YE/D01 - Bridge

[Paul]

==

[Jennifer Braggins]

==0755 Hours. Day after commissioning. Continued from Crew Quarters.==

The new Bridge module had that new ship smell as Jenny stepped out of the turbolift and took in the brand-new equipment. The Yeager had launched with temporary modules installed for several of its major work areas, and the Bridge had been one of them; now it was once again whole with its permanent installation. While outwardly it was near-identical to the older Intrepid-class vessels, the Pathfinder-class Bridge utilised far more advanced technology, including holographic and haptic interfaces where desired, and the sheer amount of space meant that all of her Bridge crew could be present, along with understudies or assistants learning the roles, and there was still room to spare.

They really did just tear the whole thing out and replace it. The entire deck.

Refreshed and in a much cheerier mood than she had been the previous night, Jenny worked her way around the Bridge checking in with the Gamma-shift officers who were due to go off-duty in five minutes. They all seemed as impressed with the new equipment as she was, and Jenny briefly lingered to straighten and run her fingers over the Yeager's shiny new dedication plaque, installed when the ship had been deemed safe for habitation again.

"Rules are made for people who aren't willing to make up their own." It was an apt quote for this crew, and this particular Captain, as it had been appropriate for the man who had initially spoken it; Yeager had famously flown his Mach One flight with broken ribs, conveniently failing to inform the flight surgeon that he had fallen off his horse lest he be grounded. It was just one of many ways in which the Yeager's namesake had been a renegade and legend, but it was the one Jenny most related to.

Taking her seat and wiggling in the new faux-leather, Jenny tested for any sign of squeaking or other unfortunate noises that might cause embarrassment or distraction. There were none, and it had automatically lowered so her feet touched the floor and didn't dangle like those of a small child. The terminal between her station and Jensen's, so much like the Philadelphia's or the old Yeager's, popped up almost unbelievably quickly and displayed requested data at a speed she'd not encountered since the Artemis. Some of the quirks remained though, despite the entire module being ripped out; the ventilation duct above the Master System Display still rattled, and she could have sworn that one of the lights above the door to her Ready Room flashed purple every couple of minutes.

It wouldn't be the Yeager without a few glitches...

Sitting back in her chair, Jenny smiled to herself as she heard the chimes that signalled the change of watch. The Gamma-shift personnel would remain at their posts until their Alpha-shift replacements arrived, and then the Yeager would depart on her next grand adventure. The biggest challenge before her now, at least until she got to the diplomacy part of the mission, was to select the contestants for the race. Much as she would have loved to do it herself, that was a job for the young and eager, and Jenny's lip quirked a little more at the corners as she considered just how "informative" the new crew's first mission would be.

[Peter Jensen]

Peter entered the bridge and smiled as he took in the view. It was a sight for sore eyes, he thought, as the layout of teh bridge stations was at least somewhat sane again. The XO's position was back in its proper place next to the Captain, so that he could immediately have access to the same data, and be able to step up immediately if circumstances forced him to.
There was also something about he symobolism of it all, with the XO's seat to the right of the Captain that he liked, but of course would never speak aloud.
While he did have an ego - anyone, even Vulcans, who claimed that they didn't were filthy liars - it was not inflated enough to think that this was the main benefit of the "new" arrangement.
Instead, it was his dedication to tradition that drove his view here: This layout had worked fine for so long, that changing it seemed silly.

He gave Gamma Shift a reassuring smile as if to say "Just carry on", realizing that they were a few minutes away from being able to go to bed. He knew that feeling. While there technically was no "night" in space, and so the whole idea of a circadian rhythm became increasingly irrelevant the longer you were in space, the idea of the "night shift" still had a psychological impact.

"Goodmorning everyone", he said with calm smile, then looked at Braggins: "Goodmorning, Captain", he finished as he sat down in his own chair and pulled the terminal over towards him so he could see if there was anything urgent to report.

[Pax Cassidy]

== Wrong thread sorry ==

[Arwen Qi]

The bridge’s new layout seemed to amplify the sound of Qi’s footsteps, like the wooden floor of a dusty old theater. The design was cavernous, particularly compared to the compact Geronimo. Even there, Qi dreaded Bridge duty. He used to spend his entire shift wishing he could retreat to the comfort of his lab. Working on the Bridge felt like having a spotlight shining constantly in his eyes. Since his most recent promotion, he had been spending more and more time in that light. Somehow, his eyes would adjust.

I could ask Jensen to put Papaver or Bowman on the Bridge more often. Would that be generous or selfish?

