Unforgettable

Posted on Mon May 4th, 2015 @ 7:13pm by Lieutenant JG Karina Sha’ha’zen & Captain Enalia Telvan

Mission: The New Sydney Fiasco
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: Present

[ON]

There was a telltale shift in the gravity field as the Federation Runabout slipped into the large shuttle-bay doors of the Nebula-class Hera. Lieutenant Junior Grade Karina Sha'ha'zen closed her eyes and held onto her stomach as it did; the subtle wave of nausea that came with changing gravitational fields usually did her in, but this time she was determined not to let it.

"All stations secure for disembarking," the co-pilot called out over the Runabout's intercom. Waiting a few more seconds so as to be sure that her stomach wouldn't lurch forward unexpectedly, Karina finally stood, grabbed her small duffel bag, and made her way towards the exit.

The crew chief near the hatch looked at her strangely, then towards his PaDD -- which she presumed contained the cargo and personnel manifest -- then back to her again. When he realized that she was looking at him, looking at her, looking at him, his face twisted into an odd expression. "Sorry for staring, ma'am. I just didn't realize you were on board," he checked his PaDD again. "I, uh, signed you in, but I don't remember seeing you for some reason."

Karina managed a polite smile. "No problem, Chief." She said, exiting the Runabout quickly before either of them could think of something else to say.

Entering a turbo-lift, Karina closed her eyes, took a breath, and then ordered the computer to take her to Deck one. Her scheduled appointment with Captain Telvan was almost three hours ago, but the runabout was delayed by an ion storm. Hopefully Karina's new CO would be understanding.

Enalia had been waiting in her ready room for some time now, hoping to meet her new Chief of Ops that Starfleet had sent her. She just hoped this pheromone thing she was supposed to have wasn't something that would affect her symbiont. She'd like to remember this woman's face longer than 2 minutes. The thought had occurred to her that she might have already met her - she was late enough... But no, the runabout had only just now docked.

Karina made her way onto the bridge. Bending around the corner towards where she knew Captain Telvan's ready room to be, the Hiigaran paused at the doorway to brush an errant strand of hair behind her ear. Her uniform looked as though it had been worn for a full day, but was still within regulations. Feeling as ready as she'd ever be, Karina pressed the chime.

"Come in," Enalia called, clicking her computer screen off and looking up at the opening door.

Stepping into the purview of the motion sensors, Karina triggered the doors opened and entered the Captain's ready room at a brisk, albeit uncompromisingly professional stride. Her first thoughts upon seeing Telvan was how young the Captain looked; she couldn't have been much older than Karina. And then, suddenly feeling as though she were about to enter an immense gravitational field, Karina's eyes danced to Telvan's...

Karina forced her eyes back up before her gaze would be noticed, but her freckles flushed a dimly luminescent purple. "Uh- Captain. My name is Lieutenant Karina Sha'ha'zen. I've been assigned as your new Chief of Operations," the Hiigaran announced nonchalantly as a PaDD containing those orders materialized into her hand on its way to Telvan's.

"Yes, I've been expecting you," Enalia said, taking the PaDD and glancing it over quickly before handing it back. "Welcome aboard. Please, have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?" Enalia was fascinate and curious about this beautiful new person in more ways than one now.

"I just spent the last sixteen hours of my day in a Runabout full of supplies and an environmental control system a few months out of alignment, so right now I could sure go for a beer," Karina said as she started to sit, completing her reply before that brain/mouth filter of hers managed to engage. And as soon as she said it, she winced and bit down on her lower lip. Wonderful, now that's a way to make a first impression, Karina thought, twisting her face to make it look as though the quip had been intentional.

Maybe, if she was successful, Telvan would think her new Chief of Ops merely had a wry sense of humor. "Maybe later,” Karina’s freckles flushed that much more. If she was lucky, Telvan wouldn’t remember her first request long enough to hold it against her. “Water, please. That is, if you don’t mind.”

Enalia tapped in both requests, a wry grin on her face. "I hope that leaves a lasting impression," she muttered as she moved the 2 glasses from the replicator towards Karina. Then she punched up a cup of tea for herself.

