AT/D02 - Bridge

[Tyra Crawford]

== The Bridge of the USS Artemis is a perfectly oval room located on Deck Two. The walls and carpet are the typical Star Fleet colors of beige and gray with consoles trimmed in faux chrome.

As one enters the Bridge, they will find the bridge divided into three levels.  The center of the bridge, near the stern, the Captain’s chair is found on the uppermost level. In front of the captain’s chair, one will drop down to a lower level with chairs reserved for the First Officer and Mission Advisor.  Taking another step down, one will find the Helm and Tactical stations.

Surrounding the perimeter of the bridge, one will find eight workstations.  Stations on the starboard side of the bridge include: Slipstream status, Engineering, Communications, and Operations. Stations on the port side of the bridge include Science, Environmental Control, Security, and Away Missions. 

On the forward wall of the Bridge is the Viewscreen System, which is activated by voice or manually from any console as needed.  On the back wall of the Bridge is the Master Systems Display.

To the right and left of the Master Systems Display one has access to the rest of Deck Two, which includes access to the Ready Room, Briefing Room, Captain’s Office and Quarters, and First Officer’s Office and Quarters. ==

[Miles Grant]

>>Strat Ops>>

The journey from Miles' office in the Strategic Operations Complex to the Bridge was a quick, one deck journey via turbolift. As he entered the Bridge, he noted the only crew aboard were the "skeleton crew" that tended to the Bridge before full mission go. He knew it wouldn't be too long before that changed, but he was the first of the "main crew" to enter.

As such, he was more or less Senior most Officer. That really didn't mean much to Miles at this point in time, since there was nothing for him to really "Command". That being said, he was still prepared on the off chance that something did happen that he would need to take Command until the Command staff or higher ranked/Command trained Department Head arrived.

Making his way down to the Tactical dais, he considered which station to take. He had been gaining more experience on the Helm with shuttlebay shifts and some simulations, but he still wasn't as far along on it as some other Tactical experience. So, he felt this would be a great opportunity to get himself behind the Helm, at least for the time being.

Relieving the crewman at the Helm, he pulled up systems diagnostics to check the status of all Tactical systems and ship readiness as he awaited the arrival of the rest of the Bridge crew.

==Tag all. GM input (if we're there yet): what are the results of the diagnostics and ship readiness, please?==

[Tyra Crawford]

== Set after the Ready Room and Recall ==

By the time Tyra stepped back on the turbolift for Deck 2 with coffee in hand, she felt like they were on more solid ground with the makings of a plan that wasn't as suicidal. Oh, it was still questionable but the parameters of the assignment hadn't allowed for reasonable because no reasonable person would look at the objective and go "yeah, that seems like an entirely plausible goal". They could only work with what they had.

Regardless, the captain was calm as the turbolift doors opened to reveal the Artemis' bridge, maybe even seemingly relaxed. After all, this was the calmbefore the storm and she needed to enjoy that while it lasted.

The bridge was just starting to him with activity as crew trickled in, most notably her new acting CTO was already present.

"Mr. Grant, please begin pre-launch checklist for helms and get us cleared for launch when we're ready," Tyra requested as she made her way to her chair, setting her thermos in it's holder before standing back up.

She glanced at the seat next to hers, knowing that Coleman would begin department check-ins when he arrived. That also gave the other departments that needed personnel on the bridge to get their people there.

== Tag Grant. I think you're also safe assuming all systems are green ==

[Benjamin Elias]

==Ensign Stelic, Engineer==

Stelic smirked as the turbolift doors opened and deposited the young engineer onto the bridge. Though the expression was un-Vulcan of him, it was also an expression he couldn't remove from his face no matter how much he wanted to. A childhood injury had damaged the nerves on one corner of his mouth, and no matter how often they attempted to regenerate them, the damage crept back in and he was left with the permanent smirk. He had resigned himself to it some years prior, though he refused to admit that he derived some pleasure from how it seemed to discomfit those who didn't know him.

