Pilgrimage: Permission To Come Aboard

Posted on Fri Aug 23rd, 2019 @ 8:44am by Az'Prel & Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Commander Mnhei'sahe Dox & Lieutenant Commander Sonak
Edited on on Fri Aug 23rd, 2019 @ 8:49am

Mission: Family Detention
Location: USS Armstrong, Trill Space
Timeline: 2396
Tags: Vulcan Pilgrimage Part II

Gathered on the flight deck, the sparse luggage of the pilgrims was collected and packed onboard the runabout. Bound for a world that in the reality from which they had come was no more than a lost legend of the galaxy, the trip passed, as they tended to do. Rita made small talk with Dox while the Vulcans occasionally added a comment of insight or dry wit to the conversation, and the hours passed easily. Once arrived at the rendezvous point, all was quiet for the better part of an hour, until the USS Armstrong dropped out of warp nearby, and slid into position near the Thor.

“Runabout Thor, we have your authorizations. We are ready to receive your passengers in Transporter Room 6,” came the voice of the Armstrong’s ops officer.

From the helm, the red-headed Romulan pilot took a second to take in the sight of the impressive Sovereign Class Starship. Looking over the 680-meter long behemoth designed as a warship, it raised a cricked eyebrow. When she was still in the academy, Dox had dreamed of helming a Sovereign Class Starship. They were powerful and fast and sleek, but when she had put time in on flight sims, she found the excessively, almost phallically long nacelles and overall profile were absolute shit for maneuverability. Essentially, style over substance as far as the skilled pilot mused to herself, and when she thought of her home on the Hera, she scoffed aloud ever so slightly.

After the brief moment of reflection had passed, Dox hit the comm button to reply. "Negative, Armstrong. Requesting clearance to temporarily land for drop off on the flight deck, please. Over."

Aside from the steely-eyed Vulcan at her side, few people were as acutely aware of Rita Paris' issues with transporters as her chosen sister, Mnhei'sahe Dox. And for Dox, transporters were last resorts for absolute emergency only when it came to Rita Paris, as she'd seen some of what the comely commander went through during a transport, and she was determined to prevent that from happening whenever possible.

Sonak leaned towards Dox.

''Excellent reasoning, Lieutenant. Your concern is most appreciated.''

There was a pause on the other end, before authorization came through. “All right, Runabout Thor. Please bring her into shuttlebay two and power down on arrival.” It was not unusual for a rendezvous with a shuttle to occur for one of the premiere ships of the line, but refusing to transport was a warning sign. Thus the runabout was directed to a smaller bay than the main flight deck, and there was a reasonable certainty that they would be met by armed Security personnel, and scanned quite thoroughly before they landed.

Sonak turned towards his wife.

''Commander, I suggest we transmit or identification and Starfleet records with highlights on the relevant notes regarding our experiences with transporter malfunctions. This should help ease their apprehension about our uncharacteristic boarding request.''

“Your logic is, as always, unassailable, Mister Sonak,” Paris ceded easily. “But they have our Starfleet service jackets as well as Miss Az’Prel’s Starfleet file, so they have a very good idea of just whom they have coming aboard right now.”

“This is them being cautious- we are Starfleet Intelligence officers, which immediately makes us suspect. There are entire swaths of our service jackets that are classified, that Captain Butterfield and perhaps a few of his senior officers will have clearance to read. By virtue of being Intel and traveling with a civilian asset, we are immediately suspect. Requesting a landing is reasonable given that it’s me, but it could just as easily be a ploy to smuggle something anti-matter powered onboard to get it inside the shields. The Armstrong is being cautious, and I applaud them for it- if they were incautious I’d be more worried.”

''A correct assessment, Commander,'' the Vulcan agreed.

As they slipped through the forcefield and into the small shuttle bay, there was indeed a full security and science team, scanning and standing by. Which certainly lent credence to the Commander’s line of logic as to how they were being received.

"Aye, Armstrong. Beginning our landing sequence now." Dox replied plainly as she punched in the appropriate instructions to the helm as the mighty Runabout began to move once again.

As instructed, Dox brought the smaller craft to rest and powered her down for inspection. After a moment, the assembled crew from the Hera made their way to the Runabout's exit hatch as it slowly hissed open. At the exit on the flight deck, there was a full detachment of security personnel and a science crew already working to scan the Thor from the exterior.

At the center of the two groups was a tall, austere-looking, auburn-furred Caitian woman wearing Command Crimson, with her hands folded behind her back and her lithe tail swaying behind her slowly, the only motion one could detect aside from her fairly large, golden eyes which scanned the group standing at the ramp.

"Welcome to the U.S.S. Armstrong. I am Commander Mel'lia, the Armstrong’s Executive Officer." The stern Caitian said with the hint of a British accent from Earth and absolutely nothing in her tone that, at the moment, seemed very welcoming as she waited to take the measure of their visitors.

“Commander Rita Paris, requesting permission to come aboard,” Paris expressed as she drew herself up in a stiff and formally crisp salute.

Naval tradition indicated you saluted the officer on deck, then saluted the ensign, or flag. Since that had been done away with in Starfleet, you simply saluted the officer on deck, regardless of comparative ranks, to show respect and deference in coming aboard. Being old-school Starfleet, Rita understood this implicitly, and was actually quite the fan of the old traditions. “This is Lieutenant Sonak and Miss Az’Prel, all members of the crew of the USS Hera, as well as Lieutenant Dox, who is remaining at the controls with her hands in plain sight so as not to unduly alarm Security.”

