First Contact
Posted on Tue Apr 2nd, 2024 @ 11:40pm by Captain Zseeq & Crewman Apprentice T'Pral & Lieutenant Commander Sotra
1,883 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
Short Treks
Location: Deck 3, USS Saratoga
Timeline: 2401-04-29, 21:30
Captain Zseeq sighed as he stood on the opposite side of the Turbolift doors, waiting for them to open. Starfleet Command had informed him that his new First Officer had been selected for assignment and that she'd be arriving aboard shortly. Like everything else with this mission he wasn't exactly enthusiastic. Most Captains had the opportunity to select their Executive Officer before their appointment. He'd had one assigned to him. It wasn't the best feeling.
As the turbolift doors gently slid open, the Captain of the Saratoga had a momentary glimpse of his past. Phaser bolts shot forward toward the doors, almost causing him to dodge them as they whizzed forward. Assimilated crew advanced, their skin taking on a dead hue as their conscription into the Collective took a firmer hold. He could hear the screams of his fellow survivors ringing in his ears. Standing firm he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he reopened them, the corridor had returned to a typical tranquil state, only a single crewman present and with a perplexed look on her face.
"Sir?" Crewman T'Pral asked as she stood before him.
Zseeq nodded, "Yes, Crewman, what is it?"
"I'd like to enter the turbolift, Captain," the Vulcan woman answered.
"Of course," he said as he stepped out. "It's all yours," he said politely as she replaced him inside.
The shuttle pilot turned toward the Captain, "Thank you, Sir. Are you traveling to another deck?"
"Oh no," the Deltan answered. "Carry on, Crewman."
With a crisp nod she stepped back so the turbolift doors closed, leaving Zseeq alone.
Turning, he walked down the corridor to meet with his First Officer.
Sotra heard the footsteps behind her, the one thing these newer classes of Starship seemed to lack was carpet so it was much harder to disguise one's approach. She had left her quarter doors open as the quartermaster had been ferrying up her crates by hand as the Transporters were busy with long term supplies being transported into the cargobays.
She had just opened one crate to find her meditation lamp, traditional Vulcan text engraved around the edge, usually the family name.
Gently she placed it down on the glass table top as her heightened Vulcan hearing picked up on the approach of the person behind her. She assumed it was once again the quarter master.
"My gratitude Chief. But this could have waited until the transporters were free once again!"
Approaching the Executive Officer's Quarters on Deck 3, Captain Zseeq was surprised to see that the doors to the cabin were open when he got there. Very familiar with the XO's Quarters, only a few weeks prior they had been his accommodations aboard the Saratoga before things went south. Briefly, he'd considered staying in these quarters but felt that he'd be more comfortable in the Captain's Quarters, despite them not being too different from one another.
Second in size only to his cabin, the First Officer's Quarters shared their layout with the VIP Quarters. The room block contained a large living area with a seating area and dining room. A combination bedroom and office was located behind a lockable door and featured a Ktarian derived queen-sized bed - initially at least - with an attached bathroom. The only difference between the two were that the Captain's Quarters featured a second bedroom that this layout lacked.
"The Transporters are fairly tied up," Captain Zseeq answered, "So that may take a while, Commander."
The unfamiliar voice caught her a little of guard but she recovered quickly before turning to face the newcomer, a small handheld ignition devise in hand, she had intended to light the lamp and take a moment to find some inner calm. Instead she placed the lighter on the table next to the lamp.
"Captain. My apologies. I thought you were Chief Desal" she moved forward, retrieving a data chip from a dish on the dinning table. "My orders from Starfleet Command. It is highly irregular that I have been assigned by Command!"
"You don't have to tell me that twice," the Captain answered as he accepted the isolinear chip from the Vulcan. "That's more a statement on what Starfleet thinks of my abilities than yours though, Commander."
All she could reply was a simply raising on an eyebrow as he took the chip from her.
"My intention was to report in with you within the hour. Chief Desal had differing intentions".
Pocketing the chip, the Captain continued, "Quite alright, Commander, I like catching people off guard and - frankly - I have a feeling everyone else will catch me off guard when they report in so this is a nice change of pace for me." He looked around the cabin, "I think that you'll find these accommodations comfortable. I did at least."
"Command have selected all of the senior officer?" the question was direct. No malice or implications, just a question delivered with Vulcan precision as she watched him move around the room.
She had been about to inform him that the smell in the room was almost intolerable but now knowing it was once his residence she opted against it opting to increase her dose of the nasal numbing agent.