Qi tapped the shoulder of the ensign at the science station, sending her home a couple of minutes early. He reviewed the calibration that she’d been running, satisfied with the results. It seemed that the shipyard engineers had managed to track down the bug that had been causing a small but annoying variance in the starboard array.

“Good morning, crew. The last mission set quite a precedent. I wonder what centuries-old mystery we’ll solve next.”

== Tag bridge ==

[T'Lari]

As the turbolift door opened T'Lari got her first look at the new bridge layout. Superficially the same as an Intrepid-class, it was nonetheless much more sophisticated. The half-Vulcan had spent much of her recent time reading technical manuals on the design as well as running simulations on the holodeck. Several Alpha-shift were already present, including the Captain and First Officer.

“Good morning, crew. The last mission set quite a precedent. I wonder what centuries-old mystery we’ll solve next," Arwen Qi said.

"Preferably one that doesn't cause a major diplomatic incident," she responded with an almost completely deadpan tone.

Ensign Gethekkrik was already rising as she approached. "She's all yours, Lieutenant," the Saurian said, his tone casual. "Have fun."

The previous bridge module, temporary though it might have been, had still impressed T'Lari with its responsiveness. Based on her practice with the simulated controls the new design promised to instantly and provide tactical information at a rate that suited her, something beyond what most humans could process. She preferred older LCARS controls, though, finding that holographics and haptics could sometimes be distracting. Thankfully she had a choice. Each station could automatically reconfigure itself to match the officer in charge of it.

[Recognize T'Lari, Lieutenant Junior Grade, Weapons Officer.]

The display reset as soon as she took her seat, the holographic buttons vanishing in favor of a display of the Yeager. She did a quick check and found the custom weapons and shield settings were already preloaded and ready to be called up as necessary. Good. She was ready.

"Weapons station ready for departure, Captain."

== Tags ==

[Theresa Black]

== NRC – Flint Chertstone – Tactical Officer ==

Somehow, Flint had been selected and assigned as alpha shift pilot. Normally he was assigned to delta shift, but with Black being on leave. The powers that be had, he decided in his head, had finally seen fit to recognise his skills, and elevate him to a more prestige roll. In his head.

Pausing at the rear of the bridge as he entered he nodded to T'Lari. “Lieutenant.” He said flashing the Vulcan a wide smile.

He was tall and well built, mousey blond with blue eyes, and had a chin so chiselled, you'd have thought it was made of the same stuff as his namesake. His voice was smooth. Like the Radio 4 late night shipping report read by Orson Wells level of smooth.

Stepping down to the command level with a swagger full of self confidence, “Good Morning, Captain. Commander.” He said as he passed them on his way to the helm. Which he swung himself into with the grace of a lithe cuttlefish as his hands began reconfiguring the station to his personal settings.

After a couple more minutes and a few pauses and hurried taps, he turned back to face his superior officers and announced. “The Helm is ready at your command. Captain.”

[Jennifer Braggins]

As the crew began to report in, Jenny considered the mission before them; they were going to initiate first contact with a race who venerated pilots and engineers, and who challenged any new species they came across to a race. On paper, that was going to be simple enough, but in reality things were already looking like they were going awry. Theresa Black's bereavement leave couldn't have occurred at a worse time, the sixteen-week round trip between Starbase 214 and Earth meant that her Helm Officer (since she was no longer Chief Tactical Officer) would be absent for nearly four months. While she'd sympathised with the woman for her loss, she now wasn't sure if she would have approved it had she known what lay ahead - the needs of the service took precedence over personal concerns, after all, and while she'd been tempted to recall the elder woman, she also knew that she needed a pilot on top form for what lay ahead.

Plus the civilian transport wouldn't have turned around, anyway.

What she had, instead of her top pilot, was Flint Chertstone. While he was qualified for the role, Jenny had noted that his personnel record indicated his ego outweighed his ability, which is why his rank remained low, and why he had never been assigned outside of Delta Shift. It also explained why he'd been assigned to the Yeager, his cocky attitude had rubbed a few superiors the wrong way, and they'd needed a dumping ground for him. Jenny would have preferred to have one of her Senior Noncoms fill the Alpha Shift helm position, but his rank automatically moved him into the position.

For now, at least...

With Black absent, T'Lari was now senior Tactical Officer and therefore de-facto Chief Tactical Officer, and that meant that Jenny would need to keep her at her preferred weapons station; while Jenny had held the position while operating as the Artemis' helmsman, and Black had held it aboard the Philadelphia, it was tradition that the junior members of the department flew the ship while the more mature officers were given access to the things that went "boom". Unfortunately, unless something happened, that meant that the inevitable race and diplomatic relations with the Wairara would rest on the shoulders of Chertstone.

