Peter was really surprised to receive a promotion considering he only joined the crew of Oriskany halfway into their mission in Sector Epsilon. However, he was still very accepting of being promoted to Lieutenant Commander. The Chief Security/Tactical Officer showed his appreciation for the promotion as soon as he got to the podium and addressed the cheering crew members of Oriskany.

Lt. Commander Graham: First off, let me thank Admiral Arayuss for this promotion. It was an honor serving with you aboard Oriskany and I look forward to serving with Captain Calzada as well. Thank you to all the crew members of my ship for your support, without you I would not be standing here. Thanks again everyone, good night!

LtCmdr Graham shook the hand of Adm Arayuss one more time before taking a seat at the table for the Senior Staff of the Starship Oriskany. Once there he got a pat on the back from LtCmdr Boffi, LtCmdr Centares and Cmdr Kee. Peter asked for some water so he would not get intoxicated the way Cmdr Little had become. He felt such a display was disgraceful and conduct unbecoming of an officer. Nevertheless, he was the Chief Engineer of the ship and Peter would still show him the respect his rank and position demanded.
_________________
Lt. Commander Peter Graham
Chief Security/Tactical Officer, USS Oriskany

The Admiral felt good about giving LtCmdr Graham a promotion and felt it was well deserved. That completed the promotions for the crew of Oriskany, now it was time to start promoting the crew of the Starship Whitestar. First up was their Chief Flight Control Officer who did his best to keep the ship from sustaining fatal damage and the loss of all hands aboard.

Adm Arayuss: Lieutenant Junior Grade Thomas, step on up here for it is time to take the first promotion for the USS Whitestar.

As Dylan made his way up to the stage, he was congratulated by the Senior Officers seated around the table. The Lieutenant JG made his way up to where Adm Arayuss was standing and stood at attention.

Adm Arayuss: Lieutenant Junior Grade Dylan Samuel Thomas, without your cunning piloting skills, Whitestar surely would have been destroyed. So it is with pride that I promote you to the full rank of Lieutenant, with all the commencery responsibilities and privileges of that rank. Congratulations, Lieutenant Thomas.

The CinC removed the single black pip from the collar of Lt. Thomas and replaced it with a single gold one, to go with the other, making two gold pips on the collar of the Lieutenant. There were loud cheers coming from the crew of Whitestar, especially from the Senior Staff table where his best friend Lt. JG Mitchell was seated. Those two were practically inseparable since they entered the academy together, some would even call them brothers.
_________________
Admiral Aeryck M. Arayuss
Commanding Officer, USS Explorer
Commander in Chief, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

Dylan was very excited about becoming a full Lieutenant and to receive his promotion from Adm Arayuss was an added bonus to the evening. He walked up to the podium and addressed the officers and crew of Whitestar, with pride and distinction in his voice.

Lt. Thomas: Thank you Admiral, for promoting me to full Lieutenant! It means a whole lot to me that you did it yourself. I really thought Captain Adonis would have done it after the mission was completed, but with him losing his life that was no longer possible. I am sure it was his evaluation of my services that lead to the Admiral promoting me, so I would like to thank the Captain as well. Thank you to the officers and crew of Whitestar, you all mean very much to me, and thank you to my brother from another mother, Cole Mitchell. You are the best buddy! Goodnight everyone!

The Lieutenant shook the hand of Adm Arayuss before leaving the stage and returning to the Senior Staff table for the Starship Whitestar. As he sat down he got a big hug from Lt. JG Mitchell and a handshake as well from Cmdr Ashborn. This was turning out to be an awesome evening, and Dylan was planning on enjoying it responsibly. He filled up his champagne glass one last time and took small sips from it as the evening progressed.
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Lieutenant Dylan S. Thomas
Chief Flight Control Officer, USS Whitestar

Aeryck was pleased with the overall jovial attitude Lt. Thomas had taken with his promotion to full Lieutenant. It was time to call up the next officer from the Senior Staff table of Whitestar, the Chief Operations Officer, who allocated power to the weapons, shields and kept Communications open between their ship and the Starship Oriskany so they could coordinate the attack on the Deltaurans.

Adm Arayuss: Lieutenant Junior Grade Mitchell, come on up here so I can promote you!

As Cole stood up he got a big hug from Lt. Thomas, his best buddy, before making his way up to the stage where he remained at attention just to the left side of the Admiral.