He walked briskly past several consoles - most manned by personnel he didn't know - and came to the engineering station. "I relieve you," he told the crewman from the night shift who sat there. The young woman nodded and stood, yielding him the chair. She stifled a yawn which swallowed whatever she tried to say - some variation on "I stand relieved" most likely, though it might as well been in Ferengi for all he could understand it - and walked off the bridge.

An eyebrow rose at her, but he didn't say a word. He had done his share of night shift bridge duty, and understood her tiredness fairly well. The addition of being docked at station during such a shift likely had not helped matters. He took his seat and brought his preferred configuration up so he could be sure he had information at his fingertips. 
Diagnostics were still being run, but he kept an eye on them so he was ready. With the Captain already on the bridge, he knew that launch likely wasn't far away, and she would want information instantly.

[GM-01]

==Woo! First post with new account!==

A hail from the Philadelphia flagged up on Artemis' communications.

[Artemis, this is Philadelphia. Captain Braggins sends her regards, and requests your readiness status.]

The voice sounded calm and polite, though had a distinctive slightly squeaky English accent to it.

==Grant, yes you're safe to assume everything is good to go!==

[Miles Grant]

It wasn't long until the other crew assigned to Bridge duty started to trickle in, prime among them Captain Crawford. He was just finishing his diagnostics and status checks, everything looking green and good to go as she took her place at the center of the Bridge. She quickly ordered for pre-launch checklist and to get cleared for launch when everything was set.

"Aye, Captain," he responded, going through his checklist. It didn't take long for everything to come up clear as such. He opened up a channel to Deep Space Nine on getting clear for launch, awaiting the response from them. As he awaited, the message came in from the Philadelphia. Once there was a moment after their query, Miles turned to address the Captain.

"All systems are go, awaiting final clearance from DS9," he reported. He awaited further orders, as well as the response from the station, and then it would be time to get them on the road to whatever the mission entailed.

He was patient in that regards, as he was sure they would receive the full breakdown once they were underway. It did intrigue him that they would apparently be joined by the Philadelphia, but such were some missions. For now, he focused on the job at hand.

==Tag all. GM input: Do we receive clearance for launch from DS9?==

[Robin Mayfair]

Robin Mayfair's southern-accented voice reached the Bridge. [This is the Chief Medical Officer. Reporting ready for departure.]

[Tyra Crawford]

Tyra's eyebrow arched slightly as the message came through from the Philly. She didn't think she'd ever heard her sister-in-law send anyone her regards without it being dripping with sarcasm and likely followed with a fist. However, the redhead bit back her initial flippant remark and instead, turned to glance at Grant

"All systems are go, awaiting final clearance from DS9," he reported.

She turned back to the screen just as the seat next to her became occupied by her first officer. He quickly reported that he had begun the departmental check ins, which was confirmed by the communications traffic. She'd leave answering Mayfair and the others to Coleman as she focused on launch.

"As soon as we have clearance, push us off," she told Grant as she opened a ship-wide channel. "All hands, prepare for launch imminently."

With that done, she turned her attention to the Philly's channel. "Captain Crawford here. Regards, huh? I've seen your Captain deliver her regards before so I think I'll pass but you can tell Captain Braggins that we are awaiting clearance from DS9 for launch, green across the board."

== Apologies for the delay, guys. It was a week. ==

[GM-01]

[Artemis you are cleared to depart.]

[Carol Harriman]

<< Quarters <<

Carol arrived on the bridge just in time to hear they were cleared to launch. She pushed hair off her forehead and as she walked through the door she chewed the gum she grabbed on her way out of her quarters. Officers were busy with launch procedures. As she stepped down, she noted the captain and first officer were there as well as Lieutenant Grant. As she slid into the tactical station she inhaled the scent of the freshly cleaned bridge. 

The smell and shine of a cleaned ship doesn't get old. 

As everyone prepared for launch, Carol logged in and reviewed systems diagnostic checks that had been done, getting up to speed and ready for the captain's orders.

