Dropping In Unannounced

Posted on Sun Apr 12th, 2015 @ 11:05pm by Admiral Lucius Hawke & Admiral Ricky Wegener & Lieutenant Hope Beckman

Mission: Breaking New Ground
Location: Admiral Wegener's Office

* * * Admiral Wegener’s Office * * *

The doors to Rick’s office opened and Lucius stepped in. “Good morning sunshine.” Lucius was perfectly dressed as always, and had a steaming mug of coffee in hand. “You have a few minutes?”

“No,” Rick replied, “but I’ve never been able to turn you down.” He smiled for effect.

“You say the sweetest things.” Lucius stopped at the replicator and ordered coffee for Rick, then carried to his desk. Finally he sat and sipped his coffee before he continued.

“It looks like everything is, once again, wrapped up. That’s the short version.”

“Uh-huh,” Rick said after a sip. “And the long version?”

“Let’s see. Site 6 is no more, three Dominion ships played target practice with our crew, who split into 4 separate ships, three as decoys to distract the Dominion from the one carrying our cargo. They took some hits but all are home safely.”

“And how is our ‘cargo’? Still on ice?”

Lucius nodded. “Dr. Harding fixed a small glitch in the chamber, then she was transported to her storage space down below. The only ones who know of her actual location are the two of us, the doctor, and Ronin. The rest were not told on purpose, and Ronin will be sent down to the planet. He’s taking a civilian job and living in the house next door. Harding will be on site the next two weeks to monitor things and make sure no one’s getting curious. That’s about it.”

“Any word on further Dominion activity?” Rick asked. “I’m sure they’re not just going to let something this important go without some sort of follow up.”

“I agree. we’ll need to inform tactical and I want Intel to see what they can pick up. I suspect a lull and they will hope to surprise us.” Lucius sipped his coffee and shrugged. “It can’t hurt to beef up the patrols and give the Marines something to do. Which brings me to my next point.”

“Don’t keep me in suspense.”

“Holbridge and Harrison are remaining civilian as far as I know. I will make Mr. Harrison an offer but I suspect the answer will be a succinct no. Jackson Banning will continue in his special services role. Lorenz, however, we may be able to bring back in with the Marines. I will refer him to you as it’s your station, Rick. But this effectively keeps this little band separated, and still close enough to keep tabs on, just as before. And let us hope we never have to bring them all back together again.” Lucius sighed aloud. “The other two, Mr. Awf and Lt. Talan are in separate departments, which is good. I foresee no problems.”

“Hmmm...a return to the Corps,” Rick mused. “He wasn’t a bad marine when he was in. Sometimes a bit hot-headed, but he could definitely do the job.” He quickly pulled up something on his monitor, scrolled over a few pages, nodded and then closed the program. “I have a meeting with someone in a few days that I’d like to run that past first. I don’t think it’ll be a problem, though.” He sipped his quickly cooling drink. “As for the rest, that sounds good.”

“Harding has arranged for Dr. Crane to cover for him while he is on Archadia. And that, as they say, is the ballgame. You know I could do with some baseball. Back on your Earth, the season just opened.” Lucius rose and went to refill his mug. “And before you ask, I’ve not seen Li yet. I assume she’ll pull us together for a full briefing.”

Rick nodded, now thinking about baseball. “I wouldn’t mind taking a little vacation, heading back to Earth and watching some games. El would probably enjoy that as well. We have plenty to offer out here, and even down on Archadia, but sometimes you just want to go home for a while.”

“I can understand that. I do have some friends there who’ve been pestering me to come. Maybe one day --” Lucius was interrupted by a beep from Ricky’s desk.

Turning back to the console, Rick activated the link.

=^= Admiral =^= Hope said over the comm, =^= you have visitors. Admirals Tomas Cruzado and Eria Azoulay from Starfleet Command are here. =^=

Lucius’ eyebrows shot up in surprise as Rick muted the comm. “Did you know about this visit?”

“I...did not.” He huffed. He didn’t like unexpected visitors, especially those from Starfleet Command. “You ready, then?” he asked of Lucius.

“I suppose, but it’s not like we’re close enough for them to drop in on their way somewhere else. And I am Starfleet Command. Why didn’t I know? Curious.” Lucius frowned. “But they sent two that I like.” He smiled and nodded to Rick.

Unmuting the comm, he said, “Send them in, Hope.” Out of respect, both Rick and Lucius stood to welcome their visitors.

Moments later, the doors opened and Admirals Cruzado and Azoulay entered Rick’s office.

“Lucius.” Tomas smiled and offered his hand. “It’s been too long. And Ricky, how’ve you been? It’s good to see you both.” He shook Rick’s hand as well, then stepped aside.

“Gentlemen, it is a pleasure.” Eria smiled. “We’ve missed you back in San Francisco, Lucius, but that is life in Intel.” She shook hands as well.

“Welcome to Starbase 900,” Rick said with a smile. “What brings you all the way out here? It’s a long way from Earth.”

Eria sat and once she did the rest did as well. “As you know, 900 is a matter of great pride and curiosity for all of us.” Her lilting accent was mellow and soothing. “I’ve wanted to come out here for a long time. I finally twisted Tomas’ arm to come along. He’s more curious about the Archadians, though. They do have a certain amount of temptation to travel I suppose.” She laughed and Tomas gave them an embarrassed smile.

