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+--- Forum: USS Aquila, NCC-76853 (https://fed-space.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?fid=50)
+--- Thread: AQ/D01 - Bridge (/showthread.php?tid=662)
AQ/D01 - Bridge - Daniel Brooks - 04-13-2026
==SEE WIKI PAGE FOR BRIDGE LAYOUT==
RE: AQ/D01 - Bridge - Daniel Brooks - 06-23-2026
==TIMELINE ON DOCKING==
As the Aquila came into space dock it seemed like a long time since they were here last and was a welcoming sight.
At the helm was Lieutenant Junior Grade Timothy Southwell, he joined the Aquila when the crews were merged and had come across as a very competent officer. Even through he mainly kept himself to himself and served mostly on the late shift in the crew rotas which wasn't under heard of that these officers didn't really socialize as much as day officers.
Daniel went and took the center chair but he wasn't really doing much just watching as the crew expertly place the Aquila into her dock, the docking clamps went on and the ship powered down.
"How we doing this evening Lieutenant Southwell? he inquired in a friendly tone.
"Good thank you Captain, I didn't expect to see you this evening."
Daniel nodded, "You are very correct on that Mr Southwell. Sometimes it is good just to come and watch the procedure and make sure everything is done correctly which in this case it has."
In the back of the Captains mind Southwell did deserve a promotion but for some reason he had rejected it twice.
"Southwell, may I ask you a question, why won't you become a full Lieutenant?"
The officer turned in his chair, "To be honest Sir, I am happy where I am, I don't want the extra workload or what ever else may come with the promotion, I prefer to do what I do and do it well." he replied.
Brooks nodded in agreement, some officers had indeed stepped into roles and could see they were struggling and wish they hadn't.
"That is very commendable and man needs to know his limitations and what he does best." replied Brooks with a smile,
"But one day... you might just accept it." he sat forward in the center chair for a moment,
"Recently I been feeling reflective on my career and who's come and gone, how life goes on without them, sometimes it can be difficult and other times like today we will be getting a new Middy joining us which is fantastic and I'm looking forward to seeing how their career goes within the fleet. I know mine never went where I expected it to go."
Southwell nodded and replied, "Yes, experiences do change you and that is one thing that can't be helped."
Dan sat back in the chair and said, "Yes they certainly do."
==Tag anyone, inc Diaz to report in==
RE: AQ/D01 - Bridge - Beno Velaul - 06-24-2026
Quickly making it to the bridge there was only one place for her to be, at the Captain’s right. As she entered the turbo lift Beno made sure her uniform was on and correct. There had been a few things that happened since the end of the last mission, one that warranted a talk with the Captain. It’s a personal thing that she had no intention of hiding, especially from him.
As they were getting closer to the station, Beno gave a nod to Daniel before claiming her seat. For some reason it felt different today than before in more than one way. Beno quickly dismissed it as just state of mind. The mission took a lot out of her, it also gave her an insight to politics. Perhaps one day she could go toe to toe with the best of them, but for now she will take it as it came.
==Tag Docking timeline==
RE: AQ/D01 - Bridge - Alexander Talion - 06-24-2026
Alex stepped off the turbolift only a few seconds after Beno had. He grinned at the fact that the senior officers all appeared to have the same habit. When leaving or arriving at a station or a major rendezvous on a mission, you tried to be there, just in case. Most of the time it was nothing, but in those rare instances when something unexpected happened, you wanted your top people on hand to help deal with it. Alex felt it was just a good professional habit, and it made him feel good that the CO and FO also felt that way, even though none of them had said anything to the others.
He logged in to his station as they dropped out of warp and while they were under impulse power, coming in past the outer markers, he stole a glance at Beno, seated in her customary position next to the Captain. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something different about how she was sitting there today. He had barely started to think about it when he detected an open thought from her that explained it enough. A hint of a grin threatened to betray his own thoughts, so he looked away and pretended to be interested in his console while he composed himself once more.
Alex realized that life on the ship would never be the same for him again...and he was good with that.
== Tag Docking timeline ==
RE: AQ/D01 - Bridge - Cologero Coppola - 06-24-2026
==Docking timeline ==
Getting on the Bridge Cologero noticed he was the fourth person there, the space station was insight on the viewer. Cologero wax happy to see it, he left the place as a green Officer returning as Chief of his station. Advancement of any kind was good, it will be a while before he would get another.
Cologero went to the center of the room infront of CO and FO. "Acting Chief of Tactical reporting in." Cologero knew he didn't need to report like that again, he just thought it would be nice. He was a new Department head making it it his first day again, reporting in seemed to be appropriate.