[Miles Grant]

==No worries. I am right there with you on it being a week having had to have dealt with Idalia==

As Miles continued to wait on the reply from DS9, the Captain and First Officer were fielding other report-ins, to include Mayfair from Sickbay. He recalled his conversation with Crawford where the Chief Medical Officer had come up briefly in discussion. The timely report in, mixed with how well she had run her Department in ensuring everyone was up to date and cleared for mission (of which he had worked with her on his end to ensure his own Department had checked in with her), gave major credence to the Captain's words.

It, alongside his own determination to prove himself, gave him a sense that he could fulfill the duties the Captain had set forth. He would do all he could, but right now, he had his current job to do. Crawford had since given the order that as soon as DS9 cleared them, he was to launch.

"Aye, Captain," he said, prepping the Helm for imminent departure, as the Captain responded to Philadelphia's message.

==Tag all==

[Jennifer Braggins]

Braggins' voice came back, tinged with a hint of amusement and fake indignation.

[That happened one time! And he was sitting in your chair so he deserved it! Or are we talking about the other time?]

At the same time, a text-only message popped up on Tyra's armrest console; it was a query whether she had figured out a better way to get her team aboard the Callisto, followed by a suggestion that the crews get together for a briefing once the ships cleared the Bajor system.

[Miles Grant]

==Looked like I missed the GM post==

It didn't take long after the Captain's orders that DS9 came back with the clearance for launch. As Miles prepped the last few commands to initiate, he noted Lieutenant Harriman had entered the Bridge and taken her place at the Tactical station. He gave her a swift nod as she logged in.

He hadn't really had the chance to talk with Harriman at depth since the promotion, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing, or a bad thing. The Department was running rather smoothly, and Miles knew, though she wasn't the current Chief, that Harriman was still very active to ensure the Department's success. Hopefully, he would get a chance to speak with her further.

"Copied, control," he responded to DS9, as he initiated thrusters to gently take them out of dry dock. Once cleared, he engaged impulse to come up next to the Philadelphia.

==Tags==

[Aeryn Miller]

The Security Chief's slightly accented voice came over the comm clearly and concisely.

[Miller to Bridge, Security is ready]

== Tags ==

[Lucy Devereaux]

<< Science Complex – Primary Labs <<

Being the last person to weight in was legitimately awkward. The only thing to do was tough it out and not evaporate in embarrassment. She’d never been able to sneak in late and unnoticed. The joke growing up had been that her hair had rusted in the rain one day. It had been amusing mostly to herself that her hair despite appearances couldn’t carry a current. That had been an educational experiment for all concerned.

The seat at the Science Console sat glaringly empty. Neither slow nor rushed she walked over to the Science Console and settled it. It was easy enough to pull up her presets and confirm that sensors and all were operational. The various sub-departments in the Science Complex had checked in.

“Science is ready, Captain.”

Lucy understood what people meant when they referred to something as being green. In the case of the Science Department and the rest there were more hues than the standard set. She was partial to a certain verdant hue. She had considered dying her hair green, but she’d thought it might be overkill. Also she hadn’t really settled on a shade. It would have to be something that complemented her skin tone. Maybe another time.

== tag ==

[Benjamin Elias]

==Ensign Stelic, Vulcan Engineer==

Stelic sat at the engineering console and listened. He was good at it, though often he chose not to listen when there were large groups of people around; most of the time he found their conversation inane or just boring. On the bridge, though, he knew better than to stop listening.

He listened as each department checked in, signaling their readiness for departure. He listened to the call come in from Philadelphia as they asked about Artemis' departure status - an intriguing development if there ever was one. He briefly considered sending that to his department head before deciding against it. He was sure that a staff meeting would be called shortly, and LCdr Elias would find out more then.

He watched his console, as well, and nodded as he saw the missive from his department head appear shortly after his board turned green. He half-turned towards the command well and called, "Engineering is ready, Captain. Lieutenant Commander Elias notes that warp is ready whenever you need it."

