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Topic:  Serpent: Bridge Officer Tier 1 Certification
Serpent
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Serpent
 
[VE-NAVY] Warrant Officer 2nd Class
 
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  Serpent: Bridge Officer Tier 1 Certification
July 7, 2012 2:18:12 AM    View the profile of Serpent 
OOC:
A Certification done in Flashback, since it doesn’t really make sense for my character to be doing Bridge Officer training while currently undergoing captaincy training!

Pherik ‘Serpent’ Zail was more nervous than he could remember being in a long time. The idea of being Captain of his own ship was at once so exciting and yet so terrifying, and he could not keep his mind focused on the datapad in his hand.  On the pad was a list of the crew of his new ship, the LCR Courage, and while he should have been memorizing it (having nothing better to do on the long shuttle trip to the Training Platform Cappadocious) he found his thoughts wandering.

When had he last been this apprehensive? Not since joining the Vast Empire Navy, that was for sure. In fact, it brought back to mind his first nervous month serving on the Halcyon Warrior, when he was just a simple Junior Bridge Officer.

Ah yes, he recalled, the fiasco when he served at the Communications Station for a week…

-----

It had come at the end of his first month on the Warrior, shortly before the Second Battle of Belgaroth.  The ISD was patrolling along the edge of VE-controlled space and a fresh intake of new crewmen were being put through their paces.  The Executive Officer, Lance Ongol, had been rotating Zail through various bridge duties and positions, trying to get a feel for where the fresh-from-the-Academy newbie would best fit.

Serpent always thought that the bridge was so big in those early days, far bigger than the familiar environment it would eventually become. Aside from the intimidating size of his new workplace, he struggled to get a grip on the intricate command hierarchy of 37,000 people.  Zail lived in a continual state of confusion as he tried to learn the names of his fellow bridge officers and their exact duties on the Imperial II-Class Star Destroyer.  So it was that when Ongol called for Serpent and gave him the instructions that he would, for the next week, be with Senior Chief Petty Officer Jash Warnock, a flicker of confusion had crossed his face.

“That’s the Chief Communications Officer, Mr Zail,” Said Ongol with a hint of annoyance, noticing the look in his underling’s eyes.

“Yes, sir,” Serpent replied meekly.

Ongol did not even escort the green Junior Bridge Officer to his new post, instead merely pointing to the nearest crew pit.  Zail turned and saw the individual he was to shadow, who met his gaze with a neutral expression and nodded slightly in acknowledgement.  It was hardly the warm greeting that Serpent would have liked, but at least he would be out of the XO’s way.

Descending into the pit, Zail walked swiftly over to Warnock and saluted with as stiff a back as he could.

“I’m not an officer, Mr Zail,” Said the other, causing Serpent to drop the salute and instantly feel a little foolish. “You can address me simply as Mr Warnock.  Now, have a seat.”

Serpent dropped into the vacant chair at the Coms Station, located to the immediate left of the Chief.  Without prompting, he logged into the console in front of him, entering the series of numbers and letters that comprised his bridge security clearance.  As his half of the station lit up and came online, Zail was instantly relieved, for it would not a good start if he forgot his code or entered it wrong.

Warnock nodded in approval.  “Okay then, let’s begin.”

-----

For the next few days, Serpent found himself in charge of the ship’s internal communications, and it was far more of a challenge than he expected.  He originally envisioned it as akin to working a galactic holonet switchboard, but it was both more and less than that.  Crewmen aboard the Halcyon Warrior were more than capable of putting in a call from one department to another, so it was not like all com traffic on the ship went through him.

What did fall with his purview was the more priority and restricted data flowing around the Star Destroyer.  Warnock explained to Zail early on that Imperial vessels, and especially important vessels like ISDs, were very tight on their internal security.  A rebel spy, hiding among the multitudes of crewmen, could learn a lot from the teraquads of data in the main computer.

So it was that high priority communications on board (which tended to be accompanied by equally high priority attachments like reports from one department to another) had to be vetted and approved by the bridge Com Station before going ahead.  That was where Serpent came in.

Most of the time the internal data transfer was very routine, like putting the Engineering Chief in a holocall with the hangar bay’s Deck Officer to discus and request new parts and repair schedules.  Each man provided their security clearance and Zail patched them through.

However, in the next couple of days, less routine requests came through, and here Serpent was thrown off his game.  The low point came when, with Chief Warnock observing with scrutiny, Zail erred and mistakenly put an urgent communication from the Sick Bay through to the wrong person.

