But We Came For The Cookies

Posted on Thu Sep 3rd, 2020 @ 10:54pm by Captain Bethsabée Leroux & Major Samuel King & Lieutenant Aurelius Davis & Lieutenant Sovar & Lieutenant Samantha Leyton & Lieutenant JG Mattias Constantine & Lieutenant Avira zh'Kenarh M.D. & Ensign Luis Martinez

Mission: Mission 3 - 100
Location: Deck E - Mess Hall
Timeline: Day 39, Month 2, Year 0 08:30
2452 words - 4.9 OF Standard Post Measure

It had been days since the boarding party and Beth hated to pull people from their busy departments but she really felt that everyone needed to meet properly as so many new officers had become department heads in such a short time. The mess hall was off-limits now after everyone else had, had breakfast leaving the senior officers time and space to have a meeting and have breakfast in peace for once. “I do not pull rank often for things like this but I thought it might be nicer to have breakfast and a meeting whilst we discuss the state of the ships and going forward.” Beth was hopeful they could work their way through the mess and establish a few new things along with announcing the new 2XO.

"I've never understood the expression 'pull rank'. You don't lean over the table and grab someone by their rank and pull, do you? Cause that doesn't sound like much fun," Aurelius considered his eyes drawing upward to the ceiling in thought.

"Speak for yourself. It sounds kind more like stress-relieving," Harper remarked as he relaxed in his chair at one of the tables. It was obvious that there was some work that needed to be done to the mess hall but his engineering team would get to it once the other areas were up and going. Cosmetic was not on the top of the priority list. Besides, it wasn't as though someone had taken a phase pistol to anything in the room.

Samantha watched the others in the room quietly as she chewed on a ration that was more rubberily than anything. 'We need some food fast,' she thought. 'These rations suck Klingon balls.'

"Vivid and unpleasant - but I agree. Food and drink are at the foundation of everyone's needs aboard the ship. We have defended our shelter - for now - but I think it'd be huge for us if we could put some joy back into eating." As one of the newly promoted department heads, Lieutenant JG Constantine was still not fully accustomed to being summoned as a member of the senior staff. Previously, he had always had Commander Leroux's presence in the department to lean on, and though her skill set was now being employed in the centre chair, Constantine felt more at ease seeing a familiar face at the meeting.

"One would wonder how you know so much about Klingons, as well," Harper raised an eyebrow at Leyton before smirking slightly and shaking his head at the mental image of such an action. He then looked at the others and locked up. This really wasn't the time to be a mouthy engineer. He was there to help assess the situation of the ship and hopefully act on a plan.

"Needs some hot sauce," Luis tried to smile as he chewed his own ration. HIs PADD was laid out in front of him on the table. He had told his team to ping him when they had results from the tactical analysis of the Vrav weaponry they had picked up from the incapacitated attackers.

At the far end of the table, Avira sat in quiet contemplation, the taking of stock they had done was a reality check for the medical department, but she knew that none of the people here could really help her with any of that. She also considered the implications of the shortage of these people's mental wellbeing. If everyone in here knew about the dwindling supply, then word would surely get around. People would probably start to panic, "If we could find a nice viable planet with life on it, we could do some harvesting."

"We have been searching. Hydroponics has been working flat out to grow but that is limited." Beth looked up at the comment about wondering how one knew so much about Klingons. They already had a Romulan joke or not, she hoped the Klingon's never went the same approach for a spy. It was mind-boggling and potentially dangerous for all involved including their operative. "Yes, food. Lieutenant Harper? Do you have a time frame on when the resequencers will be online to use the algae for what it was brought onboard for properly?" Beth was in agreement with that having some decent food would be helpful for morale. They had been lucky in the Vrav attack that they had, had one online that had been being used as a tester.

Samuel sat quite happily eating what was laid in front of him and in truth he was used to meagre rations from his time in the marines and SEAL unit over the years previous to his journey above the clouds. Yes, they were horrible, tasteless at times and pretty unappealing to look at but they still provided nourishment and served a purpose. He had gone a long time without eating before on a mission many years ago and at least to have something was precious. Although he wouldn't say no to something different, or the resequencers to be fixed.

"Umm..." Harper pondered for a moment as he laid out all the issues he had been put in charge to oversee. This whole idea of leading such a small group of engineers on a state of the art starship was something that was still throwing him off just a little. But he bounced back as he looked at the commander. "Well, boss lady. As it's not been one of our leading issues right off the bat, with the hall damage and power issues we have had, I'd say once we have power flow to all the systems, we should see them up and running fine. But with some of the patches, not all of the food re-sequencers are going to be able to be used. Not without blowing fuses. I'd like to test them one at a time prior to bringing them online. If that is alright with everyone."

The Officer in charge smiled just a little as it had not been an issue as they had something but it was getting to that point where they needed something more than enough. They needed something to boost morale and give people something to look forward to. Food no matter the custom had always played a big part in that. Beth inclined her head to look at everyone waiting for an answer from them.

Lieutenant Constantine met Commander Leroux's eyeline for a moment, hesitating for a moment as he thought about different ways to put words to the attrition they had been suffering as a crew. "With seventy-odd people, I don't think we'll need more than two or three of them working in order to keep everyone fed. I don't think I've seen more than ten people at a time in the mess since we've been sparring with the Vrav. I don't know how much commonality there is, but maybe we can conserve the other re-sequencers for parts to help us in other areas or repairs to the functioning ones down the road."

