Hey, sorry to pop in just to leave again, but life's gotten the better of my time nowadays and I won't be able to play for any further. Thanks for all the fun with the game! Happy gaming!

Sorry all, life has really gotten in the way of gaming for me and I have to pull out of Flesh & Blood. Thanks for all the fun! Happy gaming!

Posted, though it's lackluster. Cipher and I really have nothing more to do save standing around, so if the next few posts will be dealing with creds and finances, consider us both to just be on standby.

"I'm broke as all get out," Cipher says to the group at large, gesturing to her face with her manicured nails. "I didn't wake up like this, after all. So, I'm out on contributing eddies, but brainpower I can do." Surveying the multitude of takeout and prepackaged food around here, she grimaces. "Am I the only one feeling a bit cramped here? Any chance we could do some recon or go shoppig for those parts ourselves with Cred-Stick's help? I'm dying to get out of this apartment at this point."

I don't really have any clues on what would be of benefit to a netrunner, so unless Blossom has any ideas, Cipher is good for her gear. Also kinda waiting to see if Fixer responds to her or not, but if not, then I can post something mild before the end of the week.

I'll be real: I have no idea what I'm looking at with any of this Star Trek tech or even just basic physics stuff, so any wiki links to help a girl out with research would be appreciated.

@Olan, Einar and I are still around obvs so I'm always down for getting started on That Which Shall Not Be Named. This time I even know how to play DnD too.

Will catch up with the game thread and let my TAC chief's thoughts be heard here.

Stardate: 2365.05.15
USS Peregrine, The Aerie - 15:25

Tochi strode through the doors of The Aerie and, as usual, was greeted by a series of friendly nods and more vocal greetings. He returned each one as he made his way to the bar and noted that Zhay-la’s face was not to be found anywhere in the lounge, yet. Commander Kennedy was present, however, settled in on the bench before one of the wide windows that looked out upon the Calican system. The Trill offered the CEO a friendly smile and the wave of a hand in greeting before drawing to a stop at the counter where Leah was waiting expectantly.

“Afternoon, Toch,” she chirped, bobbing her head in Kennedy’s direction, “Come ta jibber-jabber with yer greasemonkey, ‘ave ye?”

“Hello, Leah,” Tochi grinned in reply, “I imagine we will, yes; but we’re actually here to meet Lt Taissud.”

“Ah! I see,” the barmaid’s eyes sparkled with a mischievous light, “What is it with ye an’ the exotic colored birds, anyway?” She leaned across the counter and laid a flirtatious hand atop Tochi’s; “When’re ye gonna give a human girl a go, I cannae help but wonder?”

The spots at the Trill’s temples flushed purple and he offered Leah a wink. “It’s not like that,” he chuckled softly, patting the woman’s hand before slipping his from beneath it, “and, if there was ever a time you weren’t working, we’d certainly entertain the notion of buying you a drink.”

“So ye say,” it was Leah’s turn to blush, “Charmer!” She lifted a brow, then, and draped a towel over her shoulder; “What’s it ta be fer ye, then, luv?”

“Just an Altair Water, to start,” Tochi shrugged, “We don’t want to put on a buzz before this beacon is floated back.”

“Altair water it is, then,” Leah nodded, setting off to fetch the beverage, “if ye decide on somethin’ stronger, jus’ gimme a nod.”

“We will,” Tochi answered as the glass was slid across the bar and into his hand. He glanced in Kennedy’s direction, then, and took note of the potted flower that sat on the table before her. “What’s with the plant,” he asked Leah.

“I reckon she’s jus’ takin’ it fer a walk, aye,” Leah tittered, “Why don’ ye ask ‘er yerself?”

“I suppose we should,” Tochi returned, taking up his glass and pushing away from the bar.

He wove his way through the tables between the bartop and where Kennedy sat. “Good afternoon, Kennedy,” he smiled, gesturing at an empty seat, “okay if we join you?”

Kennedy glanced up from another examination of the delicate blue flower and smiled at him.  “If you don’t have a better option, you are more than welcome to join me.”  

