A Change of Orders

Posted on Mon Nov 16th, 2020 @ 12:26am by Captain Tobias Bach & Commander Ayda Muldowney & Ensign Kevin Ibanez

Mission: 28 Days
Location: Main Bridge; Captain's Quarters
Timeline: Mission Day 1 at 0626

The threadbare, single, silver eyebrow of Captain Tobias Bach rose. It was an old face, he mused in the mirror. With an uncharacteristic swish of water in the basin before him, he washed his razor. Save for his mustache, he was lathered in a filmy white foam. He tilted his head again, taking what looked to be a third stroke of his razor up his throat. Some five decades of shaving had taught him how to avoid his adam's apple- but the sag of jowls was newer. He winced, blue eyes squinting.

"Well goddammit," he muttered in a middle-range tenor. He flung the foam he'd carefully carved up from his skin into the basin and then inspected the thin seam of irritated red. He tapped it and examined the tiny red stain on his fingerprint. He shook his head, "Try a straight razor they said," he muttered sarcastically. His brows rose with an annoyed levity, his sigh great, "It gives you something closer than anything sonic." Running a finger along the blunt side of the razor blade, he clamped it shut and with a huff, he dropped it onto his vanity. Next, he went for a towel and was dabbing off the white cream when his console beeped.

Blue eyes cast into the mirror to stare back at the clear panel flashing blue bezels. "Oh, now what?" He muttered. The middle-aged Human draped his white towel across the navy blue of his ULY undershirt and made his way to the console. "Please enter authorization code," the computer stated when he tried to simply access the subspace transceiver. "Oh, you're kidding. Fine." He sighed, putting hands on his hips. "Recognize Bach-Delta-1-9-1." He stated, tilting his head with a dry smirk. "Soulless piece of flotsam... now what's this about?"

The screen sprung to life with a split: a read of data on one side, along with the emblem for the Federation Science Council, and a pre-recorded message. "Good Morning Tobias," the woman on the other end stated. Tobias Bach locked eyes on her rank badge. Another Admiral.

"Hmm, good morning Delilah Cheney, what do you want? Is Paris possibly that boring?" He muttered to himself as the woman kept speaking. He refocused on her words."

"- to say you'll need to change course and miss the conference on B'Saar. We're authorizing Ulysses for a new mission. You'll to rendezvous with the starship Zheng He--" Delilah stated with a demanding certainty. Tobias raised his near-hairless eyebrow again, patting dry his face with the towel at his shoulders.

"zh'vari's ship..." he muttered.

"- is about thirty light-years from your current position. Further orders will be incoming as we work out the details with the Federation Science Council and the Federation News Network."

Bach grunted and closed his eyes, "Oh no, not the Press, Delilah, what're you trying to do to me?" He complained. He straightened from his intrigued hunch toward the screen as the woman's visage disappeared. Only the words of the official orders remained: denim eyes scanned them, mouth moving like he was chewing on a toothpick.

"Alright... then...." he said with resignation. "Whatever Caesar wishes." He straightened up again and sighed. Tobias decided he needed tea. He tapped at his console- transferring the orders from the desk to his datapad. He tucked it under his arm, not bothering to slip off his towel or get into full uniform. He made his way through the night shift quiet corridor to Turbolift One and sidled inside.
Bridge, direct." He shook his head, "Why'd I say direct, it's one deck up..." he sighed, shook his head, and creased his brows.

Captain Bach appeared on the Bridge a few moments later. "Captain on the Bridge!" the woman at Ops stated. Bach nodded curtly at her without making any kind of lingering eye contact. instead, he was staring at the bristly back of the boy behind the Helm. "Where's Rosk?" He asked, shadow looming over Ibanez.

"Good morning, sir," Kevin, somewhat bleary-eyed and slightly wired from too much caffeine, greeted the captain. "Rosk is down with Rigellian Shingles, sir... Doctor Aax informed me earlier. I'm covering his duty shift this morning."

"Mmm," the Captain murmured, "Alright well. Ensign. Change course bearing 291 mark 308. Warp Factor 7.5."

"Aye, sir. Course laid–" Kevin stopped in the middle of his action as he entered the coordinates, realizing it was in the middle of nowhere. "Sir... star charts indicate no nearby systems at these coordinates."

The older man nodded, slipping the towel from his shoulders and wrapping them in his fists like he was ready to snap someone's bum. " I know. There's more information coming. Caesar has made his demands." He nodded his head, "Engage when ready. I'll be in my Ready Room." He turned to walk upward to the corridor past the Main Ship Display readout and paused. "Looks like Commander Davies' retirement requests finally come through. Another thing on my to-do list today." He stepped up to his chair on a whim and touched the comm key,

"Bridge to Muldowney." During the pause, there was a soft grunt. Tobias smiled into his cheek, wiry brows up enough to wrinkle his reduced hairline. "Sounds like I woke you up Ayda."

"I had a late-night subspace from my son. How can I help, Captain?"

Tobias pulled the towel taut between his fists and returned it to his neck, "We've got a change of orders. Meet me in the Ready Room in twenty."

Ayda sighed softly over the comm, "I'll be right there.". The comm was cut.

Tobias looked back to glance at the streaking lights of warp on the main screen. His lips pursed and with a deliberate step, he carried himself to his Ready Room.