Bridge - Deck 1

After hearing about what Adm Arayuss had to say, Rex stood there for a few moments absorbing it. The Major General remembered hearing about Project: Genesis, a scientific experiment that created a world back in 2285, which was presumed to be a failure after the planet it created in the Mutara Nebula tore itself apart. But for the Admiral to have one aboard Explorer must mean that whatever was wrong with the Genesis Device components had been worked out. MGen Alderez was also aware of the Khitomer Accord of 2293 that strictly forbade any future research into the uses of Project: Genesis. So it would seem Omega Sector continued the research and perfected it since there was one of those devices aboard the USS Explorer. Rex thought carefully on what to say to the Admiral regarding all he had heard and figured summing it up would be the best way to respond.

MGen Alderez: Wow, that's quite a plan Admiral! When will it go into effect?

As the Major General waited to hear the Admiral's reply, there was a beep heard from the Ops Console at the front of the Bridge where Ens Toretto was seated. All eyes turned to the Ensign to see what she had to say.

Ens Toretto: Admiral, I've just received the message we'll be sending down to the planet in order to get the colonists out of hiding. It reads...Five Starships in orbit, prepare for immediate evacuation, Marines coming down for protection with medical staff to remove embryos from infected survivors, spaceport manifest needed upon arrival...I'm going to hold onto the transmission until we've got the frequency we need to penetrate the thalium down there, Sir.

The Fleet Marine Force Commandant looked over towards Adm Arayuss to see what he had to say to the Ensign at the Ops Station. Rex wondered when Whitestar would have the frequency needed to get through to the surviving colonists. The Major General knew it wouldn't be too long over there since he was aware of the efficiency of the Senior Staff. MGen Alderez also wondered how long the Admiral was going to be aboard Explorer for in order to use the Genesis Device on New Bajor.
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Major General Rex Alderez
Fleet Marine Force Commandant, Gamma Fleet
SFMC, United Federation of Planets

The Admiral was pleased with the message sent over from Whitestar. They just needed to wait on the frequency to use to be able to send it. Aeryck looked over towards MGen Alderez and answered his question on how soon the plan would go into effect, before looking forward to respond to Ens Toretto.

Adm Arayuss: It will go into effect right away, Rex. We just need to wait on Whitestar to send over the frequency modulation in order to send the message down to the subterranean levels below the city. Good work, Ensign Toretto. Let me know as soon as Whitestar sends over the frequency we will be using.

The Ensign immediately replied to Adm Arayuss so that he knew she understood his order.

Ens Toretto: Aye, Admiral. I will do exactly as you ordered, Sir.

Hearing the Ensign respond brought a smile to the CinC’s face as he remained in the CO’s chair on the Bridge. Aeryck was pleased with the performances of everyone on the Bridge during this difficult time. Once the evacuation was underway, the Admiral planned on beaming over to Explorer so he could make the final preparations to the Genesis Device.
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Admiral Aeryck M. Arayuss
Commanding Officer, USS Sutherland
Commander in Chief, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

Tony really didn’t have any questions for the Admiral that he wanted to ask here on the Bridge in front of the other officers at their stations, so the Vice Admiral stayed quiet for now. It wasn’t long before there was the tone of an incoming message on the Ops Console, manned by Ens Toretto. The Ensign looked down and saw the message from Whitestar and spoke aloud in a cheery voice so the Admiral could hear her clearly.

Ens Toretto: Admiral! We just got a message from Whitestar! It contains the frequency information for the transmission to the subterranean levels below New Rakantha! I’m setting the appropriate Gigahertz level to One point twenty-One and the Subspace Frequency to Eighty-Eight! According to Captain Daqtorgh, we’re to transmit the message at twelve second intervals! I’ve allocated extra power to the Communications Array so the transmission will have all the power it needs! We are to standby for Captain Daqtorgh to give the word to begin broadcasting, so I’ll just inform them Sutherland is standing by, Sir!

