Ex Astris Scientia (IC)

[The Australian]

OOC

The cosmos is full beyond measure of elegant truths; of exquisite interrelationships; of the awesome machinery of nature.
Carl Sagan

Captain Charles Endicott Nelson and his long-time friend, Rear Admiral Edward Miller, sat at a table, which was next to a large panoramic window that showed the USC Excalibur, in all her glory, inside the second sub-station hangar in the Musgrave Orbital Station. "She's a beautiful ship, Charles." The admiral said, taking a drink from his glass of wine "I almost want to captain her myself. Pencil-pushing, signing papers, and reviewing reports gets boring sometimes. These bars aren't always a good thing. I miss the captain's chair, Charles, I really do."

"People like me need to take over that chair, Ed, you know that." Charles replied as he finished his glass "I'd sooner retire than become an Admiral like you. Filing papers and sitting behind a desk somewhere in the middle of Union space is not what I'll do. I want to be charting star systems, meeting new cultures, and exploring space. Anyway, I believe I should be getting to the Excalibur. She departs in one hour. I wouldn't want to be late, or have her depart without a captain."

The two men rose from their seats, and shook hands. As Charles walked down to the docking bays for the Excalibur, his friend said one last thing to him "Do the Union good, Charles." Charles nodded and walked out and into a sea of blue-uniformed men and women. Some of them, perhaps, were going to be the crewmen that served aboard his ship. He passed through them and into the docking hatch, where at least twenty people were working their way to the Excalibur. He passed a window, and looked out, seeing his ship sit in the hangar bay, as some worker-shuttles added some finishing touches. After watching for at least a half a minute, he continued walking through the hatch into the Excalibur. An ensign stopped him as he entered the ship

"Sir, your belongings have been delivered to your quarters." He said with a salute "I assume you wish to visit the bridge?"

Charles nodded, but waved the Ensign off when he requested to show him the way. He entered a lift and tapped on a voice console "Bridge." He requested, and the computer engaged the lift. It took about two minutes to reach the bridge, and in that time he pondered on what this ship would do. He knew that war would be unlikely. The Union hadn't been at war for twenty years, and an outbreak of hostilities with a neighbouring nation seemed highly unlikely. As the doors to the bridge opened, he found none of his senior officers there, but plenty of bridge-hands. A crewman noticed the captain and stood at attention "Captain on the bridge!" He called out, as the rest of the bridge-hands stood up. Charles waved them back to their duties, and walked over to his chair. He ran his hand across the control buttons, and took a seat. Remembering the Admiral's words, he smiled

"I'll do the Union good, all-right." He muttered under his breath.

[CelestialCelery]

There was a grunt and a thump as a briefcase hit the orange bed rather roughly. Ensign Mei Yong seemed not to care how hard it landed, nor did she pay the container much heed after she'd dumped it. Instead, her almond eyes glared jadedly at her surroundings. The plain beige walls, the pumpkin orange colored blanket, bedsheet and table; all of it signalled to her that she needed to do some serious decorating. Not much of a choice for color; she'd have to opt for oranges, reds and yellows it seemed. Her tongue clicked out a 'tsk' at the thought. "Well at least it's better than some other colors I guess," she resigned. A few moments later, she scooted the briefcase from the bed to the floor along with the other two bags she had brought with her and stared at her new bedside table.

On it sat a picture of her mother and father within a black and gray decorated border, which she briefly felt as she picked it up and held it between her fingers. She stared at the extremely warm coats they wore against the frozen landscape and scoffed, smiling to herself and picking at the long sleeve of her uniform. Then slowly she set it back down where it belonged. Mei stood up and walked over determinedly to her bathroom, checking with her eyes and hands to make sure her chocolate brown hair was pinned up correctly, a few stray hairs dangling over a beige hearing device on her left ear, it's pink and white lights flashing as it detected each little sound and sent it back to her brain. After seeing to her hair, she used the toilet, washed her hands and left her quarters.

Having only been down that particular hallway once she paused before remembering where to go and then found her direction to the turbolift. "Bridge," she said, cracking her fingers and listening to the pops echo. She tapped her foot a little impatiently until finally the doors popped open and she smiled, striding through and noticing a person sitting in the captain's chair. Mei clicked a button on her implant and then walked over to stand in front, giving a laid-back salute to the older and yet still attractive man. "Ensign Mei Yong, sir, your helmswoman reporting in," she said calmly.

[Pockets]

"I said I want to be sure those plasma relays are clear and flush before we fire up the warp engines. Also make sure both Nacels have an optimum matter/anti-matter ratio, last thing we need is to have the entire engine bay explode as we're attempting to leave space dock." Nathaniel Garrick, Lieutenant Commander and Chief Engineer of the Excalibur had been ensconsed within Engineering for two hours already.

One thing he loved was machines and he made damned sure to treat every machine he worked on with an equal level of awe and respect. But he would not have idiots working under him. If an Ensign couldn't figure out that they could not have a leaking antimatter relay tied directly into a god damned warp engine he wasn't sure this ship would survive it's first tour. But he was sure that he would do everything in his power to prevent anything catastrophic from happening.

