Put it on Your Plate

Posted on Sat Oct 12th, 2024 @ 2:04pm by Colonel Zachary Aeyers & Major Beavis Forsyth & Petty Officer 1st Class Elizabeth Davis & Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Fletcher & Lieutenant Commander Wayne Eastwood & Lieutenant Commander Sidric Tobias PhD, MSST, BEng

5,709 words; about a 29 minute read

Mission: Boys of Summer
Location: Base Commander's Office, Santiago Bay Facility
Timeline: Mission Day 1, 0800 Hours

ON

Another gorgeous sunrise over the unusually calm, turquoise waters of Santiago Bay brought with it the anticipation of a new day. An important day, some could say, as the city prepared for Sagan Remembers. Going by last year's effort, it was an excuse for everyone to skive off work and stand around listening to amateur historians- in other words, people who were there two years ago when the Breen set their sights on Sagan Prime.

"Fuck that shit," Aeyers muttered dryly to himself. "But, I'll be there anyway. It's not like I've got a choice."

"You will be there, Colonel," Liz's voice called sternly from behind.

Aeyers looked over his shoulder to locate his Yeoman, he couldn't lay eyes upon her. Indeed, it may have only been her voice in the room. A PADD appeared under his nose suddenly, held in her hand, he looked across and saw her dutifully bubbly smile. "Oh, there you are."

Having delivered the PADD to the Colonel, Liz proceeded down into the lower section of the office, placing briefing PADDs around the small conference table. She glanced towards Aeyers, "I've already told the Mayor you would be there tomorrow. Representative Mazlish will also be in attendance."

Aeyers headed down into the briefing area of his office and sighed. "You haven't told him I'd be there I hope."

"Actually, he wasn't too interested in your whereabouts," Liz mentioned, placing an order for express delivery of coffees from Mister Brian's Cafe. As she typed away, she continued, "Rumour had it one of your officers is seeking to challenge him in the upcoming election."

"Who?" Aeyers quizzed.

"Couldn't tell you even if I wanted to. That is," She rolled her eyes, mimicking Mazlish's weedy-shit accent, "Electorally sensitive information."

"Yeah, right," Aeyers nodded. "So, tomorrow, in regards to my presence, you're saying they want me there 'more or less'."

"I'd say they want you," Liz replied. "And your officers will be there also. And here they are now."

On cue, thankfully, the base's senior management walked through the door. Familiar faces, brothers in arms.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Aeyers called. He let out a breath of relief, now there were a few more bodies in the room to take the heat off him from Liz, who was in fine form this morning.

Sidric, always punctual, barely glanced upwards as he strode into the room while skimming through an Operations weekly review on his PADD.

"Morning Zach," Sid called out.

He made his way to the conference table and traded out his PADD for the one just placed by Yeoman Davis, he continued reading as though he had just flipped the page in a book.

"Nice weather we are having today" Sid added.

"Nothing looks good when you have to get up at five thirty," Jeff took a long draught of his coffee, then set down the drinks tray with Liz and Zach's coffees on the table; Jeff knew Sid would have his own. He greeted them all at once with a "mornin'" and a courteous nod, then handed out the coffees. "Give me a level twenty weapons recert over another one of Forsyth's speeches."

"Level twenty recertification? I thought that was beginner to intermediate" Sid interjected, still nose deep in the agenda. "And Jeff, I can sympathise. Ariana has been insisting she and I go for early morning jogs." Sid punctuated this by taking a long sip of his extra large coffee flask.

"Twenty, fifty, one hundred," Jeff waved his hand as if dismissing the matter, "Haven't taken them again in years. I know I'm a good shot; I'm still here after all. But speaking of such things, how is Ari? The three of us haven't hit the gunrange in years, we should soon. That invitation extends to you both, as well."

"She is going is going well, on a new diet of Andorian tuber roots." Sid placed the PADD back on the table having committed its contents to short term memory. "I think she would like to validate your claim Jeff, although this time let us use standard weapons. Might be something to do after this 'grand event' we are being subjected to."

"It's really gonna be something," Zach grimaced.