“This is Doctor Zarchor,” Came a rumbling Ithorian voice in Serpent’s headset.  “I need to speak to the Captain.”

“Yes, sir,” Said Zail, running a voiceprint ID and then checking the security code.  Both were a match for the Chief Medical Officer.  “Putting you through now,” Said the Junior Bridge Officer, and hit the transfer command on his console.

“Mesa Jar-Jar Shelly!  Is yousa wanting to talk about tha lunch menu for tomorrow?” Piped up a second (and very high-pitched) voice in the headset.

Oh no!  Thought Zail with sudden horror.  That Gungan from the mess hall!

Serpent turned to look at Chief Warnock, who was glaring at him in disapproval.  Whatever faith Zail had built up in the Com Officer over the last few days was evaporating fast.

“Put me through to Captain Mihawk,” Continued the ship’s chief medic.  “I have here the physical evaluations of the senior officers.”

“Mince hawk?  Oh nosa, we not be serving that!” Screeched Shelly in alarm, babbling in a loud voice that drowned out most of Zarchor’s second sentence.

“Kill her,” Mouthed Warnock as he glared at Serpent, and for a moment the Alderaanian thought that he meant literally.  Realizing that he meant merely to kill the transmission (maybe) Zail looked about his terminal and found the correct switch.  Flipping it quickly, he spoke into the headset, “Apologies for the delay, Doctor.  I shall patch you through to the Captain’s bridge office immediately.”

The call went through, and Serpent collapsed back in his seat, feeling very stupid, but also very relieved to have gotten out of the mess so quickly.

“More practice,” Said Warnock simply, and resumed his duties.

-----

Despite that error, or indeed because of it, Serpent worked doubly hard over the following days, showing the first few signs of the dedication that would someday see his meteoric rise to the position of the Halcyon Warrior’s XO.

Zail could see the harshness in Warnock’s face begin to evaporate, and the Chief began to show open signs of being impressed with his subordinate’s hard work.  Eventually, during a break while the two sipped cups of water, he spoke.

“You’ve just about mastered the Internal Coms, Mr Zail,” He said.  “For your last day here, I want to see how you do with external communications.”

“Understood, Chief,” Replied Serpent, trying to sound both calm and confident at the prospect.  “I’m ready.”

“We’ll see,” Said Warnock.

-----

The following day, Serpent reported to the bridge early for his shift, and was unsurprised to find the Coms Officer already waiting for him.  Taking his regular seat, the two began without preamble.

“What I want you to do is familiarize yourself with these,” Said Warnock, bringing up an onscreen list of ciphers and decryption forms.  “These are the standard codes used by the VE Navy to communicate between vessels.  The codes in green are your basic traffic, such as you will be handling today.  The ones in yellow are higher levels, which I would rather you pass to me to handle for now.”

He gestured as he spoke, and then, bringing up the next category, Warnock’s face turned very serious.  “These red ones are for messages from High Command.  If one of those comes in I want you to tell me immediately, or, if I am on brake, the head of the watch.”

“Understood completely,” Said Serpent, and he did.  If Rear Admiral Stormz came on the line there was no way he was going to endanger his fledgling career by taking the call himself.  “Wait, what are those ones in grey?” He asked, staring a smaller set of files.

“Old data,” Said the Chief dismissively.  “Mostly from the time of Palpatine, older codes that no Imperial faction uses anymore.”

Serpent nodded and then thought no more of it.  Instead the two got down to work, and Zail began to monitor the fleet’s com traffic.

-----

It was late in his shift when something caught Serpent’s attention.  He was monitoring several lines at once, checking and routing simple com traffic intended for various ship departments.  There were even a few more mundane transmissions of the personal variety for those crewmen who could afford to pay for real-time transmissions with family members.

And then Zail saw it.  Some sort of coded signal, picked up on the very lowest edge of the Halcyon Warrior’s bandwidth detection range.  He squinted at it on his display, wondering just what it could be.

He ran through the list of options given to him by Warnock.  While weak, the signal was still too strong to be a biologic (which the Alderaanian was mildly disappointed about.  Space-dwelling creatures were exceedingly rare but very real and he longed to see one!).

Concluding that it was definitely a transmission, Serpent wondered if it was simply civilian, but no, the fact that it was encrypted ruled that out too.  He then went to the possibility of smugglers or pirates, but the signal seemed to be broadcasting very wide (despite it weakness) and such careless behavior was not a sign of criminals at work.

