Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Quentin “Q” Dawson (Chief Weapons Officer) in Leaving the Solar System – Bridge (tag: everyone)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Kastarak (First Officer / Navigation Officer) in Leaving the Solar System – Bridge (tag: everyone)

Posted by Captain Chris Taggart (Commanding Officer) in Leaving the Solar System – Bridge (tag: everyone)
Posted by… suppressed (17) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Two days after Malone had hit the Chernov, the Chernov was ready to leave. The USS Constitution had been helpful. The cross-crew engineering teams – one led by Mr Batario and Mr Kax – and one led by Mr Zóbel de Ayala and Ms Lovejoy – finished all the tasks ahead of schedule. The Chernov was now in a good-enough shape. Luckily, the engineers and scientists hadn’t disclosed the Romulan cloaking tech to the visiting engineers, but it was entirely possible that they had understood what the Chernov was carrying. Even so, the Chernov had not tried or tested the tech. As such, no one knew if it would be working or not.

Still, the Chernov had its orders, and the crew needed to follow them. The staff of the Constitution were leaving the Chernov to return to their own ship. Good-byes were said. This friendship would not be forgotten.

On the Bridge, First Officer Kastarak had returned to service. He had been cleared fit for service, and outwardly it looked like nothing had happened to him. Inside, however, he was still shaken by it – a near brush with death – his second one. The first one had been when escaping the destruction of the planet Vulcan. So, what had happened now, was existential, and activated the traumatic memories from before. He had in his coma also sensed the proximity of Pawl, and sensed how helpful and meaningful that would be. Would there be a way for them to be with one another again? He didn’t know, but he longed to have an answer, an answer not rooted in logic but one in fact.

The Bridge was empty, save for some junior officers prepping the equipment and Kastarak himself, of course. Departure soon. He sounded the intercom.

“All department heads, report to Bridge. All department heads, report to Bridge.”

He sent an intercom to the captain too, letting the captain know the ship was ready. Lack of expertise in applying the bionic arm made the captain one-armed for now. Would he be able to serve? Or could Sickbay and Engineering, now when the emergencies were over, collaborate in sticking the bionic arm back? Either way, the captain was the captain of the ship. He needed to be informed of everything going on. And whether he had two arms or one arm, he was at least fit to serve – for now.

Finally, Kastarak sent an intercom to Ms Lovejoy, “Bridge to Lt Lovejoy, report to Bridge. Lt Lovejoy, report to bridge.”

Kastarak, Lt Cdr
First Officer and Navigations Officer

Dawson was getting security back in order after the repairs. They had been on edge the entire time the Constitution was assisting. Dawson had done his best to keep the Romulan technology secret from the Constitution, not wanting to bring the ship and her crew into their murky business. But that wasn’t the only reason security had been tight. They were still close to Malone’s Titan Base and while they had not heard of anything from the renegade Section 31 outpost since Dawson had melted their central command room with phaser fire, presumably killing Col. Malone. Still, Dawson wasn’t leaving anything more to chance. He’d underestimated Malone before and it had nearly ended up costing the ship and her crew. He was not about to do so again. The entirety of the repairs, Dawson kept the sensors on the lookout for any sign of potential traps and ambushes and he kept his security officers on alert throughout. It was good to be able to have them stand down for a time. Once they reached Klingon space, there would be no respite from danger.

=/\=All department heads, report to Bridge. All department heads, report to Bridge.=/\= Kastarak’s voice came over the intercom. It was good to hear his voice and know he was alright. Dawson had tried to go see him in sick bay during his coma, but he just hadn’t had the time. At least, that’s what he told himself. The truth was he had felt partially responsible for what happened to Kastarak. He couldn’t help thinking that had he acted sooner, or perhaps not antagonized Malone so much, or handled the Section 31 officers differently, perhaps this wouldn’t have happened. He pushed those feelings away, they served no purpose and Dawson had no use for self pity. He put on a smile and went to the turbo lift. “Bridge.” He said and the lift took off.

He arrived on the bridge and went to tactical, a calm smile playing on his face. “Greetings, sir.” He said as he passed Kastarak. “Second verse same as the verse, yes? Let’s try to mind your head this time, alright?” He smirked at Kas as he took his position. Once he was at the controls, he focused again on watching for any possible surprises. Dawson knew rationally that, if Malone did have anything waiting for them, it would have sprung by now. There was a feeling, however, that he just couldn’t shake. This feeling that something was about to happen. Perhaps it was just trauma from the attack. Maybe being so alert through repairs made it harder to come back down. or it could even be the anticipation of the mission and the implications it would have for his family. Perhaps all of these things. But Dawson didn’t become Chief Weapons officer by ignoring his instincts. He’d let Pascall’s wager govern this. If he was diligent and wrong, no harm done. But if he was lax and right? That could spell disaster.

Lt. Q Dawson, CWO

It was an agreeable sight to have Dawson be the first one to greet Kastarak. Kastarak didn’t quite understand the metaphor spewing out of Dawson’s mouth, but he put it down to friendliness. Logic dictated thus, so Kastarak nodded. “Good day, Mr Dawson,” he said.

