Everything in it's Place }{ [Open]

[Sibil Tucker]

[September 15th, 2522 - Early Morning]

Sibil stood before the floor length mirror in her bedroom. She patted her uniform, making sure everything was perfect. Her hair was pulled back into a loose pony-tail, makeup very minor. Only a stud in each ear showed, taking a moment she pulled out the ring attached to a chain that had been beneath her shirt, holding it for a moment just staring. Sibil kissed the ring lightly and dropped the chain back under her shirt where it had stayed every moment of every day.

She'd been on leave since the Durgible had been decommissioned more than a month ago. Finally new orders had arrived yesterday, Lieutenant Sibil Lenay Tucker was to report to the Esteem, a Crete class ship. She knew the layout very well as with every other class ship the Alliance used. It was a ship, sighing, she knew what that meant. Security detail for her, there wasn't as much use of a sharpshooter or gunhand aboard a vessel unless they boarded a ship or sent transports for some reason to a planet. Even then there wasn't much action in it. She mostly felt like decoration. Despite that, it was her duty to do as the Alliance saw fit, Sibil had severed them very well since she enlisted in 2516.

Luckily she was already on Osiris so there wasn't far to go to reach her destination. Sibil had packed up all her weapons after giving them a thorough cleaning. She had a habit of collecting firearms, even a few knives and swords; though she didn't have much use of them. Guns were her specialty. Sibil double-checked to make sure everything was turned off and secured in her home, gathering her baggage she headed off towards her new assignment.


[September 15th, 2522 - Late Afternoon - Aboard a transport from the Esteem]

It hadn't taken long for Sibil to reach the checkpoint, security personnel was always to arrive before others. After being cleared by the officers on planet she boarded a transport that would take her to the Esteem. Sibil was quick to get to work, she left her bags in the room assigned to her. Sibil introduced herself to her roommate and partner Adamala Secore, she was an Ensign; young and plucky. The two women began what was to be a long shift. They had learned that the man who was going to head the ship wouldn't arrive for some time, he was an admiral, but no one seemed to know his name. There had only been one other security unit to arrive so far today, it was only the first day to check-in after all.

There were only two transports in service, Sibil's and the second. Both had two security officers on-board to check-in people, passengers and officers alike. They'd check identifications and orders, comparing it to the roster, before letting people board the transports. Then they had to wait until the transport was full before they could depart. No point in wasting fuel if they didn't have to. The pilot was quiet, he was only there to fly; he wouldn't be part of the Esteem once it was fully staffed.

They'd been sitting at port for nearly three hours now, Sibil and Adamala had been standing outside the transport the entire time. There were three spots left to fill before departing to the Esteem. The girls talked some but not too much, Adamala could tell that Sibil was pretty much all business about her job, she could take a que from the blonde and take things seriously. If she wanted to achieve anything in this military at least.

[Sibil Tucker]

Another half hour passed by the Lieutenant before a wave came through to the transport. "Lieutenant Tucker, there's a wave for you." The pilot, Jason, called back to her. Sibil nodded to Adamala and went to take the call. Only a few minutes later she returned to the transport's entrance.

"Pack it up Secore, there's been a change in plans. We're to transport those we have on board and return to this dock and await the Esteem's admiral. If anyone comes to check-in they can wait on the third transport, it'll be up and running soon." So the women closed down their check-point station, settled into their places inside the transport. Boy it was nice to have some time to sit finally. They hadn't taken a break since they began.

The officer on the wave hadn't mentioned the admiral's name or when he'd arrive, just that he was to be expected soon and to have full room of at least two transports ready to go. It was a good thing that two more security officers had arrived so that there would be a third transport in service now, otherwise there'd be quite a bit of upset folk wanting to check-in and get aboard the Esteem.

Now here they were again, standing at their transport's entrance waiting for their commanding officer to arrive. Sibil's emotions were a mix of excited and nervous.

[tigh]

A small convoy of vehicles pulled up just outside the transport area. For a few minutes no one got out. They just sat there like an ominous symbol of the impending future of the Esteem. It was the Admirals convoy alright but it was much more then would be expected for an Admirals arrival. This convoy wasn't just for the Admiral.

