Staff Meeting Horrors

Posted on Sat Mar 5th, 2016 @ 6:43pm by Captain Enalia Telvan & Commander Angelica Fairchild & Lieutenant Commander Ethan Chaparral MD & Commander Sinek & Lieutenant Daln Hadren & Lieutenant Dylan Santiago & Staff Warrant Officer Nexi

Mission: Talosian Perversions
Location: Conference Room
Timeline: Immediately after "Adding to the Mission"

Enala punched up one of her special drinks from the conference room replicator - a spice tea with a hint of midori flavoring. It was synthahol, but it would still help immensely. Taking the floral teacup and saucer, she sat at the head of the table and sipped at her tea, staring into it dowerly, waiting for people to get here.

Sinek call a young Science officer to relieve him on the bridge. While awaiting, Sinek observed Angel, possibly awaiting him to be relieved before going to the staff meeting. He wondered if she understood the implications of Vesik and T'Qol's presence on the Hera would have upon her. He knew Angel had the resiliency to survive their presence. With his support, she would endure it. He was also certain that he would need her support.

When the young lady relieved him, Sinek walked up to Angel. He looked her in the eyes, attempting to read her. "Shall we?" He asked.

"Yeah." Angel wasn't sure what to think of what had just happened. She knew, of course, who Sinek's parents were and that he hadn't talked to them in a long while, and that conversation had been less 'hello beloved son' than some might expect. Anyway, the personal ramifications of their sudden appearance could wait until after the meeting. Wondering how Enalia planned to approach the sudden visit, she quietly went with Sinek to the conference room.

Ethan didn't bother changing out of his teal scrubs, he headed to the meeting straight from sickbay.

"Not in uniform?" Dylan quipped as he came up behind Ethan, his own appearance sharp and wrinkle free.

Watching the two of them, Angel cleared her throat to get their attention. "Commentary about Doctor Chaparral's choice of attire is not necessary, Lieutenant. However." Deciding that Dylan didn't need any more than a minor scolding, she fixed her eyes on Ethan. "The word 'immediately' is not an excuse for arriving out of uniform, especially if you're on duty. Scrubs are to be worn inside sickbay, and only when there is risk of contamination from bodily fluids on the uniform. I expect at the next meeting, no matter how suddenly it's called, that you arrive in the proper uniform."

Enalia looked up from her teacup to comment. "I have to second my XO's request, even though right now I couldn't care less if you were all wearing bubble wrap and bacon suits. I smell a plot afoot and I don't like it." She left unsaid that she didn't like it because it wasn't part of one of her own plots.

Sinek was now seated in the Second Officer's seat, his hands folded before him in the familiar triangle. He was deep in thought. The Captain as yet had briefed them on their destination. Now, his parents are involved, which couldn't possibly be good.

He spoke his thoughts, "Given the coordinates we were heading and the comments the Admiral made about outside influence, I would logically surmise our mission somehow involves Talos IV."

Ethan looked between the Captain and the XO, keeping his expression neutral. He wasn't especially pleased by the rebuke, but he wasn't going to let it effect his mood. He remained silent and waited to see what would happen next.

"Even if it does, this ship is not going to Talos IV. We've already taken precautions to prevent such a course from being laid in." Angel was more interested in the sudden appearance of Sinek's parents, but it wasn't the time to question him about them. She did, however, suspect there was no upcoming diplomatic issue for them to resolve.

Sinek expressed no emotion, although he was worried for Angel's sake. His parents will most likely be cold and hard toward her. They were that way with him, and he was their son.

"It is the proper protocol," the CSO agreed. "Captain, just what is our mission? The Admiral and Ambassador were expressly vague."

Daln arrived late, having broken up a fight between two of his cadets. Why the Academy had thought those two were Starfleet material, he had no clue. His uniform was neat, but his collar was slightly unzipped, showing more of his neck than usual, and his hair was starting to grow out some, showing a lot of curl.

He took a seat at the end of the table, waiting for others to join them. "Did I hear someone mention Talos IV?" he asked tensely.

"You did, but we aren't going there. Just investigating some people who did." Angel wasn't sure why it was even their business why Kerouac and his crazy crew had gone there, but she wasn't about to argue about it with command either.

