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Pre-Sim - Lt Woods arrival - (Open!)

Posted July 14, 2020, 6:02 p.m. by Lieutenant Markus Woods (Chief Science Officer) (Sam Haynes)

Posted by Ensign Andromeda Lykaios (Science JO) in Pre-Sim - Lt Woods arrival - (Open!)

Posted by Ensign Luna (Security Officer) in Pre-Sim - Lt Woods arrival - (Open!)

Posted by Lieutenant Markus Woods (Chief Science Officer) in Pre-Sim - Lt Woods arrival - (Open!)
Posted by… suppressed (12) by the Post Ghost! 👻
The thrum of the engines on the runabout did nothing to dispel the uneasy tension in the air. The lone pilot checked the displays, running low-level diagnostics and checking their charted course every so often. The other occupant tried to ignore the unease. The Viking was just another ship, the flagship of her class. The U.S.S. Heimdal held some particularly fond, but also intense memories for him. Markus saw no reason to be anxious over such a prodigious ship. Hokey superstitions were just that. Starfleet’s people were explorers, builders, and warriors.

But he could feel the ensign squirming in his chair from across the interior. With a sigh, he lowered the padd he was reading. It had a personal library of thousands of books, as well as replicator patterns for some of his favorites. “Out with it,” he murmured while running his fingers through slicked-back dark hair.

”S-sorry sir,” NE Wells winced, “we’re coming up on the Viking now. If you don’t mind, I’d rather not —”

”Dock with it,” Mark said finishing for him. He waved a dismissive hand. The kid was rattled, and one didn’t need to be a psychic to know it was pretty bad. “Bring us into transporter range. I understand theirs have been having trouble.” As he spoke, he put the padd into a small, hard cargo carry with the rest of his more sentimental possessions.
“Yes, sir.” NE Wells swiveled back in his chair to regard the viewport. A nearby star held steady ahead of them, and as he watched, it grew brighter and brighter. They were past the outskirts of the solar system the Viking lurked in.

Mark watched the ensign for a moment. It was clear Wells wasn’t entirely green, but still fresh from the Academy. Moving over he sat in the co-pilot position, though he could have taken left seat if he wanted. “Ensign Wells. Harry.” The pilot gave him a questioning and uncertain look. “Breathe. And remember… we’re explorers and adventurers out here. It’s the Wild West. You’re driving a stagecoach out here. Starfleet thinks you’re rough and rugged enough to hack it out here between Klingon and Romulan space. They usually know what they’re doing. A little fear is healthy, but you are from a long line of beating the evolutionary odds. Try to recognize what you’re feeling as excitement. You’ve already risen to so many challenges.”

Wells regarded Mark for a moment then let out a sigh and relaxed a few notches, letting his shoulders drop. “You’re right. Across the board. I should be able to handle whatever comes my way.”

Mark stood up, patting the ensign’s shoulder. “Good man,” he said heartily. Moving over to his things, he picked them up and slung them over one shoulder.

”Dropping out of warp,” Wells called from the front. He sounded more confident, all signs of nervousness gone. And sure enough, a moment later their blazing speed settled to a virtual standstill, even though they were still traveling at a significant chunk of the speed of light. “On approach to the Viking.” He paused a moment. =^=U.S.S. Viking this is U.S.S. Endurance on approach for personnel delivery. Requesting permission to initiate transport at your mark.=^=

Elsewhere on the ship they approached, Andromeda Lykaios the Viking’s latest Science Junior described as ‘positively charged like two electrons’, ‘ That would make a positron’ she had thought with an inwardly nervous giggle as she swept through the corridors her lab coat bobbing behind her as she neared transporter room 2, the ships only working one after having been informed of the slight destination change. If anyone other than the crew of the Viking saw her they would have thought she was running from something, but in reality, the two weeks on her new ship had certainly been interesting, she had learned to move between places quickly especially when alone. As soon as she caught wind of their department finally receiving a department head she was going to greet him and take her mind of everything that had happened since her arrival, flicking consoles, maniacal laughs, and shadowy figures be dammed!

By then, Markus made his way onto the transporter pad and stood waiting. He watched out the front viewport, even though the Viking was far out of visual range for the human eye. But it loitered somewhere very close as stellar distances went.

=^=Endurance, you are cleared to energize,=^= came the reply.

Wells regarded Markus over his shoulder with a look like he was sending the man to his death. “Good luck, Lieutenant.”

”You too, Ensign. Energize.”

Wells wasted not a moment longer and fed the transporter the coordinates and cycled the controls that would disassemble his passenger at the sub-atomic level and send him thousands of kilometers away as a collection of particles. Where he would be reassembled.

If everything went according to plan.

Lt Markus Woods, CSO

((OOC: Hey folks, this is an open opportunity to meet and greet Lt Woods in the halls and such aboard the sip, or perhaps give our GM’s some fresh meat to mess with. Provided no transporter mishap, feel free to jump in and say hi.