The Chief Operations Officer did as she was supposed to do and sent a confirmation message back to Whitestar that Sutherland was officially standing by to send the broadcast down below the planet’s surface. Mia was really happy that her first mission was one of such importance! Being with Adm Arayuss, VAdm Martinelli and MGen Alderez all together on the Bridge would be something she would remember throughout her entire career in Starfleet.
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Vice Admiral Anthony M. Martinelli
Executive Officer, USS Sutherland
Chief of Fleet Operations, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

The Admiral could sense that VAdm Martinelli had an inquiry or two regarding the mission, but was hesitant to speak of them in front of the Bridge crew at this time. Aeryck made a mental note to himself to go to the Ready Room before going aboard Explorer to prepare the Genesis Device so Tony would have the opportunity to make his inquiries. When Ens Toretto announced the frequency had been found, Adm Arayuss was very happy that the officers under Capt Daqtorgh's command were right on top of things.

Adm Arayuss: That is great news, Ensign! Set the Communication controls to automatically accept a hail from Captain Daqtorgh!

The young Ops Officer did as the Admiral ordered and set her console to automatically accept an incoming message from Whitestar.

Ens Toretto: Communications set to auto-receive, Sir!

A short time later the Klingon Captain's image appeared on the Main Viewer to coordinate the broadcast to the people of New Bajor.

Capt Daqtorgh: Attention all Ops Officers this is Captain Daqtorgh aboard Whitestar, on my mark commence broadcasting the message. 1-2-3 Mark.

Mia did exactly as Capt Daqtorgh ordered and began sending the message as previously instructed by the Klingon Captain. The Ensign also sent a text message to Whitestar so they knew Sutherland was in compliance with Capt Daqtorgh's orders. Ens Toretto used the Sensor Palette to specifically scan for any of the colonists to come out of the cave entrance. As soon as any of them appeared, the Ops Officer would let the Admiral and Vice Admiral know about it.
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Admiral Aeryck M. Arayuss
Commanding Officer, USS Sutherland
Commander in Chief, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

Tony had been monitoring the communications between Infiniti and Whitestar and heard about the Akira Class vessel leaving orbit above New Rakantha to pursue the vessels which departed pre-quarantine. This was good because those ships needed to be checked to make sure nobody left the colony infected with a Xenomorph embryo. That would spell certain doom for anyone aboard the vessel with the Xenomorph exposure! While sitting there on the Bridge, to the right of Adm Arayuss, they heard Ens Toretto make an announcement...

Ens Toretto: I'm receiving a repeating message from the USS Eureka! According to the transmission, they were on their way to Starbase 34 to join the fleet when they heard the message of the quarantine. They're asking if their assistance is needed. What should I tell them, Sir!

The Vice Admiral looked over at Adm Arayuss and since he was the highest ranking officer on the scene, it was his decision whether or not the California Class vessel's assistance was needed.

VAdm Martinelli: What do you say, Admiral? With Whitestar leaving to chase down the ships that left prior to the quarantine, we could really use another ship to take on refugees.

The Chief of Fleet Operations remained in the XO's chair and awaited the response from the Admiral. If the Commander in Chief of Gamma Fleet agreed to allow the USS Eureka to assist, it would give them their first official mission in the Gamma Quadrant.
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Vice Admiral Anthony M. Martinelli
Executive Officer, USS Sutherland
Chief of Fleet Operations, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

The Admiral turned towards VAdm Martinelli and nodded in agreement with what Tony had said regarding the approval of bringing Eureka to New Bajor to assist with the removal of the refugees before the use of the Genesis Device wiped out every living thing on the planet in favor of its new matrix.

Adm Arayuss: You're right, Tony! We really could use another Starship to help us take on the load of refugees that's coming up, especially with Whitestar departing to intercept the vessels that left before the quarantine went active. Ensign Toretto, send the following message to Eureka...Your assistance is appreciated, proceed as fast as possible to a geosynchronous orbit above New Rakantha! We are engaged in an emergency evacuation of the survivors of a Xenomorph outbreak!