Might as well pack my bags now...

“The Helm is ready at your command. Captain.”

Jenny nodded slowly, checked around to make sure her Bridge officers were all present, and then consulted the terminal between herself and Jensen. The crew had all been allowed back aboard the prior evening, which meant she wasn't waiting for the shore patrol to pick up any stragglers. The "diplomatic aide" was also aboard, and there was already a complaint logged in the system that his quarters were inadequate. Because of course they were.

"Take us out of dock, one-quarter Impulse. Then set course one-five-zero mark three-five-zero, Warp Eight."

With the direction given, Jenny turned back to Jensen.

"When we go to warp, I want to see all senior officers in the briefing room. And request the Middies come along, as well, they might learn something."

[Jadaris]

The engineering console was dark despite one of Gamma shift's engineers working underneath the console. Looking more closely would reveal the engineer talking to someone over comms, but within a minute, the console began to reboot.

"Console's online sir, what was the problem?"

The sound of Commander Jadaris's voice came through the commbadge,

"Bridge-Engineering linkage via conduit A-17 was insufficiently shielded against EM interference from the EPS conduit. I used a polyalloy sheath to insulate the linkages further but keep them accessible for future maintenance."

The engineer tapped at the console, verifying its operative status, before saying,

"Station's ready Sir, thanks for the help."

"No problem Petty Officer. Always glad to help my fellow engineers."

The engineer went into the turbolift, and a few moments later, out of the briefing room doors came Jadaris, presumably from the service tube that led out of where he was working. Jadaris went over to his station and signed into it, before tapping at the display to give him precise numerical readings of the ship's systems. Given the Yeager was right in between the two extremes of what he had been the Chief Engineer previously, he hoped this ship wouldn't give him as much trouble. Given his need to duck all the time on the Magellan, Jadaris was happy that he wasn't running into bulkheads all the time aboard this ship.

He turned to look at Jensen and Jenny,

"Engineering is ready Sir. All systems within operational margins."

Of course, that only lasted so long as the system wasn't overly stressed, which inevitably would happen because the universe hated a perfectly functional ship.

==tag==

[Theresa Black]

== NRC – Flint Chertstone – Tactical Officer ==

"Take us out of dock, one-quarter Impulse.” Said the Captain. “Then set course one-five-zero mark three-five-zero, Warp Eight."

“Aye-aye, Captain.” He replied. “One-five-zero mark three-five-zero, Warp Eight."

Then he contacted the station operations centre to request clearance. “Two one four, this is Yeager requesting authorisation to disembark.”

“Yeager, Two one Four.” Came the reply from a young woman. “You are cleared to disembark from holding dock and proceed to outer marker before engaging warp drive systems.”

“Copy that two one four.” Then he paused. “Is that you Janice?” He asked with a glint in he eye.

“Flint... This isn't the time.” Came a very quick reply. “Please proceed to the outer marker...”

“I'll see you soon sweetheart, just don't forget me now...”

It was then that another voice broke into the channel. “This is Commander Vance. USS Yeager, please keep this channel free for direct communication to and from the station, and the fraternization to a minimum. Thank you.”

Flint sat up a little at that. “er, Roger that, Sir. Yeager is proceeding to the outer marker. Thank you for your hospitality. Yeager out.”

[Peter Jensen]

Peter was not fond of Black as such, but he was fond of competence, and whatever else he could say about her, she was certainly competent.
He wasn't at all sure the same could be said for her replacement. Even the guy's name sounded like a bad parody of a jock.
And his estimation did not improve at the little scene the guy made with station control.
He had been about to intervene himself, telling Chertstone to remember where he was and what he was doing when Commander Vance broke in and did it first. That did slightly annoy him, but...well...

When the line was clear again, he did speak up, however:

"And that's the last time we'll have our helmsman act like an eigth-grader pining for his crush", he said calmly, but the ice in his voice was enough to keep James Bond well supplied with his favorite martini for a full year.

Then he looked at Braggins as she told him to be ready to assemble the senior staff and Midshipmen as soon as they'd gone to warp.

"As you command", he nodded, making a mental note of making sure to get the new middies involved too. He had no idea what their mission was, but it had to be at least moderately important for her to be that busy with getting the staff meeting underway.

[GM-04]

Thanks to Starbase 214 being located on the very edge of a solar system with a smaller star, it was possible for the Yeager to enter warp fairly quickly.

At Warp Eight, the journey to Wairara would take two weeks.

