A Tour Of The Station

Posted on Tue Aug 30th, 2011 @ 12:03pm by Captain Alexander Gunning & Captain Liarra Von & Lieutenant Commander Jonathon Bastin PhD & Lieutenant Mignon Melia
Edited on on Thu Dec 22nd, 2011 @ 9:34am

Mission: The Pak'Leth Problem
Location: Various Locations - Starbase 332
Timeline: MD01 - 1050hrs

[ON]

The pair exited the turbolift in Main Operations. On Deck 12, they were about as high as it was worth going on the base. The bustle of the busy command centre was always something to behold and today was no exception. It was coming first light on Archa IV which meant that the freighters were just beginning their long jaunts across the sector to one of the many trading outposts in Galactic South.

They wandered over beyond the situation table where a number of white-collared personnel stood, trying to work out flight plans for some fighter exercise or other. "This is Ops, then. It might be quite different to any bridge you've seen before. Almost every vital system on the station is controlled from here, including the traffic in and around the entire Archanis Sector."

"This is the first time I've been on a starbase," she admitted. "So, yeah, it's very different."

"And here's the woman responsible for that traffic now." Gunning said as he noticed Commander Liarra Von emerge from the turbolift. He waved to her and beckoned her over. "Commander Von, this is Lieutenant Mignon our new Chief Counselor."

"Hi," Mignon said cheerfully. "Nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine, Counselor," Liarra answered as she shook Mignon hand. "I overheard that you've never served on a station before. You're probably not too familiar with the Strategic Operations department, are you?"

"Only from what I learned in the Academy," Mignon admitted. "So ... not really."

"Technically, I am Chief of Strategic Operations for the Archanis Sector, not just the station. I'm responsible for managing all Starfleet and other friendly activity for this sector. All incoming and outgoing traffic goes through my department. I'm also responsible for the sector security, so any information regarding hostiles or combat goes through me as well. Essentially, nothing happens in this sector that I don't know about."

Liarra moved to her pod and pulled up a traffic display. "Currently we are at condition Green. No hostile ships are in the area. This display shows all of the current ships in the sector, with the station and Archa IV at the center. Any ships entering the sector must contact the station, requesting permission to approach. This allows us to keep track of authorized ships. Failure to signal usually means several hails from us followed by a visit from our garrison. Fortunately, it rarely comes to that though. Most ships respond by the second or third hail. Some vessels are only passing through, others request permission to dock. At that point, control passes to the Dockmaster, who assigns them a berth and manages their approach. My department still keeps tabs on the docked ships, but at that point it's more for security."

She tapped the controls on the display a few times, changing the display to a tactical display. "Of course, that part of my job is more mundane. In the event of an attack or conflict, I coordinate operations between the station, the garrison vessels, and other Starfleet vessels. I also coordinate with the Intelligence department to keep apprised of hostile activity in and around this sector. I usually coordinate patrols around the sector to act as early warning for defense of the station. My newest role, in addition to my duties on the station, is the commanding officer of the Jackal. If I'm not in Ops, you'll probably find me on the bridge there. And that's my job in a nutshell," the Trill added, fully aware that she probably provided more information than needed.

"No. I love information," she assured the other woman.

Gunning stood, quietly taking in the sheer level of knowledge that the Trill possessed. She had never ceased to amaze him but seeing her standing in that pod, working out details of intricate movements amongst hundreds, even thousands of vessels was incredibly impressive.

"Well, we'll leave you to it, Commander. By the looks of those sensor screens, it looks like you're in for a busy shift." The Commodore said, moving back towards the turbolift before turning to her with a wicked smile. "Try not to crash any."

"I'll do my best, sir," Liarra responded, a wicked smile of her own.

"You'd better." Came the cheeky response.

The next stop on the tour would be Deck Fourteen and one of the station's observation areas. If this didn't take the Lieutenant's breath away, nothing would. The turbolift doors parted onto a giant open-plan space with plenty of seating but very few people. The huge viewing port, flanked by meteorological and astrometric read-outs, framed the planet of Archa IV. There were few better ways to take in the stunning planet in her entirety than to stand, looking down on her from here.

Scenery, at least new or unique examples of it, normally attracted thinkers and dreamers. It was no wonder, then, that Lt. Cmdr. Bastin found himself standing on the Observation Deck staring out into space every so often when he wasn't glancing at the PADD that sat in his right hand. Although one could hardly confuse the rather pragmatic diplomat of being something of a dreamer, it was entirely true to label him as a man that frequented the depths of thought. The subject behind the look of unyielding contemplation was anyone's guess.

Mignon walked into the room and froze. The scene was spectacular. For several seconds she stood in awe. "This is amazing," she whispered. This was one place she'd return to again and again.

The Commodore led the Lieutenant towards Commander Bastin and opened his palm towards the Diplomat. "Commander Bastin. Allow me to introduce Lieutenant Mignon Mejia, our new Chief Counselor."

"Commander," Mignon said with a friendly bow. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure to meet you as well, Counselor," the diplomat said with a cheerful enough smile. He looked the woman over for a moment, getting a sense of her personality by her body language, posture, and other subtle tricks he'd managed to pick up. He could tell that she was a genuinely upbeat type of person, which meant she was probably both well suited for and rather good at her job. The fact that she was Betazoid most likely helped when it came to most people, knowing what they were thinking even if they didn't know how to express it. Jon was glad he had the genetic anomaly he possessed, making him much akin to Ferengi... unreadable.

"How do you like the setup they have here? I'm honestly impressed that Starfleet put as much attention into the aesthetics as they did. Usually you don't find that in the more 'frontier' areas of the Federation," Jon asked, indicating the remarkable view they were sharing with a wave of his hand.

"It's spectacular," Mignon admitted. "If I could move my quarters here I'd probably never leave," she joked.

"I can sympathize with that notion... but my quarters have a nice enough view thanks to my position, so I will just be thankful for what I have and be content to visit this place when I need a good view to help me think," Jon said with a smirk.

Mignon couldn't help laughing at the comment. "From what I've been told my quarters are on the other side of the station."

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Lieutenant." The Commodore said, despite not being entirely sure of where the Lieutenant's quarters actually were. He figured that there were enough quarters free for the senior officers to all have a planet-side view if they wanted one. Mind you, there was a reason he wasn't a quartermaster.

Mignon smiled at the Commodore. She wasn't sure if he could pull it off, but she appreciated the gesture.

"If nothing else, you can always shack up with someone that's got a view. Wouldn't be the first time I've seen that happen," the Commander chuckled, his mischievous smirk a good indicator that he was speaking from some measure of experience, though it wasn't obvious if it was personal experience or not.

Mignon couldn't help laughing at the comment. "More than the view would have to be spectacular."

[OFF]

Commodore Alex Gunning
Commanding Officer

Commander Liarra Von
Head of Strategic Operations - Archanis Sector

Lieutenant Commander Jonathon Bastin
Head of Starfleet Diplomatic Corps. - Archanis Sector

Lieutenant Mignon Mejia
Chief Counselor