State of the Union

[Mreh K'hal 0]

State of the Union

by Mreh K'hal

 

The first active week on the Union had progressed nicely. Mostly everyone had settled in pretty well on the starship, which was one of the advantages to the Excelsior class, Mreh figured. It was often used in holographic simulations at the Academy, and though the systems on board any one Excelsior Class starship may not be state of the art anymore, it was comfortably Starfleet and therefore not a problem to pick up and run with. The Union was also pleasantly "broken in" so while it lacked that new starship smell it made up for it in putting you at ease.

 

What was not sitting as well with the furry officer, and others he'd spoken to and heard from, was the accommodations. While the Union was actually a little longer than the Excalibur it didn't have as much usable interior space, because what the Akira Class loses in length it makes up for in volume. Often the space on the Union was taken up by the equipment that kept her running. Of course nothing could compare to the amount of space and luxury on a Galaxy class, the Cruise Ship of Starfleet, but for the transplanted Excalibur crew it was rather like having a Bellezza Falco 14 luxury skimmer and having to take a used Yridian shuttle for a rental during repairs. An overstatement, perhaps, as the Union didn't stink and was an efficient ship, but a downgrade in accommodations nonetheless. Fewer available holodecks and holosuites meant less time allotted when you finally got in to one. Many of the junior officers grumbled a bit because they were sharing with an extra person, or perhaps two, than what they'd had before. The enlisted were packed in quite tight too, though they were more used to it than the officers, who were often spoiled. The crew common areas were smaller and fewer as well, though being a diplomatically capable vessel meant it wasn't completely stark. Better than the time he'd spent on Defiants and Steamrunners during his roving medical days before the Excalibur.

 

As it was, there likely would have been far less grumbling all in all had they hard-working crew of the Excalibur been given a full leave after their loss and pain during the long journey into the unknown rather than being pressed right into duty. Since the nature of their mission was classified and few knew much of anything, the sting hurt a little more as the "you're the best and we needed you" position from on high didn't satisfy either pride or duty fatigue as much as it could. Mreh tried to make up for it with more positive feedback to those under him in the chain of command than he'd generally give, and other small strokes to keep morale up.

 

LtJG Elizabeth (aka Betty, and never call her Liz unless you want to lose a limb) Halloway was not one of the complainers, however. Having had her first assignment on an Excelsior, she was as happy as the proverbial clam getting to take the primary helm slot during their tour on the Union. Her enthusiasm did cost her, though: for the first time in their working relationship Mreh had to scold her, in this case for going past the limit on cumulative seat time. Regardless of that, it was the best thing, Mreh knew. Besides not wanting to "cheat" on the Excalibur by flying the Union, Mreh had placed her as primary for another reason. While she'd never say it out loud if she knew it, and Mreh would likely not either unless it were to JoNs or Corizon in private, but she was the far better pilot of the Excelsior Class. Another benefit was her expanded enthusiasm helped to keep morale up, as she lit up any room she entered and seemed to pass on contentment through osmosis.

 

For his own duty, Mreh really had no complaints either. Working operations and communications on the older Excelsior Class ship was more demanding than the same duties on the more automated Excalibur. There he'd often tasked those along with his flying duties, and more often than not there was no need for anyone at the operations console. Here, managing the various operations tasks took more concentration and thought, and his paws were seldom idle when he sat there.

 

Also getting to spend more time moving around the ship checking in with the other operations/administrative personnel in various locations was a pleasant change. While Commander JoNs did a lot of that (nothing ever managed to slip past her panther's nose in the Command Division) he'd made an oath to himself to help pick up some of the slack for her so she didn't end up burned out like other officers of her high zeal style have done in the past. In doing so he'd even heard one of the crewmen in the main cargo bay comment, as he was exiting from a quick check-in, that the "cat's on the prowl today." Mreh could only agree, with a good deal of amusement, that the change in routine seemed to suit him, though he knew it was only temporary. When they finally returned to the Excalibur he'd be chained to the helm console again, but flying was its own reward and more than made up for the sedentary position. When he'd transferred out of medical he'd never dreamed that he'd actually enjoy some of the more administrative aspects of working operations, but to his pleasant surprise he had, and was working his tail off to move from being merely capable of the work to being exceptional at it. The return to Excalibur would still be a while, though, so for now the spotted Caitian would dig into the work with all claws bared.

 

They'd be approaching the Scorpiad vessel soon, and even if the scenario was not a trap it still wouldn't be a walk in the park. Dealing with Scorpiad repeatedly had trashed the Sovereign Class Excalibur, so potentially going up against them in an aging Excelsior was something to avoid, or if it was necessary the best hands for the job should be on deck. Though that could cause problems, potentially. Mreh considered Victria to be their best bet at tactical, but considering the history of spats between she and Laarell, he considered it might be better to have Garrison man the guns. Not that during a crisis the women would let their personal animosity get in the way of duty, it would be when there's not a crisis that he worried about the atmosphere. Both Caitians on the bridge could not fail to sense the tension, and undoubtedly Corizon would as well. Mreh felt even worse for the telepathic CAG, who must have a whale of job to block that out. He also wondered if that is why that Tia had left the Excalibur.

 

Well, all of that was outside of his control, Mreh knew. With any luck they'd be able to snag the Scorpiad vessel and mosey on home without incidents, interstellar or intraship. Unfortunately, the Caitian conceded to his own optimism, they'd had little luck at all in avoiding problems with Corizon in command. He wouldn't complain about that though, since they'd seemed to have quite a bit of luck in getting out of those problems without total annihilation.

 

Wrapping his tail around his leg, Mreh put the thoughts behind him as he finished his lunch break and settled back into his seat after his contemplative lunch break.

[Fae 0]

Fae continued at her commandeered science console. Over all, an Excelsior sensor package was a fine bit of gear. Better, perhaps, than the command structure. She had said hello to the green person, who had departed without a hint of a job assignment. And so, Ensign at Large Faeona Waters had assigned herself a science console, and even applied for a more permanent situation.

 

A message came in, and there it was. She was in.

 

She smiled. This would be interesting. She logged out of science, and wandered over to the Ops console. Maybe operations would have its act together more than science...