Reporting for Duty

Posted on Mon Sep 10th, 2018 @ 11:54pm by Lieutenant Commander Sonak & Captain Enalia Telvan

Mission: Holographic Horrors
Location: Captain's ready room, deck 1
Timeline: 2395

"Bridge."

Sonak adjusted his blue and black uniform and gave it a last look over for anything that would deter from a perfect appearance as the lift shot up towards the uppermost deck of the Hera. When the door wooshed open, he stepped out and stopped to take in the entirety of the command center of the ship.

The Nebula class starship saucer section was basically identical to the similar primary hull of a Galaxy class; Sonak expected to see a vast carpeted curving expanse with ops and helm in front of a gigantic viewer and stations arcing back and around them on an elevated tier, a softly curving ramp from where he stood framing the three chairs of the command station and the security and tactical station, including communications, just above and behind them.

Instead, he stepped into a much more compact command center with sharper angles and several successive levels from the command dais to a joined helm and ops forward stations, reminescent of his old USS Exeter Constitution refit. Seating were available all around for twelve crew but there were enough consoles for fifteen. To the left of the captain's chair the station was dedicated to Intel ops and had a console just like the XO one on the opposite side of the command seat. All the stations behind those were for Tactical. Those on the starboard wall were clearly for Engineering while those portside wall were Science; where he would be called to work when on bridge duty.

That reminded him that all stations could be set up to use limited view angle and tactile feedback modifications. He made a mental note to leave a message to the Intel chief to activate these modifications for him.

As the ship was docked and on blue mode, there was no one on duty here but one junior officer. The man straightened up upon seing the two pips on his collar. Sonak simply nodded to him to signify that he should resume his duties and walked to the left side from the lift doors where another door was framed between the last wall console and the viewer. This he assumed was the entrance to the office of the commanding officer of the ship; what they refered to in this day and age as the captain's ready room.

According to the computer and the duty roster of the day, she was in her office at this very moment. Regulations dictated that, upon his arrival, he should report to command of the installation upon which he was assigned. His meeting with Rita had skewed this timetable a bit, but since she was the first officer, protocol allowed for this delay. But he could not ignore the woman he was about to serve under, be it out of basic courtesy.

Standing at attention, he pushed the chime button and waited for permission to enter.

"Come in," called the spotted captain, clicking off her desk terminal and leaning back in her chair. Seeing the Vulcan on the other side of the door as it opened, a hint of a smile crept onto her face. "Just the person I was looking forward to seeing. May I offer you some tea? My wife made a thermos of Iridonian spice tea this morning and it's customary to share it."

Sonak stepped in and went right before her, standing straight with hands behind his back.

"Lieutenant Sonak, reporting as assistant chief science officer. I am gratified to make your acquaintance, Captain Telvan. I come to serve."

Pouring a second teacup of the hot tea, she set it before him.

He bowed to accept her offered tea cup.

" I have not yet sampled this beverage. Thank you, Captain. I will put this in my personal log as my first exploration under your command."

"Please, have a seat and tell me something that's not in your file." As the spotted woman sipped her own tea, she eyed the Vulcan expectantly over the rim.

" I have resumed my previous personal relationship with Lieutenant Commander Rita Paris, currently your first officer," he said as if he was making a routine report.

Yet, as he said it, the grey of his eyes for a moment flashed as if some light from within had briefly lighted.

Enalia nodded slightly. "Perhaps I should amend my request to something that isn't in your records or blatantly obvious." Setting aside her cup of tea for the moment, she thought carefully how to phrase her next question. "The past two months for Rita and the past two years for you apart must have been difficult. Do you intend to do anything special for your reunion? Do you need anything from me?"

"I would not presume to ask anything of a personal nature from my commanding officer," he said with what immediately felt as his usual even tone. "That could be construed as looking to entice favoritism; not conductive to good starship discipline. As a Starfleet officer, I cannot expect nor request this."

He put his tea cup before him and extended his index fingers together before him.

"As a Vulcan, I have no need of any special treatment despite our unusual and recent... history; the past is in the past and resolved; the future is to be taken as it comes. If we are allowed to remain together under your command, this future looks promising for the both of us... and ideally, to you and this ship as well. Lieutenant Commander Paris is an exceptionally gifted individual and a most efficient officer. And I hope to prove my worth to you as well in our next mission.As far as I am concerned, your tolerance of our relationship is quite sufficient."

He locked his gaze to hers.