The anachronistically-uniformed officer herself was unarmed, her hands were empty and she had made every effort to appear non-threatening and professional.

"A salute? Well, I haven't seen one of those in... come to think of it, I don't believe I ever have seen one performed. Still, here's to maritime tradition." The Feline Commander shot back an equally crisp salute as she spoke.

"Permission granted, Commander Paris, for you and yours. I trust you have no objections to our scanning and searching your transport and pilot as per regulations. Considering your extensively... opaque, if intriguing, service record, I trust you appreciate our comparably mild concerns?" Commander Mel'lia commented dryly with the hint of a raised brow as her hands returned to their prior position folded behind her back.

“I would be highly concerned if you took us at face value, Commander,” the anachronistic astronaut replied with a polite nod, followed by a broad sweeping gesture of her arm to the interior of the heavily armed runabout. As she did so, a bronze bracer that was very clearly not part of the standard uniform- not that anything about the woman was standard- peeked out from beneath her sleeve. “By all means, please allow your security staff to satisfy their professional concerns and the command’s requirements, as well as Starfleet regulation. In the meanwhile, we will be more than happy to wait patiently for as long as it takes for that to come to pass. We are imposing upon the command for a favor- the very least we can do is be accommodating guests.”

In an instant, the curt demeanor of the Caitian Commander turned on the proverbial dime as if a switch had been flipped, and her tone became positive and inviting. "EXcellent, Commander Paris. Absolutely fabulous."

With a light clap from their Commander, the security and scanning crews of the Armstrong leapt to action, beginning an extensive search of the Runabout, inside and out. Dox smiled lightly as she stepped back from her seat at the helm on orders to be scanned and let them work, nodding to Rita from the cockpit window.

"And it's hardly an imposition to our science department, who has been all but salivating like dogs for a look at those fashion accoutrements of yours." Mel'ila gestured with her eyes to the bracers that had become momentarily visible on Rita's forearms.

“Well, quid pro quo, Commander,” Paris offered with a smile, keeping her movements minimal and her hands in plain sight. Just because the first officer’s demeanor was relaxed, that too was a tactic, and 3while Rita would meet her warmth, she still had no doubt they could all be stunned in the brig inside twenty seconds if things went south with this discussion..

“While you may be going our way, the least we can do is make it worth your while. As Mister Sonak pointed out, Sovereign-class starships are capital ships, and the most powerful and advanced battleships ever commissioned by Starfleet. Their maintenance is onerous, their crews the best in the quadrant and their duties most critical for the security of the Federation. Diverting one for what amounts to personal business of a pair of officers is a dubious prospect at best. It could easily cause significant disruption in fleet operations… and as I was sent the request through unusual channels, then the offer had best be worth the trouble.” Acknowledging all of the facts laid out would likely also tend to alleviate concerns- after all, a fresh from the Academy ensign was not how most line officers communicated such requests to other line officers. But it was already abundantly clear that the old-fashioned officer who traveled with two Vulcans and a redheaded Romulan was anything but typical. “So with all that said, we’ll do our best to be no trouble, and worth the diversion.”

"Well, as the old saying goes, we happened to be going your way, so all is well." The Caitian Commander replied, as she lifted a single finger and swirled it in the air above her head. As she did, the security and science department heads gave her simple nods.

"And I must say, the collective egos of the Armstrong and her crew have rarely been so thoroughly well-polished by your praise. High marks indeed, Commander Paris. Flattery will get you everywhere. Or in this case, to Vulcan." With which, she clapped her hands again and the security and science crews fell into line behind her once again. "You, your compatriots and your Runabout have passed our relatively minor inspection. Your pilot may depart at her discretion, so that we may be on our way."

Offering a nod of courtesy, Paris inclined to the shorter woman. “Thank you, Commander Mel'lia.” Turning to walk up the gangplank, Paris addressed the Hera’s flight chief as she fetched the three travel cases of luggage the trio of travelers had packed.

“Miss Dox? Thank you for the ride. When we finalize our return plans, I will most certainly make you aware. In the meanwhile, you know everything I would ask you to do in my absence, so I’ll not bore you with a list. Just be careful headed home is all that I ask, aye?” While the first officer’s duties were not hers in Rita’s absence, still she knew that Dox would hold herself responsible for the people, starship and duties that Paris left behind, and this was her gentle way of letting her know that she acknowledged it and preferred she not stress, while acknowledging that she would.

And for her part, the unspoken message was clear as the red-headed Romulan nodded from the helm of the Thor. "Aye. I'll take good care of her. Have a wonderful time."

''Your help and understanding are much appreciated, Lieutenant,'' Sonak added, mindful of what she did to ease boarding for his wife. ''I recommend all proper safety measures for your flight back to the Hera.''

"Of course. And I will, Lieutenant. Thank you." Dox replied respectfully to the Kolinahr master, who was also her tutor in regards to her attempts to discipline her own nascent mental abilities.

As Rita made her way down the gangplank, Commander Mel'lia rolled her eyes with a smirk and pointed to the young man in security gold to her right with three fingers raised, then waved him to Commander Paris. Immediately, he walked up briskly and offered to take her bags with a professional smile as his Caitian XO spoke, "Commander Paris, Lieutenant Sonak, Miss Az'Prel... let us begin. We have things to attend to, introductions to be made, Science to science, and so on and so forth. Your bags will be waiting in your assigned quarters, if you would follow me."

"Lead on, Commander…" Paris replied with a smile.