<< Ready Room >>

Jim rubbed his eyes.  He'd been poring over a number of reports that included maintenance and upgrade reports, crew reports and Starfleet reports.  There was a lot to deal with, especially considering there were around 1,500 personnel.  A large number of the crew had been reassigned over the previous few months due to the extensive upgrades to the ship taking so long.  He was happy that most of his senior staff had chosen to stay, which greatly relieved him.  What concerned him, however, was that he needed another XO, and it was difficult finding one at this stage with extensive command experience.

Another concern was the continued reports of alien probes throughout pretty much every sector of Federation space, and all other races that they were in touch with.  It seemed safe to believe that some alien race was probing the entire galaxy.

The reports showed that the probes could not be analysed by anyone in the galaxy.  If the probes were scanned or tractored, they disappeared, and shielding prevented effective scanning.  They were able to determine that the 'disappearing' effect was some kind of drive, because the probes reappeared somewhere else, many light years away.

Tractor beams were unable to prevent them from 'jumping' away, and Starfleet learnt very quickly that beaming a probe onboard a ship caused it to self destruct - at the cost of two ships and their crews.

Starfleet had ordered all ships to avoid contact with the probes.  Jim guessed that they were waiting for the owners of the probes to make contact, which was fine by him.  They hadn't made any aggressive contact themselves, whoever they were, so it was just a waiting game for contact.

The door chimed, and Jim happily turned off his console, appreciating a break.  "Enter," he called out.

The door hissed open and Duo stepped over the threshold, his long braid swinging behind him. He was weary, after a full shift at the Tactical station and an hour long reading session about the weird probes that had been popping up. But as always, he managed a grin as he stepped into the ready room.

"Hey Cap'n," he said lightly as the doors slid shut behind him, "I jus' finished readin' about the probe things an' I wanted t' talk t' ya about 'em... but hey, you look jus' about as fed up as I feel. D'ya wanna head down to 20 Forward an' get a coffee with me instead?"


"I was hoping you'd ask something like that," Jim said, smiling.  He stood up and walked to the door.  "Those probes are a bit of a mystery, aren't they," he said.

Duo nodded, falling in line behind his Captain as they walked out of the room. "I dunno what t' think about 'em... any race with th' power t' drop un-scannable, un-trackable, un-stoppable probes all over th' damn place has gotta be pretty advanced. But it's a pretty funny way t' explore the galaxy, if ya ask me... 'specially if you can jump around all over th' place like those things do."

Jim nodded.  "Sure, but if you can send probes throughout a galaxy, it saves time by not having to send ships and personnel... then you can just focus your resources on what you find of most interest."

They were walking through a long, windowed section of corridor and Jim looked out at the drydock that surrounded the ship.  It was the only drydock Starfleet had which could accommodate a ship the size of the Pathfinder, and was, of course, the drydock where the ship had been built.

It didn't matter how many times he looked out the windows, he still thought it was a beautiful sight, seeing the structure surrounding the ship, the small maintenance pods zooming around, personnel in space suits, and curious observers in observation rooms within the structure itself.  Sometimes he felt like a fish in a goldfish bowl, but was also happy that he could leave the bowl and join them on the 'outside looking in'.  And the Pathfinder was such a beautiful ship, he could understand why it got such a lot of attention.

"Mmmm," Duo hummed, forming a thought in his mind as they walked. "Kinda reminds me of scouts... find th' juciest target an' learn everythin' ya can about 'em, figure out their weaknesses an' stuff... lots'a'probes would be a pretty good way of doin' it. I guess that's why Starfleet's all twisted up about 'em..."

"We're not the only interesting subject in the galaxy, and the number of probes seen in the Alpha and Gamma quadrants has reduced over the past couple of months.  I'm suspecting they're reaching the apex of all that there is to know....  depending on what information those probes are gathering, of course.  And they might even decide to make contact with other species, anywhere in the galaxy."

They entered a turbolift.  "Twenty forward," Jim ordered the lift, and then continued.  "I mean, what if they're more closely aligned to the Borg?  Or even able to detect and communicate with species like the Q?  I think Starfleet's aware we might never even know who is responsible for the probes."

"Who knows," Duo shrugged, leaning back against the turbolift's wall and scratching his head, he had heard just about enough of probes for one day.

"How goes your Advanced Tactical training?" Jim asked, smiling.

"Pretty good, thanks." The smaller man replied, "There's a lot more t' learn than I thought, though. Lots of technical stuff that I didn't know, but it's all pretty interestin'... an' it's good t' brush up on th' stuff I do know, too."

Jim nodded.  "And with the experience you'll have and that you'll get onboard this ship, I imagine you could soon start to write your own Tactic training simulations."  Jim smiled as the lift doors opened, and they walked up the hallway to 20 Forward.

Jim chuckled as they entered the large mess area.  Making their way to the bar they ordered a drink each, and then sat down at one of the tables.  There was a gentle background noise of conversation throughout the room as dozens of crew were relaxing with their time off.

"I know," Jim said, looking around at his people.  "But we're not a warrior culture," he explained.  "We've got 'procedures' for combat, based on what we consider civilised and effective."  He winked at Duo.  "People like yourself are just so uncivilised," he grinned.

"I know, I know... I'm a barbarian among th' enlightened." He replied with a chuckle, "you'd think I'd be used t' it by now, but ya know me, stubborn t' th' end." He paused, taking a drink and grinning at Jim. "When I think back t' th' early days, it makes me think it's really a wonder that I'm still wearin' th' uniform."

"I agree completely," Jim said, still smiling.  Just then the waiter came over with their drinks, and Jim smiled a thanks.  "I don't know how you made it to this level and still getting promotions."

"I think th' most rules I ever broke at once was 52... two days into my first postin' when I decided that I had t' challenge th' XO to a duel over some stupid comment he'd made... I can't even remember what it was, now." Duo said lightly, "Fun times... I used t' raise so much hell, every time I did anythin' I somehow managed t' break one rule or another."

"You challenged the XO to a duel?" Jim laughed.  "I remember reading that, but I'd forgotten it.  You ever felt like challenging me to a duel?"

"Yeah, once or twice." He replied, "I was still pretty wild when I came aboard th' Talon, I'm sure ya remember." He chuckled lightly, "but, I guess I've changed quite a bit over th' last couple of years... an' th' uniform fits pretty well, now."

Jim smiled again and took another sip at his drink.  "By the way, you'll be pleased to know that the Sanchez's and Morganth will be returning from their leave."

Duo smiled, "Glad t' hear it, th' Marines need a strong leader, Sanchez is just th' man... an' It'll be nice t' have th' Doc back again." He said lightly, "it seems like they've been away for a long time, funny t' think it's only been a few weeks..."
 
Jim nodded.  "They're all coming back within the next few days.  We're also due to have these upgrades finished next week, so it's good timing."  He was about to say something else when his comm badge interrupted him.

=/\=  "Captain, you have a message coming in from Starfleet, priority one." =/\=

With an inquisitive look at Duo, Jim tapped his badge.  "On my way," he said.  Tapping it again to break the communication, he took a final swig from his glass.  "Thanks for the diversion Duo, but I'm needed."  He stood up.

Duo stood with the Captain, tipping the last of his drink down his throat. "Any time, Jim." He said lightly, he enjoyed having his friend's company, but since he had become Captain the opertunities to drag him away from the bridge and the ready room had grown few and far between.



A joint post by:

Captain Jim Hawkins
Commanding Officer, USS Scorpion

and

Lt Commander Duo Maxwell
Chief Tactical Officer, USS Scorpion