Operations Prep

Posted on Fri Sep 27th, 2024 @ 9:26pm by Lieutenant Commander William Gunnison & Captain Abigail Laurens & Commander Ichiko Gail

Mission: Let The Games Begin
Location: Primary Operations Office

No small matter had landed directly in Ichiko's lap, at a time when the Captain needed as few distractions as possible. To move on, to grieve, to continue. To that end, Ichiko stepped up on the duties and details of their next assignment. She walked through the halls of the Astraea, at this point she could do it blindfolded were it not for the occasional other person in these long halls.

As she approached Operations, she went over the plan in her head again. Though it was impossible for her to do so from a fresh perspective, she could manage to do so as an outside observer. Inquire, inform, and contain. As she entered into primary Operations, she regarded the crew hard at work. "Is Lieutenant Commander Gunnison in their office?" she inquired. She already knew the answer, but reaching out to make that simple connection would make her presence here softer. More organic. These were the interactions she'd avoid dearly in her prior years. Pointless little social pings on the grander radar of life.

"He is, Commander," said one of the petty officers. "I know he was doing his daily check-in in with his son a few minutes ago, but that should be through now, and he ought to be available if you'd like to speak with him."

"I'll give him a few more moments. Far be it from me to interrupt time with the family." she responded back with a soft smile.

I'm six. Mother just got terrible news. It's about me. She's crying. She refuses to send me to a clinic. She refuses isolation therapy. But why would they isolate her...? Unless...
I'm eight. It's my birthday. Mother gets me the same cake every year. She cries everytime. I finally know why.
I'm ten. Back from school. Eighty seven students in my grade. Their names are Shinga Yamala, Tia Xien, Tenaka Morr...

"Mustn't forget the little things, yes?" asked the worst person in the universe to make that joke. She did, indeed, give Gunnison some extra time to finish up before she crossed to the threshold and announced herself.

Will, having seen the note from his staff that Cmdr. Gail was there, got up and poked his head out of his office. He could have simply used the comm system, but he needed to get up and stretch, even if only for a moment.

"Cmdr. Gail, fancy meeting you here," he said, indicating that she should come into his office. "What brings you to my humble part of the ship?"

She offered a soft smile in return, "I would respond with 'the spirit of competition, sportsmanship, and outreach' but unfortunately what brings me here is Orders." she offered in humor. "The short of it is, after our encounter with the Koldaran news of our engagement reached the home Moons, and during a sporting event the winning team captain dropped the Captain's name in recognition." she paused, "Ordinarily nothing exciting, except that the naming spread like wildfire. Soon, the Diplomatic Ministry was making an outreach to the Federation to locate this named captain and invite her to the games. Negotiations ensued, and instead of US going to the games, the games are coming to us."

She sounded, simultaneously, thrilled and drained at the notion.

"To this end, I have a few tasks that Operations is uniquely qualified to handle, not just in terms of accommodations and providing, but more so in the software aspect," she offered her PaDD. "I've recently been approved to provide the Ts'usugi language codex to be integrated into the universal translator system for the Astraea. At the moment, only the Astraea will be cleared to host the codex, so I entrust that you will ensure that any updates to the translator system heading off Astraea will not include this."

Will nodded. He knew that, for whatever reason, the Ts'usugi as a whole tended to value their privacy, and while he was certainly very curious about a great many things about them, it wasn't his place to tell them otherwise.

"Ts'usugi treasure our heritage, Commander Gunnison. I trust you'll handle this with the appropriate care." she had no doubts. "I'd appreciate it if you kept this discreet. The more ears that know, the more hands want inclusion. I'd rather not have the entirety of the crew scrambling to have a piece of what starts as a three-person task."

"Of course I'll handle this myself, though can you blame us for wanting to want to help out with something like this, Commander?" Will asked with a bit of a smile. "This is certainly some exciting news to come along, and we are always eager to learn about other species. What other kinds of things will be needed before the games arrive here, quarters, playing areas, etc.? I get the feeling that there will be other requirements needed to get things set up, and I'll need time to prepare, especially if I'll be doing a lot of the leg work myself."

To that, she gave a soft smile, "I know how enigmatic we seem at times, a rarity in a cosmos where usually everyone is willing to share. The notion of reluctance must seem tantalizing." she gave a chuckle. "I cannot, in any way, discourage your curiosity. In fact, I welcome it."

"Quarters will be needed for the teams and the crew. Repurpose the diplomatic quarters if needed. If possible, keep the teams separated, by the event crew if needed. The crews and teams will also understand that doors opening are welcoming, while doors closing are not challenges." she paused, "Meaning that while we welcome our guests, we do not encourage them to start seeking secrets. There will be recording equipment, but all footage is stored locally since the Astraea does not have a dedicated Buoy feed. Which means we'll be able to review the footage before their return home to ensure nothing that we don't want out, gets out."