Perhaps a distress call then?  He looked at the signal, and noticed that, whatever it said, it was definitely repeating itself at fixed intervals.  However, the length of the intervals, and therefore the amount of data in them, were too long for a distress call (which tended to be very short, of the variety “Help!  We are located here, come quick!”).  So what was it?

“Chief, what do you make of this?” Asked Zail, showing his discovery to the far more experienced Coms Officer.

“I don’t know,” Confessed the other.  Very quickly they talked through what Serpent was just thinking about, and Warnock also ruled out biologics, civilians, criminals and a distress signal.  So what did that leave?

“There is something about this code...” Mused the Chief.  “Have we run any our known decryptions?”

“Doing that now,” Said Serpent, already a step ahead.  “Nothing so far though.”

“It looks familiar for some reason,” Said the intrigued Com Officer, squinting at the screen as if he could understand the signal just from staring at it long enough.

Zail’s console beeped, confirming that it had finished its check.  “No, no success,” Said Serpent as the attempts at deciphering came to nothing.

“That can’t be right,” Said Warnock.  “I am sure I have seen this before.  Hmm.  Mr Zail, bring up the old disused Imperial codes for me.”

Accessing those grayed-out protocols from a decade ago, Serpent was doubtful that they would hold anything.  “I ran these too,” He assured the other.  The Alderaanian was thorough when he tried his decryption.

“Yes…” Said the Chief, a smile crossing his face, “But can’t you see it?  Look harder, Mr Zail!”

Serpent looked, comparing some of the codes to the data of the mystery transmission.  “They are similar!” He realized.

Warnock nodded.  “The question is, why would anyone be sending out a wide beam but low-power transmission using modified old Imperial code?”

Zail thought this one through.  “Only a ship with a powerful communications array would have picked this up,” He said.  “Just look at how low in the bandwidth that is.  You’d have to be something big like a cruiser or above to catch it.”

The other agreed.  “Yes, I see what you are saying.  Whoever sent this wanted a military ship to detect it.  Nothing civilian would notice the transmission.”

“Exactly,” Said Serpent, and then advanced his theory further.  “So they want to catch the notice of a powerful warship, and what is in this area?  We are near the Republic boarder, so this would be detected by either them or us.”

“They wanted our attention!” Realized the Coms Chief.  “That’s why it’s using modified Imperial code!  The Republic ships would have a harder time recognizing it for what it is!”  He saw Serpent nodding at the idea and decided to congratulate his protégé for getting there first.  “Very good, Mr Zail.  That fits.  Question remains, what is it that they want us to notice?”

“No idea,” Confessed Serpent.  “But I am betting that, with those old style codes as a reference point…”

Warnock was already thinking the same thing.  “Have the computer compile a selection of old codes and use them alone as a basis in working out the decryption,” He ordered.

Zail spent the next ten minutes going about the task, running and re-running the decoding, refining it every time within the parameters set by the Palpatine-era ciphers.  Finally, he ran it one more time and his earpiece came alive with a human voice speaking in Basic.

“This is the Imperial vessel Sunbreak to the Vast Empire Navy.  We are located in an un-named system on the edge of your space.  Reference on Imperial charts is system Usk-Besh-7-3-7-2-Qek.  We wish to defect.  Repeat, we wish to defect.  You will find our weapons powered down and shields lowered.  Total crew is 9, and all have agreed to submit to you unconditionally.  This is the Imperial vessel Sunbreak…”

Serpent and the Coms Chief looked at each other.  “I’ll notify the Captain,” Said Warnock.

-----

The Halcyon Warrior emerged from a short hyperspace jump close to a lifeless star in an uninhabited system, right on the border with the Republic.  A few hundred klicks away the sensors quickly locked on to a lone vessel, and a tension swept through the bridge.

Serpent listened to XO Lance Ongol, standing beside Captain Mihawk.  Both men were standing on the command walkway above where Zail was in the crew pit.  They could see the ship whereas he could not, so he listened intently to what they were saying.

“Captain,” Ongol was saying, “It’s an Imperial Patrol Ship, modified from a Corellian Action IV Transport.  The markings on the hull clearly indicate that it is with the Imperial Remnant.”

Captain Mihawk seemed to take this in, and then turned to look down at the Com Station.  “Hail them, Mr Warnock,” Said the Mon Calamari officer.

