Posted by Commander Daniel “DaVinci” Colter (Executive Officer) in War Room: Pre-Sim Department Heads First Meeting

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Brenna Neenna Atoded (Chief of Security) in War Room: Pre-Sim Department Heads First Meeting

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Richard Marsh (Chief Tactical Officer) in War Room: Pre-Sim Department Heads First Meeting
Posted by… suppressed (4) by the Post Ghost! 👻

OOC: Hi Team. While we are doing check-ins and running through the process of everyone coming aboard and getting settled I decided to run this thread as a simple way to establish pre-sim, that the characters have met in some fashion. This is intended to take place after everyone’s check-ins are complete and before our current main sim distress call is received. The exact timing, I’m not fussed on but this will serve to meet the Captain and XO if you haven’t already and chat to your fellow Senior Officers.

Remember this post is available as a rough guide for anyone that may have questions about their characters uniform colour or place, or if they have an office etc: https://www.star-fleet.com/core/stf5/saracen/notes/7665/ and as always, I am free to chat to via email or discord if you want to touch base.

IC: Dante stood at the window in the Saracen’s War Room that looked out over the saucer of the ship and away into the space beyond. Located on Deck One off of the Bridge, it was a handy location for quick briefings, mission planning and more in depth Tactical and Strategic overviews of their area of operations.

Today, the large table in the center was operating as just that, a table. Often, the surface displayed a big digital overlay of the Fleets operational area or the Saracen’s mission zone, with real time information about ships and anomalies displayed on it. The wall display, used for communication or other mission specific functions, was instead showing a relaxing backdrop of a Risian beach. This image matched the plates, bowls and bottles on the table. Ten Forward had put together a selection of finger foods and other refreshments, as the small replicator in the room was more suited to producing drinks.

The reason, was the Saracen had recently undergone a crew rotation. Unlike most, this one had brought him an almost all-new Senior Officer Roster. A new Chief of Security, Chief Engineer, Diplomatic Officer/Counselor, Chief of Operations and Chief Tactical Officer. Each one he was going to need to spend some time with, if he hadn’t already in the short time they had been aboard, but this would let them all come together as his Senior Officers.

Turning his head slightly he looked at Bruce curled up on the pet bed in the far corner. The big monitor lizard normally didn’t come to these meetings, but today Dante had decided that the new staff that hadn’t already, needed to meet him. “Here, best behavior, alright?” Dante said and tossed a piece of smoked bacon in the big lizard direction. Bruce’s beady black eyes snapped open instantly from a deep sleep and his head came up in one smooth motion, catching the delicacy and quickly eating it as if Oscar was going to appear and steal it from him, again.

Turning back to the window, Dante sipped the hot coffee from the Saracen Limited Edition coffee mug that he held in his hand, and wondered if he needed to schedule one of the HR events as a team building exercise for his new Officers. He would soon find out, as the time for them to arrive was near.

Captain Knight, CO

Teller walked in like he had come into the war room a million times… which he hadn’t. He looked about, first one here, that was odd for him. “Maybe I should leave and come back in five minutes, Sir.” He made no effort to leave beyond a thumb gesture to the door. He found a chair mid-way on the table and sat down. He placed a pair of PaDDs in front of him and start working on some side project.

Graham

Dante snorted lightly and grinned. “Good morning, Mr Graham,” Dante nodded to him and slowly began to walk in his direction from the window where he had been standing, picking up a few slices of bacon on the way and sipping the coffee. “Help yourself to some breakfast or a drink if you like. I’m looking to keep this more of a casual briefing with the recent crew rotation.” As he began to walk past Teller, he craned his neck to see if he could catch what the Chief Science Officer was working on, and if it involved plans to remove any bulkheads and flood a deck or two. Pausing, he alternated looking out the long window and trying to catch a glimpse of the PaDD.

One PaDD seemed to have a plan for a power reclaimer and the second was a generator, on the generator side there was an overlay of the reclaimer and Graham seemed to be trying to get one device to do both functions with changing the size… a daunting task. He seemed to be doing a lot of copying of systems as opposed to designing his own. Teller for his part glanced at the food. He normally tried not to eat at meetings, but since it was offered.... After a pause he stood up and reached for a plate.

Natasha walked into the room and stopped at the door looking at Dante drinking his coffee and staring out the window. She was still rather salty over events recently that had occurred in room 2187. Glancing around the room she debated about taking a lap and coming back in a few minutes. Of the three men in the room two-thirds of them were in the dog house with her. Unfortunately, she was not in a position to a be anything but a Lieutenant Commander. Still, there were ways to be subtle and get her point across. “Is that the Saracen Limited Edition coffee mug,” she asked looking at the mug that she knew had come from their quarters he often used. Grimacing slightly she looked at the Captain with a questioning expression.