"If the task becomes larger than your bowl, enlist more bowls. I trust your discretion in this matter. Oh wait, no. Terran ideology doesn't use bowls it uses plates." she corrected. "As for further needs, the teams will request an area to train and tone, which the holodecks can currently accommodate. The only trick might be the event itself, which I'll be asking Engineering to assist with. I'll be in touch in the next few hours with an update to the replicator master database of expected Ts'usugi cuisine."

"The Nebulas and their captain are starch conservatives. They'll sit in a field of experimentation and eat rice. The Flames, however, will sample everything. It's just how they are. Which reminds me, I'll have to swing by Medical to ensure their systems are ready for bruises and boo boos." she smirks." she returned to the here and now. "I can't immediately think of anything else that might come up, and you'll excuse me if I don't try to think of every single prospect. That would fill my head up too fast." a smile, a joke, but her eyes didn't smile with the rest of her. "If you have any questions in follow up, ask them. Contact me at any point, day or night. If you have to wake me up, wake me."

Will nodded. "I can do that. About the only thing I can think of at the moment is how far apart we should keep their quarters and training facilities. I know that with a lot of species I'm familiar with, it's not always the best idea to have two rival sports teams in a position where they can casually run into each other prior to a major sporting event between the two, lest you run the risk of tempers and egos flaring."

"Well, I assure you, they will flare." Ichiko 'reassured'. She thought for a moment, sifting through a mental warehouse of concepts, "A little rivalry will be expected, I dare say even expected. Wataba and the Nebulas are traditional and stoic. They won't start any fights, which leaves Neela. She's brash, impulsive, and downright rude as far as Ts'usugi standards go. SHE won't start an actual fight because she want's to beat Wataba at his best. So while there will be meetings and egos will flare, standard security should be up to the task of keeping the peace." she then returned her hollow glance to Will, "I think it best to assign them to opposite ends of the deck, port and starboard. That puts a lot of hallway between them."

"As for training facilities, I don't believe that will be an issue, since we can rotate out their schedules. I know for a fact that Wataba would rather eat a hat then share the facilities with the Flames. They'll keep themselves separate."

"Well, it's nice to know our hats, at least, will be safe," Will said with a grin. "You know how hard it is to replicate a proper-fitting hat, even with today's technology? Anyway, I will make sure that they are indeed quartered on opposite ends of the ship and arrange to have enough time between their respective times in the training facility usage to hopefully avoid any real chance of them accidentally running into each other around there. Is there anything else that you can think of that should be kept in mind, or have we managed to cover the important stuff? They don't expect to find mints left on their pillows or a gift basket in the common area of their quarters when they arrive, do they?"

"The secret is the brim. Too high and it chafes the ears. Too low, and you can't see. Fabricators are nice, but a proper hat should be made by hand." she continued the jest, a soft smile of her own showing. "The mint, I don't get that reference, but I can say that they shouldn't be expecting candy. There's an interesting situation here. Honestly, now that you mention it, I think a little basket might actually be nice. Nothing major, there's a lot of traditions butting heads here. They're guests, and as such guests are treated very well in our culture... but, they also know this is an imposition, and so they're less likely to expect more then what we can offer." she paused to think for a moment. Peeling back layer after layer of tradition after tradition. Her brow creased in thought. Ear twitch. A hand lingered on the side of her head as she thought. And thought, and thought.

"I think, a basket would be thoughtful."

"Anything in particular that you might suggest going into the basket, or would not suggest, as the case may be? I'll admit to not being too familiar with Ts'usugi dietary needs and customs, and don't want to create a diplomatic incident by putting in something that's poisonous to you or that would be viewed as an insult."

"No carrots," Ichiko said in jest. "I'd offer a variety of treats and samples of food stuffs that are unique to the Federation. Certainly things that wouldn't trend on Ts'usu. A variety of spices, scents, and names for everything so that if they enjoy it, they can order more." A pause, "and rice."

"You can use my order history in the replicator and my medical records to gauge interest and what is, and isn't, friendly to our internals."

Will nodded. "Interestingly, one of my wife's cousin who has quite the fascination with rice bowls. She'd share some of her favorites with us back whenever we'd have a get-together back when I was in the Academy. I'll have to see if I can remember the specifics of some of them well enough to recreate them. Some of the other ideas I'll certainly quietly ask around for suggestions on."

After a moment, he asked with a grin, "Are you sure about the carrots, though? My grandmother's carrot cake recipe was legendary in my first posting out of the Academy."

"Despite appearances, we're not r... carrot cake you said?"

"Yes, yes I did..."