Lt Riel: Pardon my Cardassian

[Lan Riel]

((Main Shuttlebay, Mid Hangar, Deck 16, USS Athena))

:: Shuttle and runabout were docked, and Lan followed Williams as he made his way to the soon-not-to-be-mysterious-anymore commander Brell. While the two men shook hands, confirming they knew each other already, Lan noticed the distinguished absence of the second team... and of the Captain. A pang of concern from Williams indicated that the FO had made the same observation... ::

:: The Bolian commander looked at them all, a contented expression on his blue features. Once both teams had lined up with a semblance of order, he began to speak. ::

Brell: Greetings, I am Commander Brell, some of you know me well, others I look forward to getting to know. I have a message here from Starfleet that will do a better job at explaining why I have called you all here today.

::He hit a button on his PADD and seconds later the hologrid showed an andogynous alien in an admiral uniform. It took a few seconds for Lan to remember his name and species. Renos, a J'naii. The orders, whatever they were, came from the very top of the food chain. ::

Renos: Commander Brell, effective immediately, you are to take command of the USS Atlantis NCC-74682. You will be assigned a crew uninvolved in the ship’s last mission - with a couple of notable exceptions to follow. You will continue its mission of exploration and building relations in the Par’tha Expanse once the trial of Captain S’Ranna and Commander Udro is concluded.

:: Lan's eyebrow shot up, and his empathic senses told him that the people around him shared his confusion and incredulity. Some of them had just arrived, and they were to report immediately to the other end of the galaxy... what the Fire? ::

Renos: Your senior team will include Commander Williams, who will be your first officer. Commander Tel-Ar is the Chief Tactical Officer, Lieutenant Danara the chief of security. There are a few familiar faces joining you including, Lieutenant Lambert a science officer, Dr Pond is your chief medical officer with Lieutenant Cattan as the chief of nursing. Captain McKnight is the marine CO and Mr Logan will be making a switch back to his roots, taking the role of marine officer at the rank of 1st Lieutenant.

:: A second eyebrow joined his colleague near Lan's hairline, and he did his very best not to gape. That meant a good half of the Athena's senior staff! And nobody had heard of it before now? In the middle of a mission?::

:: Lan scanned the new faces. Male human, male human, female Trill... he tensed for a brief second before the distinct lack of empathic flange told her she was yet unjoined. ::

Renos: Last but by no means least, Commander Riel is your intelligence officer. They’re all great officers, I know they will serve you well and do us all proud.

:: He almost huffed, but willed himself to maintain a professional attitude. Either it was one of the most brutal field promotions in History, or somebody needed to re-check his personel files. ::

:: The holo-recording ended, and the Bolian took the metaphoric microphone again. ::

Brell: In addition Ensign Toryn Raga will be joining Lieutenant Danara’s security department, while Ensign Valin Dermont will be joining us as our Engineer. We will depart for the journey back to Federation space and then to the Par’tha expanse, as soon as the USS Victory can join us here to ferry us to our new home. We have a few hours, I believe until Victory will arrive so please see to your affairs while you can. We will have plenty of time to get to know one another on the trip and once aboard Atlantis. If you end up needing more time, it would be permissible. The sooner we disembark the sooner we will arrive … but I understand this is not an easy, or expected event. I do expect everyone to do their best as officers to accept that Athena will go on strong without us, we can honor your time here by doing well in our next assignment, using the skills you have gained under Captain Faranfey to further the noble goals of the Federation and Starfleet. Everyone is dismissed, to see to whatever you may need to. If anyone has any questions for me, I will be making use of one of your lounges while we wait.

:: The group split, Danara taking the opportunity to chat with her new subordinate, while Lan just stood in place, trying to recover from the news and the wave of shock, both personal and perceived through empathy, that he had just experienced. ::

Williams: Well…. Looks like we ALL have to depart for a new home…

Riel: :: In a hollow voice :: All of us, you think? What about the rest of the staff?

Cattan/McKnight: ?

Williams: I don’t know… I am sure Starfleet will send people to replace us. But then they might as well have sent them to the Atlanta instead of us… The mysteries of Starfleets personal changes are beyond my knowledge. They always claim to have the best interest of the federation at heart though…

Cattan/McKnight: ?

Riel: Yeah, right. :: The sarcasm in his voice was so heavy it could have bent neutronium. :: Well, time to pack up, I guess. I'll see you later.

:: Without a word more, he made way to the turbolift, and sleepwalked to the door of his quarters. There, he sat on the bed, hands joined, elbows on his knees, and stared vacantly at the wall before his mind came up with a synthesis of all had just happened. ::

Riel: .oO ... Well, flakk. Oo.

--

Lieutenant Lan Riel

Intelligence Officer
USS Athena

Writer ID: G239107LR0I