Awards Ceremony Part #1

Posted on 23 Dec 2023 @ 6:25pm by Lieutenant JG Faith Benson & Captain Jasmine Somers FCapt & Lieutenant Colonel Alexandria Somers & Lieutenant Commander Remington Dodd & Lieutenant Leland Hawksley & Lieutenant Lamia ‘Mia’ Kildare & Lieutenant Vivian Corsair & Captain Patrick Jackson & Lieutenant Matthew Thompson & Lieutenant Serina "Reaper" Donovan & Lieutenant JG Thex sh'Zoarhi & Captain Mazal Falk & Lieutenant JG Ted Silver & Lieutenant Paul Winchester & Lieutenant JG Margeurite "Maggie" LeFebvre & Ensign C'Tirr K'Ruuras & 2nd Lieutenant Cassandra Mathews & 2nd Lieutenant Melody Hawthorne & Master Chief Petty Officer Alexi Michelle & Lieutenant Paula Winchester & 1st Lieutenant Josefina (Fina) Macapuno & Ensign Autumn Cole & Master Chief Petty Officer Lucy Armitage & Sergeant Major Christopher "Chris" Kildare & Sergeant Major Bronco (Bronc) Hardway & Petty Officer 1st Class Timothy Nelson & Staff Sergeant Lilliana Hawksley & Petty Officer 3rd Class Ramon Machado
Edited on on 25 Dec 2023 @ 7:00am

3,658 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: General Sim Postings
Location: SB51 Auditorium
Timeline: Some weeks later

[ON]

Now all the crew had some time to themselves and the Starbase techs had started to gut the Tomcat in preparation for its retrofit, the Roosevelt had finally returned, and Jasmine was no longer using the cane to assist her in walking she activated her communications on her desk =/\= Somers to Armitage, prep the auditorium for the Awards Ceremony, you have three days to get it ready =/\= she said.

=/\= Acknowledged Captain, Armitage out =/\= came the response.

"Computer open a channel to all Tomcat Personnel," she said.

A moment later "channel open" came the computer voice in response

=/\= Attention all Tomcat crew, you are all required to be in the Starbase Auditorium in four days in dress uniform, this is mandatory as it is about Awards, Somers out =/\= she said and closed the link.

Four days later...

- SB51 Auditorium -

The day had arrived for the Awards ceremony, the stage had been set up all preparations were done, and the Tomcat crew all in Dress uniform began to enter the room, Jasmine was sitting on the podium looking through her Padd, on her right, Lucy was doing the final preparations, for this Alex and her husband entered, she was in dress uniform, he was not.

Lamia entered the room alongside Chris, she was feeling somewhat peaky due to the onset of morning sickness, but she was hoping she wouldn’t have to go rushing off during the ceremony. “I guess I will have to replicate maternity-sized uniforms soon.” She smiled as she kept her voice low in the currently quiet air of the Auditorium.

*Chris nodded* He was in his Dress Rifle Uniform, while it bore a resemblance to the Fleet Officers' dress uniform, the Rifles ones were slightly different as they had black piping on them and on his arms he had Chevrons denoting his rank, if this was outside he would be required to wear his Shako, but this venue did not require it, as he was essentially a Drill Sergeant grade he had a yellow lanyard wrapped once around his right shoulder, the only part of his uniform that did not have black piping with an all Olive Green outfit was the piping around the edging of his tunic collar, that was white indicating that he was one of the few personnel with the Chosen Man elevation, now with his Intended on his arm he entered the auditorium.

Cassandra entered along with the rest of her unit. She was glad to be here to support and congratulate her shipmates in their shining moment. Though no award could ever replace what they lost she knew how important it was to recognize the hard work everyone had put in.

Paul entered the Auditorium, with his family in tow with Both his wife and sister dressed in their dress uniform with Davina in her cadet's uniform for her first official function. Paul said," Now Davina, do not show us up as we both sponsored you into the Academy" as he glanced back at her.

Davina replied whilst holding onto one of the twins, " I will not Uncle Paul, Mom has already threatened me to clean her fighter," as she had taken her options for what department she most wanted and had chosen Operations.

