Trouble's On The Way

Posted on Mon Jan 6th, 2020 @ 10:09am by Captain Abigail Laurens & Commander Ichiko Gail

The console had grown dark, the standard Starfleet Insignia silently glowing where moments before the fact of Admiral Lockwood had been. The way this had been presented to her hadn't sat well at all. The order to not only violate a standing order but to potentially put her ship and her crew at risk, especially after what they had already been through, it just didn't feel right in her heart. But, that said, she'd known Admiral Lockwood since her cadet cruise and he had always come across as a good person, very stoic and loyal to his duties.

The sound of the parting doors took her by surprise, despite the fact that she knew she had summoned her First Officer. Looking up, she offered a faint smile and stood up. "I'll get us tea," she said quietly. "Where do you want to sit?"

Ichiko entered with her usual calm grace, though once the door behind her slid shut, she took a breath, "You sound troubled, Abigail." a breech of protocol perhaps, but Ichiko viewed the Captain as more of a friend when it was just the pair of them. To the rest of the crew, decorum must be upheld. Here, now, they were just friends. To that end, she motioned towards a more comfortable looking lounge sofa, easily built to accommodate two.

"You seem to need a friend more than a comfortable chair. What's gotten you so concerned?"

Taking the tray from the replicator, Abigail sat it down on the table, handing Ichiko her mug of tea before picking up her own and sinking down onto the couch. She cast a glance back at the tray, eyeing off the plate of dark chocolate dipped ginger snaps before shaking her head and looking back at her friend.

"We've been redeployed," she said quietly. "And yes, I am troubled." She took a breath and held her mug to her lips, blowing softly across the top before she sipped.

"Have you ever heard of the Charybdis Sector?" Abigail finally asked.

Ichiko had no such impulse control. A ginger snap was already nibbled on by the time Abigail had cast a glance towards her. "Redeployed? Sooner than expected, but I haven't heard too much in the way of lingering trouble. Outside of the glitch picked up by Security." she offered. "The Charybdis sector? No, can't say that I have. Sounds lovely." she said, with a healthy dose of Ts'usu Sass.

"Bad space," she said simply, leaning toward the coffee table to pick up a PaDD, thumbing her way into it before bringing up a brief on the sector of space. It was declared a no go zone in 2382. The Federation banned all ships from entering after two ships were destroyed, nearly two hundred lives lost."

Hearing that lives were lost seemed to have taken the sass out of the rabbitess. "Oh, I'm so sorry." Certainly it was a long time ago, but lives were lives. "So, I presume we're being sent there to patrol the border? Ensure nothing enters?" a gentle bout of patrol duty seemed appropriate.

"We've been ordered to enter the sector," Abigail replied, her voice taking on a darker tone again. "Starfleet Intelligence has received reports of Romulan sensors picking up an unknown vessel travelling into the sector. We've been ordered to enter the sector, find the vessel and hold it until intelligence arrives."

Ichiko gave a nod, and was silent for a while. "Are we to prepare any final messages for home?" she asked after that moment had passed.

Abigail shook her head slightly. "I have faith in our crew," she said quietly. "So long as we stick to low impulse speeds and we're alert and paying attention to what we're doing, I'm confident we'll be fine." She paused, taking a sip of her latte. "We can't go into this thinking that we're all going to die. We need to go into this knowing that we're coming out the other side. If we start preparing farewell messages now, no one will have their heads in the game and there won't be any point trying."

"I share your faith in our crew." Ichiko said with a nod, conviction in her tone, "Though sometimes, a fleet is sent into terrible odds knowing their fate. The hardest of missions, entrusted to the most noble and loyal of soldiers." a pause to enjoy the feel of the tea, the scent of the tea, and then finally a sip of the tea. "There will be no messages home. We'll deliver them in person." a pause, "Or, in Callisi, Koh, and my case through the buoy." a smirk.

"We will succeed." she said with a nod, her tone firm. There were no alternatives.

Abigail smiled at the resolute tone to her friend's voice. "After this is over, what's say we disable our comms and find a nice peaceful nebula to hide away in for a little while?"

"Oh that sounds like a lovely bit of relaxing treason. I'd gladly be an accomplice." Ichiko offered with a smirk. "Have your simulation rooms conjure up a nice beach while we're at it." she sweetened the deal.

"I have to say, your simulation rooms put ours to shame. Vivid and full of life and energy. Though, your's are made to relax, while ours are used more for training and exercises. Your fabricators are much better than our's were, the old Insipp units. Though there's a rollout planned to update our systems with Dalacari fabricators. No contest, they have some of the best."

"Think we could have a Dalacari shuttle meet us in that nebula?" she asked in an amused tone. "Interesting people, the Dalacari. A little too decadent in their relaxation for most but right about now, I could use a drone waiting on my every need."

"Do they do massages?" Abigail asked hopefully. "I could really go for one right about now."

Ichiko smirked, "Abigail, they do whatever you tell them to."

She sighed, and shook her head. "I don't think it really matters anyway. We'll make plans after. Now, I guess we should brief the crew and start making plans. Call a senior staff meeting in two hours in the observation lounge. I'll prepare our brief."

"Two hours." she confirmed. "Consider it done." another nibble of a ginger snap. Chocolate only added to the joy the cookie brought. "Will there be anything further?" she asked to confirm.

Abigail shook her head slightly, exhaling slowly and looking across at her friend. "Thank you," she said quietly. "I'm glad I have you here."

Ichiko returned the glance with a soft smile, "I'm glad I took this posting. Meeting you, becoming friends, is a memory I'm glad I took the time to make."