“Absolutely, Commander Knight,” Dante replied, lifting the cup so that it was in full view of her. The shiny U.S.S. Saracen logo and caption clearly displayed for her to see.

“Is there anything wrong with the cup Captain Knight,” she responded to his comment with a rhetorical question. Wobbling her head back and forth she finally responded with, “I don’t think so but.” Natasha didn’t end the sentence with anything else. It would do Dante good to think about things.

Narrowing his eyes, the Captain slowly took a long, long sip from the mug as if daring her to have done something to it. “My cup is just fine, Doctor,” he answered in a flat monotone. She might have done something, probably hadn’t. Might have. He wasn’t going to show any fear however, as the voice of an age old biologist ran through his mind as if sitting on his shoulder. There are four million different kinds of animals and plants on Earth. That’s four million solutions to the problem of staying alive.

Bruce chewed the bit of bacon slowly and methodically as he watched his mom enter the room. Oh man dad we are on day two and she is still so mad at you. Flicking his tongue out to lick his lips as best as he could, Bruce stretched the length of his body out watching his mom move across the room and take a seat as far away from his dad as possible. If I were you I would definitely make her about two pounds of bacon and get her a new ball before you come home from work. That way we can all snack and play toss while you figure out how to turn the Siberian Yeti back into Mom again. Looking directly at Dante he blinked his eyes before settling the black orbs on his father. Because you did this. It is your fault she is so mad. It’s not like I did anything wrong, he gave Dante a tongue flick before turning twice and settling back into his bed.

“Good morning, Graham. How are you today,” she said in a distinctly opposite and perky tone making her way next to the science chief to sit instead of the chair next to Dante she normally occupied. Relaxing back in her seat she took a sip of the coffee in the enormous travel mug she brought.

Natasha Knight CMO

“What’s shaking, doc?” He asked in a friendlier manner than he felt. Graham generally was uncomfortable in meetings and it usually showed.

Sheleah often enjoyed these meet and greets but Rex did not enjoy new quarters so he had been incredibly clingy for the last few hours. Unfortunately this meant that even though she was freshly showered and dressed, she couldn’t get out the door without a few new scratches.

Entering the war room, she looked around and focused on Bruce. She had heard a few stories but had only seen pictures of such lizards, not this beautiful specimen.

“Wow! I’m not late.” she said picking up a plate.

• Sheleah, CNS/DO

“Nope you are right on time,” Natasha said moving the chair next to her aside and nodding at it. She and Sheleah had hit it off. She liked the woman and it was nice to see her again. “Oh and that,” she let out a laugh gesturing to Bruce, “is the ten foot lizard sharing my bed I told you about.”

Lifting his head he looked at Natasha and the woman she was talking to. Hearing her laugh, Bruce let out a deep contented sigh. Whoever this person was, she seemed to be making his mom more mom-like and less psychotic Siberian Yeti. Maybe it was time to switch sides. Things were always better when momma was happy. Picking up the ball in his bed, Bruce bit it slowly letting out a long honking sound. Catching the side glance from his mom, he thumped his tail several times happily as she rolled her eyes. The sound made his dad crazy at times. Especially when he was in the middle of watching a playoff game or when he was trying to get Oscar to sleep.

Standing up slightly she looked at Bruce and put a finger to her lips. She really didn’t care if he made the sound now or not. What she wanted to do was make a point about the table. Sitting back down she looked at Ruby. “So I have this friend named Kelly Bordeaux. It is crazy but she has a round conference table. At first I thought it was crazy but I really like it. I mean there are no corners. No head. Made it easier to talk to everyone without having to crane your neck. Orthopedically it is a good design.”

Natasha Knight CMO

Pausing in drinking his coffee, Dante raised an eyebrow in Natasha’s direction. She had moved onto the table now? Now it was getting personal. Dante was able to and had, weathered many storms, but Cyclone Natasha was one that had yet to reach it’s peak.

Sheleah sat down and gave Bruce another look before leaning in to Natasha.

“Well I’m just glad it’s not Krull the Warrior King.” she said with a wink and a giggle before straightening up, “You know, command staff is always going to be command staff but, I do find that a round table facilitates ease of conversation and gives everybody a sense of equality. That can be really important in stressful times. Besides, who wouldn’t want a round table if you’re a Knight?” she asked glancing from the Captain to the CMO.