Lt. Matt Thompson entered the auditorium and looked around. He disliked the whites way too itchy. He grabbed a drink and started mingling. His seat could wait for the time being.

Looking at Davina Serina smiled. She had been a huge help with the babies. Looking at Paul, " Blasted uniform! I need to go on a diet. It's way too snug!", she commented, tugging at the now tight tunic.

So Paul leaned over and discreetly said to his Wife "Do we need to go to Medical" he looked down at the twins and hoped that this might help her in some way.

Her head spun around, "Medical? Wait, are you thinking I might be pregnant?" Serina's face paled slightly. Was she so busy that maybe she lost count of the days she was late? oO oh lord I can't have a baby now! Oo she thought. " Well yes we can hun but after the ceremony," she said.

" Ok" replied Paul as he waited like everyone else to see what those who deserved what they got, he looked at Paula and asked, " Do you want another challenge Tomcat Fighters v SB51 Fighters?"
Paula responded " Why not it would sharpen both crews up," as Paul and Paula knew that pitching them up would help with the evaluation of the new and old pilots.

Next through the door was Thex. The blue girl would admit her ability to look good in anything still applied even in the fleet dress uniform.

Next through the door was blonde, feckless, and still injured pilot, Maggie Lefebvre. She quickly found a seat, propping her injured leg up on a nearby seat. She HATED formal functions like this, and she hated being in uniform any more than she had to, particularly the dress ones. They were red (not her colour), hot, and itchy. Still, she tried to make her face look like she wasn't miserable.

Leland didn’t have time to shave after his day-long shift with the retrofit team. Sporting a 5 O’clock, Hawksley finished with Lt. Commander Sharpe on the Tomcats FTL bio-neural gel processor packs, upgrading latent redundancy parameters to fit the Akira Class vessel to 3594 millicochrane standards on the station's holodeck. This was tedious. Working in long-range communication with the Starfleet Corps of Engineers computer specialists is a difficult task.

Arriving with his Wife, Leland held Lilli’s hand in his walking into the SB51 Auditorium. He smiled at her. “Lilli. You look gorgeous.” Ahead, the seating was in short rows. Leland had hoped the ceremony would not be long, as Hawksley was robbed of much-needed REM and might slip into a deep snoring coma. He guided the two of them to a seated row.

“Thank you Imzadi” Lilli smiled warmly, she could see just how tired her hard-working husband was, she had been disappointed that they weren’t getting the time together she’d hoped during downtime, but she knew he had an important job to do. Taking a seat she hoped that Leland would be able to stay awake.

Dodd arrived in the auditorium and had Ensign Cole at his side. While Cole went to her seat, Dodd took to the stage to go take his place next to the fleet captain. "Greeting Captain. You are looking in good spirits."

*Looks up and smiles* "Thank you, Remy, how are you? Also, for this, you will need to join your date down on the main floor, but for now, it is okay, when you set out on your mission I will be there observing your actions, I will only intervene if the need arises, otherwise all good and bad choices will be on your shoulders, do you think you are ready Commander, it will not be Engineering, you will have to think like a Command Officer, not an Engineer" Jasmine said.

“Ma’am, I am looking forward to proving myself as I want to show I am more than just an engineer. I understand and will take my place in the ranks. Just let me know if you need assistance from me and I will be up here to help.” Dodd replied as he faced and started to walk to the floor where Cole just happened to be in the front row with a spare seat next to her.

C'tirr hobbled in, his dress uniform looked a little loose on his frame and he had braces on his legs. He used crutches to help him walk. He glanced at the woman who was escorting him there. She was the new medical officer who had been treating him while he was in his coma. "Where are we sitting?" He asked her. He hated showing this weakness he had. He wanted to be strong again but that would take time to accomplish.

Melody was hovering next to her patient. Yet still trying to give him the space he desired. He was recovering quickly. She was proud of his progress. "Anywhere you'd like. I believe your sister is over there." She said motioning towards where she'd thought she'd spotted the woman upon entering. Only to find that Cassandra was making her way towards them through the crowd. "Nevermind here she comes."