Sam))

Ande had made it with time to spare as she smiled to the transporter chief who was working away at the control panel and didn’t even look up, in front of her the pad began to activate as streams of blue light began to swirl forming a vaguely humanoid shape but behind that another humanoid shape swatting the blue orbs away, the transporter began to hum as the transport took longer than it should and struggled to remain working for the extended duration. “What’s happening?” She asked turning to the operations officer but he didn’t answer just continued to work the controls.

Watching nervously Ande’s heart beating fast, why didn’t he just arrive in the shuttle, shuttles were a sure way of getting on board that’s how she arrived at least. Suddenly her Grecian accent erupted recalling the names of two different deities of travels “BY HERMES… I mean MEILI just let him on the ship!” Ande had always liked the mystery behind Earths Ancient civilization deities, her own heritage had its own long list of gods such as Zeus, Poseidon and Hades but she always found referring to them upset the ship, or at least it seemed that way so she had taken the time to learn Norse mythology and it seemed to help, in this case, it did because now in front of her the full embodiment of her new department head stood, the rest of the room now completely empty.

OOC: Welcome to the Viking!

Andromeda Lykaios

Ensign Luna had been walking by the transport room on her usual patrol. “Are the transporters up again or are you just running test,” she asked curiously. She blinked several times as a stranger man appeared on board the ship. “Who are you,” she asked. Stepping into the room her hand rested on her phaser. Her wight and black spotted wings opening slightly. She noted the presence of the female science officer but thought she had seen the women’s face before. So she was not concerned about her.
Ensign Luna

The familiar stiffness washed over Markus as the transport began. The shuttle interior faded away from his perception and then the hazy shifting interior of a transporter room came into focus, before sharpening. It seemed to take forever. But that couldn’t be right. Transport travelers shouldn’t notice any sort of time delay. However, there were anecdotes related to various incidents, and with some modification, it was a thing. It was thin he felt a presence behind him in the field with him. He couldn’t turn his head but he could almost see a figure behind him, swatting at something, before a tingle passed through every part of his being. It was almost painful and very very personal. But the room resolved itself into solid reality as did he.

The man that materialized on the platform stood approximately 178 centimeters in height or roughly five feet ten inches tall. Average, really. He had the weight and build of an officer who engaged in regular but vigorous exercise. The dark post-Dominion War Starfleet uniform gave him a sleek look that set off his skin. The science blue accents to the uniform’s trim and collar brought out the blue of his eyes. He had a neat and light mustache and goatee with slicked-back dark hair that was hard to tell whether it was black or dark brown. His eyes took in the space with piercing intelligence, noting the transporter chief, and two ensigns. One of whom was partially avian and sported security red and had one hand on her phaser.

Well. That wasn’t a very warm welcome. And no way to greet a superior officer.

NTC Martin looked to the two women, then to Ande. “Sorry, ma’am. The shuttle used the pad as a target, but I had to help stabilize the annular confinement beam. Which is troubling on its own,” he explained quickly.

Markus mentally nodded. That explained the sensations he’d experienced. Turning his attention back to Ensign Luna, he tilted his head just slightly. Most avian species were known for being a little flighty and at least part of the time, predatory. By her posture, it seemed she was feeling an invasion of space or territory. Clearing his throat he tucked his hands together in front of him, making himself a little smaller, a subtle shift in posture and body language, non-threatening, just for the moment. “Ensign,” he said, addressing the female by rank since he didn’t have a name yet. “I’m Lieutenant Markus Woods, your new Chief Science Officer,” he offered. Moving with care, he retrieved the padd he’d been reading earlier from his carry-on and swiped over to the transfer orders on it. This he offered to the ensign. He didn’t have to humor her, and could have used rank to end the situation. But better to make friends than dress down someone the moment they arrived. Five tours on other ships would have screamed that even without a minor in behavioral analysis.

Letting her look over the transfer paperwork, he turned his attention to Ande, in science blues and a lab coat. With this, he stepped off the pad and offered her a hand and a bright smile in greeting. “You must be Doctor Lykaios,” he said, addressing her by her academic title, a colleague. ”If I’m not mistaken you were part of the team that proposed the papers on nano-fusion reactors, yes?” While a fusion reactor didn’t have the same output as a MARA, the theory went that they could make one that was microscopic or as many as needed to create long-term scalable power with virtually no environmental impact. And they could make as many as needed. The potential and the possible shift to using a similar MARA array was far ahead of the curve. But they were still a ways away from having something workable.