“We’re not weighing options,” Tochi grinned behind a sip of his water as he settled into the seat, “Though I was expecting Lt Taissud to have beat us here. What better way to pass the time than with the woman who’s been poking around on my ship all day, though, eh?” He set his glass on the table, let his eyes fall to the plant between them, and then lifted them back to Kennedy; “How did you and the Angel get along? Uncover any more of my engineering blunders?”

“She’s doing well.  Spent the day recalibrating the asymmetrical E-M converters.  Had some help… in case you hadn’t heard.  I might have gotten more work done, but your little red headed pilot talked my ear off.”  She smiled and laughed lightly at the thought of Megan jabbering all afternoon.

Tochi grinned and nodded.“She’s good at that,” he chuckled softly, “Don’t get her too excited, though, or else you’re likely to find yourself being climbed at some point.”

Kennedy took a sip of her drink and laughed.  “Oh… she was pretty excited when we first made introductions, didn’t get climbed… but… let’s just say it was… memorable.”  

“Memorable,” the Trill repeated the word with no small amount of amusement coloring it, “That’s certainly one way of describing Megan. We’re just happy that her flying isn’t as bouncy as she tends to be… although, there was that instance when she danced a WorkBee around the shuttlebay…” He shook his head, recalling the various accounts he had heard about that unbridled moment of excitement and lifted his glass, again. “...Nice flower,” he nodded to the plant, then, “I might have expected you to take your cat on a walk as opposed to a plant, though.”

A shrug lifted her shoulders momentarily.  “Pudding isn’t wilting.  This little critter is… she was fine this morning and now…” she touched the edge of the petal with her finger lightly and gave a dismal sigh, “she’s all wilty.  Thought maybe a change of scenery?  I don’t know what I am doing with plants…”  she laughed at herself. 

“We don’t do terribly well with them, either, I’m afraid,” Tochi smirked, “You might want to check with Petty Officer Crane in Sciences, though. She worked pretty closely with a former CSO who was an absolute magician with plants; could be she could offer some advice.”

Kennedy nodded and then leaned over to talk a little softer, not wanting anyone else to hear what she was about to say, “To be honest… it’s a Crey, a Ferengi luck flower, and… well… if she’s wilting, that cannot be a good sign.  I’m not superstitious generally, but..”  she shrugged and gave him an awkward smile.  

“...But, given Peregrine’s recent history, you can’t help but wonder,” Tochi finished the thought for her with a faint nod.

She spread out her hands in a gesture of understanding then leaned back against the bench to look around the room, then tipped her head toward the door.  “Is that your little green friend?”  

“If she’s green,” Tochi said even before his eyes tracked Kennedy’s to the door, “I’m sure it is. There’s only one Orion in all of Starfleet, after all.” 

When his gaze found the door and the scowling emerald-skinned TAC officer who had just stormed through it, he got to his feet, and lifted a hand to catch her attention. “Zhay-la,” he called, “Come join us.”

Kennedy noted the energy coming off the Orion now, and brought her hand protectively around the base of her plant and pulled it a little closer to herself.  She wondered if every introduction she was going to experience today was going to be potentially violent, but couldn’t stop herself from a light chuckle at the thought.  

Anger radiating off of Zhay-la as she stomped towards Tochi, and it looked for a moment that she was about to yell, when her eyes darted to Kennedy, back to the Trill, and twice more back and forth before she settled into a more neutral expression. “Hello, Commander,” she said, steel in her voice.

Kennedy watched the Orion’s eyes dance back and forth between her and the spotted man and it was all she could do to hold back any smart-alec comment she had bottled up inside of her.  Instead she simply tipped her head a little to her in a greeting, a bit of a smile already tugging at her lip.  

Zhay-la’s anger… or was it irritation… was palpable and, though he thought twice about it, Tochi did, in the end, reach out a comforting hand to rest on the woman’s shoulder. “It’s Tochi,” he reminded her in little more than a whisper, “there is no rank here.” Gently, and not before he thought she was ready, he exerted a bit more pressure in the hand that rested on her shoulder and, by way of that, guided her into the seat next to his.