Several security personnel disembarked from the convoy and surveyed the area. Then they opened the doors on three of the vehicles. The Admiral and several other officers stepped out. Then the Deputy Minister of Defense stepped out. It was the last person anyone in the military wanted to deal with and the crew was lucky that he would not be making the tour of the ship. Instead he was only here to see the Admiral off and have the opportunity for a photo op. Everyone knew the Deputy minister was going to be running for a Congressional Office in the next election on Lundinium and this was just another publicity stunt along the way.

The Admiral walked over the the minister and greeted him by his vehicle then they walked side by side toward the check in counter, with two Lt. Commanders in tow. Tigh looked over to Lt. Tucker and Ensign Secore and gave them a quick nod. The nod was to simple say 'you know what to do'. Within a brief moment several other officers ranging Lt. Jg. to Command in rank walked over as well.

"Can we get everyone sort of looking fancy over there by the check in desk. In a formation or something of the sort maybe for a few pictures?" Asked the Deputy Minister. Tigh was not amused by the mans needs but he had little choice.

"You heared the man form up." The Admiral bellowed as the men fell in to formation near the desks. It provided the Minister with the perfect photo opportunity. Admiral Vangard stood at the front of the formation and shook hands with the Minister as his press team took photos. After the photos were done they spoke quietly with each other then Tigh walked over to Lt. Tucker. "My Orders Lieutenant." He told her as he handed her the paper work. It wasn't really needed that he present his papers to her as it was his ship but again it was for press purposes. The flash of the cameras surrounded them as she took hold of the papers as well, and with that it was done.

The minister had paid little attention to anyone but the Admiral and now what he needed was done and began to talk back to the convoy. Commander Fairchild." Tigh called out to one of the officer then paused as he made his way over next to Tigh. "Get that prick off my transportation hub. Once his off property this hub is closed to anyone who isn't in proper uniform. Tucker I expect you will be able to handle anyone out of uniform when you get back down here?"

"Yes Sir." Replied the commander before he departed to 'assist' the minister in getting back in his convoy and off the property. Now Tigh's attention was fully on Sibil, who by now has seen his papers and knows his name at least. "I assume you are in charge of transportation here Lieutenant, lets get these transports loaded up and on to the Esteem. She's a big ship an I got my fair share to learn about her before we get under way."

A sigh of relief passed through the Admiral as he was glad to be done with the political BS he had been through over the last week while being place in charge of the Esteem. Over the next week the ship would receive its crew and begin it's mission. With the Alliance having lost a lot of control over the last for years since the signal was sent out it is now seeking to re establish itself in the core as still the only controlling power. Crime was rampant and the border between what was left of Alliance control and what was not lawless was blurred and undefined. Admiral Vangard now was place in control of bringing the smuggling in the White Sun System down and preparing the Alliance to reestablish itself across the Verse.

[Sibil Tucker]

Sibil watched as a convoy pulled up near where they stood waiting, she knew this kind of spectacle would probably be the Esteem's admiral. She noted several men; none she knew, except the deputy minster of defense. She knew then that he was going to use this as a media fiasco, politics. Sibil wished the Esteem was her boat so she could make him get right back in and high-tail away. She didn't like the flashy politics, this was the Alliance not Earth-that-was' Hollywood.

The man Sibil deducted as the admiral due to his stripes gave her and Adamala a nod. After the first set of photos were complete her commanding officer walked over, Sibil gave him a proper salute before he handed her his papers. More flashes of cameras, she was starting to see spots, it was annoying. The Lieutenant didn't show any of this, she was like stone when she was on duty. Sibil processed the paperwork like she had with all the other crew and officers that had shown up already.

She'd get a good laugh later at Admiral Vangard's regard to the deputy minister. Sibil saluted the admiral again, "Yes sir," she replied to his inquiry if she was able to handle things. That was her job, and she was good at her job. She practically begged for some ruffian to try and make some kind of move, she'd love some action. The most action her pistol had seen in a long time was the shooting range.

He turned his full attention towards her, his presence made her feel at awe. She could tell he was a loyal officer to the Alliance; and had been so for a long term of service. Sibil hoped she lived long enough to retire as a decorated officer like she suspected Vangard would be doing in the near future. "Of course Admiral Vangard, we'll have you on board the Esteem in no time." She gave just the slightest hint of a smile as she spoke to her admiral, still saluting of course. She hadn't been given any order to be at ease, Sibil was a proper officer. She believed if one didn't follow the protocols and procedures set forth in training there was room for corruption to set in. She wasn't about to chance her loyalties.

