Temper Temper
Posted on Wed Sep 18th, 2024 @ 1:51pm by Commander Alinar Vasatra & Captain Jane Saulitis
1,640 words; about a 8 minute read
Mission:
Into The Past-USS Seward
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Captain Jane Saulitis sat down behind her brand new desk in her brand new ready room on the brand new USS Seward and crossed her legs. It was a habit. Despite it making her knees hurt she always had to have something to do with her feet. She picked up her coffee and held it in both hands, blowing steam off the top and taking a few moments for herself. Her husband wasn't here, her son wasn't here and she could try to make herself calm down before her new XO arrived.
It was ridiculous. This wasn't her first rodeo, in fact it was actually her second ship. She'd had the Majestic for almost two years before she'd found out she was pregnant and decided to step back and take some time on Betazed with Hak's family. They, after all, were just as invested in a grandchild as she was in her son.
But, this was her third first officer, her first having stepped down for reasons unknown to her and the second having been reassigned when she stepped down on the Majestic. And, she was still nervous. "Honestly," she mumbled to herself. "That's enough."
Her chime sounded and she sat up straighter but didn't let go of her cup of coffee. "Come in."
Alinar had been on the Seward for a couple of days now. He was always someone who was 'down in the trenches' when it came to getting things done and engaging with a crew. He never saw himself above a job, and that sometimes got him in trouble with CO's about letting others do the job, that he was first officer for a reason but crews liked the connect between them and he had kept that policy of his going.
Entering the ready room he was met with the gaze of dark blue eyes setting on his person. His own brown pair set upon her and he gave a curt nod of his cleanly shaven head. "Good morning captain." he announced as he shifted PaDD in his hand containing the readiness report of the Seward. He noticed her rather anxious appearance, she was trying to hide it and it was working well but his empathic ability was always one step ahead of those with strong emotion. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"It's already been a day," she responded, annoyed with herself for actually having emotions at this point which was ridiculous. "It started with a two year old testing me and it's going to end on the bridge of a brand new ship for a brand new mission with a brand new crew and captain. I haven't had enough coffee for this." Jane said bringing the cup to her lips again.
"How was your morning?" She asked, changing the subject deliberately.
Alinar nodded with some understanding of the captain's headache. Not so much with the 2 year old testing her patience, he didn't have children, but more so with the coming of change in many ways. He'd seen a lot of change in two centuries.
"Uneventful." Alinar responded. "I have been tying in with engineering and science teams to make sure we are on schedule for departure, and we are. I have also been informed that our new security chief, Lieutenant Luna Barto, and new science chief, Lieutenant Elara Thorne, are now on board. The other department heads are still on route." he reported.
"Good," Jane replied, though she wasn't looking forward to the usual meet and greets that came with a new crew. She found them kind of tedious. If there was something you needed to know about a person it should already be in their through Starfleet profile or you would learn it in a moment of stress or relaxation, whichever brought it out.
"What do you think of this mission Commander? The Victory is such an interesting case and not one I expected would ever be solved. Here we are 30 years after their disappearance and we're just now being let in the loop and given clues about what might have happened to them. It fascinates me and..." It annoyed Jane too. She believed in freedom of information as long as it didn't hurt anyone. She understood that Starfleet needed to keep some secrets, but the Victory? Why all the red tape?
"I think we should have looked for them a lot sooner than now." Alinar opted for honesty over subtlety. "30 years is a long time for a trail to go cold over and Starfleet has a history of covering certain things up that don't suit their narrative." he sighed. "But I am glad they have decided to allow us the attempt to solve it. This was Captain Benoit's second command in 2 years and I am curious to know more about the crew as well."
Jane nodded. "I'm sure they have before now, they just didn't know where to look. Or they knew where but not when. That's my understanding anyway. But Starfleet doesn't always like to tell us everything." It was an annoyance to Jane. She liked having all the information and despite what she generally believed about Starfleet, she knew that they did keep secrets. She thought about what he'd just said about Captain Benoit. "This is my second command, not in two years, but it still hits home a little bit. These people had families and loved ones that they never got to see again. My father and my half sister, my mother, they aren't on this ship and it makes me think that at any moment I might not ever see them again. I'm not that pessimistic to believe it but the thought is there."
Alinar nodded. Technology had moved ahead somewhat since their disappearance but he couldn't help but think all leads would have dried up, died off, or disappeared by now. He was going to say that his experience of Starfleet during the 60's and 70's was far from ideal but his record was hardly a secret. He didn't really set down roots in terms of family but he could appreciate the loss of someone from his life all the same. "I guess that is the risk we take being out here with the unknown around every star." he agreed with Jane's expression of concern.
"True," Jane seemed to mull things over a tiny bit more and then shook her head. It was time to get back to the business of launching this ship. "I'm moving the departure up to 2000 tonight. Think the crew is ready for whatever we throw at them?
Looking back down at his PaDD Alinar mulled some things over. "If we can push that back to 2100 we can be." he suggested. "And I'll let department heads and whomever is running the headless ones know to pick up the pace."
Jane couldn't help but chuckle at his comment about the headless departments even if that wasn't what he meant. "Deal." She replied. She was more than ready to solve this mystery but realized that not everyone on this ship might be as enthusiastic as she was. "May I ask you a personal question Commander?"
Alinar arched a very Vulcan eyebrow at the chuckle of the captain but shook his head of wondering why. He could feel her amusement and that was better than her frustration a minute ago. "Of course captain." he replied curious as to what it would be.
"Your personnel file lists your background, some of your personal history even your interests but it doesn't tell me why you're standing in this room right now? Why did you join Starfleet, what led you to this, here?" Jane picked up her mug and held it between her hands. It was both habit and a subconscious need for the warmth as she waited for his answer.
"I suppose after being in Starfleet for 50 years that question is not without reason." Alinar responded as he rubbed his hand through his beard. "Truthfully I'm trying to get the Starfleet back that I knew before the Dominion War, or trying to improve the one we have after. You'll notice in my file I resigned my commission, joined the Maquis, was captured etc. I came back during the war to help and eventually was trusted enough to get my rank back fully." he sighed. "I guess you could say I'm still trying to prove I belong here. I don't regret doing what I did 25 years ago, I'd do it again but that can still follow you around when anyone gets a hold of my file."
Jane nodded. She'd been very young when the Maquis were formed. And she actually found the subject quite fascinating but then again she always loved debating with someone who could keep a level head and not make their position emotionally charged. Whatever her opinion of the Maquis she wasn't about to debate with her new first officer. "Fair enough. You did what you believed was right regardless of the reasons. I can respect that. And the older I get the less I care what people think. I'm still working on that, but it's improved a lot since I was young and foolish. I'll let you get back to work though." Jane stood to let him out of her ready room.
"Thank you, ma'am." Alinar nodded respectfully in her direction. The conversation could have taken a more awkward turn but thankfully she'd been understanding of his motivations in regards to the Maquis. "I'll make sure we are ready to push off at 2100 hours." he awaited his proper dismissal.
"I'll see you on the bridge then." Jane let the door close behind him and sank back down into her chair. As he would discover in time, she couldn't stand to be idle.
Captain Jane Saulitis
Commanding Officer
USS Seward
Commander Alinar Vasatra
First Officer
USS Seward
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