[Tyra Crawford]

As expected, her shot across the bow got a response from the Philadelphia's commanding Officer and Tyra couldn't help her lips pulling into a grin. There was no point mentioning that by Tyra's count there were more than two possible events but the one Jenny aluded to was certainly in the top two. It wasn't every day an officer got their hand broken by another officer for being an absolute asshole but then again, she wasn't certain that particular officer had had any other setting besides full asshole.

"I know I wasn't hired for my math skills but I think I'm counting past two on this one," Tyra remarked as her blue eyes were pulled down by her console beeping.

She read Jenny's message carefully and nodded slightly at the first part. They had a nice plan coming together, though she was waiting on the final details and odds of success.

The second part made her swallow the tiniest of sighs though. While she didn't particularly enjoy the dog and pony show that came with joint mission briefings, usually a byproduct of insecure officers that needed to feel they belonged in the big leagues, she was confident that she and Jenny could keep the personalities in check. And if they couldn't, she wasn't above treating them like children.

As she tapped back a message, she could hear DS9 give their blessing and Grant confirm as she felt Artemis begin to hum a little more as thrusters came online.

With that done, she leaned back and picked up her thermos, taking a big mouthful of coffee. She'd likely need a few more cups before the day was over but that wasnt unusual.

"Grant, Harriman.... I know that Mac -- Lieutenant McKenzie is proficient at conducting shuttle hot drops in, well, tricky territory. Do either of you have experience with that?" she asked, her tone rather casual for the rather specific question she was asking.

[Jennifer Braggins]

[One, three, ten...who's counting any more?]

The text reply suggested the Philadelphia could host; it would be cramped, but it would mean everyone was where they needed to be. The strike team could beam aboard with their equipment, and anything that they did not bring would come from the Philadelphia's own stores.

[Jennifer Braggins]

The text reply was also a little slower, as it too had had more thought put into it.

[Agreed on not pulling gear blind; we have enough toys for the job but that'd leave us under-equipped if things go sideways. We can do the full briefing, then you can pull whatever you need. We have enough time before we hit Parhelia to refine plans and gear lists if we need to, but the sooner we get that nailed down the sooner we can get on with this mess.]

[Miles Grant]

As they pulled up beside the Philadelphia, Miles could hear the other Departments call readiness. Taking a brief look around, he noted that he was the only Department Head currently on the Bridge. The Chief Engineer and Chief Medical Officers he could understand, but he at least had anticipated Miller's presence. Either way, other Department's rotations weren't his concern as he went back to the task at hand.

It was after a moment that the Captain fielded a question to Miles and Harriman. The casualness of the question definitely caught Miles off-guard, especially considering the weight and implications to such a question.

He glanced over to Harriman momentarily. He knew she might, given her more rounded experience in the Department. For himself...

"I can't speak for Lieutenant Harriman," he began, "but I have no such practical experience. Simulations, yes. If it comes to it, and there are no other viable candidates for any scenario that comes up that would require that, I am comfortable enough to do so."

==Tags==

[Carol Harriman]

As Carol sat, chewing her gum and working on the console in front of her, she found the sounds occuring across the varying consoles amusing and her occasional gum pops added to her entertainment. Carol smirked and started to listen closely to everything, causing her pause momentarily on her work. As her hands rested for a minute, her head bobbed slightly as if listening to music. 

"Grant, Harriman," the captain began causing Carol to shake her head clear of the tones. 

Shuttle drops? Really? Where are we headed and why?  What the **** are we planning? Drops can be fun, but are you going to give any more information than just a hot drop? 

Grant answered first, explaining he had some experience in practice. Carol had done it, not often, but had done it. She also knew from knowing Grant's records, they both were capable of doing this, but felt the question was more of where they were doing the hot drop. 

Carol answered, her gum popping as she started. "I've done it but haven't had the do it a lot. What sort of ... tricky territory or situation are we talking about?" 

She heard a few more tones from someone's console, seemingly putting an exclamation mark on her sentence, causing her to smirk.

