NX-35 Vigilant - Armory

Widow's Well

As P'Trell dashed through the door to the armory, he found Tuffy already busy at the control console. Spotting the blue blur at the corner of his eye, the Tactical Officer immediately jabbed a stubby finger toward the port loading platform.

"It sticks. Don't let it." He ordered, never taking his eyes from the console before him.

P'Trell rushed to the platform, finding the two security officers there already sliding another torpedo into place. From the wisp of coolant that flashed briefly across the tube he knew the Vigilant had already fired, at least once. When the torpedo ahead of him immediately caught on something unseen, the two officers began struggled with it a bit. P'Trell continued forward, using his momentum to drive one foot forcefully against the torpedo's tail section. The two loaders spared him a glance of shock but the damned torpedo slid quickly into place.

Kinky chain, he thought. Had the same problem on the 'Sharev'. These men should have replaced the damned thing already.

He was relieved when the two abandoned the loader and had the torpedo locked in before he could get his balance from the kick. Good work. Every second counted in a fight and it certainly seemed Vigilant had found one.

P'Trell frowned, though. Whoever they were shooting at didn't seem to be shooting back too diligently. They hadn't even taken the first hit, nor had he detected any particular effort to maneuver abruptly. Which meant the Vigilant had either already knocked down her opponent…or she was in serious trouble.

Silence, suddenly. No one was moving, everyone poised to jump quickly when the next round of torpedoes dropped through the tube…

Several seconds passed and P'Trell began to frown. The ship was still barely moving.

"Tuffy, what the hell is your captain playing at?" He snarled.

Tuffy raised one hand, his eyes still locked on the console before him. Wait for it…

P'Trell waited. Ten more seconds. Fifteen…

"Stand down tactical alert. Section chiefs submit reports".

That's it? Well, that was anti-climatic. P'Trell glanced around at the security officers in the armory as they sighed collectively in relief. The Vigilant must have gotten off one hell of a first strike. He stepped aside as everyone started rushing about to stand down their stations.

"What are we shooting at, Tuffy?" He asked.

"Beats me. But we knocked it out quick enough, eh?" Tuffy turned around, grinning. "This girl's got a hell of a lot of fight in her, doesn't she?" The Tactical Officer smacked this console beside him affectionately one good time.

Rexas grinned. "Well, I guess she does. For a human ship, anyway."

Tuffy roared with laughter, even louder than usual. Still full of adrenaline, Rexas guessed. "For a human ship, eh? Don't play hard to get, you old whore! I told you she could crack hulls two at a time!"

Rexas chuckled, then suddenly realized…

"Tuffy, what are you doing down here?! Shouldn't you be on the bridge?"

Tuffy shrugged broadly, though P'Trell could see concern behind his eyes. "I just stepped off to fetch a report. So of course all hell breaks lose. Kruger must have manned the board." Tuffy lumbered down the short steps from the platform and slapped his hands together sharply.

"All right, then!" He announced in booming voice. "Funs over, now let's get to work. Johnson, get your skinny ass on the racks. And Landry! Where are you supposed to be right now, you imbecile?!"

P'Trell, lacking any particular duty at the moment, was forced to start dodging immediately as a half dozen humans around him suddenly got busy. He slipped and darted to the doors before he was able to finally get out of everyone's way. There he reflected for a moment, shaking his head in wonder. The Tactical Officer hadn't even been on the bridge and, from what he understood, they still didn't have a regular Helmsman on the Alpha shift. And yet they'd engaged…well, someone…and smacked them down before they could even get a good shot off. It was almost intimidating.

Behind him the armory door slid open. At a glance, he spotted Ensign T'Pril stepping through.

"Ensign." He said with a nod. "Miss all the fun?"

T'Pril regarded him with detachment. "I would not characterize a combat action as 'fun', Ensign. But I understand a Tactical Officer might do so."

P'Trell chuckled before he asked. "Why aren't you on the bridge? Hell, isn't anyone flying this thing?"

"I was sent to retrieve Lieutenant Gaver. But I will wait until he has completed…"

"I'm done here!" Tuffy yelled from across the Armory. "And the reek of incompetence in this room is giving me a headache, anyway!"

Approaching the two at the door, Tuffy spoke to T'Pril. "So what's the situation, Ensign?"

T'Pril hesitated, then stepped back through the door, forcing Tuffy to follow her outside. There she proceeded with him toward the bridge, noting with some concern that the Andorian was tagging along.

As they made for the lift, she reported to the Lieutenant Gaver. "Apparently I…'missed all the fun'. When I arrived on the bridge the captain immediately ordered me to summon you, remarking that you had likely taken position in the Armory. However, from what I was able to gather Lieutenant Commander Kruger had detected a displacement that the Captain identified as a Romulan bird of prey. When I arrived they had already exchanged fire. I was able to intuit nothing else before departing to find you."

"Well, then. Let's get on up there and see what's going on."

**********

Arriving on the bridge Tuffy marched straight for the tactical station where Kruger still stood. "What's what, Kruger?"

Kruger responded gruffly, rising to get out of the way. "Just take your station, Tuffy."

T'Pril noticed immediately the oppressive tension hanging about the room. Immediately she noticed LCDR McArthur just outside the lift. He must have just arrived as well, as he hadn't been present earlier. He looked somewhat confused.

At the communications console T'Pril noted Lieutenant Quinn leaning over her console, one hand over her mouth in an expression of horror. T'Pril immediately reasoned it unlikely the attack had provoked that reaction from her, as her jacket noted several combat actions in her past. Clearly something else had occurred in the interim, profound enough to disturb the woman.

