[A1] JP: LtCmdr Core & Cmdr Rahman, "General Chang's Revenge." (Part 2)
Deliera Jay
::Damn it. She was supposed to be off-duty, but then again, a starship captain was never really off-duty it seemed. Maybe this was about Vassily.::
::She tapped her combadge.::
Rahman: =/\= Understood. I’m in the Commercial Quarter, by the viewing promenade. =/\=
Astrofori One Communications: =/\= I’ll route the call to terminal C55, commander. =/\=
Rahman: =/\= Thank you. =/\=
::She gave an apologetic look to Tristam.::
Rahman: So much for a quiet night.
Core: Well, it was fun while it lasted.
Rahman: Maybe it’s just a quick message. I’ll be right back.
Core: I’m not going anywhere.
::And immediately, “Captain Rahman” returned, the Rodulan quietly brushing away whatever plans for tonight he’d had.::
::Roshanara walked over to the terminal along the wall and switched to the call. To her surprise, it wasn’t a Starfleet admiral on the other line but her old first officer, Kinan Venroe. The red-headed Trill was now back in Starfleet Administration, having been recalled from the Invicta to work on the upcoming Khitomer Centennial celebrations.::
Rahman: =/\= Commander Kinan. This is unexpected. ::She smiled.:: But a welcome one. How goes the preparations for the Khitomer Centennial? =/\=
::The Trill looked particularly disheveled, auburn hair unbrushed but tied back, uniform rather crumpled with her jacket zipped only halfway, as if she’d gotten dressed in a rush. (A needless rush, but a rush nonetheless). Even her usually bright and vibrant orange spots had taken a darker shade. As an aide-de-camp and then an officer of administration, pleasing Klingons was somewhat of a specialty of hers, mainly because she knew if she *didn’t* bend over backwards or assert whatever dominance was required to get through the day, she’d be walked all over.
::Well now she was being walked all over. (Proof that she should have listened to her original judgement.) The Klingons were being . . . Klingons. Stubborn. (Tree-like). Her ears ached from having a yelling match with one particularly well-mannered General Part’k. And she genuinely meant well mannered. ::
Kinan: =/\= Tedious. It’s actually why I’m calling - I require your crew’s services. =/\=
Rahman: =/\= My crew? =/\=
::The Kriosian was even more surprised to hear that.::
Kinan: =/\= Syracuse is essentially run by the Corps of Engineers, yes? I assume you’ve got a number of people on hand in case of engineering emergency or whatever you call it. =/\=
::The fact that she was acting rather unprofessional was proof that she hadn’t dealt with another Starfleet officer properly for weeks. Maybe months, at this point. (Klingons were great. Except when they weren’t.)::
Rahman: ::nods:: =/\= That’s correct. Several teams in fact. =/\=
Kinan: =/\= Good. I’m sorry, but I have to ask as the official event organizer that you recall your crew. The USS Venture needs some serious upgrades to get it space-worthy again. =/\=
Rahman: =/\= The Venture… the Galaxy class Venture? =/\=
::How was the flagship of the Seventh Fleet in need of upgrades to become space-worthy?::
Kinan: =/\= More like the Constitution class Venture. =/\=
Rahman: =/\= The Constitution class Venture… =/\=
::Wait a minute…::
::Roshanara didn’t even try to hide her disbelief at what she was hearing.::
Rahman: =/\= You mean the Venture Museum?! =/\=
::To call it a ship was pushing it. She wasn’t even sure if it still had its engines.::
Kinan: =/\= Yes. I mean the museum ship Venture. It’s to be part of the Parade of Ships. =/\=
Rahman: =/\= But… =/\=
::Roshanara was still trying to process what Kinan had just said.::
::This was some joke, right? A prank from an old XO on her captain. It had to be.::
::And it didn’t even make sense!::
Rahman: =/\= ...but wouldn’t it make more sense given the context to just take the old Enter- =/\=
::But the exhausted Trill cut her off before she could even finish the other ship’s name.::
Kinan: =/\= The Klingons have requested the Venture specifically for the celebrations. I tried convincing them of something else, *anything* else, but they’re insistent. No amount of foot-stomping, combat by bat’leth, yelling matches or even trades of bloodwine would work as a sturdy “no” for them. =/\=
::Roshanara held a hand up, trying to calm Kinan down. The other woman looked like she was about to have an aneurysm.::
Rahman: =/\= All right, I believe you. =/\=
::But then she furrowed her brow again in confusion.::
Rahman: =/\= But surely you have engineers closer to you than ones in the Menthar Corridor. =/\=