Being so focused on Nat for that instant, Dante thought he had heard what Sheleah had said, but did a small double take. She couldn’t have said what he thought she said. It just wasn’t possible. Aside from that, he suddenly realized that Nat was going to try and get allies behind her about the round vs rectangle debate. Clearly, she thought this was a democracy. “Good morning, Counselor,” he greeted her with a smile. “And the answer is me. Rectangle is the way to go,” he stepped forward now and ran his hand lovingly over the dark wooden mahogany of the frame of the heavy table. “There is something about a good solid rectangular wooden table. It’s a classic design, respected. Timeless. Plus, you don’t have to stand up to reach over and pass something to the person opposite you. Super functional.” He looked straight at Natasha now, his fingers still caressing the knots and polished curves of the mahogany that framed the visual display built into the tabletop.

“True but isn’t it far more functional to see everyone without having to lean forward?” While the topic might seem banal or useless to most, the choice, on some level spoke to ones psychological outlook. Were they all about getting a job done or liked to appreciate the beauty of things? Natasha had felt a small chuckle realizing if they started to edge into the form versus function debate she might need more X’s than Y’s around the table. While most men always leaned towards function versus form, it was a personality type. Some people just like things that worked over what was pretty. This was just a fact of nature and the basis of so many comedy skits where one person asks another to fix something and is greeted with a Frankenstein monstrosity where someone proudly says ‘fixed it’.

“One for the rectangle. That is two for a round table. Teller,” Natasha called out the science chief, “what is your vote. Round or rectangle.” She had known the science chief for years. Teller Graham was a solid guy and brilliant officer. He looked at everything from all angles and she trusted his calls. While she and Teller didn’t hang out socially a lot, it wasn’t like she had never chatted with him during their time on the ship. The man had a sense of humor when he let it out and could be hilarious, at least to her, in the right setting.

Natasha Knight CMO

“Yes, Mr Graham, what do you think? Dark wooden mahogany in a fabulous rectangular shape, or Ferengi ply with a laminated fake wood top in a circle supplied by IFEA, with little plastic castor wheels on the feet and no screws in the box? I hear Captain Bordeaux had to wait a week for the Chief Engineer to figure out how to put it together.” Dante’s tone was light and conversational, and when he finished speaking he took a small sip of coffee once more.

Teller looked up from his PaDDs scanned the room quickly. “Cosmetically a rectangle fits the room better. While mathematically round seems to give more area and is visually soothing, most of that increase in area is unusable because the middle is unreachable so even mathematically the space is better used by rectangles.” He turned an opinion into a mathematical fact. He blinked innocently at the rest of the officers.

“To be fair the directions are proprietary and were in Ferengi. Oh and it also came with wheels.” Taking a sip of her coffee, Natasha thought about it. “Okay regardless of the shape I am a firm nay on putting it on wheels,” she laughed.

The doors opened again to allow the new CoS to enter. Her gold uniform was immaculate and her blonde hair was pulled back in a French rope braid. Her black eyes swept the room and she headed over toward the table. She was followed by three large Earth Siberian Huskies - the largest a black and white, the smallest a grey and white, and the third a red and white. They were roughly 3 years old and all from the same litter. They padded quietly across the room, noses twitching and eyes looking, but they didn’t wander off. Bruce seemed to draw curiosity from the dogs but they didn’t approach him. “Good morning Captain,” Brenna greeted as she passed him on the way towards the table.

“Good morning Commander Atoded!” Dante replied cheerfully. “Welcome to the War Room, take a seat at my table, and help yourself to something. Nice dogs.” He indicated the three and smiled. Bruce, on the other hand raised his head and his beady black eyes tracked the three from the moment they walked in the door, his tongue flicking out testing the air to get their scent. Oh ho ho he thought to himself. What are those things, they look like Kalani’s furry snack thing but bigger and their ears are smaller. Without looking at him, Dante tossed a piece of bacon in Bruce’s direction which the big lizard caught without taking his eyes off the three dogs.

It was quite obvious to Brenna from the tension in the room that something was going on. Especially the stress the captain put on the word ‘table.’ This was going to be interesting. “Thank you captain.” She looked at the dogs, “They won’t be a problem. I thought this would be a good time for them to identify and learn to recognize the senior staff. Just in case.”