"Would you care to sit Captain?" indicating the over stuffed chairs that she had moved to one side while she decided on the optimal layout.
The Deltan Captain nodded as he took a seat, a little perturbed with himself for not having chosen this layout. He debated switching his own setup in his quarters to match as he sat and answered, "Command approved each of our personnel. A few had already been in place from our refit at San Francisco Yard, but the rest were their picks."
"I'm eager to get moving."
It could be one of two reasons that command had assigned most of the senior officers. The first being they needed Saratoga back out there as a matter of urgency so command found the most appropriate people. The other possibility was less agreeable... They had doubts about the Captain.
"Reports show that the sustained damage will be repaired within the next forty eight hours" she offered the information by way of an olive branch, attempting to show the Captain that she was already on top of the goings on of the vessel at large as she took a seat across from the Captain. "It does appear that a great many of the crew have sustained trauma of some kind due to either recent events or other more personal events."
"You can say that again," the Deltan Captain answered, a touch of annoyance in his words. His own memories of the events of Frontier Day replayed in his mind's eye, an echo that he longed to escape from. "I think that most of the Fleet is full of trauma these days. Is there a single member of Starfleet who was immune?"
"As a Vulcan I may not be immune but we control our emotions" said to indicate that at least some of the crew would adapt however she chose to omit that term from her statement knowing it would likely illicit a less than positive reaction from her more emotional superior officer.
Zseeq snickered, "Glad to know." He paused a moment as he considered which way to go and decided to go a bit more basic. "Anything that you'd like to know before we get underway?"
"I am understandably curious as to the specifics of our assignment" she commented directly. "With the exception of knowing our area of operations I have not been made aware of the purpose to our presence in the area!"
"Starfleet Command hasn't shared much of the specifics with me either," the Captain replied. "I am sure that they have their reasons, especially with having to respond to the challenges that Frontier Day brought them. I've decided to be patient and wait rather than push."
"Wise" she added. She pondered a second unsure if her next question was a wise choice or not.
"If I may sir, do you know the reason why Starfleet has selected your senior staff for you?"
The Captain considered the question carefully, wondering just how far to go with his answer. There were aspects that he was uncertain he should share, but they needed to have total truth between them if this relationship was ever going to work out or survive. Absently, he sighed at the question unable to hold it back.
"I have my theories, but they haven't confirmed or denied them, Commander," that wasn't a lie. Taking a breath, he decided to continue, "Starfleet Command is most likely uncertain about me and my abilities. I haven't served as an Executive Officer very long and I'm probably only the Captain of the Saratoga because I saved it during Frontier Day." In his mind's eye he watched Captain Ospak being executed by the Security Chief while assimilated.
He leaned forward, "I had actually planned to leave the Saratoga and had petitioned Starfleet about transferring to another vessel." He left out the part that he'd been caught, multiple times, in inappropriate romantic relationships with his subordinates. "Then Frontier Day happened and, well, things changed."
"Quite" Sotra retorted crisply. "Doctor D'BrooNi and I narrowly escaped the destruction of Excelsior. My understanding is that she, her daughter and I were the only three survivors!"
The Captain had heard of the Excelsior and the fate that befell her during Frontier Day. The only ship where the Captain and crew were able to wrest control back from the Borg before Enterprise intervened, the Collective made them an example. They positioned the ship in front of the rest and they all fired upon it, destroying it in a wave of Hellfire previously unseen. The fact anyone survived was a miracle.
"The crew are going to have difficulty with adapting from that. Younger officers, older officers, they're going to perceive threats for a while where none may exist. We're all going to need to be prepared for it."
"Indeed. I believe that Doctor D'BrooNi will have been briefed on new operating procedure in regards to recent events. I could only assume that Command are endeavouring to source us a Counsellor before we depart?"
Sotra's enquiry was more than just her duty to her crew but also for a more personal reason. She had been ordered to keep the Counselling going after the destruction of Excelsior. If they had no Counsellor on board then she would be in breach of those orders.
"Saratoga has Counselors aboard," Zseeq confirmed, "but not as part of the senior staff."
"Understood" making a mental note to schedule time in with one as soon as she was able.
Noting the time, the Captain shifted, "Well, Commander, if there's nothing else I'll let you get to unpacking?"
Rather than voicing her thanks which even to a non Vulcan would seem as if she was gushing, instead she simply nodded her head in his direction as she stood to see him out.
"I will see you on the bridge Captain!"
Zseeq shared the respectful nod that his Executive Officer had given him. Silently, he stepped out of the XO's Quarters and looked forward to what tomorrow would bring for the Saratoga.
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