[tigh]

Tigh Returned her salute then dropped his arm back to his side. The two Lt. Commanders and three other officers, a Lieutenant and two Lieutenant Junior Grades followed behind. They were all part of the bridge staff. He was still missing Commander Fairchild who was escorting the Deputy Minister off site and He still had no assigned XO. That was a personal request of his. He had no interest in having an assigned XO going in to his last run. Instead the ship would go without for a while and he would assign one himself when he found the right person for the job.

The trade off for not having a randomly assigned XO was allowing the Deputy Minister come take some pictures. It wasn't what he wanted to have to do but you have to sacrifice a little sometimes.

"At ease Lieutenant. Let's go see this ship." It wasn't the first time he had been on a Crete class cruiser but after the refit of the Esteem it was quite different then any other he had been on. This was one of the most extensive refits this class has sen after all.

He followed Sibil on to the transport and took a seat. A Lieutenant and Lt. Commander followed in behind, taking seats on the opposing side of the Admiral. "So what do you know about the Esteem so far Lieutenant Tucker? He inquired, He figured she would know her fair share about the ship. If she is part of the security team she better know the ship well. "And how many have signed in so far?"

Sibil was his first contact to the ship and as such he was going to use what information he could get out of her. As the transport took off he glanced out the side window as the blue sky turned to black. It wasn't a long flight to the ship and he was going to need to know where the important things were. He wouldn't need to stop by his quarters when he got there as Commander Fairchild would be in charge of getting his personal effects loaded up on the ship.

"If the transport hub isn't busy when we get up there I might have you give me a quick run down of the ship and it's lay out before you head back to your post." He said to the two security crew. To be honest he was hoping to get a moment away for his bridge crew. They had spent most of the day doing their best to look good for the Admiral and he couldn't stand that. Sadly for the Admiral he hadn't had the choice in the rest of his bridge crew like is has with the XO. A moment to get away and deal with a true pair of soldiers would be refreshing.

[Sibil Tucker]

Sibil let herself relax just an inch, leading the way of the admiral onto the transports. She waited until everyone else took a seat before she took her own. Listening to Vangard as he inquired about the Esteem, she made eye contact with the man before answering. "While I haven't served on the Crete class yet Sir I am very aware of it's layout, she houses up to 1,200 crew and 75,000 passengers. She can be run with a skeleton crew of 40 if need be, a cargo capacity of 1,600,000 tons. The Crete class is slowly replacing the Tohoku class ships; which is the two former class ships I've served on."

She had memorized every detail about the Esteem's class, she could give a guided tour on her first time in if she had to. The Alliance wasn't famous for modifying their ships which was great since then it'd be hard to learn ship layouts and specs otherwise. Sibil glanced at Adamala who was sitting across from her, she hoped that the Ensign was just as informed about things. The Lieutenant didn't fancy becoming a teacher of basics, she'd be happy to teach the girl how to better her shooting; but ship specs should be the first thing you learn when you get assigned to them. Her eyes went back to the Admiral to complete the answer to his questions.

"Total we've gotten 19 crew checked in; 13 security officers; 2 mechanics; a co-pilot; and 3 medical personnel. Since I've been the highest ranking officer on the security team to check-in thus far I kept two transports running, recently having a third starting up, while the other security personnel took over for those on the stand-by security team. We're expecting to have a higher volume of check-ins after today though; the first day is usually the slowest." Sibil didn't bother to make sure her decisions had been alright, if he didn't like them he'd let her know. It hadn't been busy enough to have more transports running and she was sure the stand-by team were itching to be relieved.

They were a little over half-way to the Esteem by the time Sibil finished updating the Admiral on the current crew status. Looking over at Adamala again; she was smiling looking at one of the Admiral's bridge crew. Sibil couldn't help but roll her eyes about the girl; she was fresh out of basic, that much was obvious. The Lieutenant welcomed the chance to spend some time getting more familiar with her commanding officer. "Of course Sir, that won't be a problem. Really I'm surprised we've gotten as many crew in today as we did. Though it is a very large-scale task for the Esteem to get an entire new crew."