[Peter Jensen]

Once warp drive had been engaged, Peter did as he had said, and tapped his comm badge:

"Jensen to all senior staff, as well as Midshipmen Aiden, Bowman, Bremner and Campbell, report to the briefing room at once", he instructed as he got out of his seat to head there himself.
He was curious as to what was going to be their mission.
Having all senior staff present for a briefing was common. But Midshipmen too? Something had to be up.

[Theresa Black]

== NRC – Flint Chertstone – Tactical Officer ==

With the ship now settled at warp eight, and a two week cruise ahead of them, Flint settled into his shift. Fourteen, six hour stints behind the helm of Alpha shift ahead of him. He was in his element.

And when the senior staff retreated to the briefing room at Commander Jensen's order. He let himself slouch a little. Just take in the ride. He thought to himself.

The standby staff had taken the stations around the bridge until the others returned, and although the Commander hadn't assigned anyone the con as he left, Flint felt confident that for now, the Yeager was his.

[Jadaris]

Engineering systems were green, power flow to the engines was in balance, and everything seemed good to go as they went to warp. Jadaris enjoyed seeing everything going smoothly, which made his job easier when the problems would inevitably flow in.

Then Jensen called for the senior staff to head to the briefing room, which Jadaris did so since there was nothing else that needed to be done. He sent a message for Campbell to join him in the briefing room according to Jensen's orders, duplicating the orders since Campbell hadn't reported in for his shift yet. He checked his PADD again to see if Campbell was on the Alpha shift, but then his replacement for the bridge showed up, and Jadaris briefly forgot to order the request until after he went through the doors.

>>Next Post: Briefing Room>>

[T'Lari]

"When we go to warp, I want to see all senior officers in the briefing room. And request the Middies come along, as well, they might learn something."

T'Lari rose as Ensign Lehnna took her position. The console readjusted to the new officer, a young Bajoran woman who'd received her rank only two days ago. "Good luck, Lieutenant."

An odd thing to say. It is just a briefing.

Of course it was also T'Lari's first briefing, and she didn't really consider herself 'senior staff.' She supposed the Captain did, though, at least as far as these things went.

"Thank you, Ensign," she acknowledged, trying to follow the social niceties of other races. The half-Vulcan tried to remember if there were any other expected lines in the exchange, decided there weren't, and headed for the door.

>> Briefing Room >>

[Arwen Qi]

Qi smiled at T’Lari’s flat response to his comment.

“I was selectively remembering around that. But yes, you’re right. I’m not exactly keen to get shot at this time either.” Qi replied.

He spent some time fiddling with the interface on his new bridge console. Things had come a long way from simple touch controls, though he wouldn’t fault anybody for preferring an old favorite, especially when a millisecond of reaction time could be the difference between life and death. Still, he loved experimenting with new options. Each interface was a language connecting human and machine, and new ones were being invented all the time.

I bet our new Chief Medical Officer knows that better than anyone. Still, I prefer to talk to computers using my voice and my hands. I don’t need one drilled into my head.

Just as Qi was finally satisfied with his revamped station, the ship went to warp. He went to join the senior officers and the midshipmen in the briefing room.

>>>> Briefing Room >>>>

[Jennifer Braggins]

Jenny was the last senior officer remaining on the Bridge as the others filed out to go to the briefing room, and utilised the time reviewing the notes she had been given on the mission. As Captain, being the last one to arrive was her prerogative, but she knew she didn't want to keep anyone waiting as in her experience, diplomats could be...difficult. That said, things weren't sitting right with her; how could Starfleet have just come across this species despite it being within known space? And why were they sending her as their main representative with a diplomatic aide, rather than sending a full ambassadorial delegation aboard a ship a little more...impressive? Time was, allegedly, a factor. But again, why?

Something stinks, and it's not Chertstone's aftershave...

Speaking of Chertstone, he was still sitting at the Helm station. While that was where he no doubt wanted to be, unfortunately he was going to be critical in the success of the mission, which meant he also needed to sit in on the briefing. He wouldn't have a seat, but he could stand behind T'Lari like one of the Midshipmen.

"Chertstone, Briefing Room. Now."

Rising from her seat, Jenny made sure the data on the mission had been downloaded to her PADD, before making her own way towards the briefing with the crew, and her first meeting with whatever Diplomatic Corps weenie had pissed off their masters enough to get assigned to this mission.

[Theresa Black]

== NRC – Flint Chertstone – Tactical Officer ==

"Chertstone, Briefing Room. Now."

Flint's daydream revelry was cut extremely short as he realised that he hadn't been left to his own devices and the voice was the Captain herself ordering him to follow.

“Yes, Ma'am.” he stuttered quickly rising after securing his station and following.

I'm being invited to the briefing? Holy crap! um... Keep it cool... Keep it cool.

>> Briefing Room >>