" That being said, Lieutenant Commander Paris however is Human. She has different needs, needs that logic and discipline may not satisfy. And her needs are... important to me. Respectfully, Captain, I shall therefore refer you to her in any such matters."

"Indeed, a logical course of action," Enalia replied, resting her hands in her lap. "I need the two of you to move into the XO quarters next to mine once renovations are complete. It should be finished later today. They're a bit bigger than your current quarters and have an extra room. I know she's made mention of how colorless and big the rooms are so do you think she would be opposed to that?"

"I would estimate with a satisfying degree of certainty that she will definitely appreciate the offer," he replied with a nod." And if this is helpful to you and the running of the ship, the move is most logical. As for environmental colors, I would say it is a trivial matter. She is well able to color life itself."

Enalia chuckled softly as she resumed sipping at her tea. "That's one of the things I like about her. Anything the two of you need for the move, please let engineering know before we leave the Fortress. If it's something special, let my wife know and she can probably get it fairly easily."

"Thank you, captain. I will pass this opportunity to her. She will most certainly makes the best of it."

"Now, about you specifically. What are your goals while aboard this vessel? Career or otherwise." Enalia was interested to know if he'd mention only career goals or family ones as well.

He took a short moment to collect his toughts.

"Reuniting with my Thy'la has been my sole goal for more than the last two years. now that this is achieved, I am resuming my relationship with her and, as had been the case before, I let her chart the course and provide relevant data for her to do so. I am a scientist and she is after all an excellent navigator."

He again placed his cup before him and brought his forefingers together before his lips in a pensive pose before continuing.

"In my original time and universe, I was an experienced Starfleet officer captaining one of the Federation's capital ships; and the last remaining kolinarh master of an endangered species uprooted from it's destroyed homeworld. But this is all over. Now, I am here, in a time more than a century beyond mine; in another universe. Here, my homeworld, my people and my masters are not only alive but prosperous. Having no longer the whole responsibility of preserving it all, I am free to fully resume a career in Starfleet. Doing it alongside my chosen companion is both added incentive and benefit. Serving under you is providing this opportunity."

He then looked at the transparency through wihch could be seen what laid outside the ship. But his grey eyes seemed to look even beyond that.

"I am a scientist, Captain. I want to discover what is out there, learn, understand, grow from that and help others along the way. What you would call love, relationships, most importantly my relationship with Rita, Lieutenant Commander Paris, is now a central and defining part of this. And so, my goal is too explore the possibilities."

Now he looked back at her.

"As wisdom would have it however, I do not try to know all the answers, but, at least, to understand the questions."

There was a moment of silence as she was obviously pondering his words. He finished his tea and then straightened in his chair.

"Does that answer your question adequately, Captain? Or is there something else you would like to ask?"

"You know, I think we'll get along well. Understanding the question is the first step in focussing on the solution." Enalia nodded solemnly. "I can't think of anything else. Do you have any questions for me?"

He paused for a moment before looking at her with unblinking eyes.

"The exact mission of the Hera is classified. Of course, I am not asking you to discuss anything that is restricted for someone of my rank and position abaord your ship. But I am understandably curious."

"Our exact orders are still being discussed with Intel Command as well, but if you've heard the rumors I can confirm them. The aliens that played the roles of ancient pagan gods across many systems, most notably Earth, are returning and we're expected to play a role in discovering why they're back and dissuade them from taking a major role in galactic politics. Our recent interactions with Hermes, Danu, Odin, and Odin's crows are proof of this."

His left eyebrow shot up.

"Indeed? Fascinating. I do recall reading about 23rd century history here about an incident on planet Pollux IV involving the starship Enterprise with the Terran Greek god Apollo; and another involving that same ship with an alien starship and the Aztec god Kukulcan, also of Earth. Considering the multitude of interactions with powerful cosmic entities like the Q, the Dhoud, the Caretakers, the Prophets, the Metrons and the Organians, such confrontations seem to be... what is the quolloquialism again? Ah yes; written in the stars."

He took a brief pause before adding:

"Since this is allegedly what this ship will be involved with, I shall endeavor to familiarize myself more with Terran mythologies and, if time permits, a few others from the major cultures in our quadrant. I would think my first duty aboard has been now defined... if you say so, captain."

"Thank you. If there's nothing else, I have a lot of transfer orders left to sort through." Enalia glanced back at her desk terminal, not really looking forward to all the paperwork she had to do.

Sonak stood up at attention, hands behind his back.

"I shall report to the chief science officer presently; by your leave, Captain."

"Dismissed," Enalia replied with a nod.

"Thank you, Captain."

Sonak nodded back and left.