Posted by Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) in Starbase 237 Promenade deck - Leviathan security/RTF summoned to meet Captain Cobb

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Surda (Security Chief / RTF Commander) in Starbase 237 Promenade deck - Leviathan security/RTF summoned to meet Captain Cobb

Posted by Captain Zachariah Cobb (Commanding Officer) in Starbase 237 Promenade deck - Leviathan security/RTF summoned to meet Captain Cobb
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻
OOC: I hadn’t originally done one of these for security, since at the time we had no players in that department. But now that we have two (yay) I thought I’d add a thread up in case either of you wanted to use it for somewhere to introduce your character or bring them into the action (although no worries if you have other plans)

IC: Deep blue liquor scorched a trail down the old man’s throat, the tumbler’s contents swallowed rapidly in a singular, desperate gulp, as of one crawling the burning sands of the Sahara to quench thirst with the last water on Earth. Six months since anything more than weak tea had graced Cobb’s lips, the ARU’s reputation for prisoner welfare egregious. But as trembling hands procured a second measure, thoughts turned to the captain’s mandatory plans for the day. And in that moment Zachariah found himself beset by a longing for the solitude of his former cell.

The location of ARU headquarters, official designation Starbase 237 or ‘Hades’ for those who dwelled within, was classified. For decades had they transmitted warnings of unstable conditions around the Bardeezi nebula to keep all other travellers at bay. But draw back those curtains of ionized gas and a true marvel of engineering would be seen, recalling for Cobb his mother’s favourite lillies, three ‘petals’ forming detachable containment districts around a gargantuan, central stem. And coiled like a serpent at the middle of the stem, the most breathtaking place on the station - the promenade deck.

No individual was permitted at the starbase without sufficient clearance, still compartmentalisation was what the ARU did best. So when Cobb suggested meeting the crew of the Leviathan on the ‘outdoor’ promenade - an imperceptible forcefield the only barrier between its occupants and deep space - Admiral Roebuck sequestered an entire quadrant of the popular, circular deck. And it was here, with large desk and chair replacing the usual recreational seating, that Captain Zachariah Cobb would hold court, as one by one the Leviathan’s department members submitted to his inquisitive glare.

“If I didn’t know you better”, the Admiral laughed as he sampled the refreshment platter’s red strawberries, “I would say that you, Zachariah Cobb, are nervous.”
The captain snorted, draining his glass before refilling again to the brim. “You’re damned right I’m nervous. The last crew I commanded are still in mandatory counselling. And that’s just the ones who managed to make it back.”
Roebuck shrugged a warm smile to reassure his troubled friend. “You have a good crew, Zachariah. I think you’ll be impressed.”
“It’s not them that concerns me.”

The denouement of his statement remained unspoken, Roebuck stepping in to propel events forward in the captain’s hesitant stead.

=^= Leviathan security/RTF team, this is Admiral Roebuck. Please present yourself at the north-west quadrant of the promenade deck in one hour, to meet your new commanding officer, Captain Cobb. =^=

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

By now, Surda had grown out of the habit of tracing the combadge in her pocket, but she couldn’t help her nerves. She hadn’t realized how much she had come to depend on Cobb as a friend until he was gone, and her precarious position had dissolved once he was gone. She wasn’t quite sure how he would react, but she hoped he’d be glad for the familiar face. Keeping that in mind, she stepped onto the promenade and greeted him with a lazy grin. “Captain.” Surda set a rather large bottle of purple liquid on the desk. “It seemed appropriate to bring a gift.”
-Surda, CoS

Zachariah’s surprise was genuine, bordering on heartfelt. “Lieutenant Surda!” he roared himself to standing, eyes darting briefly to the large and enticing bottle, before returning to the Orion herself. “What an unexpected, but most welcome, gift. And the liquor too, I should add.”

With a greeting like that, how could she not break out into a genuine smile. “An exciting attempt at alcohol from a nearby colony,” she offered.

Cobb uncorked the bottle with a wink, brief meditation to enjoy the aroma, before collecting three glasses and filling each to the brim.
“I was told you had left,” he passed drinks to the Admiral then Surda. “What was it that drew you back? The lure of the Leviathan?” His chuckle was transient, tinged with fear. As of an ancient curse that should not be expressed.

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

“I thought we’d gotten rid of that particular anomaly,” Sudra joked, then shook her head and responded seriously. “Black badged p’tolbile had… expectations I had been shirking. You know how it is when you let the paperwork build up.” She straightened up slightly, recognizing the haunted ring of his voice as a reflection to her own. “Luckily, they’ve appointed a new secretary, so I’d seem to be back for good.” If paperwork was covert missions and secretaries were protégés, she wasn’t even lying.
-Surda, CoS/RTF CO

Zachariah nodded, comprehension not secured in full but sufficient to empathise with Surda’s plight. He had accumulated his own spiralling tower of secrets during their brief time apart.
“Aye, I know how it is.”

Behind them, Roebuck shuffled, attention superficially on the diminishing strawberries yet simultaneously boring a hole in Cobb’s back.
“Well I shall sleep more soundly with you as security chief and no mistake,” the captain hurried on, no cause for either to linger on a nebulous past. “Although you’ll be starting afresh with junior officers, I’m afraid. Few are those who remained after the Alini mission. Not that I blame a single, solitary one.”

Surda grinned, laughing lightly. “Why Captain! A gift?” She’d always had fun breaking in new JOs, especially their surprise at an Orion CoS. “I’ll have to set up anomaly survival training.” AST was her favorite exercise, she gave them an away mission on the holodeck and picked them off one by one.

Eager sip at the enticing purple liquor, until ferocious heat around the tonsils caused him to wince.
“An attempt, you say?” the old man chortled around another gulp. “Well, I daresay it wouldn’t pare well with dinner. But give us a holodeck and a roaring campfire and I’d be all set.”

Surda pulled out a horribly long label from her pocket and handed it over. “Their third attempt, to be exact. We should go, you can give them a review.” All she’d really gotten off the label was that it was some sort of root vegetable.

Strawberries abandoned, the Admiral suddenly stepped forward, urgent stopper to the loose cannon of Zachariah Cobb.
“Lieutenant Commander Surda. I would be interested to know your plans on crew training. Preparation time will, as always, be far too short. So I encourage any methods that might expedite their training.”

• Captain Zachariah Cobb

“Sir yes sir.” She rolled her eyes, but sat up to start brainstorming. “The fastest way to get them used to the job is to have them shadow someone who knows it. Like a cadet rotation.” Surda frowned, pulling out a PADD. “If I take 4 JOs on each shift and give each pair a half shift, they can spend the other half going through protocols and containment sci-eng.” Admittedly it would still take security a while to catch up, but as long as one of each pair understood the science and one knew not to play around with it, they could probably manage. “I can take 12 a day like that, and combined with training days, it shouldn’t take longer that a month to get all of security up to speed.”

“The rest of the crew is welcome to join training days, and we can run shipwide loose anomaly drills.” RTF had additional training she wasn’t including, but hopefully any new RTF officers were at least competent enough to not accidentally release anomalies, and Starfleet enough to follow orders when they had a situation.
-Surda, CoS/RTF CO