T'Pril suddenly wondered if someone hadn't made a significant mistake here. With only Captain Farrell, Kruger and Quinn monitoring the bridge at the time of the attack, that would not be especially surprising. But considering their apparently resounding victory in whatever action they'd just engaged in, she had to wonder what would provoke the emotional reaction Quinn was displaying at the moment.

Captain Farrell was glaring at them, she noted, showing clear signs of emotional disturbance himself. T'Pril was prompted to recall that humans were prone to such behavior following intense danger. Usually a delayed reaction, as such situations precluded expelling excess tension until after the threat had passed.

"McArthur, get on down to engineering and get me that status report first hand." The Captain grumbled, almost distractedly. "T'Pril, you've got bridge duty in an hour. Go find yourself something productive to do until then. P'Trell, Armory could use an OIC right now. Get your ass on down there…"

McArthur interrupted, confusion evident in his voice. "Captain, you want me in engineering now?"

Farrell surprised her with his sudden, vicious snap. "You heard me, Lieutenant! Get your ass down there and get me that report!"

Turning to T'Pril and Rexas, he barked. "And you two, off the bridge. Double quick!"

McArthur had already stepped back into the lift, anger and confusion evident on his face. P'Trell stepped back as well, making room for him to enter. T'Pril, however, hesitated.

"Captain, perhaps we should be briefed on…"

"Now, Ensign!"

There didn't appear to be any other appropriate response, so T'Pril stepped back and cycled the door. As it closed Lieutenant Gaver's eyes caught hers from across the room and she noted the look of confusion there as well.

**********

"What the hell was that?" P'Trell wondered aloud.

McArthur expelled a sigh of frustration. "Forget it. Captain's just shook up a bit. Be glad he waited until after the fight to get pissy."

T'Pril nodded to herself, her suspicions confirmed. Indeed, it appeared the captain had delayed any irrational behavior until after the action had concluded. No less than she expected from an experienced human officer but she was admittedly relieved to witness it first hand. Captain Farrell had a reputation for decisive action in several engagements over the years after all. Hardly something an emotional human could hope to accomplish without the ability to at least delay pointless outburst.

But P'Trell only grinned. "Someone dropped a ball, I think."

McArthur took immediate offense. "Dropped the ball. And you can bet everyone on that bridge performed exceptionally, Ensign."

"Oh, I merely speculate, Commander. A ship to ship battle with only a three man bridge crew is quite impressive. But something obviously angered the captain. You think maybe the communications officer accidentally surrendered or something?" He chuckled.

McArthur turned around swiftly to confront P'Trell. "Ensign, I don't know how they do things in the Imperial Guard but on this ship I'll expect you to keep such speculation to yourself. The last thing we need is the Tactical Officer second guessing the actions of the bridge crew. Following a combat action, no less. Am I understood?"

P'Trell's eyes narrowed noticeably. "Understood…Commander." He responded, coldly.

T'Pril began assessing possible responses to a violent altercation in the close confines of the lift.

Stepping closer, face to face with P'Trell, McArthur spoke just as coldly. "Are we going to have a problem, P'Trell?"

At that the Andorian grinned wickedly. "I seriously doubt it."

T'Pril decided now would be a good time to test her authority with the two men. Though she didn't technically possess any just yet, both men were aware she would soon enough.

"I think that is quite enough." She spoke sharply. "While some emotional disturbance is to be expected from the bridge crew immediately following a combat action, I expect officers not directly involved to be able to control their behavior."

Both men turned to her, somewhat shocked. To her complete lack of surprise it was P'Trell that immediately rose to the challenge.

"Correct me if I'm mistaken but you haven't any authority here just yet, Ensign."

"Not as yet. But I have a reasonably reliable memory." She responded. "If you either of you intend to test that, then proceed with your altercation. I assure you I will bear in mind your failure to conduct yourselves in a manner expected of Starfleet officers."

That seemed to settle the matter, she noted. Both men leaned back from one another's personal space at least, though they continued to glare at each other. After a moment McArthur turned his back on Rexas without another word, waiting for the doors to open.

When they did, it was to deck E. McArthur stepped out to head for engineering, leaving T'Pril alone with the Andorian. He spared her a departing glare, she noticed, but she was nonetheless grateful he hadn't challenged her action. He could easily have done so and, in retrospect, she suddenly wondered why he had chosen not to.

T'Pril waited as the door closed again. She had no doubt P'Trell wasn't finished baiting her.

Presently he sighed. "I suppose I should apologize. Haven't quite adjusted to this place, I think."

That nearly provoked an eyebrow from her. She hadn't expected contrition at all. The man was proving difficult to predict.

"Given all relevant circumstances, I think your behavior is understandable. I do not believe it warrants further examination."

"Hmm." Rexas responded simply.

As the lift approached deck F, he mused aloud. "I wonder why the man backed down, though. I expected he wouldn't take that from you. That's half the reason I said something, so we'd end up standing together to shoot you down."

As she turned to reassess him, he smiled. "Appearances to the contrary, I'm not a complete idiot. I wasn't especially interested in pissing off a Lieutenant Commander today." He chuckled.

T'Pril considered that for a moment before asking. "Then why did you continue to provoke him?"

As the lift doors opened, he shrugged. "I was curious about just how loyal these officers are to their captain. So as to gauge the difficulty you…and I, for that matter…will be facing here." P'Trell stepped off the lift before glancing back at her.

"Apparently…quite a bit." With a smile, he turned away down the corridor.

The doors closed. As she considered what P'Trell had implied, she hit the button for deck E. She was well aware that the crew of the ship were firmly entrenched in their support of the captain. And, specifically, against her imminent command. She wondered why P'Trell seemed to think this was news to her.

By the time the lift arrived and she exited to head for her quarters, she realized P'Trell had lied. And not especially well, for that matter. He hadn't been testing Commander McArthur at all. He'd been testing her.