Ranger Talk

Posted on Sun Sep 5th, 2021 @ 2:42pm by Captain Rueben Gregnol & Executive Officer Jake Ford & Micheal Robertson

Mission: Elsewhere
Location: SS Mary Rose, Shuttlebay
Timeline: November 2396 (back post)
1506 words - 3 OF Standard Post Measure

The shuttle bay, curses and banging could be heard coming from the open hatch of the SS ALEXANDRIA, the Danube class runabout that Micheal and Dixoho had purchased together almost eighteen months ago.

Since he had returned from the Andromeda Galaxy, Micheal had been like a man possessed, working to put the ship back together and fully operational (after both Dixoho and Cassie had torn it apart looking for any clues as to the location of their respective men after Micheal and Johnathan had vanished a little over a year ago.

While he had brought a few systems back online, Micheal knew that he was still several weeks, to a couple of months, away from having the tough little ship space-worthy again. And then, on top of everything else, he was trying to fabricate weapons systems to install. After their run-in with the pirates, he didn't want Rosie to be without options in the future.

He was currently waist-deep inside a small crawl access space, as he was trying to reactivate the preexisting power relays used to power the various weapons points that were designed into the hull. To say it was an easy job would be a gross exaggeration. He knew he could call on some of the ship's engineers to help, but, they were all busy repairing the damage Rosie sustained from the pirates.

“Well, this is not what I thought my shuttle bay would look like today.” Gregnol was surprised to see the mess of the ship when he had thought the shuttle was almost back together and sorted. He indicated to Jake where to go and allowed him up into the shop first. It would be easier to talk inside.

"Not much to look at, is she?" Jake murmured, easing himself inside. For two men the size they were, it was a tight fit for both himself and Reuben to squeeze in. "Anyone home?"

They were answered with a bang and several curses coming from just the other side of the open door that led from the cockpit to the aft section of the large shuttle. "Back here, Jake!" Micheal replied, recognizing the voice of the XO.

Before either man could move further, Rebecca's avatar popped into view. "Micheal! That is not how we greet the Captain and Executive Officer!" She then turned to the two men and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Gentlemen," she said softly. "May I get either of you a drink? The replicator is still working, for now." The said pointedly towards where the Texan was working.

"Not since Saa and McAvoy... I mean Anderson took it apart." Reuben commented on looking at Rebecca shaking his head at the avatar. He was not sure if Jake knew that whole sage. It was hard to remember when Jake came onboard now as he had fitted in so well. "No thank you." He assured quickly. They were not planning to stay long.

Rebecca smiled softly. "Actually, Sir, Micheal did get quite a few systems back online as of late. He even removed the bounty cells as a demonstration to Miss Saa that he wasn't leaving ever...."

"Enough." Micheal's gruff tone instantly quieted the hologram. "Do I need to reprogram your privacy settings?"

If she had been a flesh and blood woman, Rebecca would have slapped Micheal and stormed out. Instead, she gave him a hurt look, turned back to Reuben and Jake, and said, a holographic tear rolling down her right cheek. "Excuse me, Gentlemen." She then vanished back into the ether.

As soon as she vanished, Micheal sighed heavily. "Damn. I'm going to pay for that later." He then looked over at his two bosses. "Cap'n, XO. What can I do for you?"

Reuben glanced at Jake but said nothing. Emergency Holograms were an odd issue for him to have as a Captain. He had nearly lost Jeassaho and the rest of his crew on Utopia Planitia as the Victory had been so close so he had a lot of resentment for Artificial life but Rebecca had never caused any issues. "Um... yes... we need to talk." He admitted not actually sure where to start with the conversation.

Micheal arched an eyebrow. "About what, Cap'n." In all the time that he had known the Russian, Micheal had never known Reuben to seem unsure about anything. Whatever this was concerning must have been very serious.

Jake eyed Reuben, their eyes matching unspoken. "The business with the marauders has triggered a bit of a conversation," Jake explained. "The Captain and I are in agreement that we can't rely on Starfleet protection going forward, but we still need friends. Given how they helped us, we were looking at striking up a partnership with the Fenris Rangers."

Micheal seemed surprised by this revelation. "Oh!" Then he paused to think about it some. "Well, actually...it does make sense. We are out here on the fringes. Starfleet doesn't have time to answer each and every S.O.S. that is floating out there. The Rangers, though...." he took in a deep breath and, seemingly deciding right then, he exhaled and spoke. "I'm in, Cap'n. Where you go, I go. I'm not leaving Rosie again, unless it's feet first. What do you need from me?"

Gregnol shrugged. “What we need from you is to talk to all members of the crew to gauge their reaction and if they would be suitable in the name of ship security. This change is not going to be for the faint-hearted.” He admitted.

Nodding thoughtfully, the Texan looked at Reuben and asked the question. "And those that don't want to go along? What should I do about them, Boss?"

“Then that would be a conversation for me, Jake and them to have.” If they could not be persuaded, then SS Mary Rose was not the place for them was the simple answer but the Captain knew it was a lot more involved than being that simple. But it was something that needed to come from them as the command team not a department head or anyone else n

Micheal nodded. "Understood, Sir. I'll get cleaned up and start right away. I'll start with my team, though I have a feeling they'll say yes. Then I'll have them branch out, checking on the backgrounds of our few passengers and vet which of the junior crew is inclined to stay. I'll focus on the department heads."

"That's your plan, then," Jake nodded. They'd asked him to take the crew's temperature. It was up to him how he did it. "Take care with the passengers, though. Some of them are fare-paying, and we don't want to panic them that we're suddenly becoming a vigilante cruiser."

Micheal nodded and made a face. "Hey, it's me you're talking to. I know how to be subtle."

"I would not even bother with the passengers. Just the crew," Gregnol said simply. It was logical going forward passengers were going to come and go but they also brought an air of cover to the ship. "Passengers come and go and they are background checked before we take them even now." He pointed out squishing himself against the pilot seat to look at the console properly.

"Understood, Cap'n," Micheal replied as he watched both men start to look around his ship. "I'll make sure that the passengers we have are not disturbed." He then grinned slightly as he watched Reuben move closer to the helm. "All flight controls test out as fully functional. I just need to finish putting her back together. Then I'll take her out for a test flight." He paused a moment, then asked, "Cap'n, do you think the Rangers would help us arm both the Rosie and Alexandria here? It would be really nice to be able to do more than hurl insults at the next pirate that comes along, thinking Rosie is a juicy berry, ripe for picking."

"That is still in discussion but I would not hold out much hope for Alexandria," Reuben admitted. The rangers were wary of the former bounty hunter but Gregnol was assuring them bluntly that he was legit now. "We shall see what happens with it all. They could change their minds but the deal is we get fixed up and minimally armed." It might not seem like much to most people but to Gregnol just the fact his ship was getting fixed up on such a large scale it would be brilliant to not have that worry.

"The details can be confirmed later. Just get the crew's opinion and report back in. All good?" Jake asked.

“I am good.” Gregnol nodded. He was happy to leave it there. The details were still something that he was discussing with the rangers so they all knew as much as he did there and then.

Micheal nodded. He had his instructions. Now he just had to do his job. "I'll keep you both updated as I and my team move through the ship. We won't disappoint you, Gentlemen."