Lt. Markus Woods, CSO

Markus was smart not using his rank to settle this. Luna did not trust the rank structure of Star fleet. The entire inside would likely have ended with her pinning him to a wall. There were not may on the ship that could move like ensign Luna did that was for shure. She took the pad studying it and Markus closely. At the mention of the work doctor a visible shiver ran through Luna. She shook her head. Took her hand off her phaser and closed her wings the rest of the way. Her wings folded neatly against her back but there was a clear tension to her as she continued to watch the other two officers talk.

Cheeks burning and glowing red under her bronze Grecian skin Ande couldn’t help but grow a little flustered, very rarely did anyone call her ‘doctor’ and the fact he knew about her academy teams side project caused her to involuntarily hiccup. “Just… Just a small part sir.” She said holding up her hand her thumb and index finger motioned together to signify something minute, the truth was it was an equal effort though her equation into the use of compact but powerful plasma tubing to heat arrays of ordered nanowires was her contribution.

Composing herself as she remembered she wasn’t a cadet anymore she stuck out an arm, a smile tracing her lips. “I wanted to introduce myself and welcome you aboard the Viking” The ship chose that moment to groan as if under immense pressure, something in which Ande had grown used to it during her short time aboard, she added it to the consent light flickering and shadowy figures in the dark which were both equally unnerving.

Ens. Andromeda Lykaios

Markus glanced around, and then up at the ceiling, hearing the heavy groan. “Does that happen often,” he asked the transporter chief.

“She’s a little restless today, sir,” NTC Martin replied.

“ Thank you, Lieutenant. It appears that I missed yet another update telling us of you arrival. It happens pretty regularly,” she said. She held the pad out for him to take. “ It’s my job to protect this ship and we have had one too many spies, and one too many crew members kidnapped from our bridge for my liking. I will do what ever is necessary to protect this ship and everyone onboard is that clear sir,” she said. Not the friendliness response bit it was the Warmest he would get from ensign Luna.
Ensign Luna

Woods accepted the padd back. “Captain Ravenfall put in the request but it took a little bit of time to get in the area. It’s not like Command would dispatch a Sunlight jus to bring me out here. I think she wanted to keep it quiet, after the last chief science officer disappeared.” He gave Luna an apologetic smile though he wasn’t sure how that particular bit of human body language would register to an avian hybrid like her. “I took the job. I know it might be dangerous but I thought it would be worth a go. And besides, I can handle myself. The protection is appreciated though.” He gave Luna a nod. He’d seen plenty of action in his first tour aboard the U.S.S. Bridger, defending one of the outposts from klingon raiders. It was a small science vessel but they’d proven up to the challenge. The U.S.S. Heimdal, which was another Viking-class had seen quite a bit of action against a rebel group out on the fringes of the beta quadrant as well. He’d done well under fire both times. But there was always another time to get shot for a worthy cause. People like Luna were the ones that ran toward disruptor fire, not away.

Andromeda watched the security officer and wondered who got her feathers all ruffled but kept it to herself.l, she really didn’t need to be challenged to the ‘Thunderdome.’ “Well, you do a fine Job Ensign.” She pushed her glasses further up her nose, “I can show Doctor Woods around and help get him settled, though I’m sure he can probably show me more than I can show him.” She flashed him a smile and then realized how perverse that sounded “Scientifically speaking of course.” She suddenly found a spot on her high heeled boots interesting, yeah she still opted for the skirt and booted uniform unlike most in Starfleet now days.

Luna smiled at the two of them have a nice day” she said.

Ens. Andromeda Lykaios

Mark gave Ande a nod. “Well, this isn’t my first Viking-class I’ve been on. But this is The Viking. By all means, show me whatever you like,” he said. “I’ve heard the Viking is a special lady among her sister ships.” Indeed, while temperamental, he’d heard the ship had a number of modifications for crew morale, entertainment, training, and fitness.

Lt. Woods, CSO

“Perfect,” She said smiling again, “I suppose your quarters would be first since they’re on the same deck and then I guess the best and first place to take you fro something interesting would be cargo bay two, well we call it the Thunderdome now” She flurries her hands exaggerating the word. “And then the science labs… well if we can even call them that” She looked to see if he reacted before adding “You’ll see, and then we can go get a drink in the mead hall because by then I’m going to need a little pick me up.”

Leading the way Ande moved to the door which slid open painfully slowly until she kicked the bottom, giving it the prompt it needed to fully open. “So I guess you’ve heard the rumors about the ship?” Of course, he had, everyone had which was probably why he transported across less for those who were serving on the ship no one wanted to even be near the old girl. “I want to say they’re just rumors but…” She looked at him with the corner of her eyes, “I really think there’s something weird with the ship, I’ve even started creating a categoric database for all unexplained disturbances which include spectral sightings, its a work in progress and I’m having to do it all on paper. The computer keeps ‘losing my work’ ” She formed quotation marks in the air with her fingers.

Ens. Andromeda Lykaios

“That’s troubling,” Mark said, brows lowering. “Have you tried setting up a dummy system that’s air-gapped?”