Ens Toretto: Aye, Admiral!

The Ensign did as Adm Arayuss ordered and typed out the message to send over to Eureka and sent it over a subspace transmission. This way the California Class Starship would be able to proceed directly to New Bajor without delay.

Ens Toretto: Message sent, Sir!

Adm Arayuss: Thank you, Ensign! Send messages to Explorer, Infiniti and Oriskany, letting them know Eureka will be joining us! I know how they are not fans of unannounced surprise vessels just popping in on us uninvited!

Ens Toretto: Aye, Admiral! Messages sent, Sir

The CinC now awaited the arrival of the USS Eureka to join the effort to evacuate the refugees from New Bajor. Aeryck figured the California Class vessel had to be around an hour away since they would've picked up the quarantine beacon transmissions shortly after coming through the wormhole on their way to SB34. Eureka was most likely already on its way to the Kotha Tremali system judging by the fact they sent a repeating message asking if assistance was needed. During the time the Admiral had, he did some research on Capt Azeri Sull, Commanding Officer of the USS Eureka.
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Admiral Aeryck M. Arayuss
Commanding Officer, USS Sutherland
Commander in Chief, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

The Vice Admiral watched as Eureka dropped out of Warp a short distance away from Sutherland. The California Class Starship was approaching at full Impulse Power which made them less than a minute from a geosynchronous orbit above New Rakantha. As Eureka was approaching, an incoming hail appeared on the Main Viewscreen, but surprisingly…it was not from Capt Sull.

Cmdr Bennet: This is Commander Claire L. Bennet, First Officer of the USS Eureka calling Admiral Arayuss! We’ve had a bit of a situation here with Captain Azeri Sull! She suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke and is in surgery right now with Dr. Edison! We’re hoping the Captain will pull through, but she’s going to need a lot of recovery time. I’m afraid she will not be able to remain our Commanding Officer under the circumstances, Sir.

Tony looked over towards Adm Arayuss with a quizzical expression on his face.

VAdm Martinelli: Looks like this call is for you, Admiral. They really have a situation going on over there, Sir.

The Chief of Fleet Operations had a feeling there was about to be a promotion coming Cmdr Bennet’s way. From what VAdm Martinelli read on the Commander’s dossier, she had been the First Officer of Eureka since its launch date and really knew the crew well. Another problem would be who was going to take over the position of XO aboard the California Class vessel. Would Adm Arayuss promote somebody that was already aboard Eureka, or would he assign the position of Executive Officer from a willing officer currently aboard Sutherland? Tony was just going to have to be patient and listen to what the CinC of Gamma Fleet had to say…
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Vice Admiral Anthony M. Martinelli
Executive Officer, USS Sutherland
Chief of Fleet Operations, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

Aeryck rose from the CO’s chair and walked towards the Main Viewscreen, seeing how distraught Cmdr Bennet was over Capt Sull’s medical condition, it didn’t take the Admiral long to make a decision on the fate of Eureka’s position of Commanding Officer. As of now, Cmdr Bennet was the Acting Captain and it was Aeryck’s intention to make that title more permanent. The quandary now was who was going to be her Executive Officer. The only other person with the rank of Commander aboard the California Class vessel was Dr. Edison, who was not in the line of command. Then was LtCmdr Meridius, the Chief Engineer. From what the Admiral read about him, Maximus only wanted to be an Engineer and had no eye on the Captain’s Chair. This meant the CinC was going to have to assign someone from Sutherland, but who would that be? The Nebula Class vessel left SB34 with a skeleton crew and most of the primary posts were taken by Flag Officers. There was LtCmdr Sladek, the tall Nordic Sec/Tac Officer who was assigned to Sutherland not long ago. Perhaps Ulric was interested in the XO vacancy that was about to be created once Aeryck promoted Cmdr Bennet to the rank of Captain.