“They are already hailing us, sir,” Interjected Serpent.  Glancing over at the Chief, he nodded and indicated to the controls for the bridge hologram projector.  Zail routed the transmission to there, and up above on the command walkway, a quarter-size holo of a human male appeared before the Captain.

“Greetings, Captain!” Said the image, standing tall and saluting.  “I am Lieutenant Delphan of the Sunbreak.  Thank you for answering our call.”

“Pleased to meet you Lieutenant,” Said Drac, narrowing his eyes.  From his vantage point below, Serpent could see how cautious his CO was being.  “I am Captain Mihawk of the Halcyon Warrior.  I understand that you and your crew wish to change allegiances?”

“Yes, sir,” Replied the other.  “We each have our reasons, but we have been seeking a chance to escape the Empire for a while now.  I would be happy to tell you our stories some time, but for now, the formalities.  I hereby surrender this ship and its crew to you, Captain Mihawk.”

“Surrender accepted,” Said the Mon Calamari.  “However, I shall not permit your ship into our docking bay until I have made some assurances.”

“Understood, sir,” Said Delphan.  There were plenty of ways that this could be a trick, and even a small Imperial Patrol Ship could do a lot of damage to an ISD from inside its hangar.  “What do you require of us?”

“Keep your shields and weapons unpowered,” Said Mihawk.  “We shall be sending over a shuttle with a boarding party of Stormtroopers to commandeer your vessel.  Co-operate fully with them and your people will be quite safe.  You have my word.”

“Thank you, sir,” Said the Lieutenant.  “We shall of course comply…”

Zail never heard what he said next, for suddenly the nearby Sensor Officer spoke up in alarm.  “Captain!  Incoming Imperial warship!  Nebulon-B class Frigate!”

“Incoming transmission,” Said Zail, instantly picking up a hail from the newly arrived Remnant vessel.  “They are demanding that we back off and permit us to retrieve the Sunbreak!”

“Captain Mihawk,” Pleaded the hologram of the Sunbreak’s CO, “You can’t let them take us back!  We’ll be executed as traitors!”

“You shall have our protection, Lieutenant,” Said the Mon Cal.  “Sensors!  What is that Nebulon-B doing?”

“Holding position as far from us as it can, sir,” Came the reply.  “But they are now launching TIE Fighters!  A full squadron, on an intercept course with the Sunbreak.”

“Launch Deathriders Squadron!” Ordered Captain Mihawk.  “Have them intercept the Imperials and defend the Sunbreak.”  Turning back to the hologram, he warned, “Keep your vessel powered down, Lieutenant.  If this is some sort of trap, if you so much as power your weapons while my pilots are close by, I shall leave you for the Empire!”

“Understood, Captain.  And thank you for your protection.  Sunbreak out!” He said as the image dissolved.

And the fighting began.

-----

Both Coms officers, Warnock and Zail, had to work hard as the fighting began.  Communications chatter erupted in Serpent’s ear, and he listened in on the chatter between the Halcyon Warrior’s Deathriders’ pilots.  The TIE Interceptors were far superior to the TIE fighters they were against, but the real issue was the Sunbreak.  The Imperial fighters were far closer to it, and had already began to fire at it as the Deathriders arrived.

“Approaching now!  Break and attack!”

“Four are making a run on the Patrol Ship!  Intercept!”

“The two on the left are breaking, after them Four!”

“Form up on me Seven!”

Serpent monitored the endless stream of chatter and tried to keep up with the frantic pace of the battle.  At several times, the Warrior’s XO gave orders to the Deathriders, and Zail had to stay focused on acting as an intermediary between Ongol and the squadron.

“The Sunbreak is taking fire on its port side,” Relayed Zail.  “Deathriders Five, you are ordered to bring your Flight around and defend her there!”

“Acknowledged!” Came the reply in his headset.

No sooner had that last exchange finished, than Ongol was passing an order from Drac to Chief Warnock.  While the two conversed, Serpent got another voice in his headset, and was stunned about who it was.

“This is Lieutenant Delphan to the Halcyon Warrior!”  Came the slightly panicked words.  “We are taking heavy fire!  The Imperial TIEs are pummeling us and we are without shields in our powered down state!  Please, request permission to bring shields and weapons online!”

Zail spun around in his chair, and caught the eye of Captain Mihawk.  “Captain!  The Sunbreak is requesting permission to go weapons live!”

“Negative on that, Mr Zail,” Said Drac sternly.  “I can’t trust who they will fire on.  Tell them to stay powdered down and do nothing.”