Brenna took a seat at the very end of the table on the other side of Dr. Knight, putting her at a corner with no one else on the other side. This way she could see the whole table, but had a clear sight of the dogs as well. They were highly trained and disciplined, but she was still responsible for them. With a look she sent the dogs to sit against the wall out of the way where they could watch and become familiar with the senior staff. Brenna filled her place with a small selection. She turned to those sitting near her with a friendly smile. The whole purpose was to get to know one another, and Brenna saw no reason to be shy about it. “Good morning,” she greeted Knight and Graham and Sheleah offering her hand in turn. “Brenna Atoded, new CoS.” Though they probably already knew that. Had to start somewhere.

Atoded, CoS

“Nice to meet you Brenna,” Natasha said. “We just might need you to break up a verbal riot. Tell me what are your preferences pro and con about round vs. rectangle tables?”

“Round vs Rectangular tables?” She’d heard right, but got the feeling there was more going on, and of course the dogs confirmed it because they could smell the hormones given off in the air even if they didn’t understand it, but before she could answer the door opened again and the dogs perked right up, and their excitement was palatable to Brenna and she knew immediately who was coming through the door.

Richard entered the war room wearing his new uniform and was still getting used to the gold coloration as opposed to the command red that he donned as the Executive Officer of the now decommissioned U. S.S. Constellation. He was clean, well shaven, and fit. His blue eyes scanned the room to get his first look of the leadership team that he would be working with and then laid his eyes on Brenna for a simple moment. Richard definitely missed her, but after the events that he had been through in the past six weeks it would seem like something was off with him. He pivoted off of his back right heel and took an open seat at the opposite side of the table quietly. Per the usual pre-meeting ritual, he read over his PADD while waiting for the event to start.

• Marsh, CTO

“Well I suppose it depends on what it’s for. Round tables are wonderful for game nights, but not always building puzzles as the corners hang off and the pieces disappear. For comradery amongst friends for dinner they are wonderful, you can see most everyone, except those immediately next to you, without straining. However if you have a lot of people, the table ends up being so big you can reach across to pass the rolls as it were. You also loose the space of the corners to place all the extra food and drink. Easily fixed with a sideboard though. But there is something to be said for a well made rectangular table. In a situation like this it is quite useful. It clearly and easily allows a reminder of each of our places in the hierarchy of the ship. And despite flowery words and descriptions, we are a hierarchal organization. When dealing with potential allies or enemies, a rectangular table is a useful power tool. Where you invite a person to sit says so much. In a more personal setting I can reach more people at arms length than at a round table, and they are more space efficient. Can you imagine how little room there would be in here to move around if the table was round rather than rectangular? Hmmm, I guess I like rectangular tables.” Brenna shrugged with a laugh, “But luckily it’s not my decision.”

Sheleah was glad she didn’t bring Rex after all. Too many new people and now, too many new creatures. She wanted to introduce him to the ship a few people at a time. As she waited for the formalities to begin she couldn’t help but notice Richard. It would be something to delve into later.

• Sheleah, CNS/DO

“Commander Marsh, welcome!” Dante smiled as he walked to the Replicator to get a refill on his coffee. “Take a seat, grab a bite. I understand you and Commander Atoded know each other? Fancy that! It’s a small Galaxy!” While Dante smiled, he noted his Chief Tactical Officers choice of the yellow tunic of Operations instead of the Red of Command. Clearly the man had been busy and not seen the note that the Saracen’s CTO position was a Command position reporting directly to him, and he could wear the Red tunic as a result. It didn’t worry Dante to be honest, if the mans favourite colour was yellow, so be it. Dante could work with it, he was flexible.

Captain Knight, CO

Richard nodded his head once in acknowledgment to his new Captain, “Happy to be here Captain and you are right as rain. Commander Atoded and I go back quite some time.” He turned his head to face Brenna, made direct eye contact with her with his powerful blue gaze, and projected his thoughts to her assuming she was listening to him, What did you tell him about us?. A slight smile came across his lips, “I am truly happy to serve with you once again Commander Atoded. We will continue to make a glorious tandem.” He clasped his hands on the table and his expression relaxed.

• Marsh, CTO

Brenna shrugged but didn’t say anything to his thoughts other than a smirk. “If our luck doesn’t run out, Cmdr Marsh.”

Atoded, CoS

The doors slid open again and Cmdr. DaVinci Colter entered the war room. As large as the man was, he moved with grace and fluidity that seemed remarkable for the gladiator sized XO/CIO.

“Sorry I’m late, skipper. Having two people in the same quarters takes longer to clean.”