“Okay, I admit it. But I have been wanting to see this station, as Eria says, for a long time. What you’ve accomplished out here is nothing short of extraordinary, especially with the negotiations for the future colony complete.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Lucius added. “The colony plans took quite a bit of skill on the part of the Command crew and the Diplomatic Corps. We’re glad to have you and we’ll be at your disposal while you are here.”

“Had I known you were coming I would have had rooms prepared,” Rick said, somewhat pressing the issue that they had come unannounced, which was highly irregular. “I’ll have Lt. Beckman get the VIP rooms ready for you. If you like you can go ahead and start taking in the views on station and I’ll notify you when they’re ready.”

“That will be fine, Ricky, really,” Tomas replied. “To tell you the truth, it was a bit last minute, but we ended up with a few extra days after wrapping up our affairs in the Beta Quadrant and with the wormhole right there, we couldn’t resist.”

“Take your time,” Eria added. “We know it’s sudden notice. Besides, I can’t wait to get to the observation deck and just look at it all.”

“Do you have any plans for the day, or would you rather just see the sights? If you’d like a guide, Kai will be happy to oblige. Otherwise, plan on dinner tonight, the Admiral’s mess.”

“No need to disturb Kai.” Tomas smiled. “We’ll just wander.”

“Tomorrow we will be down on Archadia, however,” Eria added. “To pay our respects to the Queen and meet the Prime Minister. We’ll need Lt. Dobry if that is possible? I understand your Chief Diplomat is still off station.”

“I’ll have Lt. Dobry notified and he will be at your disposal,” Rick replied. “And you let me know if you require anything else.”

“We will, thank you both. I’m looking forward to our stay here.” Tomas rose and Eria followed.

“I do hope your XO will join us Rick.” She smiled to Lucius. “I haven’t seen Li since her Academy days. Please pass along my greetings Lucius. I am anxious to see her again.”

With that, Tomas and Eria departed, the doors closing behind them. Lucius turned to Rick, studying him a moment. “I don’t like to intrude but I echo your sentiment. What the fuck?”

Rick shook his head and smiled. Apparently he was broadcasting his thoughts across the station. He was sure the rest of the mind readers on board caught his thoughts, which made him question, “So if you heard that, it makes me wonder what Eria felt? I’m sure she got something off of me.”

He sat at his desk and before Lucius could reply, “Don’t get me wrong, man. I like the both of them. A hell of a lot, actually, but no flag officer goes anywhere unannounced unless it’s a matter of utmost importance or some sort of intel-type work.” He spun to look at Lucius. “I know you don’t make a habit of reading other people without permission, but did you get anything that was bouncing off of them?”

Lucius returned to his chair, his expression thoughtful. “From you? Annoyance, but that comes with CO territory much of the time. As for them? Something is up, and neither of them are pleased about it. I also sensed a bit of skepticism regarding this trip. But those are just surface impressions. How many times have we had those same feelings, especially where Queen Melanippe is involved?” Lucius managed a smile.

“Hmph,” was all Rick said. He was deep in thought now, wondering just what those two were up to and how it was going to fuck up his perfectly run station. He was sure some kind of shit-storm was coming, but what it was about, he had no clue.

“Well, I should inform Li her presence has been requested tonight. Given this development, I want to speak to Harding also and have him stay out of sight on Archadia tomorrow. They might wonder why the CMO is down there and not up here.” Lucius rose to go. “If I find out anything, I’ll call.”

Rick nodded. When the doors opened to let Lucius out he could see his foyer was empty of the visiting brass. “Hope! Come see me,” he bellowed.

She already knew what this was about, but also knew that she would have to listen to his rant anyway. Walking in with her PADD she sat across from him.

“Did those two assholes say anything about why there were here other than that make-believe bullshit about visiting Archadia?” He didn’t give her time to reply. “I find it very hard to believe that they just so happened to decide to come several weeks out of their way, and couldn’t find an hour or so to let me know, that they were going to be visiting.” He tapped the desk. “They’re up to something. And I don’t like it.”

He looked up at Hope. She was bored beyond belief, but still doing her duty. “Their rooms--have ‘em sorted out yet?”

“Yes, I--”

“Make damn sure they’re not close to mine. We have plenty of VIP rooms available on the other side of this deck.”

“I’ve already--”

“And I’d preferably not have to deal with them at all, but I have to play gracious host now,” he huffed loudly.

She rolled her eyes.

“It’s taken care of, Admiral,” she managed to get in. “The rooms will be ready in about thirty minutes, not on the far side, but a good walk from your office and your quarters.”

He harrumphed again. He’d been doing that quite a bit lately. Hope had noticed.

“If you keep doing that, sir, you’re gonna’ pull something,” Hope said dryly.

Rick hadn’t been paying attention. “What?”

“Never mind, sir. I’ll make sure everything is sorted,” she said, standing. “Anything else?”

He frowned. “Nope. I guess that’s it.” He looked up at her. “Thank you, Hope. You really do make this miserable crap much easier to bear.”

She smiled and turned on her heel. “I know, sir.”

-----------------------------------------------

Admiral Lucius Hawke
Admiral Ricky Wegener
Suspicious Minds

Lt. Hope Beckman
Superwoman

Admiral Tomas Cruzado
Admiral Eria Azoulay
Up to Something