Kumari Arriving

Posted on Tue Mar 7th, 2023 @ 12:18pm by Commodore Dazad & Captain Christine Adkins

1,026 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Begin Again
Location: USS Kumari
Timeline: 2399-09-21, 10:00

The Inquiry Class USS Kumari dropped out of warp moments before entering what was commonly known as the Maelstrom.

An area of space full of marvels and wonders but also full of criminals, refugees and enemies of the Federation. It seemed to house most of the species of the Alpha quadrant. Predominantly Romulans and Cardassians but the a scattering of other species all trying to survive the harshness of the Maelstrom.

At the helm of the Kumari sat her Captain, Crissy Adkins. She'd been placed in command four months earlier when her mentor and friend, Jack Colburn, had decided to retire from Starfleet.

During the refit, she hadn't really taken in the reality of being in command without Jack being about. During shore leave or minor refits and repairs it was usual for Jack not to be about as he wanted for spend time with his family which meant Crissy held the fort and made sure everything ran smoothly. However, during the journey from Earth she realised how much she missed him not being there for support.

The Inquiry class was able to run with a limited crew for a short time and Kumari hadn't been assigned a crew when she was ordered to Deep Space 12 so Crissy and 19 other officers and crew were temporarily assigned to get the ship to her new assignment with Starfleet promising to send crew to meet Kumari at Deep Space 12.

Crissy watched the view screen as the large Deep Space 12 came into view. She opened a comms channel.

"This is Captain Christine Adkins of the starship Kumari, requesting permission to enter your defence perimeter and dock." She said as she brought the ship to a standstill.

Commander Ghijad Jawi stood behind his Captain at the Operations workstation, carefully observing the space surrounding the Kumari. Having been a veteran of the Dominion War, Jawi was incredibly familiar with the Maelstrom and had been assigned to this sector during the fighting while serving on the Explorer. He'd spent most of his career there, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander and Chief of Operations, before the posting opened up on the new Inquiry Class Kumari. Despite his trepidation for leaving the Explorer, he knew that it had been the best option for him and his career. People who spend their entire career on the same ship rarely rose to a captaincy anyway.

Typing on the workstation, he looked up at the Captain, "We received a response from the station, Captain. They're approving us to access the Defense Perimeter and dock." The hybrid Bajoran/Cardassian was somewhat relieved that they had given permission so quickly. On the viewer their sister ship, the Khitomer, was on rapid approach to them to serve as an escort.

"Welcoming committee too." Crissy commented as she powered up the ships impulse engines to take the ship into the stations defense perimeter. "Wonder if there's a red carpet for us in the docking port." She added with a smirk.

"Indeed," the Commander answered as an alert came up on the Ops screen. "They're activating the automated control sequence now. We have no control," Ghijad reported as the ship became unresponsive. It was normal when docking and had been standard procedure since the 23rd Century. The Starbase's computer systems assumed control and brought the ship into the larger bay. It was an intricate set of flying, one that the XO had wished they would allow be explored by the actual crew at least once or twice. "I'm still surprised that we fit inside a starbase."

"We're a baby compared with other ships in the fleet." Crissy replied as she leaned back and crossed her arms. "Wonder what this area of space has instore for us?" The question was rhetorical but Crissy wondered if she'd get a response.

The XO laughed, "Knowing my father's people galactic domination."

Crissy turned to look after her first officer, "Are you saying Cardassians want to take over the Alpha quadrant? What a novel idea." She said with a smirk.

The Commander was about to answer when the Ops panel beeped again, "We seem to have gotten the attention of the Station Commander. I have a Commodore Dazad on Channel 1 for you."

"Thank you, Commander. On screen, please." She said as she rose to her feet moved to the center of the bridge to address the Commodore making sure her uniform was correctly adjusted as she moved.

The viewscreen activated to show Commodore Dazad Targaryen sitting inside his office in the Bunker of Deep Space 12. Mountains of datapads were stacked on the window ledge behind him and there looked to be more off to the side. The Commodore quickly turned his attention away from the PADD in his hand to the desktop monitor, "Captain Adkins," he greeted, "Good to see you."

"Commodore, its good to see you too. Rumour has it you have some crew for me coz we're running on bare bones here." She replied in a respectful tone but with a smile.

"Meet with me in my office, Captain, after you dock," the El-Aurian answered. "Your XO can come along."

"A change of scenery will do us some good after the journey here. We'll make our way to your office once Kumari is parked and I've paid the parking you lot charge here." She said with a smirk.

Dazad nodded, "See you soon." The screen went dark then was replaced with the view of the interior of the docking bay.

The XO checked the screen readout, "All moorings activated, entering system standby."

Adkins nodded, "Stand down the crew we do have. Let them explore the station while we meet the Commodore." She said still looking at the blank viewscreen. She considered what the future might hold for them for a free moments before turning to her first officer. "Shall we, number one?"

"After you, Captain," the hybrid announced with a motion toward the turbolift.

"Thank you, Commander." She said with a smile. "It'll be nice to stretch our legs off the ship." She added as the turbo lift doors slid open.

The XO and Operations Manager nodded while entering the turbolift, "Indeed."

 

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