We take this to mean that being called into Silas’ ready room was not a good thing, he mused as, reluctantly, she followed his subtle goading.

His eyes stayed locked to the Orion woman’s even after he had coaxed her to sit and he smiled gently. “Zhay-la Taissud,” he offered with a cant of his head toward the engineer sitting on the bench on the other side of the table, “I’m sure you recognize Callie Kennedy; the Peregrine’s CEO?

Kennedy?” Tochi continued, casting a furtive glance toward the engineer, “This is our CTO and my friend, Zhay-la.”

The Trill’s gaze danced back to the CTO then and his smile warmed a bit; “What are you drinking?”

Lips pressed tightly in a half-assed smile, Zhay-la offered the human woman a small nod of her head. “Greetings, Commander Kennedy.” She raised an eyebrow at Tochi, trying to gauge at what this introduction here was meant for.

The CEO returned with a smile.  “Kennedy is sufficient in here.  One day perhaps Zai will fill you in my first and middle names and you’ll get as much of a kick out of them as he apparently does, but Kennedy will do for now.  Glad you could join us.”  

Tochi let his fingers slip from Zhay-la’s arm, then, and, reclining into his seat a bit, he took up his glass and indulged in a sip. “We take it that the Captain’s summons left a sour taste in your mouth,” he probed gently, “and that you didn’t drop kick him as a result?”

Colour came to her cheeks at that, though her eyebrows snapped in a glower just as quickly. “No,” Zhay-la dismissed with a scoff. “That hardly helped the one time I did do it.”

Tochi chuckled a bit and poured another sip of Altair Water past his lips. “Good,” he grinned, “Silas is a stickler for protocol but, over the years, we have found that he is understanding.” Depositing his glass on the tabletop, once more, he lifted a brow and prompted the green-skinned woman once more; “Drink, Zhay-la?”

She scoffed again. “Like I need ‘drunk on duty’ on my service record, too.”

Tochi lifted his glass and shook it so that the ice within tinkled against the glass; “Just water.”

Kennedy raised her own and took a sip of the orange liquid, “Orange juice, straight up… not even on the rocks.”  She shrugged a little.  

Slightly miffed, Zhay-la crossed her legs and looked pointedly between the two. “Is this a department head meeting I wasn’t aware of?”

Kennedy glanced over at Zai and shook her head.  “Not that I was aware of.  I’m off duty.  I was simply taking my plant for a walk down here on the Aerie and in walks Zai…”  she shrugged, “I was filling him in on my lack of botany skills and what I had been doing with his Angel all day.”  

Tochi’s spots went vaguely purpled and he blinked between the two women for an instant. “No,” he chuckled, swallowing another slug of water against the hitch in his voice, “no meeting. Just crewmates enjoying a drink with no expectations toward anything else... “ 

Why are our palms sweating?

“Your what?” Zhay-la looked between the two, this time perplexion written on her face.

The look of puzzlement on Zhay-la’s face struck Tochi as comical and he couldn’t help but chuckle. “The Aurora Angel,” he explained, “She’s a ship we’ve been building for some time, now. It started out as something of a pet project with my friend, Erik, but, following Chimera, she’d been gathering dust until Kennedy, here, discovered her.” He offered a shrug and a smile; “I can show her to you some time, if you’d be interested.”

“She’s gorgeous!”  Kennedy lifted her brows a bit suggestively along with her interjection.  “I can’t keep my hands off her to be honest.  You really should get the tour Zhay-la.”  She smiled warmly at the Orion and then took a sip of her drink again.  

“I wasn’t aware we were capable of hauling more than ourselves around,” Zhay-la said, relaxing a little. “Is she space-worthy?”

For a brief moment Kennedy ticked her eyes over to Zai then gave a noncommittal shrug, “Technically, she is space-worthy yes… but she needs a good deal of work yet until she’s ready for any long flights.  I’ve been working quite hard on her though, so hopefully it won’t be too much longer.”

