by Commander Briggs and LT. Grace
81205.15
Concurrent with The Only Logical Choice
-=Bridge, USS Serendipity=-
81205.15
Concurrent with The Only Logical Choice
-=Bridge, USS Serendipity=-
"The Polaris is ready to detach from the saucer section, Commander." February reported from the helm. She had been relieved to move back to more comfortable ground after another available body had been found to man the scanners.
Paxton stood up from the center seat and approached the helm to stand next to Bru who had become, just as she had predicted, his new best friend.
"OK. Take us out of warp and put them on screen, Lieutenant."
"External viewing sensors are still offline sir." She quickly reported.
Pax sighed. "Audio then."
"Helm now reports we are at one quarter impulse, the Polaris is waiting."
In just the short time he had gotten to work with the Trill, Paxton had been impressed with her professionalism and skill to multitask. All while wearing pink.
"Commander Salvek, you are clear to detach from the saucer section."
There was a muffled thump from deep within the ship as the coupler arms released their hold on the USS Polaris.
[We are free and clear of the moorings.] Replied Commander Salvek who was seated at the controls of the aerowing.
[We will be continuing pursuit in 14.5 seconds. At maximum Warp we should overtake our foe in 2.3 hours.]
Paxton nodded to no one in particular. "Understood, Commander. We'll catch you as soon as the hull breaches are repaired. Long range sensors show that Taris has not changed direction and has not repaired her cloak."
[Understood.]
"Good hunting, Commander. Serendipity out." The channel closed.
"Go get her back." Bru said quietly.
Paxton heard her and placed his hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle squeeze before turning back to walk to the engineering station.
"Get your boys out there and get those holes hemmed shut. We have a fight to catch up to." He barked at the Lieutenant JG manning the station.
"Aye sir."
Paxton looked at the burnt and blackened tactical station. "Were are we with the tactical systems?" He asked.
"Sir, our best engineers are not on board, the next most experienced are suited up and heading out the airlock to work on the hull breaches." The man shrugged apologetically. "We have people working on them but not as many as we would like."
Paxton nodded as he rolled up his sleeves. "OK then. Well, you have one more pair of hands." He turned and walked towards the turbolift.
He turned as he entered. "I'll be in engineering." He announced. "Lt. Grace you have the bridge."
The lift doors closed.
February's astonishingly blue, round, child-like eyes enlarged instantaneously to the point of absolute caricature. She exchanged a momentarily panicked glance with Sue Tenney, who physically bit her lip to stop herself from screaming in shock and protest at Briggs' words.
February, however, could do nothing to prevent her own reaction from becoming audible.
"Yeah...um...what?" She blinked several times in quick succession.
"Duuuuude." She raised a hand in a delayed-reaction gesture toward Briggs former position, leaving her looking, rather brilliantly she realized, as though she was trying to have an intense and important conversation with the closed lift doors. "Great. I've lived six freaking lives, before this one, but never sat in that chair."
She winced, watching as nervousness risked turning to absolute incapacity in the rest of the inexperienced people around her. Those currently on the bridge of necessity were usually warming the bench while the first, second, and third string players did the heavy lifting of running the ship and they paid their dues as the lowest life forms in the chain of command.
Many days, that structure and their place in it felt more like the food chain in the wild than an organizational hierarchy- but that mattered little.
Either way they'd end up having someone else eat their lunch for them before the day was out, if they were lucky. If they were unlucky, they would be lunch.
All Grace could hope was that Briggs would return quickly- and she could wade back into less paralyzingly frightening waters.
"Orders, Lieutenant Grace?" Tenney finally managed to speak.
"Um..." February remained at the helm, seeing how she was still supposed to be in the drivers seat...and marveled in silence at the fact that she was actually in the driver's seat now.
"Lieutenant Grace?" Lt. JG Dwan Tubman, who had returned from making rounds with Security and was now monitoring the ship's tactical status as best he could as he shared a working set of monitors with Ensign Sutton from Science, glanced at the slight young woman sympathetically.
"She has no idea what the hell she's doing." Another voice grumbled. It was the voice of Eliot Talbot, Operations officer. It was a lot louder than he intended as he rushed around from station to station, PADD in hand, taking notes of the crew's constantly changing supply requests and attempting to fill them as best he could.
February clearly heard him, and her cheeks reddened. Her hands balled into fists as they rested upon the helm, then slid slowly down it and she grasped the sides of the console in an attempt to center herself. She closed her eyes for a second, and as she did she heard the sound of heavy, booted footsteps crossing the deck and approaching. She opened her eyes again as Tubman addressed her.
"Please allow me to handle this, Ma'am." Tubman rumbled softly, and then he lumbered over to Talbot.
Bru pressed her lips together, eyes still hugely out of proportion to the rest of her features, and nodded. Then she closed her eyes and waited for the yelling to begin.
"You are aware, Sir, " he said respectfully, acknowledging that Talbot did technically equal him in rank, even though he was a good decade younger than Tubman, "That Lieutenant Senior Grade Grace is currently in command of this ship."
Talbot's beady orbs barely shifted upward to acknowledge the question. "How could I not be."
Tubman's expression did not alter, neither did his voice as he spoke again. His posture shifted only slightly, and the sheer size of the man caused his body to cast a shadow rivaling a complete solar eclipse over Talbot, and the workstation he was standing by.
Tubman nodded toward Grace."The Lieutenant has my full support. I would appreciate it if you would show her the same respect." He knew that she was taking a risk to be here to help the crew, and he was going to be sure that Talbot respected that as much as Commander Briggs obviously did. "Be nice." he added in a menacing whisper that only Talbot could hear.
