Startled, she pulled her hand back and stared at him in shock. Surely he wasn't serious. Frowning, Trinity figured she better put her foot down on this now before it escalated. Worse, the rumors that could start. "Surely, sir, you jest. I'm not in the habit of screaming anyone's name." Taking a deep breathe, she tried again, "Mr. Weatherford, I'm glad you are settling in. I'm sure you are busy so I won't keep you." She was going to have to keep an eye on him. Make sure he didn't cause any trouble or give any of the female staff too hard of a time.

That? Made him laugh. Outright. Her shock, surprise, and then the flustered way she attempted to right herself back into stoicism. Oh, my. Won't she be a fun one. And considering security got hurt lightyears more often than any other group on ships, he was...relatively certain she would be a frequent vision. And wouldn't that be entertaining?

"You can call me Ford," he offered again, his casual name, with a grin. "And it's very true. I have supplied to sign off on. I should get going. Please, Captain McCarthy...don't be a stranger." With a wink he tucked his hands into his slack's pockets and meandered back down the hall the way he'd been going, a bit of a bounce in his step.

She would be fun. So many fun people on this ship.

Grimacing once his back was turned. She swallowed and continued on her walk. The first storage hull she came to though, she slipped into. Less people to notice her burning blush until it died away. Also, a chance to pretend to be working when she wasn't. That is, until she could. Once her brain was in gear, she decided to investigate a small rumor about the Ebonhawk.

Looking carefully, she almost missed it. All the tricks in the book didn't help her. It was because she had been told ahead of time what to look for that she even had a chance. A hidden chamber. Each storage hull evidently had one. She made note of this one and that it was empty. The Commander wanted some things placed in there later for emergencies. If a time arose, there would be whatever was needed for a small group inside. Plus room for other things, or people, as needed. Again, emergencies only.

Some hours later, the PA system in the bridge came alive with Lyt'ns voice, solid and very professional.

"This is Chief of Engineering, Lyt'n M'nor to the bridge. Engineering is prepared for disembarkment."

He leaned against the console and ran his hand over it, thoughtful. This was it. Soon enough they'd be void-borne, sailing through the vacuum at lightspeeds. The room around him seemed to hum, every worker and every engine, every panel, vibrated with excitement. He wanted to get this baby on the road, wanted her to soar. It was driving him batting, all this waiting.

X

Meanwhile, Ford was on the observatory, arms crossed tightly across his chest. He was never particularly fond of the take off. Once in motion, it was as if they were still again. Turbulence, ion storms, you know it. If it jostled the ship, it made him nervous. But he was one of the best xenophysiologists on the station, and had one of the steadiest pairs of hands.

He'd been needed on a ship that would, no doubt, need a lot of medical attention.



(I AM SO SORRY I COMPLETELY FORGOT I HADN'T REPLIED.)

Standing by the Internal Security station, Trinity looked around the bridge. Excitement filled them all. Looking down at the console and her second-in-command, Chief Beatrice, Trinity felt a bit of pride as well. Beatrice was her best friend's younger sister. Having done well for herself on the station with internal security, she had been chosen by the Commander for this crew. Trinity looked forward to working with the younger woman and getting her viewpoints on how more polite society might do things.

More than that, she was intrigued. The Commander had run into her while she was patrolling the storage hulls and cargo bays. Trinity mulled over part of the conversation that they had had.

The Commander paused, as if hesitating to mention anything, then continued, "Captain Trinity, we don't have much to go on for our mission." Holding up a hand to forestall questions, she added, "I'll explain in more detail after we launch. It is a delicate matter we are dealing with. We will be chasing rumors and shadows. However, you have expertise in such things. As we are leaving, swing by the communications station on the bridge and get transcripts from them downloaded onto your omni device. Browse through and see if anything stands out to you. That might help me when we have our meeting."

As soon as she had arrived on the bridge, Trinity had done just that. She knew that once everyone had arrived and was in place, any extra movement would be more closely noted. She didn't want to explain her actions to overly questioning souls if she could help it. Her vigilance had paid off. Now she had reading material on her arm and a crew oblivious to how unspecific this mission seemed to be.

Once the ship was ready in engineering, Lyt'n bowed out to head up towards the bridge. He'd be requested at the engineering center there to oversee the take-off, the bridge console gave him a more of an overview of the entire mechanics schematic of the ship, allowed him to make adjustments remotely rather than having to go from machine to machine.

Everyone was already at their stations. He felt awkward arriving late, but didn't pay heed to the few looks he got. He knew he wasn't exactly a normal sight on a bridge.

He went straight to his station, waving his hand across the console to bring it to life. It lit up with his prompting and he smiled, fingers dancing across the screen to pull up readings from all over the ship, thrusts to shields. Once they were cleared for the take-off, he felt it, the moment the shift lifted off the deck. The engines rumbled beneath his feet, the whole ship buzzing, and he continued with his work, eyes focused as they began their exit of the docking bay.

Watching as they left the station, she kept a straight face as some of the other crew grinned or gave almost silent cheers. Professional was her way of doing things and showing such excitement on a very normal part of space flight seemed rather silly to her. However, she did squeeze Chief Beatrice's shoulder and wink when the younger girl looked up at her.

In mere moments from take off, they were entering one of the perimeter rings around the Alliance Space Station. There were three rings in all, each with different types of ships, satellites, and security systems. Getting through didn't take long and soon they were headed towards open space. Nodding to the Commander, and letting Chief Beatrice know she would be in her office, Trinity quietly took her leave.

Walking out of the main bridge via an electronic door and entering the bridge entryway, Trinity stopped. An automatic screening device began beaming over and around her in straight lines. When the blue lines turned off, she stepped on through knowing that those monitoring the readings were her own security crew. A good measure to ensure small pathogens or even other species than those on file for the person being scanned didn't get through.

Heading out into the hallway, Trinity began making her way towards her office.