Adm Arayuss: Lieutenant Junior Grade Cole Stephen Mitchell, due to your excellent sense of timing and your ability to allocate power to the necessary systems in time of emergencies on the Bridge, it befalls upon me the privilege of promoting you to the full rank of Lieutenant, with all the commencery responsibilities and privileges of that rank. Congratulations, Lieutenant Mitchell.

Aeryck removed the single black pip from the dress collar of Lt. Mitchell and replaced it with a single gold one, to go with the other, making two gold pips on the Lieutenant’s collar. There was plenty of applause coming from the Senior Staff table as well as where the rest of the personnel of USS Whitestar was seated, but nobody would louder with his insistent whistling than Lt. Thomas.
_________________
Admiral Aeryck M. Arayuss
Commanding Officer, USS Explorer
Commander in Chief, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

Cole could barely contain himself over the amount of joy he was feeling towards getting his promotion to a full Lieutenant! He was astounded by the amount of applause he was getting from the crew of Whitestar. The Lieutenant was filled with pride for himself and thankful to all the support he was getting from his ship mates.

Lt. Mitchell: Thank you everyone for all of your kind support. Thank you to Captain Adonis for his positive evaluation of me that lead to Admiral Arayuss giving me a promotion. Thank you to my best friend, Dylan Thomas who has always been like a brother to me, practically a twin even! Thank you everybody, have a great evening!

The Chief Operations Officer shook the Admiral's hand before walking off the stage and taking his seat beside Lt. Thomas, where he gave Dylan a brotherly hug and a pat on the back. Cole really enjoyed the closeness he had with his friend, all the way back to their time at the academy where they roomed together on campus. They became close friends back then and obviously are still close even to this day.
_________________
Lieutenant Cole S. Mitchell
Chief Operations Officer, USS Whitestar

The Admiral was happy to see Cole and Dylan sharing the affection of their friendship over their years as best buddies. They both deserved their promotions, just as much as the next person from Whitestar to receive one. This time is was the Chief Engineering Officer whose efforts at keeping the radiation under control from the destruction of their Warp Nacelle, not a single life was lost.

Adm Arayuss: Lieutenant Commander Cypher, it's your turn to come up here and get promoted in front of everyone.

The Chief Engineer of Whitestar stood up from his table, receiving handshakes and pats on the back from the officers seated at the Senior Staff table with him. Thom received an especially loud cheer from Cmdr Little, seated at the table for the Senior Staff of Oriskany. The Chief stood beside the Admiral with pride as he waited with anticipation for his promotion.

Adm Arayuss: Lieutenant Commander Thomas Cypher, with your steady hand at the controls of the Engineering Consoles aboard Whitestar you were able to keep the radiation at bay from wiping out your entire crew! You were also able to follow Commander Little's instructions to eject your Warp Core just in time for the two cores to be used as a weapon against the Deltaurans, which lead to their ultimate destruction. It's my my pleasure to hereby promote you to the rank of Commander with all the commencery responsibilities and privileges of that rank. Congratulations, Commander Cypher.

Aeryck took a gold 'pip' from the podium and removed the single black 'pip' from Thom's collar and replaced it with the gold one, so there was now 3 gold 'pips' on the Commander's collar. The CinC shook Cmdr Cypher’s hand and motioned for him to speak at the podium to all the cheering officers, enlisted personnel and staff of the USS Whitestar.
_________________
Admiral Aeryck M. Arayuss
Commanding Officer, USS Explorer
Commander in Chief, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

Thom was overwhelmingly thrilled with his promotion and knew it was also in part to the plan instituted by Cmdr Little in getting the Warp Cores out there so they could be sent hurling into the heart of the Deltauran mass. He made sure everyone knew that he was aware of that fact.

Cmdr Cypher: Thank you, Admiral Arayuss! A special thanks to Commander Little, for his excellent idea of using the Warp Cores to destroy the Deltaurans. Without his idea, who knows if any of us would even be here tonight. So thanks again, Lewis!

The Commander shook the Admiral's hand once again before walking off stage and upon passing the Oriskany's Senior Staff table he put his hand on Cmdr Little's shoulder and then shook the Chief's hand. Thom really wanted Lewis to know how much he was appreciated. Afterwards, the Chief Engineer of Whitestar returned to where he was sitting and continued drinking the Chȃteau Picard 2387 that was readily available, thanks to Adm Arayuss.
_________________
Commander Thomas R. Cypher
Chief Engineering Officer, USS Whitestar

Aeryck was quite pleased that Cmdr Cypher took the time to point out the brilliant idea Cmdr Little had in implementing the use of the Warp Cores in destroying the Deltauran threat by thanking him personally for it. Next up, was the great work of Whitestar's Chief Medical Officer whose excellent use of his skills was able to treat the members of the crew with radiation burns with the utmost compassion to which all of them recovered.