Spreading his hands toward Kennedy by way of acknowledging her expertise over his where such matters were concerned, Tochi offered a shrug of his own. “She’s made precisely one trip outside of the shuttlebay, to date,” he said, ghosts playing at his features, “Not precisely the maiden voyage I’d had in mind… but she did her job…”

Tapping her foot to an unknown rhythm, Zhay-la glanced between the group, finding her hackles dying a little bit quicker than she’d expected after her talk with Drake. She waved to the bartender whose name escaped her still despite at least two meetings with the woman, and ordered an Altair Water to match the XO. “You just can’t help yourself in your off-hours, can you, Commander?” the Orion said jokingly, leaving the point off of his title. “To think you were sparring with me last night and doing busywork on your spacecraft hours earlier.” She gave Tochi a wry smile. “You’re almost as bad as me.”

The Trill blinked, snapping his gaze from where he had been absently staring out the window and turned his eyes to Zhay-la, then. The congenial smile returned to his lips as he cleared his throat a little and took another sip of his water. “It helps to stay busy, we suppose,” he chuckled, “Mentally and physically. Sit around too much and dwell on things and the Peregrine tends to get smaller than she actually is, hm?”

Kennedy leaned back and listened to them, sipping on her orange juice and casting an almost knowing glance down at the plant with the wilting leaves.  “So you two have been beating each other up then?  I cannot say I ever understood the desire to do that, but…” she shrugged a little, “what do I know besides warp engines?”  

Tochi laughed at that and gave a faint shake of his head as, once again, his spots flushed vaguely purple. “More like she’s been beating me up,” he grinned, tipping his head toward Zhay-la, “but, to be fair, she stepped on my holodeck reservation and I made the not so wise decision to challenge her to a duel.”

“Got what you deserved…” Kennedy nodded then tipped a wink over at the green skinned woman, “kudos.”

Zhay-la, slightly flushed, smiled at the wink. “Hardly broke a sweat.”

“We suppose so,” Tochi smirked, following it up with a teasing wink at the engineer, “Thank you, Eugene.”

Kennedy nodded and took a sip of her drink.  “There it is… and I deserved it.”  She tried to change the subject then, “So… Zhay-la, you do anything other than beat up your superior officers in your time off?”

The Orion gave a low hum, warding off her lingering anger taking offense to the CEO’s comment. Most definitely was not about your service record, Zhay-la. Cool it. “I collect knives, read some literature, do yoga… and I’m realizing I’m a rather uninteresting hobbyist at the moment,” she smiled. “In truth, training is about all I do, since it’s one of the things I’m best at and know the most about. Starfleet leaves me with little enough free time that I fall into old habits when off-duty.” She looked about the Aerie, soaking in the details of the rather pleasant surroundings. “This may be the first time I’ve sat in here for more than twenty minutes, as well.”

“Yoga… that bendy thing, right?”  Kennedy smiled, “I won’t judge you on uninteresting hobbies.  I listen to ancient music, hang out with my cat, kill plants, and on my free time I bang around on other people’s ships,which is what I do when I’m on duty as well.”  She laughs.  “I think it’s a hazard of the fleet, we love what we do, so we do it constantly.  At least that’s how it is with me.  However… the Aerie is a nice break, you’ll have to wander back sometime.”  

Nodding her thanks to the bartender, Zhay-la took a sip of water and agreed with Kennedy, “Indeed, it’s a rather comfortable place, compared to the sterility of even my quarters. Though that could be my sparse furnishings.” She pointed with her glass to the wilting plant on the table. “Is this one of your victims now? You’re rather an inefficient killer if that thing is meant to be dead by now.”

“Maybe a plant would liven it up,” she laughed and the nodded down at her plant.  “Yes, this is the plant in question right now.  She’s doing alright, only been with me a few weeks, though, and now she’s a bit wilty…”  Kennedy frowned and touched the petal lightly, then shrugged.  “I thought she might enjoy a change of scenery.”  

“Wouldn’t the holodeck be better suited for ‘scenery’?” the Orion offered.

Kennedy laughed in return, “Probably… Zai suggested the Science Labs, find an actual botanist to take a look… but… obviously I’m not a good plant mother, so I brought her to the bar.  I’d offer her to you, to spruce up your quarters, but she was a gift and I’m not ready to part with her just yet.”  