Liz interjected quickly, "While we're on that topic gentlemen, I have something for you to look at from the merchandising--" She stopped, looking over her shoulder hearing Commander Eastwood and Major Forsyth entering the office. "Oh, Commander, Major."

"Good morning, Petty Officer Davis. Commanders, Colonels," smiled Eastwood as he walked into the Colonel's office before turning back to Petty Officer Davis and saying, "It's good to see everyone is bright and eager this morning. It's spectacular."

"Good morning Petty Officer Davis. Commanders, Colonels," Forsyth nodded. He tugged at the emerald green collar of his uniform uncomfortably for a moment, very used to his marine fatigues. "Commander Eastwood and I were just discussing our research for Sagan Remembers."

"Are you delivering a speech this year, Major?" Liz asked, giving Aeyers a bit of sideeye.

"Indeed I am," Forsyth replied, "Yes, Mayor Blurforth has asked me to say a few words."

"Or a few thousand," Zach grumbled under his breath.

Liz slapped Zach on the arm.

"Major, can I offer you a beverage?" Zach asked, standing and heading to the replicator. "I must apologise, as you're new to these meetings I'm not sure what you enjoy."

"Coffee, black," Forsyth responded.

"I couldn't order you something you'd enjoy, could I?" Aeyers asked, tapping the command into the refreshment station. Serving the drink to Forsyth, Aeyers looked to Eastwood, "What about you, Commander, you doing a speech this year? Perhaps on the significance of our multicultural breakfast, or the reason why we number the starships the way that we do?"

Eastwood gnashed his teeth as he thought about what he was going to say. Being part of a committee that runs the Sagan Remembers doesn't necessarily mean that he has an 'important' job like reading a speech. 'No, no, you think too highly of me. I am a humble history PhD from the University of California, Berkeley. That will be up to the Mayor to do the speeches,' paused Eastwood and smiled as he looked at the group in the room sipping their coffees. 'I am there merely as a Starfleet attaché, although I understand we will have in attendance a Federation Member from Earth, Anthony Paesano, and the Sagan Prime General Assembly committee member, Flick McGuy, so I am sure that including the Mayor, all three will have speeches ready."

"Lest we forget that the Assistant Commissioner will be speaking on behalf of the police department," Liz added with a grin.

"Can we get down to business?" Zach asked, taking a sip of his coffee. "All this talk of speeches and recognition is making my skin crawl."

"I rather like it," Forsyth piped up, half smug.

"So, on the agenda today," Davis began, gesturing towards the PADDs before the assembled officers, eager to begin, "Is an intelligence report from D'Vir colony. One of their scout ships spotted a Breen vessel skirting close to the DMZ near Yiros, this was confirmed by their border facing sensor array an hour later. They didn't report an incursion."

"This is the second sighting this week," Zach mentioned. He glanced over the sensor and imaging data before looking to his officers, "Any thoughts on pulling a couple of ships from the Cardassian end of the border to remind the Breen we mean business?"

"Are we still under a ceasefire at the moment?" asked Wayne as looked at the same image, "I assume that Intelligence hasn't been forthright with its information and that if there was any chatter from informants Intelligence being who they are won't give out that information easily. Simply if it was me and for the cease-fire to still be intact make it one craft and make it do something other than forcing their hand how about placing long-range sensors to monitor the radiation from the near by system?"

"I suppose we could get a runabout, deploy some survey buoys," Zach suggested. "However, given the buildup we've been seeing, I'm inclined to put some sign of force out there to show we're not going to take kindly to their posturing."

"An open hand can still be a strong hand," Jeff took a seat, rubbing his beard in thought. "If they're patrolling it couldn't hurt to send something out for a time. If we send a ship and need it elsewhere, we can have it drop a few buoys, but it wouldn't hurt for them so see that we see them."

"It all goes back to the proportional response," spoke Eastwood softly as he scrolled through the Intelligence Report, "If we were to do this and we were the one who started this engagement we would look like the aggressors I think survey buoys are good start but what is the end goal here? How are the diplomatic options? Like are they still open to talks?"

"Diplomatic options? As I recall we were in diplomatic options two years ago." Sidric said. "I say deploy the buoys. Ops has been tinkering with the latest sensor tech for the Sagan project. We might be able to integrate that into the buoys and use them for surveying as well as posturing."

