Preparations Begin

Posted on Thu Sep 12th, 2024 @ 1:56pm by Captain Abigail Laurens & Lieutenant Commander Evelyn Rozia & Commander Ichiko Gail

Mission: Let The Games Begin
Location: Main Engineering

Abigail walked into Engineering, side by side with Ichiko, a PADD grasped firmly in her hand. She nodded slightly at something the Rabbitess had said to her as she scanned the room, her gaze coming to rest on one Lieutenant Commander Evelyn Rozia. With a quiet word to her first officer, the pair strode across Engineering, every step making it clear that this visit had a purpose, and it wasn't just going to be for small talk. "Commander." she finally offered. "May we have a word in your office?"

Having seen the two most senior officers arrive through the double doors, this didn't surprise Evelyn all that much. Her own smile of amusement that had been on her face when they'd entered had faded at their approach. "Of course, Captain, Commander." She acknowledged both of the senior officers, then gestured with her left hand towards her office, "If you'll follow me, ma'ams." For the several seconds it took them to cross the deck, she considered what she may have done to get in trouble but couldn't come up with anything off the top of her head.

She entered the office first, making a gesture to initiate the lighting and paused at the side of her desk, not going around it as of yet and wondering if she should offer refreshments. In the end, politeness won out over the serious nature of their arrival. The worst case scenario was that they said 'no'. "Can I offer either of you coffee or something else to drink or snack on?"

The rabbitess to Abigail's right gave a nod "Tea please, and some Ginger Snap cookies." she responded with a smirk. "Before we begin I want to stress the confidence in this assignment. While time to grieve over the loss of an entire vessel is important, the notion of returning to task to restore normalcy is equally important. To that end, we've been selected to host a cultural exchange." there was a tone there. "Allow me to bring you up to speed, but I stress this portion of the upcoming assignment is in confidence." a pause before she continued. "Relations between my people and the Federation in general are at a comfortable pace, until a few weeks ago where at a high viewer sporting event, the winning team's captain declared... and I quote... Laurens Abigail is a badass."

At the words Abigail laughed again, unable to help herself. It still seemed so surreal to hear her own name used like that, least of all by a race she knew so little about. She shook her head slightly and cast a glance at Ichiko.

Having put in the request for Ichiko's tea (using the pre-programmed preferences in the system) as well as the plate of gingersnap cookies, along with a cup of her own favored tea, she'd just placed the tray on the with the last pronouncement and laughed, "I can only imagine how that went with the rest of the Ts'usugi!"

"I'm sure it wasn't that big of a deal," Abigail said demurely. "It's just a few words."

There was a hint of a smirk, "Before they knew who Abigail was, it was just a name. Then people found out who she is. Since then, Captain Laurens' name has been on the tone of every Kinetic fan, news caster, and dignitary. Kinetic is one of the highest watched entertainment venues in the Empire, and everyone viewing was just introduced to the Captain of the Astraea via one very loud and personable captain of a team known for going against the grain. To this, talks were accelerated to a pace the diplomatic corp considers break neck. It was decided that the two teams should settle their grudge match, and the discussion landed on hosting the rematch here, aboard the Astraea. A cultural exchange and a diplomatic event rolled into one."

"To that end, the Astraea will provide the theater to host the event. The holodeck might not be large enough to host the match, so there may be the need to convert the shuttlebay into a makeshift Kinetic arena in that event. To that, there is the issue of the Ball." and Ichiko produced a PaDD with a silvery orb image on it. Textured, but only slightly so. "This is the Kinetic Orb, the centerpiece of the event. Our replicators cannot duplicate one, simply because the orb houses key pieces of technology not present in Federation databases. I inquired about the schematics for these, and was informed that sharing them directly would be problematic, and that Starfleet Engineering was encouraged to discover them naturally, while waiting for the disclosure." she slid the PaDD over towards the Engineer.

