: : : Conrad trusted the new woman with the final checks. But he wasn’t one to completely trust a new hire right from the get go. She would have to earn his trust.
: : : :
: : : : Halai glanced between the two men and gestured between them. “Michael Conrad, meet Rob Jensen, one of my bodyguards.”
: : : :
: : : : Rob held out his hand to Michael and while he wasn’t unfriendly, he was seemingly cautious as well. After all, Conrad was an unknown entity and he was charged with keeping Halai safe. The Black Sparrow was a complicated variable, even if he did agree with her that it made for a good transport under the circumstances.
: : :
: : : Conrad nodded and shook the man’s hand. “Very good. A pleasure to meet you.” he said matter-of-factly. But there was something almost a bit mischevious about him.
: : : :
: : : : Her backpack was on her back and the fairly long wooden pole visible over her right shoulder. “I have one more person joining us. She’s someone with expertise I believe will be useful during my trip”
: : : :
: : : : ~Halai Cosgrove, Head of S&T
: : :
: : : Conrad nodded with a sly grin. Another woman. This ought to be interesting. he thought to himself as his minor inconvenience was soon to be made known to the lot of them.
: : :
: : : However he had to go over the preliminaries first. “Once you board, I will show you your temporary quarters along with important aspects of the ship. Once we finish with that, you will need to go to the Sparrow’s Medbay to get checked out. Need to make sure you can handle the trip.
: : :
: : : -Michael Conrad, Black Sparrow CO
: :
: : : : : : : : Halai snorted. “Trust me, I’ve been well checked over by doctors as you’ll soon understand, but if you insist, fine. Also, we should all sit down so I can go over the details of the trip that I promised to reveal. After all, you do have options once we get there.”
: : : : : : : :
: : : : : : : : ~Halai Cosgrove, Head of S&T
: : : : : : :
: : : : : : : “All checks green Captain.” Kira reported from her station, brushing back her short red hair subconcsiously, which made her pointed ears pop out even more.
: : : : : : :
: : : : : : : - Kira, tactical
: : : : : :
: : : : : : Just then a bald man strode up to the ship. But more than bald, he was hairless as far as anyone knew. He kept an athletic build. While upon first glance, the man seemed just like any other person, upon getting closer, his presence had an effect on others. It was subtle, yet very much there. It was a sort of attractive quality, at least for the women anyway. Most men he came in contact with generally just felt calmer.
: : : : : :
: : : : : : He grinned. “Mr. Conrad. Thank you again for having me aboard.”
: : : : : :
: : : : : : Michael nodded to the man. “This is Akem, the Black Sparrow’s new physician of sorts. He offers a variety of other services as well.” He said to Halai and her team.
: : : : : :
: : : : : : -Michael Conrad, Black Sparrow CO
: : : : : : -Akem
: : : : :
: : : : : Halai turned to see the new arrival, her gold-ringed hazel eyes seemingly intense. Her ‘korsiolo’ flared slightly, almost in some sort of recognition. She couldn’t quite tell what it was about the man exactly, but there was definitely something that resonated with her. She reached out a hand. “Halai Cosgrove,” she said softly, her own sort of deep awareness possibly tangible to Akem.
: : : : :
: : : : : ~Halai Cosgrove
: :
: : Akem grinned, sensing her response. Something about her piqued his interest. Upon her extending his hand, he took hold and gave it a tender kiss before returning it to her. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Halai. I have a sneaking suspicion I’ll likely be checking you out in the medical area later?”
: :
: : Conrad rolled his eyes. Had the bald physician really slipped like that? Or was it a simply innocent misunderstanding of the term ‘checking out’? Whatever the reason, he happened to notice the emergence of a new arrival.
: : : :
: : : : Valkris frowned, trying to uncover her inner map of the area. She was last stationed here nearly a month ago causing her to subtly growl in frustration. Casually she continued to stroll toward the dock she noted the Black Sparrow was located. Her figure moved through the crowds with little difficult while she tried to close the distance. Her pace politely slowed when she noticed Cosgrave appearing busy with another individual.
: : : :
: : : : –Ensign Valkris MacLaren, Sec
: :
: : : : : Conrad now turned to the new arrival. “Shall I assume you’re with Cosgrove here?” he inquired as the unique woman strolled up to his ship.
: : : :
: : : : Valkris nodded, noting Conrad for the first time. Her feet grinded to a stop as she realized where she was suppose to head.
:
: Akem gave Valkris a gentle nod of his hairless head, knowing his presence would hopefully put her at ease.
: : : : : :
: : : : : : “Orders, Cap’n?” Kira’s voice came slightly impatient. Apparently she was not a non-emotional Vulcan… if she was a Vulcan at all.
: : : : : :
: : : : : : - Kira, tactical
: : : : :
: : : : : Michael heard the call from his new tactician on the bridge. “Just keep her warmed up,” he said before returning quickly to their group. “Why don’t we get things underway?” he asked.
: : : : :
: : : : :
: : : : : -Michael Conrad, Black Sparrow CO
: : : : : -Akem
: : : :
: : : : Valkris couldn’t help but feel slightly out of place, but she wasn’t about to let that chase her off. She cautiously stepped closer. Her head turned to Cosgrave, noting the woman’s demeanor and looking for her to lead this journey. It was her show after all.
: : : :
: : : : –Ensign Valkris MacLaren, Sec
: : :
: : : Kira snorted under her breath. Keep her warmed up indeed. Translation: Keep waiting. For some reason Kira was eager to be off. She started a scan on long range sensors just to keep herself busy.
: : :
: : : - Kira, tactical
: :
: : “Yes, let’s get going. The sooner we’re on our way, the sooner all of this will be clear to everyone,” Halai replied. She gestured to Maclaren. “This is Ensign Valkaris MacLaren, who is going to be giving me a security perspective on my endeavours. Valkaris, this is Michael Conrad, our captain of the Black Sparrow.”
: :
: : ~Halai Cosgrove, Head of S&T
:
: Conrad nodded his head in her direction with a quick smile. He then gestured to ramp leading up the ship. “Step lively ladies and gentlemen, we’re in for a wild ride!” he said with some amusement. The people boarding the ship had no idea what the Black Sparrow was fully capable of. To be fair, Conrad was probably the only one able to know fully, besides Kanok. His new tactician was in for a wild ride herself. Come to think of it, he needed to get to know her better. Their agreement had been fairly loose as he needed someone quick. On the journey he was going to make a point to find out her intentions with his ship and its secrets.
:
: Akem moved forward first. “I’ll just go ahead and finish prepping the medical area,” he said before stepping onto the ramp, the sound of his feet disctinctly stepping firmly on the ramp. Before disappearing into the corridor the ramp led to, he turned back to Michael Conrad. “If you could send them as soon as you can, I’ll get them prepped for the journey.”
:
: Conrad nodded as he gestured for everyone else to climb aboard. “Ladies first,” he said with a bit of humor.
:
: -Michael Conrad, Black Sparrow CO
: -Akem, physician?

Valkris’ head tilted slightly in suspicion. It wasn’t hard when she was in unfamiliar territory and on edge about going into some unknown place. However, the desire for answers drove her onward. Deciding not to speak what was on her mind, Valkris followed Cosgrove into the ship.

–Ensign Valkris MacLaren, Sec