"Any chance we can hide the buoys from the Breen's own sensors, or at least make them look fairly harmless?" Zach asked.

"Look harmless? Yes, to an extent, but I am sure the Breen will treat any sensor as suspicious. Hidden? Well that depends on how you feel about the regulations around interphase cloaking." Sid replied.

"Given Commander Eastwood's experience with the cloak in Breen space a few months ago, not overly enthused," Aeyers stated. "Listen, if the Breen want to take their popguns to a few sensor buoys on our side of the border, that's their choice."

"Could we make them look like navigational buoys?" Forsyth asked.

“We could embed a sensor pulse in a navigation subspace frequency.” Sid said to the Major. “It would attenuate the sensor range and sensitivity, but still provide greater detection along the border.”

“Okay, let’s give it a go,” Aeyers said with a nod. “Sidric, Eastwood, I want your teams to collaborate on a deployment of those buoys. Keep it discrete, we’ll see what data we can gather. In the meanwhile, Jeff, could you notify the commanders of the Sutherland and Renegade that they may be required to reroute to the border, just in case.”

"Of course, I'll have my team coordinate with Sidric's at his facility," Eastwood replied, glancing between the Commander and the Colonel. "Can you give me a timeframe so I can relay it to my team leaders?"

"Let's get a team on it by the end of the day," Aeyers decided. He looked to Tobias, "Doable?"

"We are still under the pump with the defence systems refit, most Ops officers are already committed " Sid replied. Remembering the report he was reading earlier, Sid continued; "but a team has recently been freed up, so yes, doable."

"I'll call the boys," Jeff said simply, rubbing his beard. " They'll be pleased to hear it."

"Grand," Zach nodded. "Anyone we'd would consider sending out there? Anyone out there who needs a to be cut a bit of a break?"

"Yes, I think there is an Ensign Fox Stoyer who is due for a more relaxed rotation" Replied Sid.

"I know a guy, Jerome, who keeps telling me... well, anything he wants to say really," Jeff said as he tried to recall the active rosters, "but less stress at work is one thing. He's only a regular engineer, but he might be of use. I can look at the manifest later."

As Wayne looked around the room, he realized that all eyes were on him. He needed to make a decision quickly. After a brief pause, Eastwood spoke up; "Ensign Dillon McManus? He's top-notch and could benefit from some operational experience before we recommend him for promotion to Lieutenant JG."

"I like him, walking stack of books, though," Liz smiled, never backward in coming forward. She directed her attention toward Sidric for a moment, cocking her head ever so slightly to the side. "Hey, Commander Tobias, isn't Stoyer dead? Like dead-dead?"

"Not that I was aware of," Sidric replied, "Stoyer is still listed on my department manifest." Sid frantically tapped away at his PADD. "Hmm, no you are correct, died two weeks ago to an acidified plasma explosion." Sid delved into the files and pursed his lips in frustration as he discovered the cause of the information mishap. "The roster has not been updated correctly, I will amend it and select another candidate."

Forsyth popped up with a suggestion, raising his hand slightly, until he realised it wasn't required. "Sergeant Torma, one of the technical specialists in the Battalion, she would benefit from something a little more interesting than tinkering on the tanks. I don't mean to change the subject, by the way, but there is a dusty old police tank with a pair of warp engines on it at the back of the marine garage under a tarpaulin. What's with that?"

Sidric already feeling embarrassed by the manifest faux pas, self-consciously rubbed the back of his neck. "That came from the skunkworks of the Eversonian back when the research lead was a little too literal with client requirements, which asked for a tank that could 'outpace any outlaw'." Sid cleared his throat. "Not the only as ordered product made and shipped from that time."

"I saw that rubbish car the other day," Liz interjected, "You know the one that puts the rubbish directly into the cabin with that little claw and dumps it through the sunroof... and sometimes also picks up people and tosses them in."

"We can't speak ill of certain members of the intelligence community who are no longer with us," Aeyers said. He shook his head solemnly, "Shame what happened there."

They all paused for a moment and nodded.

"Anyway," Aeyers began, "It sounds like we're building a solid team to deploy those buoys. I'll leave the recruitment to you as our division directors. Jeff and I will sign off on whoever you choose. A wonderful opportunity."

