Ensign Ollie Bergmen - Time to take two steps forward and one step back
CPT Arianus
(( USS Griffin - Main Shuttle Bay, Deck 11, USS Artemis-A ))
Lyara: Hopefully you guys aren’t taking off without the pilot?
The voice of the late-arriving ensign filled the shuttle cockpit as Lyara entered. Bergmen turned to look at her, surprised, and questioned whether her direct approach was a sign of confidence or arrogance. However, he realized it was too early to form any conclusions or opinions about a fellow officer.
Lyara: Sorry I’m late sir, got caught up in PADDwork.
Lyara walked straight to the pilot's station, and the lieutenant turned to her with a slight smile.
Sadar: Like you said, Ensign; can’t very well leave without a pilot.
oO They know each other, okay, so... I won't criticize deep that entrance. Oo
Ensign took her position at the conn, which had been vacated by Lieutenant Sadar. Firstly, she quickly checked the preparations before turning back to the team. Her eyes - similarly to Ollie’s - fixed on the petty officer beside Bergmen.
Lyara: ::Giving a small wave:: Hello petty officer, I’m Ensign Lyara.
Filistrien likely shared Bergmen's thoughts on the style of Lyara's entrance, judging by his raised, thin - and lovely - eyebrow.
Filistrien: It is a pleasure, Sir. ::inclines his head:: Xandeus Filistrien, Signals Analyst.
Even his voice was lovely in Ollie’s eyes.
Bergmen: ::sighs thoughtfully:: Yeah… ::clears his throat and turn to Sadar:: Eh… All power distribution systems are nominal, the coils are charged, lieutenant.
Gnai: Response
Sadar inhaled deeply and redirected her focus to the gathered team, while letting go of the black obsidian band encircling her finger.
Sadar: Kahines II is two days away at Warp 6, so you shall all have plenty of time to become acquainted with both the mission profile and each other.
Bergmen glanced quickly at Filistrien’s cheekbones beside him before focusing on the screen in front of him to check the data again. As the lieutenant said, they would have plenty of time to become more… acquainted.
Lyara: So did we get our pre-flight checks done?
Imril: ::Fingers zipping over the interface:: Commencing Engineering pre-flight… All systems green.
There was a time for crush, and a time to get work done. Bergmen finished the preload for the power distribution scheme and used the last seconds to check the pre-coil capacitors, ensuring they were fully charged.
Bergmen: OPS are ready whatever you are, navigation.
Gnai: Response
Filistrien: DS224 Ops wish us a safe journey, Sir.
Lieutenant nodded slowly and sighed, clearly deep in her thoughts.
Sadar: Thank you. All right... ::shaky breath:: E-Ensign Lyara? Take us out. Warp 6 when ready.
Lyara/Imril/Gnai: Response
Ollie turned away from the monitor since there was nothing else to occupy him. He watched the scenery as the shuttle passed through the open shuttle bay doors and ventured into space. DS224 - the floating stronghold of Starfleet’s influence in the Borderlands - appeared to almost say goodbye with its slowly blinking lights, as the Griffin tilted its nose toward the Klingon Border and accelerated to Warp 6, departing the system.
As they broke through the speed barrier into warp, Filistrien turned away from the communications console.
Filistrien: For the moment, our projected approach is void of unexpected complications. Klingon Border Control will apprise us if anything changes on their end.
Lieutenant Sadar turned to the team and picked up with a briefing where Filistrien ended.
Sadar: Thank you. ::looks around to the gathered officers:: I won’t go into the details here - the mission outline provided to us by Starfleet is more detailed than I could be regardless - but upon our arrival at Kahines II, we will be engaging in a joint archaeological expedition with a team of archaeologists from the Klingon Research Outpost on Brestant, and we will be staying as Starfleet’s representatives until the team of archaeologists from Starfleet Historical Society make landfall. Any questions?
Bergmen: What if that discovery is actually… you know, of Klingon historical origin? Will we stay?
Ensign looked from Sadar to Filistrien and smiled as a good boy, proud of himself for actually reading a mission preparatory paper.
Lyara/Imril/Gnai: Response
Filistrien visibly shared some of their worries and was prepared to address them directly.
Filistrien: While I may be Intelligence now, I was a Communications Specialist originally. Consider me predominantly here in that capacity, though I am also here to provide a counterintelligence perspective to any information we might be able to parse from the ruins themselves.
Bergmen could see the wheels turning in the lieutenant's eyes as she gazed at their communication and counterintelligence asset. Whatever she was thinking about was probably beyond his paygrade, so he decided not to address it in counter her next words.
Sadar: The colonists on Kahines II are worried that the discovery of the ruins might lead to the Empire claiming the colony as their sovereign territory, so while our main focus should be on the archeological survey, we also need to be mindful that the colonists’ fears don’t lead to conflicts with the Klingon scientists.
Filistrien may have identified himself as their communication expert, but his subsequent words sounded more like intelligence analysis than what one would expect from a standard comms technician.
Filistrien: There has been no indication that the Klingon scientists are there for any other reason than to ascertain the identity and legacy of the Kahines II installation. ::considers:: That said, there is a precedent for similar incidents in modern history - like the DMZ near Cardassian space - so the colonists’ fears, while irrational, are not entirely illogical.
Bergmen: Because we have a great tracking record with handling things like DMZ between Federation and Cardassia, right?
Young ensign gazed at his colleague behind the navigation console. Her people had seen their share of pain based on the perfect decisions made from behind the table by those who barely saw the impact of their actions, often getting bogged down in bureaucratic red tape ribbon.
The once joyful and smiling Bergmen's face suddenly became quite...sour from unspoken memories. Ensign waved it off with his hand.
Bergmen: No, sorry. That was over the line. ::sighs:: Just… I have seen what this kind of problems and red tape can do to people.
Lyara/Imril/Gnai: Response
Bergmen turned back to his console and checked the shuttle systems again and again, trying to gather his thoughts while listening to others' questions and the responses of the lieutenant and Filistrien.
Sadar/Filistrien: Response
Systems appeared to function normally, and the list of possible tests, reviews, and adjustments dwindled faster than Ensign hoped for. He sighed and rubbed his face, trying to put the smiling mask back on.
He hoped he had succeeded as he turned back to the team and glared at Sadar.
Bergmen: Will we use Griffin as our base of operations, or will we operate from the expedition base camp, ma’am?
Sadar: Response
Bergmen nodded at the answer and looked at the others for any further questions.
Lyara/Imril/Gnai: Response
Sadar/Filistrien: Response
TAG/TBC
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Ensign Ollie Bergmen
Operations Officer
U.S.S. Artemis-A
A240009JC1