[Tyra Crawford]

Tyra's head was ducked, typing out a response to Jenny, when Grant, after a slight hesitation, answered her question. '

"I can't speak for Lieutenant Harriman," he began, "but I have no such practical experience. Simulations, yes. If it comes to it, and there are no other viable candidates for any scenario that comes up that would require that, I am comfortable enough to do so."

She could appreciate the young man's confidence and willingness to step up but confidence wasn't a replacement for pure experience.

It was the pop of Carol's gum that had Tyra looking at her before the tactical officer had even begun to speak. "I've done it but haven't had the do it a lot. What sort of ... tricky territory or situation are we talking about?"

Despite the desire to point Carol towards the nearest trash can, Tyra refrained and instead, offered the more seasoned pilot a shrug and a ghost of her usual wry grin.

"Only time will tell, I'm afraid," the redhead answered with the same lightness as the initial question but that lightness was short lived as the captain turned her attention to her console with a more serious expression.

Some of the pieces to her current puzzle had fallen into place easily like medical and security but some of them had not, like the tactical piece. The issue at hand was that she needed an experienced pilot capable of handling an unconventional flight plan and environment but she also needed to leave the Artemis is capable hands. In an ideal world, that pilot would be Eliya McKenzie, who had quite literally spent an entire war flying small crafts through a war zone, but Mac was also one of the junior officers with the most command experience, having been a first officer on the Madi once upon a time. Her experience would be of great use to the acting command team and as such, Tyra was going to have to hope Harriman or Grant could rise to the occasion.

At the receipt of Jenny's message, Tyra nodded and quickly typed out of a response before going back to what she had been working on. She looked it over again, her lip pulling slightly to show that she wasn't entirely happy with it, but there was only so much that she could do. The team was overly solid, assuming science could avoid a repeat breakdown of their last two performances, but truth be told, she wasn't above leaving a science officer behind if they decided to hug a damn Cardassian or start a food fight while moving through the ship.

Speaking of hugging Cardassians, she had concerns about Elias' choice of engineer to accompany him, D'Mar. Tyra hadn't been exactly thrilled when she'd read the engineer's bio upon her assignment but she had seen nothing overly concerning in the woman's file. However now, she wasn't certain she trusted her enough to put her in a position that might be compromising and she had made it abundantly clear to Elias that he better keep an eye on her for issues.

Too many moving pieces and any one piece could be the piece that sinks us... she thought as she rubbed a hand over her brow before reaching for her thermos of coffee.

She let the warmth of the coffee sit on her tongue for a moment, the delicate flavors of her current blend seeping into her taste buds. The warmth had the added benefit of forcing her jaw muscles to relax just a little, the only real tell tale sign that she was anything but relaxed.

After jabbing her console one more time, she looked over Coleman and nodded. "Summons have been sent," she stated with an edge.

Almost immediately, she turned her attention to Harriman and Grant. "Lieutenant McKenzie is on her way up here to relieve helm. Both of you need to get to the transporter room and get over to the Philadelphia for the mission briefing. Beam over as you get there; no need to overload their tiny transporter room with all of us at once."

She turned towards science. "Deveraux, you as well. Let's prove we've learned something from our previous endeavors, okay?"

No sooner than she had finished saying that than the turbolift opened and the dark haired Lieutenant McKenzie stepped out. Her silver eyes quickly scanned the bridge, nodding to Grant and then, Harriman before looking to Tyra with an questioning look. Mac's usual domain was the shuttle bay, where she kept the ship organized and running like a machine, and the bridge during the night shift, where she usually manned helms and kept an eye on whatever green officer was sitting in the command chair for the night.

"We're going over to the Philly so you have helm and the bridge. Don't scuff anything," Tyra added, pointedly looking down at the lieutenant's boots that would no doubt be kicked up somewhere as soon as they were all gone.

== Tag guys! ==

[Carol Harriman]

Carol's brow furrowed with hearing the captain's reply to her inquiry. What they were tasked with for this upcoming mission was still unknown to her. While frustrated, she was intrigued. She listened to the captain as she faced forward. The bridge continued to stay musical.

