05-30-2024, 12:38 AM
==Now we have a few people here I'll get the ball rolling; if you're showing up after this post, feel free to have arrived before dinner starts or be fashionably late (bring excuses!)==
Jenny had nodded politely at the guests who had come to speak with her, but had left the officers to their own devices and conversations; this was going to be a working dinner, though they did not know it, and out of the corner of her eye she watched the door to the Mess Hall in the reflection from the viewport; she was still missing some vital members of her senior staff, and thus far there were no representatives from Engineering present.
Doing this before we left was probably smarter, but we didn't have our orders. This is probably why people like the "traditional" method.
As more guests filtered in and conversation among them grew, the NCO in charge of the event discretely approached Jenny to tell her that the food was almost ready. That meant it was time to begin; some people, she knew, would eat before work, but this was going to be one of those work-first, eat-later occasions. The eating later would salve any bruised egos given the...ignominious nature of their mission. With the Support Staff rounding people up and directing them to their seats, Jenny approached the table last and waited for everyone to be seated before clearing her throat; public speaking not being one of her strong suits, she made sure to make it as brief as possible.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming. I arranged this dinner for us to get to know each other better on a more personal level, but before we eat I also wanted to share news of our assignment so you can distribute it among the crew. The good news is, we managed to go twelve hours in our brand new ship without anything breaking or exploding."
Jenny allowed herself a small smile at that; anyone who'd been with her on the previous Yeager, and there were more than a few among the crew who'd jumped at the chance to get back onto a formally-commissioned starship, knew that the older ship had been plagued with technical problems that gave it "character". For Engineers like Ian Elliot, it had been a challenge, while for others it had been a simple fact of life.
"The bad news is our new mission hardly warrants the attention of Starfleet's newest ship, no matter how unorthodox her construction or crew. We're assigned to update star charts along the Federation/Talarian border; accurate charting has fallen off since the Cardassians invaded and the Starfleet presence in the area was pulled back to prevent upsetting the Cardassians. Fortunately, someone at HQ has finally fired up the brain cell that all Admirals share, and they're sending us to correct their mistake."
Like always, they screw up and the little guy suffers.
"We're also to ensure the integrity of the border and prevent any unauthorised crossings in both directions. I'm sure you've heard rumours of the Talarian Resistance using Federation tech to fight the Cardassians, some of you may even agree we should be helping them, but our job is to prevent smugglers crossing the border with anything that might make the Cardassian Union claim Federation aggression. Any questions?"
Jenny had nodded politely at the guests who had come to speak with her, but had left the officers to their own devices and conversations; this was going to be a working dinner, though they did not know it, and out of the corner of her eye she watched the door to the Mess Hall in the reflection from the viewport; she was still missing some vital members of her senior staff, and thus far there were no representatives from Engineering present.
Doing this before we left was probably smarter, but we didn't have our orders. This is probably why people like the "traditional" method.
As more guests filtered in and conversation among them grew, the NCO in charge of the event discretely approached Jenny to tell her that the food was almost ready. That meant it was time to begin; some people, she knew, would eat before work, but this was going to be one of those work-first, eat-later occasions. The eating later would salve any bruised egos given the...ignominious nature of their mission. With the Support Staff rounding people up and directing them to their seats, Jenny approached the table last and waited for everyone to be seated before clearing her throat; public speaking not being one of her strong suits, she made sure to make it as brief as possible.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming. I arranged this dinner for us to get to know each other better on a more personal level, but before we eat I also wanted to share news of our assignment so you can distribute it among the crew. The good news is, we managed to go twelve hours in our brand new ship without anything breaking or exploding."
Jenny allowed herself a small smile at that; anyone who'd been with her on the previous Yeager, and there were more than a few among the crew who'd jumped at the chance to get back onto a formally-commissioned starship, knew that the older ship had been plagued with technical problems that gave it "character". For Engineers like Ian Elliot, it had been a challenge, while for others it had been a simple fact of life.
"The bad news is our new mission hardly warrants the attention of Starfleet's newest ship, no matter how unorthodox her construction or crew. We're assigned to update star charts along the Federation/Talarian border; accurate charting has fallen off since the Cardassians invaded and the Starfleet presence in the area was pulled back to prevent upsetting the Cardassians. Fortunately, someone at HQ has finally fired up the brain cell that all Admirals share, and they're sending us to correct their mistake."
Like always, they screw up and the little guy suffers.
"We're also to ensure the integrity of the border and prevent any unauthorised crossings in both directions. I'm sure you've heard rumours of the Talarian Resistance using Federation tech to fight the Cardassians, some of you may even agree we should be helping them, but our job is to prevent smugglers crossing the border with anything that might make the Cardassian Union claim Federation aggression. Any questions?"