Dawson had always been a good colleague. Kastarak and Dawson had managed to keep three different relationships in parallel – first, the therapist–client relation, second, their friendship, and third, their professional one. There was no reason it would be confusing. Instead, it was a source of strength. Kastarak could depend on Dawson.

“I understand that you were in the conn, protecting the ship, while I was indisposed.”

He walked up closer to Dawson, looked him straight in the eye. “You did well.”

Pawl heard the call en route to the bride on the turbo lift. =^= “On my way in the turbo lift now. En route to the bridge be there momentarily.”=^= Pawl commented to the call calmly and peacefully manner. About a minute later the lift stopped and the doors opened to the bridge as he moved over to the engineering station. turned toward the first officer. “Lt Jg Pawl Batario reporting as ordered.” As he stood there waiting for confirmation of his arrival.

[[Lt_Jg ]] [[Pawl Batario]]
[[Chief_Engineer]] [[Uss_Chernov]]

With that, Kastarak turned away from Dawson to greet the new incomer. It was Pawl – oh Pawl… Kastarak felt a mushy softness in his heart, and he needed a second to compose himself. But oh, was it good seeing Pawl.

“Mr Batario, welcome. Please take your station.”

Chris came onto the bridge missing his right arm. It was in his office on an end table near the tank with his other body parts and Kane’s hand. Smiling at Kasterak. “It is good to hear your voice again Number One and to see you as well.”

“Thank you, sir,” Kastarak replied, before even seeing the captain. But the captain’s voice was comforting. “It is agreeable to see you here. I trust you are well, despite –––” Kastarak had to stop himself. He was about to say “unarmed” but that would be wrong. Why was Federation Standard such an illogical language. “– the lack of an arm which I trust will be temporary. As soon as we’re on our way, and all systems are in check, we can work on getting you armed again.”

He used the wrong word. He hoped no one would notice. If he changed his phrasing, he would highlight his mistake. But he said something illogical. He had to correct himself. “I mean, getting your arm reattached, sir.”

Chris looked Kastarak in the eye for a moment before erupting in laughter. “Man! I thought I would never see the day when I heard a Vulcan make a joke and a funny one at that! Man! I needed that! Thank you Kastarak! I know you didn’t intend it that way so please don’t feel ill towards me laughing. It is a great compliment coming not only from a Vulcan but a true friend as well. I am just clad it was said on the bridge so that the computer recorded it! No one is ever going to believe me!”

Turning towards Q. “Mr. Dawson. You did a great job during the encounter and especially after the encounter. I am recommending you for a Valor Award and a promotion. You’re a good man.”

This was surprising to Kastarak, but it was completely logical. “I agree, sir.”

Turning towards Pawl. “Mr. Bartario. Same goes for you but without the Valor device on the Medal. You held our beloved ship together and still installed the Romulan devices. You are a good man as well.”

Oh Pawl. He really was a good man.

“He certainly is good,” Kastarak replied. “I wholeheartedly agree, sir.”

“I apologize for not shaking anyones hands right now but I believe it is disrespectful to shake with the left hand. So I will put my hand on your shoulder and give a fatherly squeeze so to speak if you don’t mind.”

If the allowed him to do that, then Chris went up to each person and did just that.

“Now. Number One. We need to make sure all of the Romulan tech works but before we do that we need to run a level one Diagnostic to make sure everything is working properly, then run it all with the Romulan tech on, then again without it. I do not want to be in surrounded by a bunch of Klingons and found out our hyperdrive don’t work”.

“Yes sir,” Kastarak replied. “I recommend getting out of the solar system, first. The Constitution will cover us while we leave. Your orders, sir.”

Captain Chris Taggart, CO

Dawson smiled at Taggart, happy to see him out and about. “Thank you, sir,” Dawson replied to Taggert’s compliment and suggestion of a promotion, “All in a day’s work.” He was nonchalant about it, but it was good to hear that he had done well in the exchange. When Taggart came around for his shoulder squeeze, Dawson appreciated it.

He was still wary of the Romulan tech aboard the Chernov, but handling the diagnostics seemed to be primarily on Pawl and engineering, and so he kept a look out for anything that might come up from Section 31. the feeling was easing, but still there that something was off, or might be off.

Lt. Q Dawson, CWO

Kastarak, Lt Cdr
First Officer and Navigations Officer

Lt. Valharra was at tactical when Lt Comm. Kastarak made the call for the department heads to come to the bridge. When Lt. Dawson arrived on the bridge and greeted the LT. Comm. he started to leave the bridge and head toward the turbolift. He still had some time left on his shift, so he was decided to go to the armory.
Lt. Valharra, security

“Mr Valharra!” Kastarak called out. “Stay, you’re needed on bridge.”

