NOVELLA: USS MCINNIS: Various ("odd jobs")

From: Joy Phillips (jkphillips82_at_googlemail.com)
Date: Mon Jan 21 2008 - 08:36:45 PST


"Odd jobs"

(Cont'd from "The glade")



Location: USS MCINNIS

Scene: Gorman quarters

Stardate: 2.70121.1642



Katlina Gorman said goodbye to her kids. The MCINNIS was a lovely ship,
she'd seen the vessel and known it was right for them, it was armed to the
teeth and had the most up to date technology Starfleet had available
installed. What the MCINNIS wasn't sadly was large.



15 decks didn't hold a lot of space for the kind of quarters a family of
five needed. Still Mendav had worked wonders and managed to squeeze in some
extra space, it'd be tight but they had enough beds for everyone and that
was the main thing.



El'hron was sitting excitedly on the window seat staring out at the stars.
"When do we move mummy?" she asked turning slightly as her mum.



Kat looked up from where she was fixing the final lock to a trunk. "In a few
days." She answered stepping across the space to her daughter, "but when we
do you won't see the stars."



"Why? Where do they go?"



"Well they don't." Commander Gorman blinked feeling suddenly out of her
depth, she sat on the seat next to her four year old child. "They don't go
anywhere, we enter something called warp drive, and we go too fast to see
them."



"Why?" Ely asked.



Kat opened her mouth to answer when her door chimed. "Come in!"



Safaree looked around a box. "Where do you want this?"



"Oooh it's mine." Suddenly distracted El'hron dropped from the seat and ran
to the Strategic operations officer, "in my room, here."



Obligingly Saffy carried the box into the little girls room and then stepped
out. "She seems excited."



"I think she thinks since we're on a ship she won't have to go to school."
Kat answered the young woman and indicated a seat. Kat sat on the setee and
watched as Safaree did likewise.



"How are you settling in?" She asked calmly.



"Oh fine." Saffy smiled at the question, "my quarters are fine, and Eilean
seems nice, although a bit distracted."



"She's got a lot to do." Kat answered calmly.



"Yes, I provided some tactical situations to add to the drills you had them
running, and we discussed the chances of separating the ship."



"And?" Kat asked.



"Well as the ships designed as one of the few to be able to fight both as
the saucer and the star drive sections we figured it would end up being a
tactic sooner rather than later."



"It will split fire power at the least." Katlina said quietly.



"Right, we're going to run some drills before we leave dock, make sure
everyone knows where they should be if the sections ever separated."



"Excellent." The commander waited watching Safaree who eventually spoke up
again.



"And Lieutenant Peri says that if Lieutenant Serafini would shut up and
leave us alone we might get more done."



Kat covered her mouth to hide a smile. "Those were her exact words?"



"No her exact words were to tell you something but it deteriorated into
swearing." The young woman answered honestly.



"What's he been doing?"



"Demanding that we start weapons calibration and testing."



"Are you busy at the moment Ensign Orla?"



"No ma'am, good could you look after the kids for ten minutes for me?"



Safaree raised a blond eyebrow her mouth opening slightly. "you want me to
babysit?"



"Just while I sort this out, I won't be long."



After a second the younger woman nodded her agreement while Kat called to
El'hron and the twins to behave while she was out.



=[/\]=



Scene: Main Engineering



Kat entered the engineering department with some trepidation, it had been so
long since she'd been down into starships core that it felt almost like
being on an away mission.



"Commander."



Kat smiled, realising that Luke had one eye on the door she had to look up
to keep eye contact but she did "Dr. Serafini." She greeted



He grinned at her. "What brings you down here Kat?"



"Apparently you've been harassing my security department." She answered him
as he ushered her towards his office.



"Really we should be doing a proper weapons and security systems check,
drills are all well and good, but until we see the real thing and check the
calibration…"



Kat held her hand up and he drifted into silence. "I understand." She
answered, "but at the moment we just don't have the time to test the
weapons, especially not when we're at dock, which is why I'm here."