Regarding the plant sentimentally for a moment, Zhay-la felt a strange pang of homesickness looking at it. “It would bring a touch of life to the place,” she said contemplatively. “Feel free to gift me another at some point.” She sipped her glass, nervously diverting her eyes to the viewscreen beside her; how she hated feeling awkward in new company.

“If I run into another I shall consider it.”  Kennedy noted the look in the Orion’s eyes and noted to herself her earlier feelings, This ship is haunted, even by those who are new to her…   

As the conversation lapsed for a moment there was a sudden interruption.  All three of their Commbadges went off.  

=^=Commander Kennedy, an emergency staff meeting has been called in the Officer’s Lounge at 1630 hours.  Attendance is mandatory.=^= the computer’s voice rang out, replacing the beginning with each of their own names.  

“Well, frill,” Tochi muttered, tapping his badge to acknowledge the hail, “so much for a peaceful evening.” He downed the remains of his water, then, and getting to his feet, turned for the exit

Kennedy rose a brow and sighed.  “I haven’t heard any issues from Sa’eridon.”  She frowned and rose herself, she glanced down at her grey and olive outfit.  “I’ll need to go change I’m afraid.  I guess I’ll see you both there… save me a spot.”  She picked up her potted plant and started for the door as well, leaving the rest of her orange juice on the table. 

“Of course,” Tochi nodded even as he strode for the door, “see you soon, Commander.”

Downing the rest of her water in one gulp, Zhay-la gave a brief nod to the retreating human woman, then looked to the Trill. “Walk me to the Bridge? I could use some restraint going back so soon.”

Tochi nodded his consent, offered a hand to the Orion for getting out of the booth - which she batted away with a playful smirk - and they headed to the Officers’ Lounge, uncertain about what was in store for them.

Took my sweet ole' time doing it, but hey, Zhay-la's post is up. Meri, Eol, I await our collab with impatience.

Stardate 2365.05.15
USS Peregrine; Deck 1, Captain's Ready Room - 1510

A shiver had run up Zhay-la's back at the captain's icy tone, feeling like all eyes in the bridge were on the back of her head as she trailed after Drake to his ready room. She hadn't been here since her initial meeting with him, had spoken little with the man since her boarding, in fact. Based on his demeanour, this wasn't about to be the almost-pleasant talk she had had with him a handful of days ago.

As the hatch hissed shut, Captain Drake took a seat behind his desk, but conspicuously did not offer for the tactical chief to join him.  When he spoke, the tone was cold, with an edge to it.

"Lieutenant Taissud," he intoned, "would you care to explain to me what I witnessed on my bridge?"

Zhay-la schooled her expression before her eyebrow could inevitably arch. "Tactical answered my call, sir, admittedly with less... formality than I was expecting."

Drake nodded slightly.  "That is correct.  I witnessed a frankly surprising breach of protocol from one of your people."  The emphasis on "your people" was slight, but carried heavy meaning.

Nostrils flaring, Zhay-la could all but feel that stubborn pride turning into indignation. She knew exactly where this was going - had all but anticipated this being an inevitability, given her track record - but doing this on three hours of sporadic sleep was not her ideal.

He continued.  "I shouldn't have to explain this, but I will do so, anyway.  Any contact with the bridge should be treated with the assumption that lives depend upon it - because, as you well know, they sometimes do.  I did not recognize that woman's voice, so I'm assuming that she is one of your new transfers.  That said, whether she has ten days or tens years aboard, she should have the good sense to treat a call from the bridge with the gravity it deserves.  The fact that she did not reflects poorly on you."

Silas chuckled ruefully.  "In my day, I'd have been terrified to find myself over the barrel for THINKING of talking like that where the Captain could hear me.  It would be one thing were we on deck five and she did not realize that I was around.  On a bridge call..." his voice trailed off.  "I trust that you will properly handle this one time protocol exception," Drake spoke meaningfully.

Through a clenched jaw, Zhay-la gave a tense, "Yes, sir."

Drake nodded.  "Very well.  Dismissed."