[tigh]

It hadn't gone without noticed to Tigh either that the Ensign was making googly eyes at one of his bridge crew. It wasn't a big surprise she was fresh from basic and this was the kind of thing that happened. Tigh would snap her back out if it soon enough, for now though he was learning what his Lieutenant currently in charge of security knew about his ship. She was well informed for sure, that she had proven but there was a lot more they would both need to prove to him in time.

"Very good Lieutenant, it seems you have taken the time to know what you are protecting. I expect you know this ship is very important to the Alliance." He stated as he looked forward to see them closing in on the Esteem out the front window. "How long have you served in the Alliance Navy, and what do you expect to get out of it?" It was a good idea to get to know as many of the crew as he could. 1200 people was more then any one man could meet and remember but he would give it a try over the next few years.

"Ensign, as part of my security team I expect you to know this ship as well as the Lieutenant. Tell me what caliber weapon does it take to penetrate an internal wall of the Esteem?" It was a tough question, the likes that most wouldn't know really. Though it did serve an importance. If for any reason a weapon was to be fired inboard the ship it would be good for the security team to know what will be able to penetrate the bulkheads of the ship. If the weapon was of high enough power it would mean the walls provided little protection to the team dealing with it.

It wasn't a likely situation for that to happen but there have been disgruntled soldiers before that had fired off weapons on alliance cruisers. He found it best to be prepared for everything. His ships had always been top notch ships but with the Esteem being his last run he was going to make sure it was the best in the fleet.

[Sibil Tucker]

Sibil was glad to have some praise for her knowledge, her solitude lifestyle paid off. She spent alot of time reading, learning things that could potentially be helpful. "The Navy itself, I was transferred from a ground troop regiment in May of 2519 to serve the Advara. Transferred again in August of 2520 to serve the Durgible. I joined the Alliance fresh out of my school graduation in 2516 though. I don't expect anything from my service Sir, I only expect to serve the Alliance to the best of my abilities."

It was true, Sibil didn't really want anything from the Alliance; though pay was always a good thing. She was dedicated and loyal, she was happy to do as they saw fit. This was a rare opportunity, there wouldn't be many possibilities to get to talk with the Admiral on this kind of personal basis.

Sibil's eyes shot directly to her partner, Ensign Adamala Secore, as she heard Vangard address her. She prayed that anything un-pleasant Secore did or said woudln't reflect on the Lieutenant. It's not like Sibil was given a choice on who she was assigned to. She'd rather be on duty alone given the choice between that and an inexperienced officer. She watched as Adamala's eyes looked from the man she was admiring to the Admiral then to Sibil, then back to the Admiral before speaking or stumbling as it were. "I uhh, umm, I'm not sure Sir...I'm sorry." She lowered her head, Sibil could see the girl's cheeks flushing a deep crimson.

Sibil could feel her annoyance rising, what did they teach in basic these days? Her eyes went back to the Admiral, watching his face carefully.

[tigh]

Tigh was happy to see that Sibil had ground forces experience he preferred not to have only people who had spent their career on board one of the Alliance cruisers. Security it was especially important that they had that experience. Sibil was shaping up to be exactly what was he had expected to heave serving on his ship. There was no doubt in Tigh's mind that she would go far with her career, in fact she had already caught his attention.

If she managed to keep proving herself like this she would have herself in line for a promotion to a position of some leadership, perhaps as his head of security. In time he would see what she was best at and where she would be most suited. Time would also give him a chance to see if there were others more qualified for the job. With what he has met of the crew so far, the bridge staff and those crewing the transport, she had shined the most so far.

Though he would have people assigned to most position he had purposely taken on less crew then was the standard crew complement. Many of the leadership positions through out all levels of the ship were left with limited assignments to them so he had room to promote his choices in to those positions. He would have about two months to fill those positions before they would be forced to fill the rest of the positions by Alliance choices.

Tigh could hear the transport coupling to the Esteem when the Ensign offered up her answer, or lack there of as it was. "No clue huh. Well I know your fresh out of basic so I will let you off easy." He explained. Easy for him wasn't that easy. "I expect you to find out what it is. You have also earned yourself the duty of being in charge of cataloging all personal fire arms that come on board my ship. Any that are above that caliber I expect will be papered and stored in the main weapons locker. I expect a list of all those weapons and names of those they go with within 24 hours of the last crew members arrival on the ship."