Dwan approached the helm and tilted his head toward Bru as she finally opened her eyes again one first then the other. She stared directly up, and up, and up at him, and then hiccuped.
Making no mention of Talbot, Tubman addressed Grace's obvious physical condition. "Is your medication wearin' off, Sir?"
"D...wan," February whispered softly, needing a friend more than anything else at the moment as her speech was interrupted by yet another hiccup. "Last time we talked, you promised to call me February."
"Last time we talked, you weren't commandin' the ship, Sir."
She smiled gently, grateful that she had back-up. "No, that's..." she hiccuped again and sighed. "True. Yes, it wore off and I left the hypo on the coffee table in my quarters. It may have rolled under the couch in all the commotion, I hope the cat didn't make off with it." She frowned, hating to put him to any trouble. "If it's not... too much...to ask," she grimaced apologetically as her sentence was interrupted by three more pregnancy-induced hiccups.
"Back in two minutes, Sir. You just sit tight."
"Thank you." She watched as he walked away, and then glanced around the bridge at everyone there. At seats occupied by people who were virtually strangers to her, compared to those who usually manned them. Those that Bru considered her family.
She stared intently at the familiar lights of the helm as she fought to hide her hiccup fit, and suddenly, she heard a voice, crystal clear as day echoing in her head.
*You're the driver, love.*
Deveral!
She realized that Deveral Grace had possessed the confidence, no, correction, the unbelievably inflated ego and over-developed sense of self-importance that, if she could channel it, might just get her through until Briggs got back.
*If he could sing in a packed arena every night while half crazy and fully intoxicated and never forget a lyric, I can handle giving orders to a few upstart junior officers.*
"Engineering, I want continuous updates on the status of our weapons systems. If they manage to reroute as much as one single watt of power to a phaser array, I want to be aware of it. Communications, keep an open comm line with the exterior repair crews and if they need so much as a wing nut, see that they get it. Also, contact Sickbay and get me an update on Zander's condition. Science...just keep...you know..." her confidence stalled momentarily and she gestured emphatically with hands stretched out into the air. "...scanning stuff! Everyone has work to do, so do it!"
A moment of near silence followed- a stillness breached only by the sound of a single hiccup as she tried desperately to stifle it.
Talbot snickered loudly.
February thought about Tubman, and wished she could ask him to just duct tape Talbot's mouth shut for awhile.
*TC, I miss you.* Bru sighed, glancing back at the Ops station. She thought about Deveral again and squared her shoulders. "Mister Talbot. A moment of your time, please?"
Talbot sighed with exaggeration and swaggered over. "Yes...Sir?" he spun the last word and she had to fight the uncharacteristic urge to smack the smirk off his face.
*No wonder Zanh Liis has such a short temper...* Bru thought, *Give these people an inch and they take a light year.*
She glared at him as sternly as she could, though admittedly February knew she could only ever look at intimidating as a fawn in the forest on a summer morning. Still, she tried. "One more sigh, groan, laugh, or other outburst," She informed him, "And you'll be watching from the bleachers. Got it?"
He blinked in surprise at her audacity and then narrowed his eyes. "Might I remind you, Sir, that you are only in command because you currently outrank everyone else here...just barely."
Bru had, by this point, had more than enough. "Might I remind you, Mister Talbot, that doesn't change the fact that Briggs handed me the reigns?"
She thought about the day, months ago, when Keiran O'Sullivan had scared her senseless with a surprise 'attack' in a training exercise meant to teach her that she had not only the skills to protect herself and fight for the crew, but the strength and determination to use them.
She also remembered that the scenario that he'd used to bring the fight out of her was one where Lair Arie appeared to be in danger of being abducted.
How she wished this was only another drill.
"I mean it, Talbot," she insisted, lowering her voice. "One more peep and you're going to be taking the rest of this trip confined to quarters. Understood?" She became aware that Talbot was staring over her shoulder and startled as she realized that the swift and stealth Tubman had already returned and was brandishing her hypo.
"Is there a problem, Ms. February?" He asked, as calmly and helpful as following seas.
"Is there, Talbot?" Bru asked.
"No, Sir." Talbot seemed to shrink before her very eyes.
"Good. Back to work then."
She and Dwan watched as Talbot slunk back to his station, and she couldn't help but smile at the security officer as she accepted the hypo from him and rammed it into her leg. She thought about the story she'd have to tell Dabin, once he finally came home.
"Anything else you need, Ms. February?"
"Nope, I'm good. Thanks Dwan." He turned to go, and she held up a finger to give him pause. "On second thought," she shot one last glance at Talbot before renewing her determination to pretend that he just wasn't there. "I might need a roll of duct tape before the day is out. So stand by on that for me." Bru added softly, while securing her station.
Ship was at all stop, repairs were underway, she was doing all she could just holding the line; and keeping the peanut gallery in line.
"Standin' by, Ma'am." Tubman nodded serenely in a way that both reassured and inspired Bru. If he had confidence in her, she should have it too. "Standin' by."
------------------------------
Commander Paxton Briggs
Second Officer, Border Station Indigo
Currently aboard the USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
LT. SG February Grace
The Driver
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
NRPG: I love surprises like this.
Never saw it coming in a million years
- left to mind the store and still in her pink jammies *ROFL*
Thanks, Pax. You're a gem ~ZL
Commander Paxton Briggs
Second Officer, Border Station Indigo
Currently aboard the USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
LT. SG February Grace
The Driver
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
NRPG: I love surprises like this.
Never saw it coming in a million years
- left to mind the store and still in her pink jammies *ROFL*
Thanks, Pax. You're a gem ~ZL