The Orion didn't let her footsteps become heavy with rage, instead falling into the silent step she had learned with assassin training. If she had to make this walk of shame, she would be doing it with her head held high, especially since she didn't get to bloody her fists this time.

A vein was popping in her forehead by the time Zhay-la reached the hallway, fingers flexing in an attempt to keep from balling. Ops officers passed by her, and Zhay-la gave them no mind save keeping her stormy expression straight ahead. Her hackles were raised and she was liable to bite, so best to keep her eyes downcast until she reached her room and could vent her anger on a punching bag.

The chirp of the Computer hailing her on her comm caught her off-guard. =/= Lt. Taissud, Commander Zai has invited you to the Aerie or his office, at your discretion, for a drink when you become available.=/=

Stopping in her tracks, Zhay-la considered for a moment her options; going to get sloshed with her XO whose an admittedly close friend of the captain that just reamed her out, or go yell at the crewman apprentince that got her into trouble?

The answer there was rather obvious.

Rounding to the turbolift - the one at the midpoint of the ship, rather than right off the bridge, Zhay-la growled "Deck Five" to the Computer before it could ask and glowered at the lift doors as she descended.

Stardate 2365.05.15
USS Peregrine; Deck 5, Security - 1525

Jonna Blomstedt bobbed her head along to the playlist she had going on in the background of her boring-as-hell shift at the Security desk. Volume low and the music player beneath the desk surface, she mouthed the words along to the song she had had her first kiss to. What a night that had been, so much more preferable to this detail on the most uninteresting desk to man on the Peregrine. She almost hoped the beacon repair mission went awry just so she could see Shaw in action on the ordinance, or even have to go on an Away mission.

Excitement came a bit quicker than she was expecting, when Lt. Taissud appeared before her. Jonna hadn't even heard the doors' hydraulics engage, let alone the CTO's footsteps.

Standing to her feet, Jonna saluted her superior. "Sir."

The Orion gave the human a steely look, lips pursed in a thin line. Her predatory gaze reminded Jonna of a lion sizing up its meal in the savanna - or the glares her resident assistants gave her the time she swapped the dorms' toliet paper for wrapping paper at Christmas.

A minute ticked by before Lt. Taissud spoke. "So you do know what discipline is after all."

The human's brows furrowed at that before straightening out, arm raised a little higher in her salute. The CTO still hadn't told her "at ease."

"Blomstedt, allow me to make this clear as trigonic glass," the Orion said slowly, enunciating each word carefully. "You embarrassed me and the entire Tactial department with your chipper little response to the Bridge. As your CO, that reflects poorly on me," her grey eyes flashed, "and in front of the Captain, no less."

Jonna's eyes didn't move from the point above Taissud's head that that they had been affixed to since the CTO's tone had taken on its edge, didn't dare let her elbow drop below eye level in the salute. This was much worse than the resident assistants at the Academy.

"For this misconduct, you'll be spending the remainder of your shifts guarding the brig until we have left the Calican system, rehearsing the line 'Security to Bridge, Blomstedt here.'" The Orion woman's eyes shifted downwards to where a new pop song had begun playing on the tablet Blomstedt had hidden beneath her workspace. "And save the tunes for your off hours. This is a warship, not a dormitory with phasers."

Spinning on her heel, Lt. Taissud left the watch desk and turned down the hallway towards her office. Jonna didn't dare move until the "At ease" came echoing down the corridor. She took a shaky breath in, dabbed at a bead of sweat that had bothered her eye for half of Taissud's speech, and sat back down. Feeling thoroughly like a child in timeout, Jonna tapped open the tablet, swiped for the playlist to end, and sat in silence.

Stardate 2365.05.15
USS Peregrine, Deck 5, CTO's Office - 1523

Behind closed doors, Zhay-la let out a short, frustrated sigh. 

Bad enough to have a crewman being sarcastic on the comms, a whole other matter for it to have been in front of Drake, their first full day in space, no less. The lecturing from her CO she could have done without on the Peregrine's first mission; so much for leaving that behind with her promotion.