“Aye, sir,” Replied Serpent, and adjusted the headset microphone to make his reply to Lieutenant Delphan extra clear.  “Sorry, Sunbreak, you are still under orders to stay combat cool.  Repeat, negative on shields and weapons.”

Halcyon Warrior, please understand the danger we are in here!” Came the other’s increasingly desperate response.

All of Zail’s training told him to say nothing, to not get too involved or emotional, but the pure fear in Delphan’s voice prompted him into speak from the heart.  “Listen!  We feel for you, we do!  But the Captain has his reasons and you have your orders!”

“But…”

“Lieutenant,” Pressed Serpent, “Please, I’m asking you to have a little faith.  Captain Mihawk will not let you down, I promise you.  Hold your nerve a little longer, keep your people from doing anything stupid, and just trust us a few minutes more!”

There was a short pause on the line, and then “I… I understand…”

“Thank you,” Said Zail.  “Halcyon Warrior out.”

To everyone’s relief, the Sunbreak complied, and did nothing as the starfighter battle continued to play out around it.  Again, Serpent had to deal with the certain detached feeling of hearing the encounter but not being able to see it, but what he heard filled him with confidence.

“Seven here!  One down!”

“This is Three!  One TIE vaped!”

“Ten here!  Just got one and his wingman is making a run for it!”

Zail relayed these victories to First Officer Ongol, and very quickly the battle was no longer in doubt.  Soon the remaining Imperial TIEs were in full retreat back to their carrier, which promptly jumped away to freedom.

Serpent sat there, surprised by how fast it had all been and how quickly it had ended.  The whole experience left him feeling drained but oddly proud.

“You did well,” Said Chief Warnock at his side.

Zail smiled, but had not the energy to say thank you.  Instead he continued to do his job, monitoring transmissions as the Sunbreak was boarded and secured, and the vessel was finally brought into the hangar.

The defection was genuine, and the Vast Empire had new personnel and a new ship to call their own.

-----

Back in the present, still riding out the shuttle trip to the Training Platform Cappadocious, Serpent finished his reminiscing.  Yes, that had been an interesting week, and was typical of the sort of stress his first few months on the Warrior entailed.

Perhaps taking command of his own ship would not be so different?  Sure it would be stressful, and sure, he was bound to make a few mistakes.  But he had been through tough times before, and he would do so again!  Hard work got him through life as a Junior Bridge Officer, and it would see him through what was to come.

Clearing his head, taking confidence in his abilities, Zail lifted the until-now neglected datapad and began to read through and learn the names there-on.  There was much to do…

OOC:
3792 words.  My Certification for Bridge Officer Tier One!  Playing with history a bit here, and it effectively retcons why my character was at the Com Station during the story High Stakes at Belgaroth.  Also, I had to be careful with this one, getting the ranks of characters right (Stormz was a Rear Admiral back then).  It also marks the decidedly un-triumphant return of Jar-Jar Shelly, the NPC abomination made by Dunny for the Halcyon Warrior’s mess hall.

After Action Report:  Serpent, en route to his new ship the LRC Courage, thinks back to his time as a Junior Bridge Officer on the Halcyon Warrior.  He recalls his first time serving at the Coms Station, when he found an Imperial ship and aided its defection to the Vast Empire.
MS/WO2 Pherik “Serpent” Zail / LCR Courage/TF: TH/3Flt/VENA/VEN/VE
[SoA][MC2][LoM][NAR][E][HNS][SWC][CBV][VC:S][SoV][MiD][VC:G][=*Eng*=]

"It isn't the killing, you know.  It's the beauty of battles that I love - the choreography and the challenge of executing everything just right - and the challenge of matching your wits against a capable opponent." - Gilad Pellaeon
Trykon
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Trykon
 
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  RE: Serpent: Bridge Officer Tier 1 Certification
July 8, 2012 4:35:11 AM    View the profile of Trykon 
Brilliant solution to the challenge, Serpent, OOC and IC.  I had to strain to find something to criticize; you made only a single spelling error, as far as I could tell.  I love the mystery you set up, and the description you included of the various kinds of communications duties.  Well done indeed.  And, though it should already be clear: you pass. 
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SCAP/LT Wyl Trykon/SMC Surprise/TF:B/1Flt/FC/VEN/VE
CNT/LT Wyl "Trick" Trykon/PLF Cappadocious/VENA/VEN/VE

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