He stood up as he heard the transports pilot begin talking "We are ready to off load Lieutenant." The pilot called back to Tucker. "As for you Lieutenant, I expect her to know everything you know about this she. You'll have two weeks to get her up to standards." It wasn't to hard of a request two weeks was more then enough to cram in the ship details and it was a good test for both of them. If they pulled it off the Lieutenant would prove she is able to coach those under her properly and it would prove the Ensign can keep up with what is expected of the Admirals crew.

The Admiral allowed the Lieutenant to lead them off the first of the two transports with the other transport pulling in at the docking point beside them. He had finally arrived. Now it was time to rid himself of the bridge crew. "Alright Lieutenant lets get this tour started. As for those of you here assigned to the bridge crew I expect you to head on up and get familiarized with your posts."

[andrea]

Lt. Commander Cavina had managed to sneak her way on to the other transport ship. She was tied in rank with one other on the ship but had seniority to him so even though he protested that the ship was intended to carry only the Admirals bridge crew he couldn't force her off.

She was dead set on making it to her hanger bay right away and had no intentions of waiting even it if was for the Admiral himself, or herself. She didn't know yet who the Admiral was though she knew when they arrived she would find out soon enough. The flight to the Esteem wasn't long so having to stand wasn't any issue for her.

When the ship made contact with the Esteem it was only a few seconds after the Admirals ship. She allowed the rest of the people on the transport to disembark first as the Admiral would be waiting for them. Though when she was off loading herself she heard the Admiral dismiss them all to the bridge while he remained there with a Lieutenant apparently awaiting a tour. Andrea had a decent idea where the hanger bay was. It shouldn't be to far from where the transports were connecting in. Most of the alliance ships kept all those types of small craft related things in a centralized area. Once she had amused her position on the ship she would be in charge of the transport crew pilots.

It was a big ship and she would need to know where all those things were based out of. This might just prove a chance to find where all that was. She walked over to Tigh and Sibil and offered a solute to the Admiral. "Lieutenant Commander Cavina Reporting Sir. If I may, I would appreciate the opportunity to escort you along the tour with the Lieutenant as well." She knew the Admiral would turn down the request unless it was strictly a private tour. Instead the initiative being shown to learn the ship would most likely be appreciated.

[Sibil Tucker]

The Admiral didn't seem to show much anger about Secore's lack of knowledge. Sibil continued to listen as he spoke to the young Ensign. He said she would get off easy, though the Lieutenant didn't think his definition of easy would be the same as Adamala's, he was an admiral after all. They had finally arrived at the Esteem, the pilot let her know that they were all set to unload. Vangard gave Sibil quite a workload, two weeks to teach Secore everything she knew about the Esteem. Adamala had no idea what she'd just gotten herself into, Sibil knew everything there was to know and then some.

She gave the Admiral a salute and a nod at his order, "Of course sir." However she was unsure exactly how to feel about the situation. While it was an opportunity to show her commanding officer that she could help teach her knowledge to someone else; she'd never been on the teaching end of things. It was something Sibil would need to think about and consider how best to approach helping the Ensign learn.

Sibil led the group of officers from the transport, noting that the second transport was finishing up docking procedures as they exited. She turned to the Admiral as he addressed her once again, giving him her full attention. He was sending his bridge crew to their posts and decided to have Sibil give him the 'grand tour.'

It was then that a Lieutenant Commander came forward, Sibil gave her a salute as she gave her own salute to the Admiral. Her name was Cavina, Sibil recognized her name from the roster. She'd made a point to learn the names of anyone higher rank than her own and their position on the Esteem. She was requesting to come along on the tour that Vangard mentioned, Sibil simply stayed quiet awaiting his reply. She glanced towards Secore who was standing across from her on the opposite side of the Admiral. Adamala still looked a little pink in the face, Sibil decided to talk with her later and between the two of them they'd figure out how best to help her learn.

[tigh]

Tigh had little doubt that Sibil would manage to pull it off. She seemed like a responsible officer, not to mention it didn't take someone long to know you didn't mess up when Tigh was involved. Last thing she would really need is more additional workload added.

What she didn't know was this little test had less to do with the Ensign then with Sibil herself. Sure the Ensign needed to get out of the basic training mentality and in to the real world of the Alliance Navy but that lesson could be taught to her on many occasions. What Tigh was after was making sure Sibil understood how to take charge of those she commands, and training those she commands.