Looking at the three of them, Eastwood nodded in agreement, "You have got quite a solid team." He paused thoughtfully before continuing, "I'll pass on your proposal to the rest of the team and see what names they suggest. We've had a bit of a turnover this year, but McManus is one person I've had more contact with, and of course, there's my Deputy, Mitch Skennerton. If we can't fill the positions with department personnel, perhaps we could pull from the latest rotation of cadets? We can cross-reference their personnel files to pick the best fit for the job."

"I'm sure some of those guys would appreciate the chance to get out there, they've been shown the ropes by now. See what you can do." Aeyers said. "I look forward to seeing your selections. Liz?"

"Next thing," She checked her PADD. "Okay, uh, Sagan U have requested use of the Orion for a planetary survey."

"Why?" Aeyers asked, just a little too quickly.

"The Dean of Astronomy claims his research team has found a suitable M-Class world for the Romulan settlers. They did a study and found that 30% of the Romulans on D'Vir were unhappy with their surroundings. The Vice Chancellor said this would be a good opportunity for us to share some good PR."

"And no doubt get a free space ride out of it," Zach grumbled. "Sidric, thoughts?"

Sid raised an eyebrow at Aeyers' aspersion of Sagan academics. "I reviewed their paper, the findings are plausible but optimistic. I think the VC benefits more from the PR than we would, that and create a few more humble PhDs." Sid contemplated for a moment, then continued. "The Orion is currently assisting with the defences upgrade, we can use runabouts but it will slow the work down. Your call, Zach."

"Any objections?" Zach asked the other officers. "We've had the Orion cruising the border once a week, she's in drydock otherwise."

"I have none," spoke Eastwood as he straighten his uniform.

"I defer to the academics on this," Jeff gestured to the PhD crowd. "Taking the Orion at a time like this might be risky, but right now if we can spare it without setting back the upgrades then it might not be an issue. Lot of trouble though for "thirty per cent" and "unhappy"; if thirty per cent were dying then that'd be a concern. If the only problem is the mollusks are a bit tepid then tell them they're dreaming."

“Outpost D’Vir has always been a hive of scum and buggery. If anything the Romulans have made it better, but a polished turd is still a turd. Given everything that’s happened to them, consideration of a more hospitable environment isn’t unreasonable.” Aeyers said. “We’ll take it under advisement, give the university a provisional approval to use the ship. Sidric, are you happy if the researchers put a proposal to you? Coordinate with the sciences, if you’re satisfied, we’ll proceed. Besides, it’s a good excuse to give that planetary sensor array that Zala upsold us on a bit of a stretch.”

Sid shook his head at the mention of the now defunct Zala Industries. "That sensor is rated for a dedicated survey vessel at least twice the Orion's size. The power station that was needed to compensate for it, and while some like it hot, the overheating was...." Sid trailed off shaking his head. "Yes, I will gladly entertain a research proposal," Sidric said while absently adjusting his uniform, "could they get it to me before the ceremony so that I have something to read?"

"I imagine they'll have something ready to go. See what you think," Zach answered.

"Next, the Joordens Wave," Liz read from her list of meeting dot points. "The Federation Council, specifically Jim Mazlish, has asked for an update on the wave."

"We have good news for them," Sidric said as he stood up to walk over to the viewscreen. Sid pressed two buttons and loaded a presentation. "As we can see from the last field test, the USS Humble was able to generate a stable Joordens wave." The screen showed a crude rendition of a Jareth Class starship with curved lines emanating from its dome. Numbers on the side of the screen rapidly changed and a bar chart down the bottom expanded and shrank. "After the initial burst, the Joordens wave is supported by a harmonic subspace resonant pulse," more lines and numbers danced about the screen.

"And for those of us who didn't spend a decade at university?" Jeff asked with a jovial smile he knew Sidric would take well.

Sid continued his lecture unabated, "simulations without the harmonic pulse has resulted in catastrophic atomisation of any matter in the path of the wave, but with this latest result we can see the successful positional inversion of an asteroid." Sid pressed another button and the presentation advanced to show the waves converging on a circle which blinked over to the right of the screen. "The full report is ready for the Federation Council, but in essence we have a working prototype."