Turning to the starfield outside, Zhay-la commanded the viewscreen to a reflective surface, taking a moment to touch up her bangs, straighten out her uniform, and retie her veil's knot. Her fingers brushed the barcode on her neck, lingering for a breath, before she fixed her eyes on her reflection and told herself, "Get a grip."

=/=Taissud to Reid,=/= Zhay-la hailed her ACTO.

OOC: Assuming a response

=/=Blomstedt has been dealt with, please be aware that she will be on guard duty to the brig for this mission. If any further incidences happen with my staff, do inform them that they can join Blomstedt at the door of, or in the brig.=/=

Hand dropping from her comm, the Orion breathed for a moment, then took her leave of the deck, barely acknowledging Blomstedt's speedy, scared salute on her way out. She returned to the turbolift, requested the deck the Aerie was on, and made a B-line for the waiting invitation Tochi had sent her.

=/=Taissud to Zai,=/= she said. =/=Hope you're picking up the tab on this one.=/=

Let Tactical know if you need a hand banging dents out of the beacon; we'll be good for something in this mission then.

Posted an update for Cipher, not super sure what else she could be doing in the meantime with her lack of funds and being new to the group and all that jazz.

I'm still here, at any rate. Sorry for the vanishing act.

Admittedly, Cipher had expected something a bit more... exciting when she got Luther's call. With the people he - or his brother - ran with, seemed all the more likely that everywhere they walked, trouble was afoot. What she'd gotten after the rescue gig, however, was a lot of downtime; something she was not prepared for.

Staying in these tights quarters with a bunch of chombattas she barely knew, shower times scheduled and still not helping much with the smell of stale takeout and dried blood, Cipher found it hard to relax. Nevermind that she was fighting every instinct to call up her mother and see how Park life was going, or that she was choking down grief when she finally placed who Vegas reminded her of; Frank Sinatra, one of her dad's favourites.

Between the boredom and emotional swings, Cipher kept herself occupied with scrolling the Net, doing her own perusing to see what info came up on her new crew; she was hardly digging - didn't even bother jacking in - but she wanted to know what she was working with. She knew Luther knew his people, but she trusted Cred-Stick about as far as she could throw him, so she needed her own answers.

People-watching was also one of the few other things to be done. A few things were rather obvious; the gambling-themed solos were tight, Guardian seemed a genuine enough guy - rare in this city - and Echo was making eyes at Casino while he slept in her lap. Cipher couldn't say she saw the appeal - her type was a lot less... big - but hey, what happiness you can carve out, you take.

On her third time wishing for braindance in the past hour, Cipher turned to Fixer with all the subtlety she cared to have in her bored state and asked, "So you always run with these big guns or is this a new team for you too?"

When she's holding a knife you do.

"Who walked in on who again, Patches?"

*cracks knuckles*

"Don't make me drop kick you."

We just can't help ourselves, Eol lol.

Well, there's what I hope sounds intelligent enough to come from a TAC lol. Absolutely pulled all of that out of my ass, but Zhay-la and Reid have their orders. And hey, some of the new Sec NPCs even got a mention!

Stardate 2365.05.15
USS Peregrine, Bridge - 1418

Standing at attention to the left of the Tactical console, Zhay-la oversaw little more excitement than she had expected for this drop from warp; orders from the captain, contact with the line departments, preliminary scans and further plans being put into motion. For a first assignment back, the Peregrine had it quite easy.

The presence of the probe was unexpected, but unless that thing was packing missiles, Tactical was rather obsolete in this operation. At the least Drake threw them a bone with ordering for additional scans and eyes on the situation.

Affirming her involvement with a simple "Yes, sir," Zhay-la turned to Lt. Reid, pleased to see him already commencing a thorough sweep of Starfleet's database for informaton on the native Calicans. The CTO did her part in combing over the material, parsing specifically for any intel on their military tech; wondering in the back of her mind how many systems her ancestos had visited and found a species in the prepubescent stage of space exploration, while the Orions themselves no longer innovated for how long their time in the stars had been.

"Have PO. Wright comb over this upon shift rotation," she ordered to Reid. "I want a dossier for the Calican system by the end of alpha shift. Consult Science if you need to."