Adm Arayuss: Lieutenant Commander Brewer, please come on up here. It's your time, Doctor.

The Doctor made his way up to the stage amidst a great applause from the Whitestar personnel he treated for their burns and injuries. They were quite happy with his more than adequate medical skills, which was being shown with the amount of cheering as he stood beside the Admiral at attention.

Adm Arayuss: Lieutenant Commander Sonny Brewer, as you can hear from the applause from all your patients and their families, you did a fabulous job in treated them from their injuries and the radiation burns they received. It only be fitting that I hereby promote you to the rank of Commander with all the commencery responsibilities and privileges of that rank. Congratulations, Commander Brewer.

The CinC took a gold 'pip' from the podium and removed the single black 'pip' from the Doctor's collar and replaced it with the gold one, so there was now 3 gold 'pips' on the Commander's collar. Aeryck shook Sonny’s hand and motioned for him to speak at the podium to all the cheering Whitestar personnel that loved him dearly for his compassion care for them.
_________________
Admiral Aeryck M. Arayuss
Commanding Officer, USS Explorer
Commander in Chief, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets

Dr. Brewer approached the podium during the applause from all the Whitestar personnel he treated while in sickbay. He waved to the crowd as he stood by Adm Arayuss. Sonny appeared to be in total shock by being called up for recognition after he shook hands with the Admiral.

Cmdr Brewer: I'm not sure I deserve such recognition for myself as our Sickbay was staffed with the best dedicated medical personnel available. My thanks to all of you, especially to my assistant, Ensign Jacques Tudismaque for his tireless dedication and long hours spent tending to those suffering from injuries and radiation burns.

Before the Admiral could continue, Dr. Brewer expressed his sorrow of losing Capt Adonis due to the fatal injuries he sustained. Others on Whitestar seemed to feel the same way.

Cmdr Brewer: I'd also like to say how sorry I am that we lost Captain Treasar Adonis to the fatal injury he sustained on the Bridge. His loss is a tragedy to all of us. My heart goes out to all his friends, family and those who knew him. It is going to take time for us to get passed this, so I recommend we take the amount of time we need to grieve and recover. Doctor's orders...

The Doctor shook the Admiral's hand once more and then returned to his table among the Senior Staff of USS Whitestar. It was not his intention to bring the room into a solemn mood, but he wanted to share the loss he was feeling in his heart as he knew other's among Whitestar's personnel felt the same way and he didn't want all of them to feel their loss was going unnoticed.
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Commander Sonny Brewer
Chief Medical Officer, USS Whitestar

The Admiral realized how bad the Doctor must have felt losing his Captain to his fatal injury. No Chief Medical Officer likes to lose a patient, let alone their Commanding Officer. Be that as it may, Aeryck was now going to promote Dr. Brewer's Assistant Medical Officer, who helped him during the crisis aboard Whitestar in Sector Epsilon.

Adm Arayuss: Ensign Tudismaque, this is your shining moment so come on up here.

As the Ensign rose up from the Junior Officers table of USS Whitestar, he was congratulated by all those surrounding him. He received a large applause from all those he helped with his medical skills, from treating injuries to radiation burns. The Assistant Medical Officer took his place on stage and stood at attention next to the Admiral.

Adm Arayuss: Ensign Jacques Zac Tudismaque, with all the assistance you gave Dr. Brewer during the emergency situation aboard Whitestar and the bravery you showed in your trek to the Bridge to rescue the Senior Officers there I have the honor of promoting you to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade with all the commencery responsibilities and privileges of that rank. Congratulations, Lieutenant Tudismaque.

The CinC added a single black ‘pip’ to Jacques' collar, adding to the one gold ‘pip’ already on there. The Admiral shook Lt. JG Tudismaque’s hand and motioned for him to speak at the podium to the applauding members of the entire group of Whitestar's personnel as well as the rest of the Medical Staff in the Banquet Hall.
_________________
Admiral Aeryck M. Arayuss
Commanding Officer, USS Explorer
Commander in Chief, Gamma Fleet
Starfleet, United Federation of Planets