"Gentlemen, the Federation Council have been pushing us to propose the deployment of the Joordens Wave to the Breen for months," Aeyers said. "As we know, this could allow us to return planet Harakoru to the Breen, potentially ceasing hostilities related to our possession of it."

"After this long, I don't think that planet is their primary concern," Forsyth opined with a stroke of his chin.

"Agreed," Aeyers nodded. "I'd like to explore options in deploying this device on a wider scale, however, this does raise another matter; that of a director for the scientific services. We've been without one for a few months, and while I do appreciate Commander Tobias' work in filling that gap, I would like to appoint someone fulltime prior to the deployment of the wave on the Humble. Any suggestions?"

"Isn't that the ship that only lets post-grads work in senior positions?" Jeff sratched his chin discontentedly. "That Dangle guy who runs the gym in town, he keeps telling me about his son Lewis and his art history degree, he's probably allowed on there. Everyone could probably benefit from that guy being offworld. But come to think of it, I know a Klingon guy, E'Satto Davinki, he could be exactly what we need."

"E'Satto is an able scientist and artist, even if you consider his less nefarious experiments," Aeyers agreed. "We should probably make this equitable, follow the right protocols. Jeff, can you table a list of suitable candidates in the AO for the Science Services head by the end of the day? Sidric, you've been working with these scientists, I'd also appreciate your input."

"I'll get it done," Jeff nodded. "Happy to work with you on this later, Sid, if it saves time?"

Sidric finished taking a sip of his coffee and nodded as he swallowed. "Good idea Jeff, I have time this afternoon to go through the personnel listing. There are some decent candidates who are not Eversonian expats."

"I look forward to seeing those recommendations, there's a lot of good folks in the science departments," Aeyers said. He gave Sidric a curious look, he himself only catching up on the Joordens Wave after a quiet spell on the development of the project. "Is that mined-out rogue planet Mazlish offered up still the full-scale proving ground for the wave?"

"Yes," Sid replied with a touch of hesitancy, "we have been given planning approval with the final decision pending the Federation review. However, there is a group that has recently setup an illegal blockade on the planet. They claim that that it possesses some significance or another," Sidric waved his hand dismissively, "from what I understand they are just anarchists. Unfortunately stellar cartography says that there are no other viable planets within our region." Sid let out a small huff of frustration, "your thoughts Zach?"

"Immediately I question the worth of a rogue planet," Zach shrugged. "These.. anarchists, who the hell are they?"

"Honestly not certain, they do seem to be well equipped and very intent on preventing our experiment" Sidric replied. "Diplomatic efforts have so far not succeeded."

Eastwood glanced at his PADD with a frown. "Looks like our friends in Intelligence dropped the ball again," he muttered. "No wonder diplomacy isn't working out. Without proper intel, we're just flailing in the dark. Do we have any assets on the ground that can help us gather more information about this planet?"

"Lets not forget that you have authority over that department, Mister Eastwood," Aeyers reminded the Commander. "What are you and your people going to do about it?"

"Let me be blunt with you," said Eastwood, looking at the others. "I've been struggling to weed out the deadwood from our Intelligence department, and I take full responsibility for that. But we can't let that hinder our diplomatic efforts. We need better intel, and we need it fast. So here's what I propose: I'll gather a team and develop some strategies, and we can deploy one or two assets on the ground for the next department head. I'd like to request permission for the Vigilant and its crew to assist with ground support and orbital surveillance?"

"That sounds like a suitable solution to me," Aeyers answered. "For all we know, these people might have a legitimate claim, their reluctance to engage with us notwithstanding. Deploy your assets, get your intelligence. If this test is to go ahead, they can't be anywhere near it, we either need to talk them off a cliff or find somewhere else to conduct our tests. Anything to add, anyone?"

Sidric drained his coffee. "Most appreciated Eastwood. Otherwise, nothing else from me except a desire for another cup."

"I can't think of anything else either," thought Eastwood out loud. "Actually, I was thinking about the Vigilant. Is she due for a refit after this mission or the next? Also, I forgot that Blurforth extended his invitation to us, as command staff, to attend the service he has planned."