Turning away from the console, Zhay-la hailed Security.

=/=Tactical and Security, for all your phaser and brig needs,=/= Blomstedt answered cheekily.

"Crewman, inform Petty Officer Shaw that she will be inspecting our weapons systems personally for gamma shift, damn the schedule," Zhay-la commanded. "I want Engineering apprised of the slightest misalignment before contact is made with the beacon."

=/=Yes, Lieutenant Taissud,=/= was the more demure response from the Security specialist.

At the drop in contact, Zhay-la turned round to the viewscreen once more. She wasn't waiting with bated breath for an encounter with the Klingon empire this far out in deep space, but the least she could do here was be at the ready. Now to wait and see.

Spend a day away and look at all these good posts to read! Nice job as always, everyone.

@Merideth, Kennedy is such a treat to read. Really need to get the two new girls in the roster into a collab at some point, whaddya say?

@Odyson, I'll have my post up tomorrow detailing Zhay-la's plans and any further complications I feel like throwing at the Peregrine, but mostly my thoughts will be on keeping a low profile and having a TAC team on standby in case Calican gets antsy with visitors in their system.

15. Grossest thing you've ever touched: Crap of any kind, easily.

16. Favorite place to visit or favorite place you've lived? Loved Rome, would love to visit again.

17. Strangest thing you've eaten: Hmm not sure. I'm a pretty picky eater, so I haven't eaten much that I would describe as gross lol.

18.  Favorite fictional dragon:  Paarthurnax from Skyrim, even if he is technically a wyvern.

19. Current favorite book: Am greatly enjoying Little Women at the moment.

20. Describe your favorite date/outing with your significant other. Watching movies together? When we get the chance, my answer will probably change to meeting him at the airport. LDR woot woot.

21. Opinion on sea horses?

Because if you saw them from afar, you'd think them bizarre.

Why does nothing rhyme with orange?

Because it just makes cents.

Why is the Dead Sea full of salt?

1) Favourite cartoon from my childhood? Recess comes to mind first, but Young Justice was the actual first.

2) Favourite fictional setting? Thedas from Dragon Age, Forgotten Realms for DnD.

3) Do you wear glasses? Have since I was ten-ish, likely will forever.

4) What movie can you watch over and over without getting tired of it? Beauty and the Beast (1991)

5) Favourite MLB baseball team? Nope.

6) Pets? Three cats, all siblings, all sweethearts.

7) Weirdest dream? Had a dream when I was a tween about being the Hulk's girlfriend that went shopping with other superheroes' girlfriends. Was a fun dream lol.

Baby Yoda or Grogu? Baby Yoda since it's cuter.

9) Current temp where you are? Cold lol.

10) How did you choose your name for the Inn? I legit came to the site to play a game, hence my username lol.

11) Hobbies besides playing at the Inn? Creative writing, live DnD, acting, horseback riding, walking in nature, YouTube-watching, video games (RPGs mainly).

12) Favourite character you have played (either in the Inn or elsewhere)? My tiefling tempest cleric for my Storm King's Thunder run; Zhay-la Zha'von Taissud on the Inn.

13) Favourite music? Indie. Can't get more specific than that since I listen to music for moods, not for specific bands.

14) Grossest thing you've ever touched?

I'm pairing down on 5e games in light of getting some pretty bad DnD burnout, so I won't be playing in Blacktooth Ridge any longer. Thanks for having Constantine and myself, and happy gaming!

...Just looking a little worse for wear.

Oooh my first post game, I'm honoured.

1. Most recently watched TV show: Attack on Titan.

2. Favorite fictional setting: Thedas from the Dragon Age series, Forgotten Realms for DnD.

3. Do you wear glasses: Have since I was about ten or so.

4: What movie can you watch over and over without getting tired of it: the original animated Beauty and the Beast.

5. Favorite MLB baseball team: Only sport I semi-follow is horseback riding, so no favs for me.

6. Any pets: Three cats and three leopard geckos.

7.Coffee or tea: Neither. Hot chocolate for me.

8. Weirdest dream you've ever had?