"To this task, we entrust your team." she gave Evelyn a slight nod, "Your file always mentioned you were eager for a challenge. I present to you, this challenge. Recreate the Kinetic systems of the Inertial Capacitor, the Kinetic Impeller, and the Discharge Gate." she cycled through the various images on the PaDD. Schematics detailing the systems, but the actual blueprints to the systems themselves was not there. On the way, apparently."

"Coordinate with Sciences if needed, but this unofficial inspiration from the Ministries of Technology and the Kinetic League are just that, unofficial." she stressed. "Involve who you need to, but not who you want to. Technology trades without official channels are frowned upon, after all." Bending a rule without breaking it. The standard Ts'usugi method of commerce. "Do you have any questions about this task?"

Evelyn's eyes glittered at the image of the ball and then the quick cycling of schematics. It was likely that the technology within the ball itself would be the hardest to duplicate, but there were ideas already flickering through her head, "Just a few." She glanced to the Captain and then back at Ichika again, "I know it's a long shot, but is there any chance of acquiring one of the physical Kinetic balls for me to study?" She gave a half shrug when she made the ask, "And if not, is there the possibility of a holoprogram of Kinetic and the equipment? I know I can't take things apart in the program, but being able to literally play around with it would help me with figuring it out."

She placed two fingers against her forearm now that she'd gone beyond the first ask, "If there are recordings of Kinetic matches as well, I'd really like to have as much of it as possible. Seeing it in action helps as well." A third finger came down on the forearm, "A rulebook for the game would also be awesome, for research purposes and again, as a guide for what capabilities each piece of equipment may have because of what's a legal move or illegal move." There was a hesitation, but one slight before the fourth finger joined it, "How long do I have to pull this off? I'm going to keep the personnel involved to the bare minimum, but how well I can do that will depend on the time frame involved."

"I can provide a few seasons of content of previous Kinetic events." Ichiko said with a nod. "A holodeck program of a Kinetic player in full gear can perhaps be extrapolated from the footage. The vid crew pride themselves on getting every angle." a pause, "And as for a rulebook, I can ensure you get a few season openers, where they go over the rules for all the new audience members. Kinetic isn't just a sport, it's a story."

"You have roughly two to three weeks." the ship's second offered. "Adjusting for transit time."

"Two to three weeks." Evelyn repeated slowly, already seeing extremely long days ahead of her with this particular project. If she'd had an actual ball, or some of the equipment or gear available to her, it wouldn't be as bad, but this was... "All right, I think I can do it. I'm going to need... A couple-three people and exclusive use of a holodeck. If it's the longer period, we may even be able to test it out."

"Done." clear and simple, "Just keep this close to the vest. If you need some assistance feel free to reach out. I attended a Kinetic match once, and it's an experience I'll never forget."

"I can't stress enough how important this is," Abigail added quietly. "We can't afford for anything to go wrong. Please, don't take any chances, if you need assistance ask. The last thing we need is to offend the Ts'usugi by screwing up their favourite sport."

"I won't fail you, Captain." Evelyn said somberly, then broke into a smile, "Besides, if we get this done up right and quickly, we can even try to put together a couple teams and play a game or two to test out the setup. That way, if there are any last minute problems, we can identify them, or at least the Commander here can tell me!"

Ichiko gave a nod, "i remember a thing or two from the live show I saw once. I can certainly coach your technique." she offered in humor. "Though, if you're looking for pointers on how to impress the teams, a good competitive spirit will certainly do it. Just, don't accept any invitations to join the league just yet, we still need you here." she added with a soft smile, and a bit of a giggle at the end.

Abigail offered a slight smile and a nod of her head. "If you don't need anything else Commander," the Commanding Officer prompted gently.

Evelyn's mind was already twitching, ready to get started on this project, "I should be fine... If I may ask though, don't need me for much of anything for the next couple of weeks, unless it's an update? I'll be a bit preoccupied."

"I'm sure your staff can manage in your absence," Abigail responded calmly. "This project will need your utmost attention, and of course, anyone you need will be at your service. Just report to Commander Gail as needed with requisition requests and updates. Good luck Commander, you're going to need it."