LtCmdr. Talos Dakora - At Least Make It Shiny
Travis
((Captain's Ready Room - Deck 01 - USS Artemis-A))
Talos' eyebrows rose as he listened to what Addison had to say about their new orders. It all sounded absurd to the former Intel Officer.
Recalling a majority of the fleet back to Sector 001 for what amounted to a photo op seemed like a rather serious strategic misstep.
Dakora: You’ve got to be kidding me. ::He leaned forward, rubbing his chin pensively.:: Don’t suppose there is any way we can get out of it?
MacKenzie: No, I don’t think so. Nothing I can think of, anyway. The thought of leaving the Borderlands to its own devices for even a minute is not something I feel good about.
He nodded his full agreement. And that was just their area of operations. To say nothing of the countless others that would be left under protected by the mass recall.
Dakora: It's been pure luck that we haven't been recalled early from shore leave for some emergency or another. ::He shook his head in disbelief.:: Wild.
She rolled her eyes and turned in her chair to face out the window. Talos followed her lead, staring past her silhouette at the station beyond.
They'd worked hard to make their presence felt in the Borderlands. By the time the Artemis returned, he worried the same old bad actors would be back at it again.
MacKenzie: Starfleet doesn’t seem to think that’s a problem. Even so, there are other areas of the galaxy in far worse shape than the Borderlands. I can’t imagine them being okay with the idea of withdrawing so much of the fleet’s support from those places.
He set his PADD on the coffee table in front of him with a gentle clack. Whatever else he'd planned to discuss had fallen to the wayside in light of this new information.
He scowled as he replied.
Dakora: What out-of-touch, Desk-Jockey of an Admiral came up with this one?
The question was rhetorical of course, but MacKenzie turned back toward him and replied.
MacKenzie: ::flatly:: Welcome to the bureaucracy of command. Isn’t it great?
He scrunched up his face as he responded.
Dakora: I think I liked it better when it was someone else's problem…
A brief silence fell over them as they both seemed to consider their options. MacKenzie was the first to break the silence.
MacKenzie: I don’t suppose there’s any way we can drag our feet here? Have something unexpectedly come up?
Talos cocked his head, considering the idea. He was sure he could convince Hallia and Salkath to take another week or two to overhaul their engines.
But, unfortunately, he'd been meticulous about submitting the Artemis maintenance records to Command. They'd know something fishy was up if they looked into it.
Dakora: No… unfortunately, no. ::He sighed.:: I've already transmitted our maintenance and upgrade records to HQ. Anything we tried wouldn't hold up to scrutiny.
MacKenzie: Response
Finally easing back into the comfortable sofa, he considered the real inevitability that they'd be making the long, boring trip back to Earth soon.
Dakora: Our only real hope is that something big enough pops up in our A.O. and we're obligated to respond. :: He shrugged :: Though I'm not really sure that's preferable…
MacKenzie: Response
He grinned mirthlessly.
Dakora: Other than that, I guess we start prepping for the damn thing. ::He met her gaze.:: Anyone specific on your sh*t list? We'll need a group to go out and spot clean the hull plating. I want our girl to look shiny.
MacKenzie: Response
Tag/TBC
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LtCmdr. Talos Dakora
First Officer
USS Artemis-A
O238811CD0