Rest for the weary...

Posted on Tue Feb 22nd, 2011 @ 10:12am by Captain Nathan Cowell MD

Mission: Hippocratic Hijacking
Location: Bridge, USS Arizona
Timeline: Shortly after 'Getting what we came for...'

=Bridge, USS Arizona=

Captain Nathan Cowell sat in his center chair, watching as the Bridge continued to function in the well-ordered manner indicative of a disciplined Starfleet crew. He was glad that unlike some of the troops he'd commanded back in his Earth Army days, this crew took the initiative and got things done without him having to tell them every little detail. Being not overly fond of babysitting, Nathan enjoyed the freedom of being able to sit on the bridge and do something other than tell people what to do. Currently, he was thumbing through his book, the same book he'd started reading since he boarded the Arizona. Currently, he was about midway through it.

"Captain," Lt. JG Marion interrupted Nathan's reading as politely as she could, "The cargo bay reports all cargo is secure aboard. We're ready to depart at your order."

"Helm, set your course for the Brakken system, maximum warp," Nathan said in response to the news. He sat in his chair for a few minutes while the bridge crew made preparations to depart the area of space they had confronted the pirate vessel in. After a few minutes, Doc Cowell decided it was time to call in and get the rest of Starfleet up to speed on what had been happening.

"Major, the bridge is yours," Nathan said as he pushed himself up and carried his book with him back to his ready room.

=Captain's Ready Room, Bridge, USS Arizona=

Nathan walked into the small office that contained many an artifact from his past. He made a quick stop to the small book shelf he'd demanded be installed in the well next to the door before moving to the desk where he sank into the high backed chair that sat behind it and called up the communications protocols for his current Task Force Flag Officer. Even with the near instantaneous nature of subspace communication, the speed at which the bureaucracy answered their hails still followed along the same lines it had when Nathan held command posts as a Field Officer back in the 1950s. When the rest of the Federation answered almost immediately, it took a Flag Officer triple the time, and then some at times...

When the screen finally shifted from the Federation Seal to a face, Nathan glanced at the small timer he'd set and grunted at the glaring 5 minute lapse. The face that greeted him was not that of the Admiral he was used to dealing with but the face of some Lieutenant Commander, likely an aide of some kind.

"How can I help you, Captain?" the man inquired politely.

"I needed to make a report to Admiral Mooren," Nathan answered.

"I'm afraid the Admiral is not available at the moment. Is there any information you care to pass along to me? I will be happy to route it to her when she returns from her business trip," the aide informed Nathan.

That wasn't what he wanted to hear. While it wasn't a matter of grave importance that he speak to the woman directly, however it was important that someone aside from some administrative officer waiting for someone to pick him up for a real assignment. He drummed his fingers on the desk while he tried to decide what he was going to do.

"Let the Admiral know that we recovered the cargo, intact, and are going to be making the drop personally when we make it back to the Brakken system. If she gets back in the next day or two, have her give me a buzz," Nathan decided on the seriously abridged version.

"I will pass that along, sir," the man nodded before the link went dead.

Doc Cowell continued drumming his fingers against the desk for a few more minutes before he pushed his chair back and headed back out the door.

=Bridge, USS Arizona=

The Captain headed back to his chair, which had not been taken over by Major DeVries. She appeared to be absorbed in reconciling the tactical information as well as the damage and injury reports from the attack. Since he hadn't been gone all that long, it wasn't overly unusual that she hadn't moved away from her console. And, given that she was the only bridge officer in the room ranked about Junior Grade Lieutenant, no one would have disputed her orders had they not known she was left in command while Nathan took care of business.

"Anything change?" Nathan asked the room.

"Negative," Liz was the first to reply.

"Good," Nathan said as he sank back down in the center chair. He sat silently for a few minutes before his Yeoman, Mr. Sweeney, came walking up with a large PADD in hand. The contents of it were the standard fare, reports from the various departments about the personnel that were injured. According to the compiled report, the most serious injuries were engineering related. Overloaded circuits and plasma venting from ruptured conduits had racked up a hefty number, but they weren't fatal and most of them had already returned to duty thanks to the medical ministration of Dr. Serran. Out of all the other injuries, the worst was a concussion, and even that had been taken care of rather quickly.

Nathan affixed his thumb to the appropriate place to confirm that he had reviewed the report and handed the PADD back to the Petty Officer, who had said surprisingly little since the return of the away team. Doc Cowell wondered if that was all he needed to do to keep that strange little man quiet, send him on dangerous away missions. He pushed the thought aside as he leaned back in his chair and watched the star field pass by on the main viewer. The familiar and oddly comforting sounds of the bridge consoles chirping and beeping around him in the somewhat silent compartment was enough to make the elder Captain drowsy. After a few minutes, Nathan's eyes started to sink down without him even really being aware of it until finally the Captain sat in his chair, softly snoring as the ship around him continued to function without even being aware of its Captain's unconscious state.