"Lieutenant Commander Garrick?" A voice chirped over the ships intercom and Garrick walked over and tapped a button as he continued to read the information scrolling through a data pad. "Garrick here," he said then reached out and grabbed hold of a passing Ensign, "Wethers, please take a look at the coolant level in the starboard maintance hatch, junction 2-B. I looks like they're a bit high and I would like to know why before we leave dock."

"Right away Sir."

"Commander Garrick," came the voice again. "You asked to be informed when the Captain has come aboard. He is currently on his way to the bridge."

"Thank you, very much," he said and turned off the intercom. "Exiting Engineering!" he called out to ensure everyone knew the Chief Engineer was no longer present. He was hard on them but they were well trained honestly and they knew who was next in the chain of command without him present.

He quickly left the humming machinery and massive warp engine behind and made his way through the lower decks of the ship until he reached the nearest lift. Stepping inside he tapped a few buttons. "Computer, Bridge." The doors hissed shut and there was a quiet humming sound as the lift start.

Three minutes later the doors opened and Garrick got his first look at the Bridge, and the Captain, sitting comfortably in his new Command Chair. Without leaving the Lift he saluted and barked out.

"Captain Nelson, Lieutenant Commander Nathaniel Garrick, Chief Engineer. Permission to step onto the Bridge Sir?"

[The Australian]

Charles turned his chair, which he just found to swivel, and faced the two people at the lift door. One was a young-looking, Asiatic woman with the bar of an Ensign. As she addressed her name, he smiled "Ensign Mei Yong, welcome to the bridge. If you would, could you take your station." He then got a look at the man behind her, a much more rigid-looking one. It was the Chief Engineer, Lieutenant Commander Nathaniel Garrick. Charles had specifically requested him, after learning that he had been put up for an assignment. If there was a man that could run this ship with efficiency, it was him "At ease, Commander, before you sprain something. I assume the engines of this ship are to your liking?"

He had a certain vibe to him with his sense of friendliness in his voice. He had served with many commanding officers. Some were stolid and orderly, and others were open and friendly. Easing back in his chair, he thought over about the other officers.

[Pockets]

"At ease, Commander, before you sprain something." Nathan suppressed the urge to grin at that comment. Hey it was funny! "I assume the engines of this ship are to your liking?"

"Immensely so, Sir," Garrick said as he stepped past Ensign Yong with a polite nod. "This ship really is the pride of the Fleet Sir and I intend to do everything within my power to keep her in top shape. I did find a few things in Engineering that were... sub-par in my opinion but I've spoken with my crew there and we're all on the same page. The oversights I found are being corrected and we should be ready to leave Space-Dock within the next half hour."

All this was delivered with a stiff, formal bearing. A moment later his demeanour cracked and he flashed the captain a grin. "And I don't know about you, Sir, but I'm rather excited to get her out into open space and see what she can do."

[Turtlicious]

Kel Thuzad beamed the Captain, "Permission to board sir?"

"Granted." He replied.

Kel Thuzad entered the bridge, his things already on the ship, he had been staying there for the last few days, not really wanting to be anywhere else. Besides, he'd like to know his ship before he flew it. He listened to the purr of the engine and felt it's quiet whirring beneath his clothed feet, he walked onto the bridge and bared his teeth, a way of saying hello in his culture. The long sharp pieces of calcium shining like daggers. "Hello all." He said going straight to his station.

He sat at his station, grimacing at the way the nanobearings squirmed, feeling like ichor the way they vibrated against his skin. He bared his teeth, the feeling was maddening, he didn't understand how the humans could deal with it, it felt like he was being molested. By a chair. He hated it. He immediately openned up a memo.

This chair keeps feeling me up. Someone needs to remove all the nanobearings and leather. Everything, I've said time and time again that the chair must only contain steel. Please handle this at your earliest convenience.

He loathed to sit there and wanted nothing more then to tear the damn thing, like he would if he were a private but as a union officer, he had to show a little self restraint. He immediately stood up, hating how the cushions stuck to his leg. He grimaced, and his teeth grinded a bit.

"How goes it Captain?" he asked pointedly, resisting the urge to take a shower or to try and rub the feeling out of his carapace. He looked around the room, "Hello Lieutenant Commander Nathaniel Garrick, and Ensign Mei Yong. I am Lieuteant Kel 'Thuzad I'm the one who makes things go boom." He said grinning his large teeth again being shown pointedly.

[TripMyHop]

"As you get everything set up you need to consult your lists and confirm that every single piece of equipment is present and working properly. These inventory lists are not guidelines, they are absolute requirements. Failure to do so will reflect poorly on every one of you. This is not an individual effort and as much as you enjoy individual lives--under me you are a single organism." Sandro lectured the team of junior officers as they organized the lab equipment. He glanced around the sterile, white surroundings, appraising what would come to be an important room and probably one his team would see more days inside of than their own quarters.
Of course, he didn't take himself as seriously as he led them to believe. He simply had a process for vetting and training rookies. Most of them were wet behind the ears, so they got the official speech. Those with the most promise usually caught on fast. Just like he had.