"Oh, yes, they know," Liz chortled. She checked for her last item. And she was going to relish this. She disappeared for a moment, and then returned with some sort of stack of something-a-rather, covered with a towel. "The Mayor asked me to check this for the Sagan Remembers' merchandise tent--"

Aeyers' blew his top, "They've got a merchandise tent?"

"Uh-uh," Liz chided, silencing the Colonel. She put her PADD on the table and in a very showy way, swiped the covering from the stack she was holding. Plates. She put them down on the table, four in number, each one showing a different member of the command staff. "You need to approve these likenesses."

"This wasn't my idea and definitely not Uzi's idea either," spoke Eastwood as he looked at his plate, "I know Uzi doesn't really think well of either of us Colonel. Yeah, I think the plate is good."

Aeyers nodded, sickened by the plate display, "Hey, can we just discuss the Vigilant--"

"No, we can't," Liz said, swooping in and collecting the Colonel's plate. The painting had his facial proportions all wrong and a wonky eye. She held it up, a cheeky grin beaming from her face. "Isn't this great!"

"Oh yes," Forsyth cooed, reaching for the plate with Eastwood's face, the painter had him posed like he was on the cover of an erotic novel. "I haven't seen a blue steel like this since the Ventaxian Breakdancing Troupe's performance on Dralax."

"How come I'm so tiny on mine," Jeff leaned forwards right up to the display. He gestured to them all incredulously. "You all take up the whole thing, the ship behind me fills half my plate. Is this an education thing? How could I put this on the shelf next to that one of the Enterprise crew with a big ghostly face of Chang above it?"

“That’s what I want to know. Liz, note the feedback, Jeff is too small. Is it because of his lack of his PhD?” Zach called. “Thoughts anyone else?”

"I think Tobias' plate is simply splendid. It brings to mind the china used in the Dean's lunchroom at the University of California, Berkeley. What do you think, Sedric? Would you agree that it's a magnificent plate?" Eastwood asked, taking another glance at the plates.

"Oh do we really need commemorative plates? I mean whose idea was this?" Sidric replied waspishly. "This is beyond even my own aggrandisement." Sidric examined the plates, "I see you did not use a current picture, but simply colour swapped the uniform." Sid took a closer look, "Did I even pose for this?"

"The painter just used their imagination," Liz answered. "I supplied them with the most flattering images and renderings I could find. A difficult task when none of you pose for photos."

"I posed for my Starfleet identification photo." Sid replied, "and at least one for Ari..." Sidric cut himself off. "I see what you mean."

"I think you look rather handsome, sir," Liz smiled, "Quite distinguished."

Sid's eyes narrowed and as he fixed the Petty Officer with a piercing gaze. "Were it so easy to win me over with flattery." Sid looked at the plate again, "perhaps add a reflective shine to mine then."

"Gloss plates all round, please," Aeyers said, taking a look at his own cock-eyed portrait, "I won't be matted, either, you tell the Mayor and his merchandising team down at Santiago Bats LLC. We need sheen if we're to be on someone's wall. Agreed, gentlemen?"

"If this is going on the mantle, it has to be sheen central," Jeff agreed. "I don't want to just eat dinner off it, I want to be able to reflect lasers with it. And I'd prefer if we were all similar heights. This has to fit with my collection of 'Enterprise A command staff awkwardly leaning to the side as if the artist caught them by surprise' plates. "

"Really?" chuckled Eastwood as he looked at Colonel Fletcher in disbelief, trying to remember what Colonel Fletcher was talking about. Wayne's grandmother had the same collection back on the farm in rural New Hampshire. "Are they all leaning to the side, or is it how you position your head as you look at these pieces?"

"No, it's the darndest thing," Jeff shook his head. "It's like the plate people all said "what's the least flattering angle we can get" and used all of them."

"It's an absolute disgrace," Aeyers agreed. "Listen, do we want to just agree to this. Tell them to make Jeff bigger, please. I can't see these selling anyway."

"Except for Mister Eastwoods," Forsyth gave the Commander a wink.

"Except for Eastwoods," Aeyers nodded.

Sid took one last look at the tawdry plates. "Very well," Sid said resignedly, "ship the darn things, at best no one buys them, at worst they get used for target practice."