As all three left the transporter room ensign split off from the pair and continued her patrols. Though the pair would soon run into Luna’s three-year-old Cerenity. The child had come around a corner just in time to catch Andromeda say spectral sightings. She gave a small jump opened her wings and hovered in front of the two. they would note that the child was very good at flying and her wings made almost no sound as she flapped them suggesting a similarity to Terran owls.” S-Sprect-ral sighting are you talking about the shadows can you see them to” She asked excitedly. She smiled at Andromeda. “Everyone seems to think I made them up. Why is that,” the child said.
Ensign Luna

OOC: Sorry guys bit Andromeda gave me the perfect chance to introduce Cerenity. Have fun.
Christina

Mark instinctively shifted position moving forward at an angle putting himself between Ande and Celeste at the flutter of motion. His body bladeded up and one hand raised to ward off incoming attack, while his other ushered his science officer back. It was instinctive and protective, like a career security officer. He had no weapon, but his first instinct didn’t seem to be to reach for one. But consciousness caught up to reflex, making it clear they were not under attack after all. Indeed, it was a child.

“Sweet Hades!” Hand on her chest after having jumped back from the sudden appearance of cerenity soundlessly flying she took in a deep breath, ‘This ship is going to be the end of me’ She thought before answering the young girls question. “Well, it’s the name I’ve given them I’m still trying to come up a way to disprove or prove them, it may just be a trick of the eye, lighting is pretty poor on the ship so anything is possible.” She said and as if the question just popped Into her head. “And who are you?”

OOC: That’s awesome!

Ens. Andromeda Lykaios

Cerenity turned her head sideways. “ I’m Cerenity. I’m this many,” she said, holding up three fingers. “Are you one of the science people? Mommy is not a fan of science people. Though she’s more afraid of doctors. Do you know who my mommy is? She protects the ship and looks like me only way bigger,” she said. She was quiet for a moment as if thinking. Then, it clicked, what Andromeda said. “The shadows are real they took my daddy after he and mommy got into a fight and they took doctor David’s sister and they talk to me. They say horrible things,” she said. As she spoke it was clear the subject was starting to upset her. “They say they’re going to take everyone away. And they keep saying I’m not human and mommy is lying to me. Mommy would never lie to me would she,” she added after a minute.
Cerenity

Listening to the girl it was a maddening difference between Cerentiy and her mother Luna which suggested to Ande that Luna must have a much more, subtle side especially raising a child who was clearly rather smart and ahead of her time. She wondered what was going through the Lieutenant mind having already experienced some of Vikings charming and not so charming experiences and crew.

The lieutenant frowned. The idea of the child’s identity being tied up in only one half of her genetic heritage was troubling. True, humans tended to dominate Starfleet. But being human or considered human wasn’t everything. The concern about making up these sightings and events she referred to made him wonder. He might have chalked it up to an over-active imagination of a child. And one who was under a measure of stress. Even abuse, based on just what he’d heard. And what he could deduce from her behavior already.

However, Andromeda, though he didn’t know her personally, knew she had a sharp mind. He doubted she would be given to similar flights of fancy and the trickery of hte subconscious. It lent credence to the girl’s claims. More over, most security types had certain expectations of their kids, even at a young age. She had remarkable mental acuity, and physical control. That suggested a kind of focus. She wasn’t likely to make up something she felt that strongly about.

He could do some damage control here. Taking a breath, Mark gave Cerenity a look of grave sincerity. “My name is Lieutenant Woods, but you can call me Mark if you want. I just met your mommy,” he said. “I think these shadowy people and things should be very scared of her. Part of her job is finding out the truth. Pretty sure she’s always gonna tell you right. And I feel pretty confident she’d do anything to protect and love you.”

Lt Woods, CSO

“ of course she does but she works a lot, she says I can’t attend school until I’m this many” Cerenity said holding up five fingers. For some reason the three year old was not able or chose not to say numbers. “ are you guys going to try and find the shadows I want to help? Mark where are you from?” She asked.

Cerenity

Andromeda couldn’t help but think how adorable the young girl was, the way she held up her hands to signify numbers had her curious but if Cerenity was a hot knife shed be melting through Ande like butter. Though he comments about the shadows caught her off guard again, though this time there wasn’t any distance scream or clap of lightning, the later would be particularly terrifying in such an enclosed space.

Ens. Andromeda Lykaios

Markus smiled. “School will come soon enough,” Mark said. “And it’s my job to look into the unknown and the unexplained. And i think this is a worthy cause.” The question caught him a little off guard, as to his origins. He shrugged mildly. “I’m from one of the colonies of Earth called Deneva. Have you heard of it?” His turn to ask a question, it seemed. He spared Ande a glance, just for a moment.

Lt Woods, CSO


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