It was then that the Lieutenant Commander met up with them and asked about joining for the tour. Tigh saluted back dropping his solute first as was traditional customs in the service. "Lieutenant Commander Cavina, I see you managed to get yourself on board a fully loaded transport. You might be flexing that rank just a little to much." He replied back to her request to join the tour without giving her a concrete answer.

Then he turned to begin walking with Sibil. he waited till they were a few feet away from the Adamala and Andrea before he spoke. "I don't believe I dismissed either of you Lieutenant Commander, Ensign, Or are you both dismissing me?" He asked of them. He looked over to sibil where neither of the other two could see his face and let the slightest of smile creep on to his face for mere seconds as they kept walking down the hall. "Alright Lieutenant you can lead the way."

[andrea]

Andrea was speechless at the Admirals comment about flexing her rank. Her hands began to fiddle in front of her until she realized what she was doing. Quickly she stood herself at attention and looked the Admiral in the eyes "my apologize sir, it won't happen again." She replied to him.

All she could think was how did she manage to make a bad impression with the Admiral on the first day. She had requested the position on board the Esteem and it was personally approved by the Admiral. She figured this ship would be her lucky brake in an attempt to move toward her own command of a ship someday. That is if she could impress Vangard and gain her commander rank. The she would be able to make the move to an XO position on some other ship, even this one possible since it had no XO at this point. This was a perfect opportunity and she had already begun to blow it.

Right then things got even worse. The Lieutenant and the Admiral had already begun to walk down the halls and left her and the Ensign behind and the Admiral had made not of it asking if they were dismissing him. "No sir were here right behind you sir." She responded as she gave the Ensign a look that suggested we better hurry, and then she ran up to and caught pace with the both of them.

It was going to be a long day and if she intended to recover from this first meeting she would have to be bringing out her 'A' Game. The Admiral had proven himself to be a tough sell already but Andrea was up to the challenge.

[Sibil Tucker]

[[OOC: I'm just going to glide through some of the things Sid and I discussed about highlights on the Esteem so if you would like your character to do or say something in a particular area feel free to do so and we can backtrack accordingly, I just don't want to drag out the tour portion over lots of replies so I'll get most of it done with at once. I'm going to note the deck numbers in brackets so you know we've changed decks, 1 being the bottom deck where they start out and the numbers will go up from there.]]

"Yes sir Admiral." Sibil kept walking with the Admiral as the pair caught up. She'd smiled slightly in return of his, then went back to business as she heard them approach. Sibil began her role as the tour guide.

"Where we are currently is home to the docking area for transport craft, the main cargo hold, as well as a security station. Which we're currently using to keep track of officers who check-in." She nodded to the two security officers who occupied the desk, sorting paperwork, seeing who Sibil was escorting they immediately stood to attention and gave the group a salute.

[[3]]
"Here we have one of two armory stations, along with those assigned directly to the armory we have one security team on duty at all times also." As Sibil expected they received the same greeting from everyone they encountered, once they noticed the Admiral they'd stand and salute. Though at this point there wasn't as many people so at least the stops would be brief.

[[9]]
"These are also hangar bays on this deck, for all non-transport craft. Also the repair and resupply stations are here, the same can be found two decks above."

[[10]]
"All the medical and research facilities. Note that the forward section of the Esteem is setup as crew quarters, this deck in that area also consists of the crew's dining area."

[[11 is the deck mentioned on deck 9 that are identacle]]

[[12]]
"Located on this deck is another security station along with the brig."

[[13]]
"Here is the second armory, we have the same setup as the other. One security team is on duty here at all times."

[[14]]
"Shooting range is open at all times."

[[16]]
"Passenger quarters take this deck."

[[19/20]]
"Here is the main security offices, along with the lift to access the bridge, which can be raised above the ship or retracted to sit directly onto the Esteem herself. The entire rear section of the ship is engineering."

Sibil had just hit the main highlights of the Esteem, it could take them an entire day to go over everything. She did make sure to point out where the rec-rooms and lounges were located, along with there being a security post on every other level. She included that the main recreational area had a full gym, including many choices of athletic courts. Looking over the others, she had tried not to be a normal tour guide by talking too much. Sibil did let off a smile, "So, any questions?"