08-16-2024, 10:12 PM
Tyra could feel the tension in the muscles under her fingers but she also felt it give just a fraction in the seconds leading up to Calleja's retreat, which was the only thing that kept Tyra from shifting between the Chief of Security and Givens.
“I’m only backin’ down ‘cause ya told me to,” Mara said softly to Tyra. “I didn’t mean to make things worse for ya. Sorry ‘bout that. Someone somewhere is playin’ with us all and it really gets under my skin. ‘Specially after what just happened to us on that last mission.”
For a moment, Tyra considered what she might have done in Mara's shoes when she was a younger, less experienced officer, especially if it had been Derrick. Because there had been a time when her loyalty to him had run as deep as it could, where she would have done anything for him and she wouldn't have been the only one. And yet, she didn't think that, even at her angriest, she would have called out another captain with such vitriol, probably because he wouldn't have stood for it even if he might have found it funny later on.
Still, her fingers curled ever so slightly before letting go of Mara. "I know, it's okay," she answered softly, her tone sympathetic even as she mentally admitted that she didn't actually know if any of this was okay because clearly things were off balance.
As Calleja retreated, Tyra took a quick stock of the room, trying to gauge exactly what the state of the procession was. There seemed to be a number of officers seemingly content to watch the fireworks without seeming overly concerned about the display or maybe, they were just that desensitized to the larger than life personalities that were housed on the Artemis. In contrast, Mayfair seemed suitably concerned by the outburst and Coleman looked how she felt, though he was busying himself with something on his PADD. She wondered if that was to avoid getting in the way of the possible heavyweight match between the present captains, though Tyra had no intention of fighting Givens. It was more than likely that the other captain was as much of a puppet on a string as she apparently was and taking the ire of that realization out on her was petty.
Not even five minutes here and the circus is already in fully swing… she thought dryly as she looked from the seat Calleja had left for her to the one at the head of the table that Givens had indicated earlier.
Truthfully, Tyra didn't want either chair. The part of her that wanted to lean into her petulant desire to sulk over this turn of events wanted to forego both chairs in favor of holding up the far wall until she could find a quiet corner to collect herself. Or a bottle to drink herself into. However, that wasn't very becoming of a commanding officer and while she would have loved to have said "**** this ****", she was well aware that how she proceeded mattered. She didn't need to actually be okay with this turn events but she damn well needed to act like she was or else, it was very likely this was going to go even further off the rails than it already was.
She felt the PADD in her hand vibrate as she made a show of tossing her duffel bag into the nearest corner and approaching the seat Calleja had vacated for her. She could feel Givens' eyes on her as she did so and a glance up showed her that the other captain seemed to be waiting and weighing, watching her with a pointed curiosity that suggested she felt the next move was entirely in Tyra's court.
There were things she wanted to ask, things she needed to confirm in order to get her equilibrium back in order, and yet this wasn't the place nor the audience for that conversation. Not when it had the potential to spiral out with frustration.
After a few moments of silence, it was Givens who broke it, her tone back having settled back into a slightly warmer hue but her expression no less pointed. "How we proceed is entirely up to you, Captain. This is your ship. I'm just the advisor now," Givens stated.
In truth, Tyra wanted to call the meeting, give herself time to wrap her head around the situation and demand answers, but there was a nagging feeling that such a luxury was beyond her grasp. What she wouldn't give for some coffee or an Irish coffee. In fact, she deeply regretted not accepting John's offer of a bottle to go before she had left the Cairo, even if it had been an inside joke.
"We're short on time, aren't we? We have to make the launch window..." It was the one question she decided to allow herself, the one that seemed crucial.
"I don't believe delays would be wise all things considered. It's much harder to walk back a launch than it is to delay one so the sooner the Artemis departs, the better. We're scheduled for an 0700 launch as of now," Givens answered after a moment of consideration.
Tyra didn't need to be told the silent part; it was late at HQ and if they took off on time the next morning, there was a very likely chance that they would be out of dock before anyone who would care might see the command change. And they were unlikely to risk the embarrassment of recalling the Artemis, not with two captains aboard. She wondered what was so important that Bill had risked the likely tongue lashing to come to get her back here.
"Then, continue with the briefing so we can stay on schedule," Tyra answered, her hand waving slightly even as her attention turned to the PADD in her hand with the update from Coleman.
Givens, for her part, started over from the beginning, though Tyra would be honest in admitting she hardly paid attention to the opening lines regarding the nebula at hand. It wasn't until Cera dropped a steaming cup of coffee in front of her before retreating that Tyra was even confident that she was actually understanding the words on her PADD.
"As I explained previously, Command is concerned about possible Cardassians incursions into the nebula but I must stress that no patrols or examinations of the nebula by our ships or independent survey vessels have turned up any evidence to suggest that had occurred yet. We would be remiss to not consider it a possibility though."
At the mention of Cardassians, Tyra's head came up for a moment, her lips pressing together in obvious distaste before the expression smoothed back out. She couldn't say she was overly pleased to be venturing close to Cardassians space once more and she hoped that it wasn't their looming shadow that had required her presence once more.
== Captain Cassandra Givens ==
With the decision made, Cass merely nodded her head, her dark eyes skimming over the table once more as she took in the tense atmosphere. She was well aware that she had not helped defuse the situation at all but she also didn't regret what she had said. Lieutenant Calleja was clearly the wild card in the group and she seemed to be the most likely to let her emotions run so hot that she was incapable of functioning as an officer needed. It was a shame that the woman was such a hothead and likely so self-assured that she was unwilling to heed or listen to a warning when given but as Cassandra knew personally, pride came before a fall and Calleja had a long fall ahead of her.
However, there was no sense in Cassandra dwelling on an issue that would not be hers, not in the long term at least.
"Okay… second, no, third time's the charm. I hope," Cass offered wryly. "Prior to having this command dumped into my lap for the shortest captaincy ever at just over 8 hours, I was assigned to act as an observer and advisor for your upcoming mission. That is the role I will maintain with Captain Crawford resuming her previous employment," Cass explained, briefly glancing at Crawford who was focused on the PADD in her hand. Cass made a mental note not to take offense at her lack of interest.
"Now, back to the Hugora Nebula. Hard to scan, sits right on the border with the Cardassians and is in no way secured."
"As I explained previously, Command is concerned about possible Cardassians incursions into the nebula but I must stress that no patrols or examinations of the nebula by our ships or independent survey vessels have turned up any evidence to suggest that has occurred yet. We would be remiss to not consider it a possibility though."
"Artemis has been tasked with a dual-purpose assignment of both patrolling the area as a deterrent but also surveying the nebula. The hope is that we will be able to effectively map it in ways that we have not been able to before. Artemis has both the firepower to defend itself if needed but also the robust sensor suite needed for mapping," Cassandra explained before flicking her finger across her PADD once more, the Hugora Nebula disappearing from the center of the conference room and a schematic replacing it.
"This is the schematic for an experimental sensor buoy that Science HQ would like deployed in the nebula as a test. The hope is that, if they work as expected, we can deploy them throughout the Nebula to minimize the blind spots. Unfortunately, they do not come pre-assembled, though we have been stocked with a surplus of the needed probes."
That seemed to get Crawford's attention once more as the redhead looked up from the PADD in her hand. "Lieutenant Miller and Commander…" Crawford seemed to falter as her blue eyes fell on Omdor; whether it was due to not knowing his name or what his presence represented, Cass wasn't certain.
"Commander Omdor, your acting Chief," Cass offered with a nod and a small smile to the Bajoran.
"Right… Commander Omdor. Well then, Miller and Omdor, your departments get to make sense of this schematic and get the prototypes up and running prior to testing them in the Nebula. If we can get them linked into the tactical systems to assist in our own navigation of the Nebula, that would be an added bonus," Crawford ordered rather flatly, her gaze shifting between the two before she seemed satisfied.
Cass paused just a moment longer to see if Crawford's renewed interest was going to hold but when she said nothing further, Cass charged on ahead. "To recap: patrol, survey and deploy. Those are our objectives. Any questions, comments or concerns about the mission specifically?"
== Tag! ==
“I’m only backin’ down ‘cause ya told me to,” Mara said softly to Tyra. “I didn’t mean to make things worse for ya. Sorry ‘bout that. Someone somewhere is playin’ with us all and it really gets under my skin. ‘Specially after what just happened to us on that last mission.”
For a moment, Tyra considered what she might have done in Mara's shoes when she was a younger, less experienced officer, especially if it had been Derrick. Because there had been a time when her loyalty to him had run as deep as it could, where she would have done anything for him and she wouldn't have been the only one. And yet, she didn't think that, even at her angriest, she would have called out another captain with such vitriol, probably because he wouldn't have stood for it even if he might have found it funny later on.
Still, her fingers curled ever so slightly before letting go of Mara. "I know, it's okay," she answered softly, her tone sympathetic even as she mentally admitted that she didn't actually know if any of this was okay because clearly things were off balance.
As Calleja retreated, Tyra took a quick stock of the room, trying to gauge exactly what the state of the procession was. There seemed to be a number of officers seemingly content to watch the fireworks without seeming overly concerned about the display or maybe, they were just that desensitized to the larger than life personalities that were housed on the Artemis. In contrast, Mayfair seemed suitably concerned by the outburst and Coleman looked how she felt, though he was busying himself with something on his PADD. She wondered if that was to avoid getting in the way of the possible heavyweight match between the present captains, though Tyra had no intention of fighting Givens. It was more than likely that the other captain was as much of a puppet on a string as she apparently was and taking the ire of that realization out on her was petty.
Not even five minutes here and the circus is already in fully swing… she thought dryly as she looked from the seat Calleja had left for her to the one at the head of the table that Givens had indicated earlier.
Truthfully, Tyra didn't want either chair. The part of her that wanted to lean into her petulant desire to sulk over this turn of events wanted to forego both chairs in favor of holding up the far wall until she could find a quiet corner to collect herself. Or a bottle to drink herself into. However, that wasn't very becoming of a commanding officer and while she would have loved to have said "**** this ****", she was well aware that how she proceeded mattered. She didn't need to actually be okay with this turn events but she damn well needed to act like she was or else, it was very likely this was going to go even further off the rails than it already was.
She felt the PADD in her hand vibrate as she made a show of tossing her duffel bag into the nearest corner and approaching the seat Calleja had vacated for her. She could feel Givens' eyes on her as she did so and a glance up showed her that the other captain seemed to be waiting and weighing, watching her with a pointed curiosity that suggested she felt the next move was entirely in Tyra's court.
There were things she wanted to ask, things she needed to confirm in order to get her equilibrium back in order, and yet this wasn't the place nor the audience for that conversation. Not when it had the potential to spiral out with frustration.
After a few moments of silence, it was Givens who broke it, her tone back having settled back into a slightly warmer hue but her expression no less pointed. "How we proceed is entirely up to you, Captain. This is your ship. I'm just the advisor now," Givens stated.
In truth, Tyra wanted to call the meeting, give herself time to wrap her head around the situation and demand answers, but there was a nagging feeling that such a luxury was beyond her grasp. What she wouldn't give for some coffee or an Irish coffee. In fact, she deeply regretted not accepting John's offer of a bottle to go before she had left the Cairo, even if it had been an inside joke.
"We're short on time, aren't we? We have to make the launch window..." It was the one question she decided to allow herself, the one that seemed crucial.
"I don't believe delays would be wise all things considered. It's much harder to walk back a launch than it is to delay one so the sooner the Artemis departs, the better. We're scheduled for an 0700 launch as of now," Givens answered after a moment of consideration.
Tyra didn't need to be told the silent part; it was late at HQ and if they took off on time the next morning, there was a very likely chance that they would be out of dock before anyone who would care might see the command change. And they were unlikely to risk the embarrassment of recalling the Artemis, not with two captains aboard. She wondered what was so important that Bill had risked the likely tongue lashing to come to get her back here.
"Then, continue with the briefing so we can stay on schedule," Tyra answered, her hand waving slightly even as her attention turned to the PADD in her hand with the update from Coleman.
Givens, for her part, started over from the beginning, though Tyra would be honest in admitting she hardly paid attention to the opening lines regarding the nebula at hand. It wasn't until Cera dropped a steaming cup of coffee in front of her before retreating that Tyra was even confident that she was actually understanding the words on her PADD.
"As I explained previously, Command is concerned about possible Cardassians incursions into the nebula but I must stress that no patrols or examinations of the nebula by our ships or independent survey vessels have turned up any evidence to suggest that had occurred yet. We would be remiss to not consider it a possibility though."
At the mention of Cardassians, Tyra's head came up for a moment, her lips pressing together in obvious distaste before the expression smoothed back out. She couldn't say she was overly pleased to be venturing close to Cardassians space once more and she hoped that it wasn't their looming shadow that had required her presence once more.
== Captain Cassandra Givens ==
With the decision made, Cass merely nodded her head, her dark eyes skimming over the table once more as she took in the tense atmosphere. She was well aware that she had not helped defuse the situation at all but she also didn't regret what she had said. Lieutenant Calleja was clearly the wild card in the group and she seemed to be the most likely to let her emotions run so hot that she was incapable of functioning as an officer needed. It was a shame that the woman was such a hothead and likely so self-assured that she was unwilling to heed or listen to a warning when given but as Cassandra knew personally, pride came before a fall and Calleja had a long fall ahead of her.
However, there was no sense in Cassandra dwelling on an issue that would not be hers, not in the long term at least.
"Okay… second, no, third time's the charm. I hope," Cass offered wryly. "Prior to having this command dumped into my lap for the shortest captaincy ever at just over 8 hours, I was assigned to act as an observer and advisor for your upcoming mission. That is the role I will maintain with Captain Crawford resuming her previous employment," Cass explained, briefly glancing at Crawford who was focused on the PADD in her hand. Cass made a mental note not to take offense at her lack of interest.
"Now, back to the Hugora Nebula. Hard to scan, sits right on the border with the Cardassians and is in no way secured."
"As I explained previously, Command is concerned about possible Cardassians incursions into the nebula but I must stress that no patrols or examinations of the nebula by our ships or independent survey vessels have turned up any evidence to suggest that has occurred yet. We would be remiss to not consider it a possibility though."
"Artemis has been tasked with a dual-purpose assignment of both patrolling the area as a deterrent but also surveying the nebula. The hope is that we will be able to effectively map it in ways that we have not been able to before. Artemis has both the firepower to defend itself if needed but also the robust sensor suite needed for mapping," Cassandra explained before flicking her finger across her PADD once more, the Hugora Nebula disappearing from the center of the conference room and a schematic replacing it.
"This is the schematic for an experimental sensor buoy that Science HQ would like deployed in the nebula as a test. The hope is that, if they work as expected, we can deploy them throughout the Nebula to minimize the blind spots. Unfortunately, they do not come pre-assembled, though we have been stocked with a surplus of the needed probes."
That seemed to get Crawford's attention once more as the redhead looked up from the PADD in her hand. "Lieutenant Miller and Commander…" Crawford seemed to falter as her blue eyes fell on Omdor; whether it was due to not knowing his name or what his presence represented, Cass wasn't certain.
"Commander Omdor, your acting Chief," Cass offered with a nod and a small smile to the Bajoran.
"Right… Commander Omdor. Well then, Miller and Omdor, your departments get to make sense of this schematic and get the prototypes up and running prior to testing them in the Nebula. If we can get them linked into the tactical systems to assist in our own navigation of the Nebula, that would be an added bonus," Crawford ordered rather flatly, her gaze shifting between the two before she seemed satisfied.
Cass paused just a moment longer to see if Crawford's renewed interest was going to hold but when she said nothing further, Cass charged on ahead. "To recap: patrol, survey and deploy. Those are our objectives. Any questions, comments or concerns about the mission specifically?"
== Tag! ==