Cassandra reached them and without acknowledging the doctor she moved to her brother's side. "Hey. You up and walking now!" She said in happy surprise. She hugged him carefully. Then glancing at the doctor she said. "I have him you can scram."

Melody raised her brow and looked to C'Tirr as if asking what he wanted her to do. She knew Cassandra would take good care of him. Still, it wasn't about what Cassandra wanted. It was what C'Tirr needed that mattered.

C'tirr nodded to Melody. "Cass has me and I promise to take it easy. I won't over-exert myself." He offered a toothy grin as he returned her hug. "Where are we sitting Cass?" He asked as he left his arm around her shoulder and allowed her to absorb some of his weight though he tried to make it look like he wasn't leaning against Cass.

Stubborn. Still, it was that stubborn streak that had been getting him through physical therapy and helping him reach the goals being set for him. His stubbornness was what allowed her to use the new medical methods that had him walking even now. So she relented and moved away to hover from afar but still kept tabs on him.

Cassandra guided C'Tirr to a seat nearby. "We can sit here and wait for Jane she should be bringing Martha from daycare soon. How are you feeling? You look so much better." She couldn't help but proclaim. As much as she didn't like the doctor Cassandra could not deny that she was giving her brother excellent care.

Walking in slowly, Patrick made his way to the back row. It was closest and he needed that. Even with the exoskeleton, endurance was still lacking and the walk from his quarters to the auditorium was his limit. He adjusted his legs and sat down, trying to keep the uniform from catching in the joints. He tried to hide the exoskeleton inside the uniform but it was still visible in his hands and going up the back of his neck up to the base of his skull. The uniform hid little with anyone being able to see the lines against the metallic joints and bones.

Cassandra spotted the Captain easily. She offered him a small wave her face luminous in her happiness as she motioned towards her brother and mouthed the words 'he woke up.' She wanted to go over and say hello but didn't dare leave her brother's side. He needed her. At least that doctor swooped in and tried to take over again.

Melody hovered in the back. She felt a bit of an outsider here. Being new she knew nobody but those patients she'd treated so far. So she tried to smile and stay out of the way as best she could. However, she had to admit that she wanted to go speak to the man with the exoskeleton. Though concealed shed knows it anywhere. She wanted to tell the man that she knew of a better possible way to help him. That if she could just get her hands on his chart to be sure. To do that she'd need his name and permission. She chewed her bottom lip playing with the idea. Before deciding on waiting until after the ceremony perhaps to introduce herself and talk to him about his situation. That settled she let her eyes rove over the room now and again glancing back at C'Tirr to make sure he was alright.

From where they were Chris noticed a new junior Rifle Officer with a Medical colour on her uniform Epaulettes he looked at Lamia "Let's go try to put that new officer at ease he said indicating Hawthorne to Lamia.

Lamia noted where Chris was looking and nodded in agreement. “Lead on Imzadi.”

Both walked over to her, and he cleared his throat "Greetings El-tee I am Sergeant Major Chris Kildare and this is my Fiancee Lieutenant Lamia Arderne ships Counsellor, pleased to meet you, judging from your stance you are new here!" Kildare said.

The doctor smiled, "Is it really that obvious?" She asked with a soft chuckle. "Second Lieutenant Melody Hawthorne Assistant Deputy Chief Medical Officer. A pleasure to meet you both." It was certainly a mouthful of a title. She decided in the future just to stick with Doctor Hawthorne perhaps until otherwise asked.

“It’s nice to meet you Doctor Hawthorne” Lamia smiled, skipping straight to the title of Doctor instead of Lieutenant. “No, it wasn’t that obvious, Chris just has a way of picking out new faces.”

Chris just smiled smugly at that.

Melody might have guessed. They all acted like family here. A new face would stand out,
her smile broadened, "It's a pleasure to meet you both. I look forward to serving with you."

After that, the three chatted for a bit until the Ceremony actually started.

Dr. Corsair arrived and took a seat next to a couple of the engineers, Nelson and Machado, in the third row behind Dodd.

"Hello, Doc," Nelson stated to Dr. Corsair.