"Exactly," Enalia said, finally getting down to business. "Twice now, ships have visited Talos IV. The USS Katana, Captained by the man we hosted a court martial for, Kristopher Kerouac. Then again, by the same man in a Klingon ship after being released from prison and given command of a highly experimental transformative battleship. We're on watch for the USS Camelot in this region of space and ONLY on watch. I hate to say it, but from the specs, a fight between the Hera and any Manticore prototype would end very badly for us. We're also to investigate the other ships assigned to this area of space to see if they've gone near Talos IV while resupplying them from our own resources. We'll be restocking regularly from the not so local starbases. Thankfully, that only includes a Nova class, two Centaur class, four oberth class, and a handful of civilian exploratory ships smaller than the Oberth."

Sighing heavily, Enalia continued. "And now we're taking on a pair of ambassadors that I vaguely remember the names of and have no express purpose or defined mission for being on my ship, delaying our first resupply rendezvous. Also, in case anyone is wondering, I've added a requirement into the helm controls. This ship will require four command codes to accept any orders to even inadvertently go within the quarantine zone for Talos IV. The fourth command code is someone in San Francisco back on Earth."

Pausing a moment to look around the room, Enalia decided that that was enough information at the moment. "Does anyone have any comments or questions so far?"

Sinek wasn't certain if anyone but Angel knew who Vesik and T'Qol were. He never mentioned their names to anyone. He was certain Angel knew who they were by their bonding. He slowly brought his hands from his chin to the table. "Captain...I know the Ambassadors quite well. Their coming for diplomatic reasons is illogical, although to them it is entirely logical. I am certain my parents have manipulated the situation to their advantage. As to the nature of them coming aboard, I cannot ascertain."

"Is there anything else I should be aware of?" Enalia asked, trying to calmly sip at her tea. "Why would your parents manipulate this arrangement?"

"There are diverse possibilities," Sinek explained. "Only Visek and T'Qol know their logic. We have had none to minimal contact for fifty Earth years. If you wish, I will attempt to communicate with them before their arrival."

"No, we'll be there shortly. I can just ask them in person. If they're wasting our energy though... So help me... They'll be put to work in ways they won't find very logical at all." Just then an alert in the conference table chimed. Pressing a button, a hidden terminal popped up in front of Enalia and she read the message. "We've received the transfer manifest for the Ambassadors... There's a third person listed as an aide and enough crates... Commander Sinek... What is a koon-ut-kal-if-fee gong for?"

Sinek raised a brow and turned his gaze toward Angel. This couldn't be. Certainly, with no contact for fifty years, his family couldn't logically expect him to fulfill a vow they had made on his behalf. Before he was even able to choose his own path.

The Science officer kept his stone-face look. Inwardly, in the pit of his heart, he was feeling for her. The one he chose to love.

Keep his face toward Angel, he commented, "It is a ceremonial gong used during the Vulcan mating ritual. Koon-ut-kal-if-fee literally means 'marriage or challenge'."

"Well isn't that something..." Enalia muttered, closing up the hidden terminal. "Then in three days time, we'll have a banquet and we'll see if we'll have a marriage or a challenge. I'll arrange an open bar and full buffet."

Angel had kept a well-practiced poker face through most of the meeting, but talk of the Vulcan ritual of koon-ut-kal-if-fee shattered that poker face into a look of worry and distress. Sinek's parents were bringing the mate they'd chosen for him when he was a child. They were taking him away from her... so he could marry someone he barely knew and certainly didn't love. Enalia's plans to turn it into some sort of party weren't helping either. And I thought Talos IV was the worst thing we'd talk about today.

Sinek noticed the sarcasm in the Captain's voice patterns. He didn't think that Angel had. She was doing well at trying to remain calm. However, Sinek could see it. Around the corners of her eyes, the angle of her lips, there showed the hint of tension. If Angel didn't fully suppress what she was feeling there was going to be an explosion. One of volcanic proportions.

Sinek wished he could assure her everything would be fine. That his family would come to terms with Sinek's logical path and with open arms bring Angel into their family with arms wide open. However, that was not the case. It was not their way. It was not the Vulcan way.

He did the only logical thing he could do at the moment. Lifting his hands before his chin in the familiar pattern of the IDIC, he looked at Angel with brows raised in an attempt to help her center herself. Control her emotions.