After being acknowledged by the Commanding Officer Cologero took his place at weapons control. There were new options available to him now that were not before, the power cells of phasers were fully charged as all Torpedoes were accounted for. They had a few areas that required attention due to maintenance scheduling, it was best to keep ahead of these things. All systems were green making the lock down process easier, they were docking soon making it essential the weapons were locked down. When Ethan got there the helm was his, Cologero couldn't wait to see him report in.
==Tag==
RE: AQ/D01 - Bridge - Ethan Diaz - 07-04-2026
== Docking Timeline ==
Ethan had barely slept the night before. This was it. Primary Operating Duty Shift. The first of many watches. This wasn't a theoretical exercise, a sim session, or an apprentice cruise. Today, it was the real thing--and with primary watch standers on the bridge, no less. The Man himself would be looking over his shoulder at some point. He was, to borrow a phrase from the Embarkation Officer, "in for it".
Speaking of which, he wasn't the only junior officer up on the lists today. Nearly every midshipman that had come aboard alongside Ethan on the transfer run was either a few days into their new job or going on duty for the first time this evening. Whether they were a software technician, astrophysicist's assistant, or just a jarhead walking the lower decks with a hand phaser, they all had the jitters. Every junior officer had the same singular goal of proving themselves, and the same unthinkable fear of dropping the ball in front of their superiors. It gave them something to talk about, at least.
Heading into a shift with only two or three hours of sleep under your belt was never advisable, but Ethan had made sure to compensate with a large meal of steak and eggs drowned in gravy and about a gallon of orange juice. The officers' mess was full of new arrivals sitting together at their designated end of table (where the lieutenants could keep a close eye on them). It was a fairly common occurrence during the first few weeks, from what Ethan understood. Open crew lounges were far less formal and were far more suited to the kind of socializing that came after serving with the same people for a few years. In that way, he supposed being in Starfleet wasn't too different from his first days of high school. All you had to do was find your people.
No one mentioned it, of course, but Ethan could practically feel the raw nerves of his shipmates seated around him. However well-trained and capable officers may be, they were all still very, very anxious at this stage. "Watch your back, man. The ensigns can smell fear," a woman across from Ethan had warned. It reminded him of an old joke that was told to every new class at Starfleet Academy. The story went that on one occasion, an admiral was inspecting a ship's crew on duty, and when he came to the quarterdeck, he happened upon a recruit and a midshipman, both fresh out of training. Naturally, upon sighting the admiral, both came to the position of attention. The admiral looked to the recruit first and asked "Am I making you nervous, son?", to which the young man replied, "Yes, sir." The admiral addressed the midshipman next, and was displeased to find them trembling in apparent fear.
"Am I making you nervous, midshipman?" Asked the admiral.
"Very much so, admiral," answered the young officer.
"Now, that won't do at all. This young recruit here is standing perfectly still. So why are you, a commissioned officer, shaking like a leaf?"
Without missing a beat, the midshipman replied: "Sir, if I wasn't shaking, you wouldn't be able to tell us apart."
It always got a laugh, but there was some truth to it. Ethan just hoped it wouldn't be true in his case. After finishing his meal, he began his first, fateful journey up to Deck 1. The pair of turbolifts that led the main bridge could only be directly accessed by a handful of individuals on the ship. Bridge Crew Clearance was a sacred thing, and the bridge of a starship was hallowed ground. Starfleet was the furnace, and the bridge was the mold. Being a fully-certified watch stander wasn't an easy milestone to reach, and it earned you a little more respect than the average officer.
In other words, Ethan would have to be exceedingly careful. He was an officer, yes--but to the people up here, he was just a below-average graduate with a ring and a dream.
He stepped inside, listened to the door hiss shut, and shot upward toward the next thirty years of his life. Here goes nothing.
Twenty seconds later, the door hissed open, and Ethan emerged into a spacious, mostly empty room with dark flooring. He'd never set foot in here before, but after having studied a dozen different versions of this same layout, he recognized the place well enough. All was exactly where it usually was--including the helmsman's chair.
Right away, his eyes found the Captain and First Officer seated in the center of the room. Two thirds of the brass, in the flesh. He recognized Lieutenant Coppola at the main TC station as well. Looking over to his right, Ethan then saw what he presumed was the ship's science officer already at work. One or two more people would probably be joining them soon, but in the meantime. . .
Ethan made his way smartly over to the command station, stopping on the left side, assuming the position of attention, and turning sharply on his right heel to face Captain Brooks. "Good evening, sir. Midshipman Diaz, reporting as ordered."
== Open Tag. Sorry for the delay everyone. ==
RE: AQ/D01 - Bridge - Daniel Brooks - 07-07-2026
Brooks was busy checking his terminal on the command chair as he eyes came up to see a young Midshipman arriving to attention.
"Good evening, sir. Midshipman Diaz, reporting as ordered." said the officer at attention.
"Good evening Midshipman Diaz, I have been expecting you." he replied with a smile,
"I'm Captain Brooks... Daniel Brooks and this is my First Officer Commander Velaul. Welcome aboard the Aquila Mr Diaz."