Only time will tell? What the **** are we supposed to be doing? 

 Carol didn't have much longer to wait though, as the captain ordered a few officers to head over to the Philadelphia for a briefing, which included both she and Grant.  She couldn't help but give Grant a puzzled look. It wasn't a look of refusal, but more curiousity. Carol wrapped up what she was working on, and then logged out. Looking to Grant, she spoke to him, "Ready?," as she got up and nodded to the captain, first officer, and McKenzie who had arrived on the bridge.

[Tyra Crawford]

As Harriman, Grant and Devereaux prepared to depart the bridge, Tyra stood up, thermos in hand. She glanced down at Coleman and offered him a small smile. "I need to make a stop and then, I'll be over."

She gave the same small smile to Mac as she passed her, bumping shoulders slightly as they essentially swapped spots.

"Keep my chair warm but no stains this time," she requested, receiving only a grumble from the former helmsman. If she didn't know that Mac's disgruntled exterior was a good cover for one of the most loyal officers she'd ever met, she'd likely take offense to it but she was one of the steadfast characters aboard the ship, moving from Avenger to Getty to Artemis.

Familiarity led to being a little more willing to overlook things, like Mac's attitude and Carol's boughts of unprofessionalism. One just had to survive on the ship long enough to reach that level, which seemed difficult given the missions they kept pulling.

There was a small sigh on Tyra's lips as she steered herself towards her ready room, needing to take care of something before departing.

>> Ready Room >>

[Lucy Devereaux]

Lucy half listened to the goings on on the Bridge mostly to pass the time. Travelling under warp felt like killing time and the Artemis was flying parallel with the Philadelphia or near as. The curious bit was the use of the phrase hot drops. She was familiar with dust offs from watching old Terran war movies with her grandfather. The art of getting a chopper to hover in a clearing without actually landing. Something severe was certainly ahead.

The bit that surprised Lucy was the Captain telling her that she was to join the briefing. The Captain had been there when she’d been stunned on Utopia Planitia. It certainly couldn’t have gone worse. She was glad that Damian and Aeryn had been willing to out her through some intensive training and a refresher on what she’d forgotten from the Academy. Time to see if she could get through whatever this was without screwing up.

“Understood, Captain.”

Lucy changed the console back to the standard settings and with a second check over got up and made her way to the turbolift. She guessed it was time to get to know the crew of the Philadelphia. If the upcoming mission was severe enough to require a hot drop getting to know them would be essential.

>> Transporter Room >>

[Miles Grant]

Once hearing Harriman's response, which included asking a question that could really only be garnered by the experience of working alongside someone for so long, it looked like things were moving more into motion. Crawford called for quite a number of the crew, to include both Miles and Harriman, to make their way to the Transporter Room to beam over to the Philadelphia for what appeared to be a rather large meeting.

Miles now figured something big was happening for such an event to occur. As the "changing of the guard" occurred, Miles called for additional Tactical personnel to assist on the Bridge. He would also swing by the Strat Ops before departing to get everything up to speed. It would be quick, but he motioned for Harriman to go ahead while he took care of the last minute details.

>>Transporter Room>>

[Jay D'Mar]

A communication cam into the bridge for Commander Elias.

[Ens D'Mar to Commander Elias. I've sent the Warp Core diagnostic to the Bridge engineering console. It doesn't look good, sir. It's working at optimal levels, good for short distance travel, only! I'm in engineering now and its a mess. It's going to take me some time to sort out what needs fixing to improve warp care performance.]

[Robin Mayfair]

A communication cam into the bridge for Commander Elias.

[Ens D'Mar to Commander Elias. I've sent the Warp Core diagnostic to the Bridge engineering console. It doesn't look good, sir. It's working at optimal levels, good for short distance travel, only! I'm in engineering now and its a mess. It's going to take me some time to sort out what needs fixing to improve warp care performance.]

== I think this went to the wrong location ==

[Jay D'Mar]

Jay's calm voice came over the comms, [Acknowledged, captain.]