Eyeballing the beer first, which fizzed deliciously, Karina wondered if this was some sort of test. Technically, she had just reported for duty and thereby was no longer on transitional leave. But would Telvan care about that? Edging on the rare side of caution, Karina took the glass of water and sipped from it. "Then I assume you're aware of my... call it a genetic quirk?" She asked.

"I am," Enalia quipped, splashing a little liquid from a metal flask she kept stashed under her desk into her tea before sipping at it. "My symbiont doesn't normally get pheromones with all the biological filtering so I'm hoping they don't reach it with yours as well. If not, all good. If so, your very presence here might kill it and me."

"Well, I've served with a Trill or two, but none of them happened to be joined," Karina chuckled, not letting rank get between them; as far as Karina was concerned, Captains and Lieutenants put their pants on the same way. She rose her glass -- (still the water) -- and sent a mock toast to Telvan. "Here's to me not killing you. But if I do, I promise to take good care of your ship."

Enalia raised her cup of tea in return with a smile. "Thank goodness. I hate to pile more onto you, but Ven is going to be a hard Chief to follow. He was memorable, well liked, and knew every self sealing stem bolt on this ship. If I call down to Ops for him, please bear with me. He was a good friend and I miss him already."

The abrupt somberness hit Karina like a battering ram . She'd nearly forgotten the fact that she was replacing a fallen officer, not someone who simply chose to transfer or retire from Starfleet. The Hiigaran paused to clear her throat, her freckles pulsating. "I'll do my best to fit those shoes." Karina assured her.

"Thank you." Enalia said, trying to cheer back up a bit. "If you need historical information on anything in the ship, Amelia Takethen is your woman. Other than myself, she's been around the longest."

The fact that the Hera was somehow from an modified universe still intrigued Karina, but she decided not to elicit that curiosity too early. No doubt it would be better for her if she focused on trying to fit in fora while.

Taking another sip from her glass of water, the Hiigaran smiled politely.

"So if it's not too bold to ask," Karina began after a short pause. "I was wondering whether we've received new orders."

"We have. Sort of..." Enalia began, sipping at her tea. "We're to go to New Sydney until the Office of Temporal Investigations determines what, if any, impact our visit to the past caused on the timeline. We're also to arrest a starship captain from another universe and host a court martial for violation of General Order 7. Sound interesting to you?"

From that description, it almost sounded like space-time was unraveling around them all. Karina drank from her water again, downing the remainder of it in one swallow. "It does," she said, the mix of confused excitement in her voice obvious. "Who's the Captain?" She asked next.

"Captain Kristopher Kerouac," Enalia said somewhat dramatically, peering over her cup of tea.

That was a name that had become rather infamous as of late. Karina shifted in her seat, suddenly more curious. "The same Kerouac who blew up that Breen planet before getting most of his crew killed?" She asked. The reports she'd seem (although difficult to get a hand on) had mentioned Kerouac being killed.

"According to the office of temporal investigations, this is a different Kerouac from a parallel universe or something. This one took his ship to Talos IV." Enalia clarified. "though with our universe's Kerouac having done those things, then that one doing something equally as crazy... It's hard not to wonder, is it?"

The Hiigaran sighed, nodding her head. "If this Kerouac violated General order seven," Karina said, her mind reaching back to that long course at the academy where she was required to memorize dozens of general orders and hundreds of regulations. "That means he went to Talos. The forbidden planet."

"And that he's supposed to be executed immediately. He apparently has a good senior staff though. They got him a court martial instead of execution." Enalia said as she finished her tea and set the cup aside. "Though it's anyone's debate on which is better."

Karina rolled her neck, which cracked. There was something oddly disconcerting about how the death penalty still existed in the United Federation of Planets. Then again, she had to assume that there was good reason for it. She decided not to press her inquiry any further, however. Managing a polite smile, she continued. "Well, as far as missions go, and the obvious madness, it doesn't sound like things will get too crazy for us. But I'll be ready."

"Expect the unexpected, Lieutenant. It finds this ship more often than not." Enalia said with a mischievous grin.