LTCmdr. Quentin Collins - "Halsey acted stupidly."

[Justin Partridge]

((Interior. U.S.S. Arrow, Deck 1. Bridge.))

Quentin Collins thrummed with a nervous energy that he feared might consume him. As The New XO succinctly logged their progress thus far from the Center Chair, Quentin quietly paced around Science 1 and The Big Board. The rest of the Bridge stations were also manned and filled, but not by their usual occupants. 

Those souls were below awaiting planetfall. Led once more by The Captain. Quentin tried to crack his knuckles once more, but realized that he had just done so not even a few minutes before. Making the motion rote and barely of any comfort. Instead he shook feeling back into his hands and allowed a wan smile to Jacin Ayemet who was sitting patiently at the station directly to his right.

The New XO seemed to writhe slightly in the Center Chair for a moment and then turned to address them. Quentin felt himself instinctively straighten up slightly.

Niac:  Lieutenant Commander Collins, Lieutenant Jg. Ayemet, you're going to be our eyes and ears while the away team is offship.  I need you to squeeze everything you can out of our passive sensors.  I want to keep track of the team and I don't want us to get snuck up on.  Any questions?  

Collins: ::he shook his head slightly:: Not at the moment, Commander. Luckily enough we are still in the modified probe's range so we still have the active data-feed.

Jacin: RESPONSE

Quentin once again nodded warmly to his fellow Science Officer. He was happy having her around. Not only for her skills but for her whole disposition. Things were likely to get dire before the end of this. Quentin would need a sort of emotional lighthouse to keep him from the darker aspects of his mind and considerations.

When she wanted to, Jacin Ayemet could really shine. They would probably need that before long. The New XO continued.

Niac:  Understood, give me as much warning as you can.

The Commander turned forward, peering toward the Helm.

Niac:  Cadet Perim, confirm we're in position relative to the asteroid and the facility.  Once we're set, I want you to start plotting warp trajectories out of the system and back to the Proteus ring.  ::Karrod smiles::  You think you're up for that, Cadet?  

Perim:  RESPONSE

The Commander then turned to their new arrival, standing tall at the Engineering/OPS station

Niac: Ensign Hobart, welcome to the Bridge.  You'll be responsible for monitoring our power systems and making sure we're not leaking any detectable emissions.  We don't want to trigger those facility defense batteries. That said, I want us ready to power up and get underway on a moment's notice. Think you can handle all, Ensign?  

Hobart:   ::raised voice:: Aye, sir, not a scrape nor squeak, Commander Bea— ah, Commander Niac. Sir.

Karrod Niac straightened up in the Chair and tapped at his commbadge.  

Niac: =/\= Niac to Shayne.  Captain, we're all set up here. =/\=

Shayne: =/\= Understood. Standby for our launch. =/\=

Niac:  =/\= Aye sir, good hunting.  You're clear for departure.  Arrow will be standing by waiting for you. Good luck, Captain.  =/\=

Shayne:  =/\= Thank you, Commander. =/\=

Quentin silently noticed and appreciated the quick bit of emotion The Captain allowed through the line. It was so quick, you would have to know what you were listening for to even notice it. But Quentin did and he was proud of The Captain for allowing it through (and a little bit proud of himself too for being as close enough to the CO to clock it). The line closed and the Bridge settled into a tense silence. A silence The New XO seemed to clock with a good-natured half-laugh.

Niac: Guess I should've brought a deck of cards.  

Quentin crossed upward, leaning heavily on the Center Railing.

Collins: I could always pop down to my quarters, Commander...

Jacin: RESPONSE

Perim: RESPONSE

Hobart:  ::whispering absentmindedly, with a Scottish lisp:: One… ping… only…

Quentin grinned wolfishly at the Ensign's comment. He understood that reference! He wondered momentarily just how dorky this new Ensign was. And made a mental note to try and ask over the next shore leave. He was absolutely sure his dad had left him a box of Clancy's somewhere in his quarters, but the Main Viewer and the slight screeching of the Science console brought him back to reality. 

He crossed back to the console and made an audible "huh" noise.

Niac: RESPONSE

Collins: No, sorry, it's just...ever since the scopes clocked those turrets, I've been trying to get a closer scan on them. I assumed they were just anti-orbital emplacements or something...

Niac: RESPONSE

Collins: Weirder, Commander. Thanks to the Helm, we finally got close enough for an internal construction analysis. They are ion cannons! Great bloody ion cannons. Isn't that insane?!

Hobart/Perim/Jacin: RESPONSE

Quentin shook his head.

Collins: No, no, think about it! Shooting to disable...that's totally antithetical to everything we've seen from the Sheliak so far!

Niac: RESPONSE

Collins: What I mean is, when we've stumbled upon illicit Sheliak operations before, they've every time moved to destroy us. It's cleaner for them. So why are THESE Sheliak set up to shoot to disable? And specifically to disable ship systems? What's different about THIS particular illicit Sheliak operation? I don't get it.

Niac/Perim/Hobart/Jacin: RESPONSE

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TAG/TBC

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Lieutenant Commander 

Quentin Collins III

Chief Science Officer

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U.S.S. ARROW NCC-69829

ID: E239512QC0

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