::Oh. Oh Kinan had *tried*. For the love of etamoare guides she *tried*. She bargained, she’d pleaded, one poor communications officer had even seen her shed tears over it. She’d lost sleep. She’d started having shakes. The Klingons had seen her falter and were starting to talk - *that’s* how bad things were for her. Her sterling reputation with these people was becoming tarnished because her fellow members of Starfleet apparently thought there was a line, a *limit* to what they could do.::
::*No sane engineer would say “yes” to her*. (And likely no sane engineer ever would).::
::Then, about half an hour ago, Part’k comes storming into her office like the gentleman Klingon he was, yelling about how their event council (because *Klingons had an event council*) had wanted something surprisingly and painfully specific.::
::So with as much calmness as she could muster, she’d stilled her shakes of frustration, closed her eyes for a moment, and whispered her answer to her former CO.::
Kinan: =/\= They asked for you. =/\=
::The Kriosian blinked. She didn’t even know what to say to that. First she was being told the Klingons--the Klingons!--wanted them to get what was basically an orbiting hulk of duranium moving again. ::
Rahman: =/\= Me? How do they even know me? =/\=
Kinan: =/\= Well, *Captain*, I was going to ask *you* that question! When and why was it funny to shove me into this position? Do you *know* what I’m *dealing with here*? =/\=
::Now it was Roshanara’s turn to rub her temples. She took a deep breath and then looked back at Kinan.::
Rahman: =/\= All right, well, it sounds like you’ve drafted me. How long do I have? =/\=
Kinan: =/\= Are you holding something, mid-way through swallowing anything or are wearing any sort of shoe-wear you might break an ankle in? =/\=
::The Kriosian reiterated the question.::
Rahman: ::sternly:: =/\= How long, commander? =/\=
Kinan: =/\= About month. You have less than a month to get it up and running and fly it to Khitomer in space-worthy, good looking condition. =/\=
::Roshanara let everything she just heard digest. When she finally spoke again, she was surprisingly calm, as if having achieved a new level of serenity and peace with the universe.::
Rahman: =/\= Thank you, commander. I guess I will see you at Khitomer next month. =/\=
Kinan: =/\= Thank *etamoare*! ::She then coughed, recomposing herself.:: I mean, thank you, Captain. That means a lot. I owe you. =/\=
Rahman: =/\= You have no idea. ::She sighed with a shrug.:: Go get some rest, Kinan. You look like hell. =/\=
Kinan: =/\= I’ll rest when I’m dead. Kinan out. =/\=
::And like that, she was gone, leaving Roshanara to stare at her bewildered reflection.::
::When she walked back to Tristam, she didn’t say anything immediately, but he was troubleshooting everything in his head already, having caught half Rahman’s thoughts when the spotted and disheveled admin officer had all but broken down.
Core: If that ship’s to be piloted, you’re going to need to give it back it’s own life support systems. Engines need to be rebuilt from scratch…
Rahman: ::quietly:: I don’t want to talk about it right now.
Core: ...warp drive too if you have to get it there before a month is up. Weapons can go, though, but outside lighting will have to be upgraded for cosmetic purposes, deflector dish, navigation systems, internal sensors for crew safety, external sensors can be left as they are we can just focus on navigation and deflector-
::She suddenly grabbed him and planted a firm kiss on his lips.::
Rahman: I’m going to wake up tomorrow, realize the insanity of the job I just agreed to, and deal with it then. *Tonight*! ::She closed her eyes for a moment and took another deep breath, trying to recenter herself and attain that sense of calm.:: Tonight is for us. Got it?
Core:::with a grin:: Why, Captain Rahman, I’m flattered.
Rahman: Oh, don’t think you won’t be drafted into this madness either.
Core: You’ll need more than just Syracuse engineers - by rights, you need a whole *fleet*. Don’t think I’m not onboard with this. I’m there. I call dibs on the lighting.
Rahman: We’re putting in a spa.
Core:::rolling his eyes:: It’s a waste of resources it doesn’t have. And it’s not historically accurate-
Rahman: I don’t care! There’s going to be a spa, goddamnit.
::Roshanara looked back out at the Invicta and Syracuse through the window and then over to the Tiger.::
::She grabbed his arm.::
Rahman: Let’s go.
::This was all a cruel joke by the Klingons. Had to be.::
---
Commander Roshanara Rahman
Commanding Officer, USS Syracuse
I238705TZ0 (And Moonsong wonders why I have anger issues.)
&
Lt. Commander Tristam Core
First Officer & SCE Project Manager, USS Invicta
&
Lt. Commander Kinan Venroe
Starfleet Administration and Khitomer Centennial Event Organizer (Federation Representative)
C238803SB0 (I am not a sheep, ser)