Kastarak, Lt Cdr
First Officer and Navigations Officer

Pawl took his station after he was cleared to do so by the officers. He was going to take a seat as the captain came onto the bridge. Moments later he heard the captain speak. He had no issues with the captain giving a fatherly gesture of a squeeze on the shoulder. “Thank you, sir! All in the line of service. sir.” Pawl stated calmly a moment later he took his seat and started the diagnostics that were requested and attempted to do them in all flight configurations he could. So far all seemed promising. Pawl was feeling good at the kindness and concern all of his fellow officers had shown him. Even the first officer is usually closed and reserved about their feeling and emotions. Most Vulcans were. But he knew Kasarak well enough to know his feelings even if he did not show them directly.

[[Lt_Jg ]] [[Pawl Batario]]
[[Chief_Engineer]] [[Uss_Chernov]]

“You all are way too humble. What you all did was nothing short of going above and beyond your call of duty.” Turning to Kastarak. “Yes. Let us get out of this area and Solar System first. The farther the better. Then we can see if all this works and try it out on the Constitution.”

Captain Chris Taggart, CO

“Of course sir!” Pawl commented calmly to the captain. As he continued his work quietly. Noting that the captain changed his focus from him to the first officer.

[[Lt_Jg ]] [[Pawl Batario]]
[[Chief_Engineer]] [[Uss_Chernov]]

When Kastarak had Valharra return to his station, Dawson merely shrugged and stepped aside for him and stood next to the station console.

Lt. Q Dawson, CWO

It was good that Valharra returned. Kastarak needed Dawson for other matters.

“Mr Dawson, what is the status of our weapons inventory and systems? Any damages?” (Ooc: what Dawson says goes! Feel free to boss Valharra about too)

Kastarak then turned to the captain.

“Is Lieutenant Lovejoy going to take on helm? Helm is still vacant. We can’t leave without anyone piloting the ship.”

Kastarak, Lt Cdr
First Officer and Navigations Officer

Dawson turned to Kastarak and said, “Everything is fully stocked and ready to go. All that was damaged was the main dish, so weapons were left untouched, and we only used probes to block the blasts and phasers to destroy the command base, so our torpedo bay is ready to go, Sir.”

“Yes Commander. She will. She is on her way up here now. We will leave once she gets situated.” (OOC: Just act like she is there and move this thread forward. We will tell her things to do but if she does not reply in four days to the thread then assume she did what was asked. Do not god mode her but we cannot wait for certain things all of the time or things will get stagnant.)

“Very good, sir,” Kastarak replied, content with the answer. He was eager to leave the system.

“Do you wish me to take the station for now sir?” Pawl offered. “All engineering systems are on Automatic control but there are a couple of ensign engineering officers on duty in engineering if things arise they can handle the simple fixes or tweaks to the systems as needed mostly they enjoying the calm time now.”

[[Lt_Jg ]] [[Pawl Batario]]
[[Chief_Engineer]] [[Uss_Chernov]]

Chris didn’t know if Pawl was talking to him or Kastarak but he figured was Kastarak given their past but he answered anyway. “Please do Lieutenant. Until we get on our way and everything is finalized. Then I would like for you to take a 12 hour break and get some much need rest.” Chris knew Pawl was up for days now, being by Kastarak’s side and his emotional strength must be at its limits.

Captain Chris Taggart, CO

“Aye sir!” pawl said calmly as he stood and moved towards the Helm Station He looked over the controls a moment then plotted the course they were heading. “We are ready on your command sit.” Pawl said with a small smile.

[[Lt_Jg ]] [[Pawl Batario]]
[[Chief_Engineer]] [[Uss_Chernov]]

Kastarak took the first officer’s chair, inviting the captain to sit at his. From his seat, Kastarak got a good view of Pawl from behind. He could see Pawl’s neck, hair, shoulders…

Kastarak kicked himself back to the presence. He received a missive from the Constitution.

“Sir,” he said, turning to the captain, “the first officer of the Constitution informs us that they are ready to cover for us once we leave the rings. I’d recommend going into warp as soon as we escape Saturn’s gravity. I believe our predicament warrants the exception. Once in interstellar space, we can perform the necessary tests.”

Kastarak, Lt Cdr
First Officer and Navigations Officer

“Affirmative.” Chris told Kastarak as he took his seat. “Inform them of our rendezvous spot and warp out as soon as we leave gravitational pull.”

Captain Chris Taggart CO

“Aye, sir,” Kastarak said, standing up,and turned to Helm.

“Mr Batario, steer the ship out.”

“And all hands, red alert.”

Kastarak took to his seat next to the captain. He exhaled and relaxed.

Kastarak, Lt Cdr
First Officer and Navigations Officer

Dawson stood next to Kastarak, bracing himself at a nearby rail. He was watching over Valharra’s shoulder at the Tactical screen, the feeling of unease still with him. When they were out of the Solar System, he’d want to get some training in to burn off this excess energy. Perhaps he’d invite Valharra to spar with him.

Lt, Q Dawson, CWO

“Aye sir” as he started the maneuvers to get out of the gravity well of Saturn. Pawl calmly kept alert for any surprises. “we’re clearing the gravity well sir! Prepping for warp.” Pawl added quickly. As he placed his hand on the warp controller.

[[Lt_Jg ]] [[Pawl Batario]]
[[Chief_Engineer]] [[Uss_Chernov]]