Adm Arayuss: Commander Bennet, it is truly a sad occurrence to lose one’s Commanding Officer, especially to a medical condition. I hereby promote you to the rank of Captain, with all the responsibilities and privileges that go with it. You are in need of an Executive Officer and I may have someone to fill that position for you. I just have not discussed it with him first.

The Admiral turned towards LtCmdr Sladek and asked the Sec/Tac Officer if he was interested in becoming the XO of the USS Eureka, under the command of Capt Bennet.

Adm Arayuss: Lieutenant Commander Sladek, there is an opening for an Executive Officer aboard Eureka, under the command of Captain Bennet. Are you interested?

The CinC waited on the answer from LtCmdr Sladek as he watched Capt Bennet’s reaction to her new rank and position as Commanding Officer of the USS Eureka. Aeryck knew she would be a competent Captain, as she was already well-liked among the officers and crew of the California Class Starship. If LtCmdr Sladek was indeed interested in the position, he would need to be promoted as well as a division uniform color change from yellow to red. That being the case, Adm Arayuss would issue the Sec/Tac Officer a promotion here and now, in the presence of the Chief of Fleet Operations so Tony could bear witness to the transfer. That was…if LtCmdr Sladek was interested.
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Admiral Aeryck M. Arayuss
Commanding Officer, USS Sutherland
Commander in Chief, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

Ulric looked down towards the Admiral from the Sec/Tac Station on the Bridge of the USS Sutherland and replied with absolute Nordic pride.

Lt. Commander Sladek: I would definitely be interested in the position of Executive Officer aboard Eureka and becoming Captain Bennet's First Officer. Anytime an officer has his chance to advance himself, then he should take it and I whole heartily accept the the position, Admiral. Thank you for the responsibility and the chance to excel, Sir.

The Sec/Tac Officer stood with the full best of his 1 meter 9 centimeter frame. Ulric would serve proudly under the command of Capt Bennet. The Nordic officer stood there with pride as he waited on Adm Arayuss to do what was necessary to facilitate the transfer.
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Commander Ulric T. Sladek
Executive Officer, USS Eureka

The Admiral walked over to LtCmdr Sladek and shook his hand as he proceeded with Ulric’s promotion to Commander and assignment as Executive Officer of the USS Eureka. Now that Aeryck promoted Capt Bennet, all she needed was an XO under her command to make her position complete.

Adm Arayuss: Lieutenant Commander Ulric T. Sladek, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Commander and assigned to the USS Eureka, NCC-74543, currently under the command of Captain Claire L. Bennet. This promotion comes with all the responsibilities and privileges of that rank and position. You are to change your uniform and transport over to Eureka as soon as possible. Captain Bennet will need you at her side.

Turning back to the Main Viewer, Aeryck spoke to Capt Bennet once more to fill her in on her new XO.

Adm Arayuss: Captain Bennet, I have just promoted Ulric Sladek to the rank of Commander and made him your new First Officer. Commander Sladek is really dedicated at whatever he sets his mind on, so I do not foresee there being any problems between the two of you. The Commander will be transporting over as soon as possible, so expect his arrival shortly.

Looking back at VAdm Martinelli, the Admiral continued…

Adm Arayuss: Enter the following promotions into the log, Tony. That way when we arrive at Starbase 34, it will already be on the record for both Captain Bennet and Commander Sladek.

The CinC walked back to the CO’s chair on the Command Deck and took a seat. If there was anything else that either Capt Bennet or Cmdr Sladek had to say, this was their time to do so. According to the console near the Admiral, Aeryck could see that Whitestar had intercepted the Galactic Princess and had already sent over an Away Team to begin the process of getting detailed information of what was going on aboard the Luxury Star Cruiser. Adm Arayuss looked forward to hearing all about Capt Daqtorgh’s mission when they all were back aboard SB34 for some refreshments at the reception for the newly promoted Capt Bennet and her First Officer, Cmdr Sladek.
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Admiral Aeryck M. Arayuss
Commanding Officer, USS Sutherland
Commander in Chief, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets