Topic: In an office chair on M'Raa...

[KAT MRess]

Day 4 was a welcome change of pace. No more meetings and sitting around in stuffy offices pouring over data. This was field work.

The first order of business was to oversee the repairs and upgrades to the Katnip LIV. He headed into the office, it would only be a brief stopover to pick up necessary info. Tr’rin was already there. She had just returned from the cafeteria with coffee, when he stuck his head in the door.

“Good morning.” He’d caught her in mid-yawn.

“Good morning, sire.” She replied with a hand in front of her mouth nad started to get up.

“No need,” he held up his hand, “Just picking up the reqs before I head to the dock.”
He paused for a second. “Have you ever been to a spacedock?”

“No. I’ve haven’t even been near one before.”

Perfect   he thought.

“Well then, if you haven’t got anything else on schedule for today, why don’t you join me and we’ll get you some experience around a military ship then?”

[KAT MRess]

<looks at reader count...>

Hmmmm, someone is paying attention.



Her eyes opened very wide. He couldn’t immediately tell if it was alarm or excitement. He headed down the hall and after a brief review of the list of parts and procedures requisitions, he stuffed the PADD into a large pocket.

When he got back to the reception, Tr’rin wasn’t there. He looked around and listened. She was in the bathroom down the hall. So he stood just inside the door and waited. After a few seconds she blew in through the door toward the desk and started typing furiously on the keyboard. Once the message was done she clicked the send started around the desk.

And almost jumped back over the desk when she saw him.

She is rather athletic  he thought.

“You do realize you shouldn’t tell your friends about everything you do here?”

Her ears folded back and her tail twitched in a mix of embarrassment and fear.

“It’s ok for now,” he soothed, “I’m still in dock on leave so it’s no big secret. But don’t let it continue.” The tail stopped and the ears folded out again.

He would definitely have to keep a close eye on her, especially after the last two assistants he had. After all he wasn’t entirely sure who that message went to.

[KAT MRess]

The trip to the docks was uneventful in as far as nothing out of the ordinary happened. But he could tell that Tr’rin had a lot of questions. However, he made the mistake of telling her to feel free to ask him anything she wanted and the resulting barrage of questions were starting to grate on his nerves. Mental note on hiring non-military types, do not open the door to questions.

The refit was proceeding on schedule. The repairs were complete, supplies were being loaded, new crew members were being interred and pre-launch tests were initiated. M’Ress inadvertently directed a Yo’man to Tr’rin for some requisitions and found himself temporarily relieved of her questions. After that he directed all questions through her.

When he got to the Drone Launcher deck, he approached the Gunnery Master to make an inquiry. The sergeant had only been with him a short time as the prior one had retired. Something about “Excessive Drone use.”

“Would you have your list of eligible gunners mates on you?” The Sergeant whipped out a P.A.D.D. and presented it.

“Roight ‘ere sir!” M’Ress scanned the list for a name.

“Would you by any chance have any available spaces for a young enlisted warrior?”

“Are you kiddin’,” the guttural accent was thick from years of NCO duty, “The waitin’ list to serve on the Patriarc’s ship is months long.”

“In that case I have a favour to ask.” One of the eyebrows arched up. M’Ress added a name to the list. “I hear he is in need of some hard training.”

The sergeant looked at the name and then back to M’Ress, who nodded slowly.

“I think a spot jest open’d up sir. Rack numbah 7, I believe.”

Number 7? That was almost too good to be true. That young warrior was about to pay for the insult to his sister.

[KAT MRess]

What? No ratings?

I can't werk under zese conditions...




Ro’gr was shocked.

Not only did his transfer to the Patriarchs ship not get refused, it was accepted!

While he never doubted that he would be accepted, he didn’t expect that it would be so soon. Maybe the waiting list wasn’t as long as he thought. More than likely they saw his credentials and knew immediately that he was needed on this crew. That would make sense, he’d always had an easy time in training. The only reason others finished ahead of him in class was because the teachers didn’t want to offend their influential sires. The shock eased into mild surprise, of course they wanrted him!

So what would it be? Commander? Lieutenant? That way he could bring his influence to the crew on a personal level. On the other hand, they might resent a superior slipping into the crew so easily. It would be better to appear modest. That in itself would be the challenge, handling a crew would be easy. Ensign would suffice.

That Kzinrette would rue the day she turned him away. No one ever did that to him. After all what was there about him not to like?

[KAT MRess]

Since some of you are reading, I'll let you know I won't be able to post for two weeks.
So here is an extra to hold you over...




Instead of a shuttle up into orbit which would have taken over an hour, they used a transporter.

A TRANSPORTER!!!

She had to be the only one in her entire extended family that had ever used one. It was so exciting that she almost forgot her purpose. Once they had rematerialized and the initial excitement wore off, she regained her composure and tried to concentrate on her job.

It was all she could do to keep up with M’Ress. She had never even seen a ship like this before let alone tour one. She had so many questions, they just kept spilling out. She was able to concentrate on her job, whenever a question was directed at M’Ress, she was able to provide the answer quickly and all of it was recorded for reference, but that was the limit. Her curiosity overrode everything else. Despite the little voice screaming to back off the questions they continued to roll off her tongue.

The orders for a transfer were duly recorded and forwarded like everything else. It never dawned on her that this kind of transfer was highly unusual. But then again he WAS the Patriarch, he knew what he was doing.

All the areas of the ship were toured with the bridge left until last. At the site of the control center, the nerve center of such a large ship, she just about lost it completely.

[Braxton_RIP]

What? No ratings?

I can't werk under zese conditions...

Sorry man! System got the axe until the author upgrades it 

5 stars from me though.

[KAT MRess]

tsk, tsk... 2nd page...




Tr’rin was listening to yet another answer about the ship and it’s crew when the door opened. At first she didn’t notice, as her back was partly to the door, so intent was she on the answer. M’ress just paused and waited. When she realized they had arrived she spun quickly around and moved to the side and behind him. M’Ress purposefully stepped off the turbolift and strode forward.

The Yo’man had seen the arrival and given the slight delay caused by her, was ready with the pipes and the command.

“Patriarch on the Bridge!” he bellowed.

To Tr’rin’s eyes it was as if someone flipped a switch. Everything just stopped instantly and everyone snapped to attetnion. She could see M’Ress’s trained eye rove around the room, obviously making a show of inspecting.

“At Ease.” He said “Carry on.” The switch flipped and everything moved again.

It was so busy. Technicians replacing parts, crewman running tests and yet other trying to clean up the mess left behind. Tr’rin stared out of the lift, unable to move, afraid she’d get caught up in the tide.

[Soreyes]

Captain Soreyes pulls into the shipyard for repairs to his DWD "Close To The Edge"   Notices that the Patriarch is in the area.

Oh Crud!!!!!  I hope MRess forgot about that little problem about no MDC's being in the yards during Storm Season

[KAT MRess]

<pokes head into room>
hmmmm someone is paying attention...


want more?

[Talon]

um yeah....





Talon

[Soreyes]

More Please

[KAT MRess]

My apologies for the lateness, real life has been hectic and work has been shorthanded.

I also just found out my cousin in Afghanistan (Yes there is still a war going on there too) was wounded in the line of duty. The good news is, it's not serious, but it did require a whole bunch of stitches and will leave a nasty mark. This occured with a month left in his tour of duty. The better news is, he will be home soon safe and sound.

So with that in mind...




A few days into the mission was all it took for things to settle. Tr’rin had to split her regular duties with the Yo’man in order to get things done. She needed the connections on board, he needed her expertise in organizing. Normally he just forwarded everything (to Tr’rin of course) and made sure the Patriarch had what he needed. But now she was there and they were able to action things much faster.

In those few days Tr’rin also learned about the operation of a warship. The 2am attack drills, the snap inspections, but mostly the regulations and why they existed. She used to think that military types were rigid and stuck up, not any more. She was fast learning the meaning behind it all and a new respect and understanding was emerging. It was one thing to be told, it was something else entirely to experience it. While she was not expected to uphold military standards (being a civilian and all), she was fast learning how to not upset the ebb and flow of the ship. She was even developing a sense of “feel” for the ship.

She did not dine or socialize with the crew. Not so much as she didn’t want to. It was more a case of the entirely male crew didn’t want to. Either they considered it bad luck or a Career Limiting Move to fraternize with what technically belonged to the Patriarch. So she ate in his dining area with him and whoever he had invited that night. Any spare time she had (and there was a lot as she had no assigned duties on board) was spent in her cabin, which was right next to his, reading more military guides or following up on the days business.

After a few days, her greatest onboard enemy reared it's head.

Boredom.

[Capt Jeff]

sorry  to hear about your couzin.

But, Happy B-Day to you !!!

And many more 

[KAT MRess]

Thanks for the B-day wishes all, it was a quiet one this year... last year was the milestone, more on that later.




A few days was also the time needed to break in new crew and equipment. The mission wasn’t to the front line, any front line for that matter, not yet at any rate. It was mainly escort duty to supply the Stars End bar with some of the necessary supplies the Kzinti Government agreed to. Escorts were always necessary because of the Pirates (Memories of Redbeard…). But they would be passing close to several other territories on the way which warranted extra ships on the escort.

Most important on the list were the drone drills. This was vital to the capability of any Kzin ship, especially a specialized ship such as the MDC. M’Ress had made it a point this time around to check Soreyes schedule to make sure he wouldn’t be requisitioning one soon. For some reason he appeared to be staying away from the shipyards recently. M”Ress would have to ask him about that. Tr’rin again proved her worth not only in processing this request with no explanations, but was able to expedite them all in minimal time.

As with any “Shakedown” there were always glitches and gremlins to be worked out. It was inevitable as all the new circuits and machinery involved needed to be broken in and adjusted to perfection. Some times even though the parts passed trials and inspections, they still managed to burn out with relatively little usage. The trick was weeding out those parts and getting the properly functional ones installed and run in.

The next problem was training the new crew members. Another inevitability in war. It actually made it easier to train these crew when you had them install the parts before use. That was a definite benefit as they would have a better understanding of the mechanics before they even attempted to utilize the system. It definitely helped to know the system before you learned how to manipulate it.


Despite all these tried and proven procedures, and the very competent Gunnery Master, that #7 Drone launcher was still uncharacteristically far behind in drill times. He hoped that time would work it out, but he would look in later to see what the problem was. Right now he had other things to worry about, he trusted the Gunnery Master to take care of the issue for now.

M’Ress had some… “unfinished business” at Stars End. A certain bar owner had something he wanted.

[Soreyes]

 

[KAT MRess]

<quietly looks around for a certain pink frocked Gorn…>

Ok, it’s safe.



M’Ress recalled the last... uhhh… “encounter” he had with the notorious diva. While he hadn’t actually interacted, in fact the closest he got was an “obstructed” view of the more than ample posterior (thank the maker for the shielded sunglasses), he did have a large affect on the “negotiations”. He had no desire to revisit that memory. But unfortunately he had did have a need to find out what happened to that disk.

Unfortunately the whole issue was clouded by the involvement of his former assistant, as beautiful as she was (despite the voice), she was also very deadly and quite inconvenient. Once he got past her interference, he should be able to track down what happened to the data that everyone wanted to get their hands on.

He looked at his chronometer. Damn these sub warp, transport ships. He had another week to wait. He summoned Tr’rin, at the very least she was a pleasant sight, something pretty to look at in the middle of all this military masculinity. He could also amuse himself watching his crew ogle her while trying to hide it and simultaneously execute their duties.

He could even enjoy his new ship for a while.

[KAT MRess]

She sat back from the mirror and heaved an exasperated sigh.

Things had not turned out the way she wanted. After signing on to a work contract that promised a good return for a 6 month term, she had put a lot of her future on the line by investing her modest savings to make the trip from Lyr. Judging by the results of that decision, she figured she had annoyed the fates at some point in her life because they seemed to pick this time to conspire against her now.

It turns out that someone had anticipated too much on someone else. After they had arrived the contract was revoked due to past due dates and improper authority. “Promises made by one who did not have the authority.”

Management was not unsympathetic. They didn’t just cut everyone lose or dump them on the first cargo ship off the station, but they had no room or means to help either. The deal was, it would be up to them to earn a living from the private sector on the station, and Management would provide discounted accommodations to help them get enough credits back to where they came from.

Pk’zyy had fared better than most, mainly due to her shapely figure and long lush red-tinged fur. Due to these attributes she made an ideal sales rep, promoter or receptionist. Problem was no-one wanted any long term employees at this time, so she relied on the temporary work to get her by. She was able to build credits from this kind of work, but it was slow going and already well past the initial 6 months she was to originally stay here.

The latest job however was promising. It seemed to speed up her rate of savings and the hours were flexible. It also wasn’t overly humiliating, if only she didn’t have to put up with the constants fights. Like the really bad one a little ago that had started between some Kzin (who seemed to be spoiling for a fight) and some of her regular Lyran customers. During the course of the brawl not only had she been able to continue doing her job, she had actually been able to distract one of those annoying Kzin and help a rather well built Lyran.

She finished her ministrations stood up and made sure the rest of her was presentable. Then she hefted her small duffle bag and headed out to work, out past the retail shops and the shipping bays.

Past the work areas and into the door with the pink glowing neon signs.

[KAT MRess]

Sorry folks, I've been on a bit of a vacation for the last two weeks and I'm a little behind.

I'll be getting another installment up soon, though.

Isn't there a server going on right now? It's rather flattering that I'm getting so many hits on the story, but I'm sure you'd rather be blowing each other up.



So what do you think does M'Ress wind up with? Tr'rin, Kayleen or Pk'zyy (Why do youthink she was introduced?)

And no there is no J'inn/Kroma twist. I know some of you are disappointed at that...

[KAT MRess]

Whoops! I forgot... I write these things ahead of time for editing purposes. Here's your next one...




The Katnip LIV slid through the edge of the Nebula.

Even though he hated the disruptions the gases and matter created with his systems, it was necessary. M’Ress had to take what limited readings they could to ensure the safety of the convoy. Anything big enough to be detected in that mass of cloud was enough to be a threat. Anything less could be safety disregarded.

It was only two days out from the rendezvous with the convoy, but things were already getting tedious. Business as usual during escort, taking the time to scan all possibilities and adjusting to all course changes. What was worse, the sub-warp engines of the transports. Normally he would have been there by now, but these ships… their slowness was why they needed escorting. He could fly circles around them (sometimes he did), but it did enable him to move around quickly to check everything (literally...everything. It kept the crews busy) while they plodded along.

What was more disconcerting was the lack of improvement from Drone rack #7. It still lagged seriously behind the others. He would assign the issue to his Exec and see if that helped, before he had to step in.

His immediate attention was suddenly divided by two things. First, an intelligence report that a Lyran cruiser had been detected in the area. This was unusual as this was a shipping lane away from any of their interests. It would be worthwhile to keep that in mind as they exited the edge of the Nebula.

The second thing that demanded his attention was that Tr’rin had arrived unannounced on the bridge. She didn’t yet understand the need for permission to enter the bridge yet, even though she was the Patriarchs assistant. She also hadn’t reached the understanding that these warriors did not spend much time around females. And her outfit today was particularly… form fitting. He couldn’t help but notice himself.

Fortunately he didn’t have much time to be caught leering. At that moment the Navigator spoke up in a loud official voice.

“Unidentified vessel detected Sire!”

[SSCF-LeRoy]

M’Ress recalled the last... uhhh… “encounter” he had with the notorious diva. While he hadn’t actually interacted, in fact the closest he got was an “obstructed” view....

And, as I recall, I was the "obstruction" that you provided for yourself in that case Maybe I'll finally figure out what's so damned important about that disk you made me wrestle the Gorn-o-phile for