"We need to keep in mind the dietary needs of some of the personnel though," Avira knew that she needed to eat more than the average human due to her Andorian metabolism, but there were also a few people there with allergies and some of them severe enough that they would need to use a different resequencer if the person in front of them ordered something with what the humans called peanuts.

Aurelius had been staring off into space thinking about his evening the other night with Samantha. He suddenly started and jerked himself back to the present with . . . . "What? Did you say something?" He looked around and blushed slightly at the looks he was getting.

Samantha chuckled at Aurelius, unable to keep a smile off her face before looking at the Captain. "We better get every person qualified working on re-sequencing a successful substitution food for the Vrav...and hope it tastes good," she shrugged.

"I'll take the extra hands to help repair things, but we don't have a lot of respirators to hand out to every Tom, Dick, and Harry. And I prefer to not have the couple re-sequencers being used to make more respirators when we could be using that extra energy for other supplies. Then you have to think about..." Chris paused for a moment as he noticed that he was now rambling. "... Sorry. I'll take any class 2 engineering capable personal I can take. Welders would be great as well."

There wasn't really anyone in the medical department that had those qualifications, but they were good with their hands and Avira was sure that with a little instruction they could get something going there, "Well, my people are used to working with their hands, mending things, I'm sure there are some transferable skills," She looked over at Chris, "You'd have to train us first though, so it might not be a short term solution."

"I'll help out if it involves the engines," Samantha offered. "I have a basic rating." It wasn't much and she already had her hands busy with the helm Department or what little remained of it. She really needed to get busy on training backup pilots.

"Sounds good with me," Harper replied as he nodded. "Every little helps at this moment. If this ship had any more decks, we would need twice as many technicians to keep this beauty afloat."

Beth nodded, cross-training was doable. Even the woman herself was considering something in security after the Vrav boarding party. "I will be signing up with the MACO's or Armoury department myself."

"Be more than happy to have you, ma'am," Samuel spoke. "We don't get many outside of our circle who want to join us, so a new perspective may be beneficial for all parties." he smiled thinking that this may shake up some mindsets within his squad.

it was progress and something to start working on. "So we have an idea of what we need and we need it quickly as we have days to get a re-sequencer to work to get the Vrav off our cases." Beth reminded them. Most had been on the ship when it had been arranged but it was fast approaching. They needed something to get them off their cases to allow them to make some progress.

"A well-placed explosive would get them off our cases..." Sam spoke quietly into himself. The Vrav had pissed him off on more than one occasion and to be giving them anything other than a swift punch to the face was distasteful to him. However, he knew the need for more diplomatic requirements as they were a long way from home and fighting ever species they meet would do them no favours.

"Yeah, but that would not solve our troubles, only prolong it." Aurelius reminded him."

"I have to agree with Lieutenant Davis. At best we have a slight advantage on them technology wise when we're operating at our full capacity, but I don't think that's the case for us or them anymore." In his usual style, Lieutenant Constantine found himself defaulting towards learning how each of his fellow officers communicated and expressed their feelings. There was a multitude of unsaid things that he knew were lying under the surface of the calm, reasoned people in the room, but Major King's volatile proposal opened his eyes. If Sam was willing to say it, Matt concluded that many of the crew harbored similar ill will towards their pursuers.

"My two cents? I think it's important to pursue the diplomatic option first," Constantine continued addressing the group as a whole. "I'll continue to work on the translation algorithm so our communications with the Vrav continue to improve, and thanks to Doctor zh'Kenarh, I'm trying to obtain a field medic certification. That said, if we need to focus on these re-sequencers, I've got some experience with repair work. I apologize for the long-winded explanation for what is ultimately a simple conclusion - I am here to help. I don't think we have the option to really stay in our own lanes anymore. We have to chip in together."

Beth nodded at the man who she had chosen to replace her. It was her thoughts and she was not planning to end the diplomatic approach just yet. She had thought she had made that opinion completely clear but it seemed not. "We are not changing our approach," Beth said simply. It was the only way more deaths had not occurred.

"I believe this is the correct decision," Constantine nodded. "It shows leadership and dedication to our mission, morals, and beliefs."

"Which brings up in a roundabout way something I have been considering for a while in who to have as a second officer with Sloan being currently held in our brig. We need that position back." She indicated to where Samantha sat. "Lieutenant Leyton has agreed to oversee that spot and to take on some of the Executive Officer responsibilities with myself."

Leyton nodded. "I'll do my best and I look forward to working with everyone to get the Atlantis home and keep us safe."

"Good choice," Luis agreed. He was not really sure what the appropriate response to the new promotion, Leyton was a good officer and the job was certainly something that she could handle. They were still being hunted and needed every one in top form, not having a clear line of succession or chain of command could plunge what little hope remained of finding home into the abyss.

"Anyone else have anything to add?" Beth said finally when the room and congratulation died down and the silence resumed. She had nothing more to add, they were all still trying to gather themselves.

"Not unless you were planning on passing out cookies for everyone," Harper replied with a slight smirk before leaning back against the wall and cleared his throat. "Sorry."

Avira her antennae perked up at the mention of cookies. She wondered why he brought it up knowing they were low on resources. She had been quietly decreasing her own rations to be more in line with the humans around her, even though her Andorian metabolism required more food. She had felt really bad eating so much more than her colleagues. But it came to haunt her at times like these when people felt the need to bring up cookies.

"Afraid not. Unless you can get the resequencers online." Beth threw that as her parting shot as she stood up. She knew as well as everyone else that the man was working harder and longer than everyone else. Eventually, they would get lucky and everyone would get cookies.