"Hello, boys. I hope you don't mind me sitting here. I don't want to be in the wrong section but I don't want to sit with the rest of the medical staff as I deal with them all the time." Dr. Corsair replied.

"You have nothing to worry about. This is not a staff meeting so we can typically sit where ever. Notice how Ensign Cole is in the front row next to Commander Dodd. If this was a staff meeting then she would have to sit in rank with her department." Machado responded. "How have you been, Doc?"

"All is going well, I am enjoying my service on this fine ship and that reminded me, that I need you to come to see Bay after this for an updated physical as your file was on my list to refresh. It has been over a year and we need to address that." Dr Corsair addressed Machado.

"Yes, ma'am, I will make the appointment with you in the morning," Machado replied.

"Well, I am glad we have a good family atmosphere on the ship. It makes me feel like I have found my place in the universe." Corsair replied then she turned her face to the stage and took a deep breath.

Elsewhere in the Auditorium...

Chief Petty Officer Michelle, dressed in her dress whites, her chevrons instead of pips making her feel as if she stood out, stood in the crowded room with the surviving members of the crew. Learning of Drevas' death had been a shock. While she had barely gotten to know him, it was still someone she had been familiar with, and she felt the loss. Alexi stayed at the back of the room, with a wall to her back and a clear line of sight to all the access points to the area. While she might not be 'on duty' it was a habit she had learned over the years. And one that she would have long after this ceremony was over. She looked around, searching the assembled crew for others who had been on the mission with her, pausing briefly as her eyes caught sight of a few of them.

Mazal arrived, looking around for Tosrol as well as Patrick. She spotted Patrick and went to sit down by him, leaving a seat on the other side of her for Tosrol. She hoped that he would arrive soon.

Autumn was very happy to see Dodd up on the stage, wondering what was going to be happening with this awards ceremony.

Faith finally got there, all prettied up. Even did something with her hair. It was still the dress uniform but hey, it was dressed up for her. Started to talk around the room, looking at where everyone was, and what the groups seemed to be.

Ted rubbed the side of his collar. He was sure his head was starting to puff up due to his collar being so tight and stiff. Maybe that was the design? You could not have offices being too able to breathe. After all, if somebody got an award, no one would want heads bursting with too much blood.

He made his way to a table.

“ These collars…” He said

C'tirr sat quietly watching everyone arrive. He was happy to be out and about but he felt out of place here. He had been absent from everyone here for however long he'd been in that coma. He glanced at Cass and nodded to her. "If you need to go say hi, feel free to. I'm not going anywhere just make sure they bring me some catnip tea please." He said. He glanced over at Melody. "The docs occupied so go while you can."

"I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying with you." Cassandra said a note of finality to her tone. There was nothing that could drag her away.

Faith finally finished her round of the room, brushing by each group, and listening in here and there as she did. Faith finally found a table up close to sit at by herself. Back to a wall, and so she could see the exits. It wasn't because she didn't trust them, it was habit.

Fina slipped inside, looking around to see who was there. Her eyes fastened upon Faith and she moved in her direction, then stopped near her. "May I sit by you?" flashing a brilliant smile.

C'tirr had seen the deputy chief of security walk in and nodded her way. He would have gotten up to go say hi but knew both Dr Hawthorne and Cassandra would be unhappy with him for over-exerting himself so he had to be content with just the nod and a brief wave.

Fina saw C'tirr give a wave and give a wave in return. She also caught Cassandra's eye and waved to her as well. She was wondering what the whole bit was going to be like.

Faith gave a little smile as she looked up to Fina, "Of course you can." Standing up waiting on Fina to sit. "Nice to see you again off duty."

Bronc had given Cassandra a nod of acknowledgement as well as noticed Mazal where she sat. His eyes then went towards Jasmine, having a slight upward curve of the corner of his mouth. seeing the lovely Captain Somers.

Another smile from Fina, who took a seat to be near Faith. "It is nice to see you again."

"How are you doing?" keeping the smile, Faith sat back down.

[OFF]


































































Dr. M. Hawthorne
ADCMO
U.S.S Tomcat

 

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