Brooks then added, "You can relax now Diaz." indicating with his hand to relax out of being stood to attention.
"I'm sure Mr Coppola will have something for you to do while we finish our docking manovers ."
==Tag Diaz and everyone else==
RE: AQ/D01 - Bridge - Ethan Diaz - 07-07-2026
Ethan relaxed and gave the pair of them a nod. "Thank you, sir." Should he say something else? No, better not make things awkward. This was just another day at the office for the rest of the bridge crew. Just behave normally and focus on your work, Ethan told himself. He knew from his divisional briefing packet that the ship would be docking today, possibly to take on supplies or additional crew. That meant standard operations up here--nothing he hadn't been trained to handle. The pause would also give him time to go over the specifics of his control interface too.
"I'm sure Mr. Coppola will have something for you to do while we finish our docking maneuvers," the Captain added.
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir," Ethan answered. His mouth was dry, and he'd left his stomach at the bottom of the turbolift, but once he turned to look out at the glittering void filling up the main viewscreen, he could feel some of his anxiety ebb away. He'd finally made it. That was a win. He just needed an hour or two to settle in, and then he'd be fine.
Ethan only needed a second to gather himself before stepping smartly over to his station and sitting down. Yes--he'd been through all this. Different systems, different scenarios, but the processes were the same. He scanned the helm control panel, taking note of his current system readouts.
Standard Approach Guidance locked, one-quarter impulse. Output control settings are pretty fluid, but those can always be adjusted. Easy tie-ins to Engineering and Maneuvering subsystems management. We're all good, he thought to himself.
The navigational mainframe was running a closed autopilot function; that was normal when docking a ship this size. Basically all you had to do was set the ship's computer to receive a bundled IFF/Exterior Scan signal from the station, and then its Space Traffic Control algorithm did the rest. Manual docking was also an option of course, but such maneuvers were typically performed at the Commanding Officer's discretion. For now, all Ethan had to do was sit back, relax, and wait for orders.
== Open Tag ==
RE: AQ/D01 - Bridge - Cologero Coppola - 07-11-2026
Happy to see Ethan report in was like how he did for the first time, he was nervous to go through it for the first time. Cologero was almost done locking his station he was watching the ship dock. It really put the last mission behind them with the next one coming, what that was going to be was a mystery.
Going up to the helm Cologero took a knee beside Ethan. "Welcome to the Bridge." Cologero started. "I have entered information into the system that can help, what we can do before structure failure and how to shore up sections to prevent it from happening." He had entered a lot into the system with more to come, all in an effort to prevent the ship from falling apart.
"We should go over a few things later, when it hits the fan we really need to flow together." It was something they needed to work on before it hits the fan, if they did their job right Tactical would be the shielding umbrella. "If you wasn't we can talk about these things in a few hours?" They can do the meeting in quarters later, right now was about enjoying the moment. "Anything you want to go over now?" He was new so there could be a lot.
==Tag==
RE: AQ/D01 - Bridge - Alexander Talion - 07-11-2026
Fortunately, there was little needed for Science to do as they docked. Talion's presence on the Bridge was purely formality and something he simply tried to do as part of his professional habits. He was composed once again and the moment was close to boring and routine until his gaze fell upon the FO again.
Alex's heart nearly skipped a beat and he actually had to make a deliberate effort to break his train of thought. He had worked closely with his first wife, but it had not been as distracting as this felt. He could now understand the precautions that were often taken to avoid such situations. He took a deep breath and used one of the mental disciplines he had been taught long ago. It helped him to clear his mind, though part of him didn't want to. A grin slid onto his face at the inner conflict. It was a good thing to have to wrestle with. Of all the things that could task a man to keep his mind on work, the affections of a beautiful woman had to be one of the better ones to pick. He would simply have to take strong precautions as then moved forward. It would not be acceptable for him to compromise either of their positions regarding their obligations and professional duties.
== Just staying in the loop ==
RE: AQ/D01 - Bridge - Kalli Thorn - 07-11-2026
It was a rare moment that Kalli came onto the Bridge these days. Her duties kept her busy with the rest of the ship, but like the rest, she often liked to be there for the docking. She preferred being in Engineering for launches, most of the time, just in case, but Docking allowed her to get in a last minute word with the CO, knowing he would be there and a captive audience.
She quietly walked over near the Captain and gave the CO and FO both a look and a nod, "Captain...Commander..." Then addressed the CO, "Sir, I've not seen anything come across my desk about anything requiring their dock crews to be on our ship, but it never hurts to ask. Is there anything I should be aware of that might have them sneaking in and trying to get in some updates or anything? I really hate those kind of surprises and our scheduled maintenance roster is looking very good right now."
== Tag Bridge Crew ==