“Colter,” Nat yelled out almost as if she were trying to lay claims to him as if this were some child hood game of kick ball. Before Hannah, Colter would have fallen into the function grouping but now that he had a live-in…well that changed things. Much like Dante, he probably nodded at times and blindly agreed when Hannah asked do you like this simply because his main focus was making the woman he loved happy. Men were easy and simple like that. Once they loved something, they tended to always want that person to know they were the only thing that mattered. This posed a problem for Nat though. Where did Hannah’s decorating tastes lie? “Round or rectangle tables. What is the best for seeing everyone and creating a sense of equity?”

Moving to take a seat at the table, he noticed the empty seat next to Dante, normally occupied by Dr. Knight. Looking at the people gathered about the table, he saw Natasha on the opposite side, as far away from Dante as possible. He gave a slight shiver and added “Someone been messing with the environmental controls in here again? This room seems to be chillier at least once a month or so.”

“Don’t dodge the question. Put on a sweater if you need to,” Natasha shot back trying not to laugh. Whether it was his keen eye for intelligence and learning people or the plain fact he had known half the people around this table for years, the man was deflty and expertly trying to dodge the question.

Moving to his normal seat on the other side of the captain, DaVinci passed Bruce lying in the corner, the XO looked down and stated, “It’s a good thing you’re cold-blooded, big boy, you probably don’t feel the chill in the air. . . .or do you?”

Colter (XO/CIO)

Bruce let out a deep groan as he shifted his body in the bed and stretched his feet out in front of him fanning his hands. Okay so it is time for the more evolved brains to point out the obvious, he let his eyes drift around to each person at the table. The key to solving this debate is…opposable thumbs. Splaying his hands out for a visual, Bruce continued. You all with your fancy opposable thumbs have no idea what life is like for those of us that are thumbless. Think people think. How do you move around a table with corners when someone, he glanced specifically at Natasha and Dante, chooses to push the bacon just a little too far back? You stab yourself in the stomach with the sharp corner trying to find a way to get leverage or feel like you are being sawed in half as you try to pull yourself up on the long flat sides.

Bruce let his tongue flick out in full judgment of those around the table who at some point in their life moved a plate of delicacies out of the way for a dog, cat, or lizard that was poised for a nibble. I speak for all those without thumbs that round tables are the way to go. You can lay your hands flat on them and push up. You can balance as you walk around it looking for the best angle because lets face it aside from opposable thumbs your bi-pedals are all about putting things at your waist. Round tables have a softer edge that is far more gentle on the abdomen as we try to crawl up on the table. Take a tip from the greatest furniture designers off all time the Japanese. Low it where it is at. Viva la round! Viva la round! Bruce yelled out thunking his tail to the beat of this chant.

Natasha Knight.

DaVinci got comfortable in his seat and thought quite seriously about his answer. All common sense said he should agree with Dante, yet Natasha did work with Hannah in Sickbay. She could put all sorts of devious thoughts into Hannah’s mind if he didn’t play his cards right. He may wind up moving back into his old quarters. . . alone.

In all seriousness, he began. “My professional opinion, Dr. Knight, suggests we should throw a bunch of big, fluffy pillows or bean bag chairs all over the floor. Everyone can just flop down wherever they want. . . .and put a bar over there, in that corner. Make sure it’s stocked with a lot, I mean A LOT, of Miller High Life. Of course, we’ll have to take a trip back to the 20th century again to build up my stores. I’m starting run low, and the replicators just can’t get the flavor quite right. I’ve tried to tweak the recipe, but nothing I do can create a match.”

He paused to take a breath, then continued. “We get an Atari 2600 connected to the viewscreen. You guys would love Space Invaders and Asteroids. My friends and I used to play those for hours and hours. Oh, and one more thing in the opposite corner of the bar–a small stage with a stripper pole, yeah? Of course that’s just my professional opinion.”

Colter (XO/CIO)

Sheleah had been watching the interactions of the crew. The verbal jousting between husband and wife each seeking to shore up their position wet, avoid throwing one another out the airlock while doing it. She wondered if Natasha was always so Machiavellian and if a bath pouf could really be at the heart of this whole conversation spiral.

When the XO had walked in, she glanced up recognizing but, not having met the man in person yet. What did Bruce think of this whole situation? She often wondered what Rex thought of her life and Sheleah was quite boring compared to Dante and Natasha.

Sighing, she stood up and went to the replicator again muttering to herself that there just wasn’t enough coffee for this situation.

On the way back to her seat, she passed the plate of bacon and picked up a hefty slice.

“So what’s the protocol for feeding Bruce?” she asked looking between Natasha and Dante.

She could feel the slight flush on her cheek as she almost blurted out Krull the Warrior King.

• Sheleah, CNS/DO

Graham