Once everything was set up to his satisfaction, Sandro dismissed his staff and headed for the bridge. No doubt he would not be the first senior officer on deck to greet the captain, as he had taken his time. When he stepped out of the lift he immediately scanned the room to find most of the senior staff already present. Inwardly, he grinned. Fasionably late.

He came before the captain and nodded. "Commander Kostas, First Officer. Permission to come aboard, Sir?" He inquired confidently and with his wry, trademark smile.

[The Australian]

"Commander, you are free to come aboard." Charles replied kindly to his Chief Science Officer, who was also his First Officer. Commander Alessandro Kostas was exceptional and he was happy to have him on his mission. He expected, and somewhat hoped, to become better acquainted with him, and the rest of his senior staff too. They'd all be together for years on the ship, serving the Union and exploring the cosmos. It was only fitting for them to get along. An ensign turned in his seat at the Communications Station, cleared his throat, and addressed the captain

"Sir, Orbital Station control reports all final inspections have been completed. All stations report full compliment is aboard, and we are clear for departure." He said with a semi-confident, semi-nervous voice "We are cleared to leave, sir."

"All-right, inform them we will be departing momentarily." He said, having heard this procedure before "And, before you tell me, inform Outer Sol System Control that we'll be leaving the system in...half an hour? Give them plenty of time to get our orders in place. You'd be surprised how long it takes some orders to get sent from there. They get traffic from starships to freighters all day, every day. Isn't surprising that sometimes, they take a while to get them in."

He realised he was rambling, and turned his chair over to the helm "Once the docking clamps are cleared, set a course for the Outer Sol System Control Station, half impulse."

[Pockets]

"Hello Lieutenant," Nathan said politely to Kel as he introduced himself. "It is a pleasure to meet you and as much as I'm sure you are an excellent officer in your field, to be honest I hope you don't have much opportunity to blow anything up. Exploration shouldn't require combat but as we all know that can't be assured." He smiled to let him know there was no ill intent meant in his words. A chirping sound from his pocket informed him a memo had been sent to engineering and he pulled a small data pad from his uniforms breast pocket to read it.

He arched one eyebrow curiously as he read over the message and directed his gaze to Kel. "Steel is difficult to obtain in all honesty, Lieutenant," he said. "These days combinations of different materials are used to much better effect. I could easily install a Tritanium seat for you that would be bare of all... luxuries? It would allow you to swivel and turn as needed to reach the various controls of your station but it would lack the comforts we humans look for. Is that acceptable?"

As he spoke he walked over the Engineering station on the bridge and sent a message down to his first officer to have a new chair commissioned for the Tactical station on the bridge.

As Captain Nelson spoke up Nathan shut down the station and stepped forward again. "Sir, if we're preparing to disembark I feel I should be in Engineering. I trust my crew to handle things generally but I would personally rather be present for this first step on our mission. Permission to retire the Bridge?"

[CelestialCelery]

Mei Yong immediately nodded and turned to her new seat, sitting down and making a few clicks on her panel to check out the engine status. As soon as she'd begun to get close to readouts the Chief Engineer was already reporting the same information to the captain, but such things did not bother her. "Doesn't hurt to check again," she muttered distractedly to herself. Conversation flowed by and she clicked a button on her hearing implant again before resuming her own scan. She frowned with some annoyance as she reviewed the latest data and tapped gently at the implant again. The one thing she didn't remember to do before coming onto the bridge was getting it seen by the ship's doctor. The very thought made her scoff; there still was time anyway and she didn't feel like having someone prode at it for the moment.

Someone sat beside her and her eyes bulged a bit at her screen, seeing the shape of a Thorian mirrored back at her. Her brown eyes shifted for a moment to see the real image herself and then darted back. It wasn't as though she'd never seen a Thorian before or that she particularly hated them, but she had to admit that their appearance was not quite... easy for her to adapt to. As long as they worked side by side, Mei was sure that they would find something in common. So when he began to introduce himself she turned to face him and at his comment of making things go boom, she was surprised to find herself letting out a very amused noise and genuine smile. "Nice to meet you, Lieutenant," she replied. And with the captain's order, she gave an 'Aye, sir' and returned to her panels.

The Chief Engineer was babbling back at Kel about how he could possibly refit his chair and shook her head silently at his sentence 'but it would lack the comforts we humans look for'. Like really, Kel wasn't human and he was obviously having trouble with it so why bring up how it would lack HUMAN comforts? She tapped her device distractedly. No, she was getting worked up way too fast. Better for all involved if she reserved her quick temper. Even so, the fact he was asking permission to leave was already filling her with a sense of calm. Systems were checked now with her own eyes. Everything was ready and all she needed was the word to go.