When she was sure he wasn't going to argue the older woman carried on, "I
want you to go on the base and acquire everything you're going to need for
on the move weapons recalibrations, anything we can't test or fix at base
you're going to have to do once we're moving."



Luke smiled a little. "And if someone tries to stop me appropriating these
items?"



"Send them to me." Kat answered easily.



"Not commander Bonviva?"



"If you want them to quit or cry send them to Xana, if you just want them to
let you have the stuff send them to me."



Luke seemed to agree to this. "Should I assume then we're leaving on a
shakedown cruise soon."



"Sooner than we'll be ready for." She admitted.



Luke went to say something and then froze and turned around opening his
office door and yelling "Klepp, you better not have just aborted that scan."




The engineer turned looking panicked and hit a button the computer suddenly
intoned. [[Warp core ejection in 10 minutes.]]



Lieutenant Serafini smacked his hand to his head missing Kat trying not to
laugh. "I'll leave you to it." She offered.



Luke grunted and left the office before her to fix whatever it was Klepp had
broken.



=[/\]=



Scene: The Glade



Already word had spread around the USS MCINNIS that the glade was open for
business, that it was based on a pub in Bajor was lost on many but not all
of the crew, for most though they'd come for a drink after a hard day at
work.



Tomas was in the centre stood behind the wooden bar he was shaking a drink
when the XO walked in. A brief hush alerted him that a new comer had arrived
and he glanced up in time to see Kat's reaction.



Kat paused barely in the doorway, some part of her soul called to trees. Her
happiest memories almost all revolved around a forest on EARTH, her relaxing
holodeck time tried to recreate those memories. None had ever managed to the
extent of this place.



The small woman breathed out a breath she hadn't realised had caught, and
briefly touched one of the tree trunks feeling the bark beneath her fingers.
She shook her head and stealed herself moving forwards.



"Tomas."



The Borg moved to fulfil an order before turning to the Starfleet officer.
"Kat." He spoke and offered her a smile.



She paused considering the man in front of her, now apparently fully Borg
Xana had tried to explain how he was now fully a machine, Kat missed a beat
as she wondered if the smile was real, if he remembered the emotion that
went with that smile, if he could feel it again.



She suppressed a shudder as he asked. "What can I get you?"



"Just a cola," she watched as he poured a drink and smiled. "This place is
beautiful." She offered him the compliment and he took it with a brief smile
as he handed over the glass.



"Thank you, I hope we'll see you down here."



Kat nodded her agreement. "I hope I'll get to come down here," she paused
and looked around her, "how will this place hold up if we need to evacuate
the civilians?"



Tomas chuckled. "I've made no changes to the structure, and of course once
the holographic emitters are closed down then other than some seating the
bar and the kitchen this area is mostly an open space."



"And your area?"



"Suits my needs but is small enough it takes no space from the protective
area." He answered without missing a beat. After a moment it became apparent
to Tomas he was waiting for a question that wasn't going to come.



Kat seemed satisfied that what he'd done wasn't at the detriment to the
safety of the crew or civilians. She cast a trained eye around the area and
then looked at Tomas. "I'll be by the waterfall if anyone comes looking for
me."



Tomas leaned down and handed the XO a booklet that on closer inspection was
in fact the menu. "If you decide to dine with us just call a waiter across
to your table."



She nodded and picked up the menu and the coke. "Thank you." She offered and
walked swiftly away to a table out of the way she sat down, and leaned back
in the chair closing her eyes.



**



NRPG: Just something brief.



Rahul: If you don't mind I'll keep sending you my posts so you can see what
the kids are up to.



Joy Phillips



The madness behind



Commander Katlina Potter-Gorman

XO

USS MCINNIS (Novella unit)



And



Ensign Izshlana Vort

aSec/Tac

USS STONEHENGE


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