"The Hera will not become a circus," Captain. "I will present logic to them that will persuade them." Sinek had never persuaded his family to see his own logic, but he didn't allow Captain Telvan to see that in his tone, nor his face.

Enalia was staring at both Sinek and Angel in turn. It looked as if this would either be a disaster or a lot of fun, but either way, she wanted it to resolve peacefully. As for Sinek's parents listening to his logic... Was it just her imagination, or did she catch a hint of doubt in his eyes? "You know what would make this whole scenario even better? If my parents showed up too, asking me when I was going to give them grandkids." Yeah, she doubted Sinek's parents would acquiesce. If they were anything like her own parents, they would die first.

Then a brilliantly mischievous plan hatched in Enalia's brain and a slow grin spread across her face. "Our other option is for me to marry the two of you. Right here. Right now. Or I could wait until the banquet and we can do the whole combat or marriage thing."

"Lieutenant Hadren, please replicate and add two dozen Vulcan lirpas to the armory." Enalia added, waiting for their decision. "Just in case."

Sinek again raised a brow. It seems the Captain may have been mentored by his parents. "It is an option," he said, his voice giving no indication if he thought it was good or bad.

His idea was to break the bond. The Vulcan ceremony gives the male the right to do so, but the female had to produce a challenger. If he were to do this, he would set himself up once again as the rebellious son. It was nothing new. Not only would he insult his family, but also the female and her family.

Angel looked at Sinek and then at Enalia. It was no surprise to her that Sinek disagreed with the apparent reasoning for his parents visit, but they'd never talked about actually getting married. Surprisingly, it had never come up, even when they did talk about their relationship. "An option that might have your family outright declaring you not to be their son. Are you sure you want to risk that?"

"I could kill someone," Nexi said from where she had been lurking in the corner. Probably wasn't the best idea to offer to kill someone in the middle of the staff meeting while she was undergoing the training to enlist, but she hadn't enlisted yet and she didn't see any other reason for Enalia wanting her to be here. "No fiance, no 'kal-if-fay' thing, right?" she continued with a shrug, like it was completely normal to suggest offing someone.

Hadren chuckled. "And I thought my family was crazy when it came to marriage. It's nice to be proven wrong." He then threw a look at Nexi. "And please don't kill anyone, Nexi. I'd hate to have to put you in the brig."

"Like you could..." Nexi replied with a chuckle. Hell, even if he got lucky enough to get her into the brig, she hadn't found a cage yet she couldn't get out of...

Enalia had to fight a grin and remain composed. "If anyone is killing anyone, Commander Fairchild will be the one doing the killing. You have my permission, if it comes to combat, though I hope Doctor Chaparral successfully sees to the continued life of all parties involved." she said with a nod to Angel. "Just please take care of promotion assessments before then, ok?" Should she mention that someone in this room was on that list or just let Sinek's name be a surprise? There were three other officers and nine junior officers to go over as well and by protocol, the XO and SO confer and make their recommendations for her review but this might be a special case.

"There is no logical reason for anyone to be killed," Sinek evenly expressed, not picking up on their levity. "If they intend to manipulate me back to Vulcan, marriage is one way to do so. A married couple spends the first year together on the home world." He thought a moment. "If this is their reasoning, I will merely break the bond of marriage with this female." In that way, Sinek could protect those for whom he cared.

He glanced at Angel once again, wanting to console her, offer his support. At the moment, his Vulcan ways didn't appeal to him. He knew most of the Senior Staff was aware of their relationship. There was no logical reason for him not to show his affection in public. Slowly Sinek reached his hand across the table to Angel.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say that if you were to leave the Hera, it would be a great loss to the ship and crew as a whole." Enalia said, a hint of a smile showing. "So... Does anyone have anything else to add? Does everyone understand that this Talos IV thing needs to be kept under wraps and is our first priority during these resupply runs?"

Taking Sinek's offered hand and squeezing it gently, Angel managed to relax enough to take the tension out of her shoulders for that moment. "If there's anything Section 31 taught me, it's how to keep a mission on task while still keeping it a secret. Our visitors won't know any more about it than they already do."

Nodding to Angel, Enalia looked around the room looking for questioning faces and found none. "In that case, you're all dismissed." Standing, Enalia led the way from the conference room.