Investigating the Demilitarized Zone

Location: DMZ Outpost 3, Alpha Quadrant
Time: Early 2368
Character: Captain Pe'vIl

Captains log, stardate 41681.1: "USS Marianela and crew are on our way to DMZ Outpost 3 to help investigate some strange readings the outpost has been getting from the Demilitarized Zone. I am expecting some interaction with cardassian forces, despite any evidence yet, but have not shared my suspicions with my crew. The lack of any information from the outpost has left many of them on edge, and baseless speculation won't help the unease. Estimated arrival is 0900 tomorrow, approximately 24 hours from this log. I hate this waiting. I wish I had something I could give my crew to keep them occupied, at this rate we'll all end up pacing back and forth on this bridge all day till we get there."


As she finishes up typing out her log, she looks around the bridge. There were many familiar faces, but a few new as well. She makes a mental note to get to know the new faces better after this mission. They'd been on leave at Earth when the mission came in, interrupting it. Due to that she'd not even gotten a chance to make introductions with the new crew members.

Leon took a glance at the gauges and displays on the dashboard. All his years of building time and reading NATOPS manuals finally led to this. Few ships ever had the allure of the Prometheus-class. While he was rather bummed that he missed out on being the test crew for the USS Prometheus, he found small comfort in the fact that the USS Marianela was one of the later members of the ship class and had all the kinks worked out. Considering the rather odd mission they were being called out for, he would hope so. He took a glance at the gauges and then the view screen.

"Warp nine and holding," he said as a smile grew on his face. "Still can't believe that this is just cruising speed at warp. I look forward to getting acquainted with you, Marie."

He looked over his shoulder to Captain Pe'vil before doing his onceover of the dashboard and navigation system to check the status of their course.

"Permission to speak freely, Captain?"

Character: Captain Pe'vIl

At hearing one of the afore mentioned new crew members speak, they raise an eyebrow. His name came to her easily, as even during the vacation they'd made a point to review the manifest multiple times. Leon Sulu, a distinguished pilot and someone she'd personally requested to join the crew. His rank, however, evaded her memory. Hoping not to be rude and make him wait too long, she glanced at the insignia on his collar and saw the mark of a Lieutenant. Her voice was gruff when she finally responded, though not harsh.

"Granted Lieutenant Sulu."

Relaxing in the captains chair to more comfortably engage with the pilot, they fix him with deep brown eyes, almost black. Those familiar with klingons would pick up on the subtle expression on their face indicating her curiosity.

"With all due respect, I understand our mission is more or less patrolling a specific sector in the quadrant," Leon said. "However, don't you find it the least bit strange that a primarily escort vessel is being tasked with investigating anomalies? Surely there has to be more than just 'go investigate this strange thing'."

He turned his chair slightly.

"This ship can separate into three, but I doubt Alpha, Beta and Gamma modules even have the same accommodations for exploration or investigation aspects that more dedicated science vessels have."

Character: Captain Pe'vIl

They stand up and walk over to where the lieutenant sits, answering in a quiet, albeit not whispering, voice.

"The nature of this mission is probably more sensitive than merely investigation. However, speculation right now is ill advised due to how limited our current intel on the situation is. The fact that a cruiser class ship is being called to the DMZ means that what we're dealing with is more than likely cardassian force that needs to be matched. There is also the possibility that the anomaly we are requested to investigate requested armed escorts. Whatever the case may be, I highly doubt this is a mere science expedition and I would advise you to remain vigilant as we approach. I understand the concern but I do hope you keep this quiet, I don't want to raise any alarm until we reach the outpost and are given a more in depth explanation as to what is going on. Is that a satisfactory answer?"

Conversation, much less explanation, was something that the captain struggled with, and she worried she'd rambled too much but wanted to provide a glimpse into what the situation could be that awaited them. They eyed the human almost nervously as they awaited a response.

***

Character: Ensign Kizoret

His eyes follow the captain as they approach the pilot that had spoken. Though his gaze remained focused on the pair, he was listening more than looking. Though he should have been paying attention to his console, he was aware that long range sensors wouldn't be picking up on the outpost nor the DMZ for quite some time, so he allowed himself the distraction.

Leon nodded.  While he was eager to get back to the "driver's seat", he wasn't exactly in the best mood after finding out his and the rest of the crew's vacation time was cut short.  Especially since there was a possibility they were going to be in combat.

"Understood, captain," he said as he looked over the displays on the dashboard.  "At any rate, I'm happy to report we're still on schedule to arrive in about a day.  I've also been running ship system diagnostics every hour and haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary on my end at least.  Whatever lies at our destination, you can rest assured Marie and I will be ready for it."

His hand seemed to pet the dashboard, avoiding touching any of the controls before he gave the captain a confident nod and a smile.  He then turned his attention to the viewscreen seeing the space around the ship at warp, occasionally glancing at the screens at his station.

Character: Captain Pe'vIl

She nods, but raises a brow to his affectionate care for the ship. She'd heard rumor of his... quirks but hadn't put much stock in them. She raises her head to bring her gaze up to the view screen, only to notice an ensign looking at them from the corner of her eye. Still standing next to the lieutenant, she lets out an exacerbated sigh and raises her voice back to a normal level when she speaks.

"Ensign Enan, most species consider staring to be rude."


***

Character: Ensign Kizoret

He clears his throat and looks away, deciding it would be best to take the hint rather than dive into the nuances and statistics disproving the captain's statement. He bussies himself with his console, counting down the minutes till bridge shift change happened. They'd all been at the helm for nearly ten hours at that point and it was clear many of them were restless. That and the nerves surrounding the first mission... They all needed rest.

Leon glanced at the Ensign then at the captain, then shrugged. He eyed the mission clock, one hand switching the displays and flipping through screens like pages in a book. It was fortunate that they were close to the ship controls, otherwise having to jot down the diagnostic information would have been tedious.

Some would argue his method of inputting diagnostics results and checklists on paper as well as electronically would have been equally tedious, but it was a habit he took with him from his days as a Flight Instructor. He wrote down the checks on the paper that was on his kneeboard before clicking the pen and sliding it back into the notebook binder rings. He then switched the display to the maintenance and diagnostics log, putting in the data as needed. Many of the entries were monotonous and were in numbers that were adequate for the ship's performance. He looked once more at the Ensign.

"Scared of the Captain?" he asked. "You look kinda green, dude."