatic duties, or as a mobile city able to handle every possible eventuality. It was a heavy frigate. Fast as hell, able to turn on a dime - whatever that meant, and shoot things. A lot. This was a ship built for action, and she approved of it immensely. She felt a surge of anticipated excitement. After so much time watching the vessel come together, it was time to take her out for a spin. She needed that. Much more time behind a desk, and she was going to start a war with the audit department just for something to do.

She had liaised with Starfleet. They had sent crew recommendations, and had also sent those suggestions from the future Captain. With a small crew, by the standards of many ships of the line, it had been difficult whittling down the qualified candidates. The problem was that there were so many choices. She had taken pains to read every personnel report. She checked service records, and even contacted the former crewmates of some of the more interesting options. She thought she had got the right names on the roster. And many of them were here, ready to take the ship out in the morning.

Probably with hangovers, she mused. Well, she would have a clear head. That was one of the benefits of her symbiont. It increased her tolerance to toxins like alcohol enormously.

So she stood at the window, looking out on the new ship, glowing in the darkness of the space beyond the dock. She sipped her glass of surprisingly good malt whisky, and spoke softly. "It is always beautiful. Never get tired of looking at a new ship."

And come the morning, flying one.

"I do love the Steamrunner," said a male voice, stepping up to stand alongside the XO. "Honestly, look at those lines. No wasted space, no flash, no bluster, like a chakram with a handle. Fast and mobile."

He looked at the Trill officer. "Sorry ma'am. Lieutenant Yog-Sothoth D'Saylyr. The Orion, that's my ship too. I'm your new Operations officer. But then you probably knew that, you being you and all." The green-skinned Reman-Orion gave a nod. "I appreciate the assignment. After surviving the loss of the Prospero, and given my background, I was wondering if I'd ever get out there again. I'm looking forward to serving under you and Captain T'leera."

Nilani walked over to the window, having just got finished with a "final" tour of the ship, just to check over everything one last time. The timing of her last posting on the Beluga was perfect for her to be assigned to the Orion just as construction began, so she has been watching this ship from the beginning, frequently from this window specifically.

Seeing a new face talking to Commander Xan, she raises her own glass and introduces herself. "Hi, I'm Nilani Pohr, Chief Engineer. You're on the Orion too, I think I heard? I'm so excited. That ships my baby, and I know she will impress!" She looks back out to the ship, beaming with pride.

Vylana turned to the unusual green-hued person. She was sure there was one hell of a story behind his parentage, but she only knew what was on his service record. That seldom included details of conception...

"I wouldn't worry too much about the Prospero, Lieutenant. It's not like you were personally responsible for everything that happened aboard ship. And Starfleet doesn't like to bench people with talent. There are some who can't get past prejudices, sadly, but I think the crew of the Orion will be more than accepting of your racial background. As far as your life before Starfleet... I do not intend to overlook it. Actually, I want to hear all about it! I suspect you have some pretty interesting stories!"

As the engineer came over, she laughed slightly. "I wouldn't let the Captain hear you being so proprietorial! She'll either correct you that it is her ship, or berate you for being so illogical as to refer to the vessel as your offspring. I am not really sure which. Vulcans can be surprising, for all their logic. That said, she is a wonderful ship. It's been quite some time since I was able to serve on a really cutting edge starship. From all the sims we have run, I think we're going to find her very enthusiastic."

"Yeah, she is quite a looker," Sebastian said with a relaxed smile as he joined the group, a small glass filled with ice and a brownish liquid in his hand, as he looked out at the ship. He wasn't in uniform, but rather in comfortable civilian attire that accentuated his relaxed demeanor. He took a sip from the glass and turned to the group, "Sebastian Wright, I'll be your science officer for our upcoming voyage." Noting the brown spots on Vylana's face, as well as he beautiful brown eyes, he offered her a smile, "Commander Xan, yes?"

Rob stopped by his quarters just long enough to toss his duffle bag upon the bed.
The Orion was set to begin its trials tomorrow, but after spending the last couple of months on Earth in anticipation he couldn't sit the next few hours in his room.  He had to go out there and have a look at the ship up close.  Maybe see if he could find a way to sneak onboard.

Thankfully (mostly for his sake), he reached the observation deck before he could think of any mischief to play out.  It didn't take him long to spot the group looking at the Orion, and never being particularly shy, he promptly approached them to introduce himself:

" -and I will be Robert Hensen.  Security"

His eyes meandered to look at the drinks some of them were holding.  He was starting to like this crew already, without hearing a word out of them yet!

The Captain was quiet on her feet and didn't say anything as she went to stand next to and slightly behind the members of her new crew. She often learned quite a bit simply listening so that is what she did - she listened and watched. She also took the time to take in the lines of her new ship, her first command.

She had memorised every salient fact about the vessel as soon as she was confirmed as its Captain just as she had read through the service records of every one of the crew members assigned to the ship. She had, as per tradition, not stepped foot on the vessel yet as there was ceremony for a new Captain taking over command - she was to be piped aboard according to ancient Earth wet-Navy custom. Tradition was important to Starfleet so she would be honoured by it, more so since this was her first command.

She stood there, hands behind her back, and took in the sight of her ship.

Vylana turned to acknowledge the newcomers. "Mister Wright... Mister Hansen. We've got quite a party forming here, it seems. It's nice to meet you all a little informally before we go aboard. I am not sure what mission we'll be given, but hopefully it will give us a good chance to really see what she is capable of in action."

Oh, if only she knew what was coming...

Yep, it just kept getting better and better.  A commander that looked forward to seeing some action and excitement was a breath of fresh air after the overbearing instructors at the academy.

"I'm looking forward to it"