Eastwood's eyes lit up. "That's an idea," he said, as he rose from his chair. "We could take a case of those fine china down to the Hastings Country Club and have ourselves a fine skeet shoot. After all, Colonel Zachary Aeyers is a life member there I hear. And I also heard he knows Dirk Hastings personally through multiple channels. I've heard Hastings is quite the character - can't even hold a golf club, much less a glass."

"Or a conversation," Aeyers remarked.

"Gentlemen, I will remind you that your half an hour meeting limit is approaching," Liz mentioned as she collected the plates. She noticed a dirty look from Forsyth and shrugged, "You asked me to do that last time, Major."

"Uh, yes, well, gentlemen, it looks like we've got plenty to do," Aeyers said. He took the last gulp of his coffee and stood, "It would seem we're back in business. Anything else we need to take care of?"

"Forgive me if this sounds like a trivial question, but I'm curious: is the Vigilant scheduled for maintenance or refitment anytime soon?" Eastwood asked the room. "Last time we were at Starbase 74, we had some trouble with the latest software updates, and I'm wondering when we'll be able to install our own software."

"I am sorry, we are absolutely flat out at the moment," Sidric replied a little too quickly. Most of the maintenance of the ships had been outsourced to the Starbase so that the dry docks could have the battle damage repaired. Although the docks had been fixed six months ago, Tobias had let arrangement with SB74 continue so that Ops could catch up on other tasks, and he was reluctant to change that. "What upgrades did you have in mind?"

"Well, a range of things," spoke Eastwood as he opened the tab to show the Vigilant's systems. "Honestly, just a minor overhaul of the ship's systems, such as shield suites, weapons suites, and, while under the hood so to speak, have a look at the Warp Drive. And probably last on the list is to look at the cloaking device. Reports have been given to me to say it has a mind of its own. I added one suggestion: it's from the current CO on the Vigilant. She was wondering if the Holodecks could be updated to the latest generation?"

Sidric blinked, the Vigilant has no Holodecks. Sid reasoned that this must be a joke of some kind. “Alright, we can probably free up some resources to run diagnostics, clean the plasma filters, and hang an air freshener.”

"I believe they could handle this upcoming assignment. Then when they return, we'll put her in for the overhaul. I just want a firm agreement, that's all," spoke Eastwood, looking directly at Sidric.

Sid, unwilling to have his department boxed into a specific arrangement, returned the gaze with an intensity learned from years of business negotiations. "I can give you a firm maybe, that is all. I will add the Vigilant to the maintenance roster, but it will be superseded in the event of something more urgent."

'Well, that's firm enough,' thought Eastwood as he stood up from his chair and addressed his Commanders. "I can be satisfied with that decision." Looking at all of them, he smiled and asked, "Permission, sir, to leave this meeting? I need to go and fetch the dress uniform for this upcoming Sagan Remembers event. It has been quite a circus, to say the least. Despite rejecting Blurforth's request to include the NX-01 reenactment group, I made it clear that this is strictly a Starfleet Ceremony and should remain focused on this century. I have a feeling the man relishes the sound of his own voice. So, will I see all of you there?"

"You'll see us there, Commander" Aeyers replied, standing from the conference table so he could take the twenty step commute back to his desk. "Alright, gents, go out in the world and make a difference. I look forward to hearing of your progress in the matters we've discussed today. And it seems we're all looking forward to each other's company tomorrow. If there's nothing else, you're dismissed."

"Certainly, Colonel," Eastwood replied, swiftly acknowledging his superior's command before making his exit from the room.

"Have a good one, Eastwood. Jeff, Sid, good luck with that officer shortlisting. I'll have to throw you both out, I've got a call with Admiral Lake momentarily. I'm sure we'll have a hoot discussing what's up next."

"Oh, you don't have to kick me out for that," Jeff got to his feet and adjusted his uniform. "A meeting with the Admiral; I'm already leaving. I know it's short notice, Sid, but that list could take a while and we better try to see these candidates as soon as possible."

"Indeed," Sid stood up and pocketed his PADD. Sid nodded to his fellow officers and followed Jeff out.

OFF

 

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