Special Assignment
Posted on Wed Nov 3rd, 2021 @ 5:07pm by Captain Aviram Drell & Commander Temperance Zachary & Lieutenant Remi Stevenson
Mission:
Episode 05: "Deep Water"
Location: Transporter Room, USS Vesta
Timeline: Day 12 at 0804
ON: [[Transporter Room, USS Vesta, Mission Day 12, 0804 Hours]]
Drell stood silently, arms at his sides, waiting. Not twelve hours earlier, they had received notice through the fleet commander’s office that Fleet Admiral Quinn would be coming aboard for an inspection tour. It was not unusual that a flag officer should want to conduct an inspection, especially prior to such an important mission, though the El-Aurian had a feeling there was a reason this particular admiral had opted to do so.
Temperance tugged at her jacket before smoothing her hands down over her hips for what was probably the eleventieth time. While Drell may have been perfectly calm at the thought of the Fleet Admiral being on their ship, this was the first time she was going to find herself face to face with someone of such rank and stature, and that alone made her feel somewhat nervous. "This is all par for the course, right? Standard inspection? Nothing out of the ordinary?"
“That’s what we were told,” Drell replied. His voice was calm and level, and he spoke while facing forward toward the transporter pad, as if it were all rather routine. But when he turned to look at her, there was a familiar twinkle in his eye.
“Pardon the interruption, captain…commander,” the transporter operator interjected, “Fleet headquarters reports two persons have entered the pad and are standing by for transport.”
“Well…” Drell said, “Let’s not keep them waiting. Energize.”
A familiar hum filled the room as transporter systems engaged. Within seconds, two sparkling columns of light appeared on the pad before them. These eventually faded away to reveal the admiral and a younger woman in command red. The bosun’s whistle sounded and everyone, Drell included, snapped to attention.
The form of Fleet Admiral Emily Quinn materialized literally out of thin air as the glow of the annular confinement beam faded around her. In her position as the commanding officer of Starfleet's eleventh fleet, she did not always have an opportunity to smile. But she was all smiles as she took in the familiar sight of the transporter room. "Captain Drell," she said, addressing the Vesta's commanding officer, "permission to come aboard?"
“Permission granted, admiral,” Drell replied, returning her smile. It was clear she was happy to be there, even if it was just for an inspection tour. The Vesta had been her project prior to her being assigned to the eleventh fleet. And because of that, there was a sense deep down that the Vesta was still hers, no matter who commanded it.
“Welcome back.”
"Thank you, Captain. It's good to be back." Quinn stepped down from the transporter pad and extended a hand to each of the officers greeting her. "It's good to see you again, Aviram. And Commander Zachary, I don't believe we've had the pleasure to meet."
Taking the offered hand in turn, Temperance smiled quickly. "Fleet Admiral," she replied with a nod. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person."
The other small, less imposing woman quietly stepped down from the transporter pad and kept her distance from the far more senior officers. Instead of joining in on the greetings, her eyes darted around the room, trying to take in as much of her surroundings as she could.
As if she suddenly remembered that the woman was there Quinn turned and gestured towards her. "Where are my manners? Captain Drell, this is Lieutenant Remi Stevenson. She's an intelligence analyst."
”Welcome aboard, lieutenant.”
Remi snapped her attention back to the group and mustered up a nervous smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."
Temperance noted the nervousness in the other woman, a nervousness she understood all too well. "Lieutenant," she offered a reassuring smile. "Welcome to the USS Vesta."
Stevenson returned an awkward smile. "Thank you, Commander. I've read a lot about the ship. She's quite the marvel of engineering. And of course I've heard a lot about the ship from Admiral Quinn. I'm nervous, but honored, to be serving aboard the Vesta".
Serving? Temperance cast a curious glance toward Drell, wondering why she hadn't been made aware of the new crew member.
The two of them made eye contact and, judging by the look he was getting, the El-Aurian was relatively certain he knew what Zachary was thinking. He was just as surprised by the news as she was by this news. Though he knew the admiralty were well within their rights to make a staffing appointment, it did seem a little strange to be finding out about it so close to their departure.
Even as he processed all this, Drell was keenly aware that both Quinn and Stevenson were waiting. Of all of them, it was clear this was most awkward for the lieutenant, and he knew it would not be good to prolong that any more than was necessary.
“Thank you, lieutenant,” he said, turning back to their guests, “I will be honest, we were not expecting any more transfers, but I am glad to hear you’ll be joining us.”
"Ah, my apologies. You can blame me for that," Quinn replied. "Lieutenant Stevenson was transferred under my orders. I'll have my office confirm that the orders were properly filed. I know most captains don't really care for having officers from Starfleet Intelligence on board. But we need to consider the reality of the situation, and of your assignment. You're going to be largely on your own, and I'd feel better knowing that you have someone who can make sense of any sensitive information." The admiral gestured towards Stevenson. "She might be a little green when it comes to serving on a ship. But she knows her stuff."
The weight of the words of the Admiral slowly sank in to Temperance's mind.
'Reality of the situation.'
'Largely alone.'
'Sensitive information.'
It felt somewhat overwhelming to have their pending situation outlined in such a grave manner, especially before they had even gotten out of the transporter room.
"Of that, I have no doubt," Drell said, offering the lieutenant a reassuring smile. He had learned over the years not to take scuttlebutt at face value, and that included a lot of what the different divisions sometimes said about each other. On the rare occasions when he'd been explicitly asked to work with folks from Starfleet Intelligence, either as a civilian or as a Starfleet officer, he had found them to be rather amicable...mostly.
"I should probably give you some time to get acquainted," Quinn replied, changing the subject to something she was personally, rather than professionally, interested in. "Perhaps Commander Zachary and I can get started with the inspection tour? I assume no one has moved main engineering since the last time I was aboard."
Temperance's eyes widened slightly and she cast a 'help me?' glance toward Drell before looking back at the Admiral, offering a polite, though somewhat nervous smile. "Of course Admiral," she said with a nod. "The ship has been in good hands, I'm sure very little has changed since you were last aboard, except perhaps some faces, though even some of those will still be familiar I'm sure."
Quinn grinned. "You can never be too sure about engineers. We love to change things. Shall we get going, Commander?"
"Of course," Temperance repeated, motioning toward the door before falling in step next to Quinn. "The ship is rather impressive, I have to admit, it took my breath away when I first arrived. Coming up via shuttle I suspect Captain Drell deliberately had us fly around a few times so I could get a good look," she smiled as they walked. "The lines are sleek, and I'd never admit it to the crew, but I do think Engineering is my favourite place on the ship," she said with a laugh. "There's just something about the hum of the drives, the slight reverberation through the deck. Most people don't even notice it."
"You're preaching to the choir, Commander," Quinn replied with a grin. "I've found the hum of the Vesta's warp core to be particularly satisfying." Quinn's voiced faded as the pair exited the transporter room.
With the admiral's exit, Remi was left to address Drell. "I hope I'm not an imposition, Captain. I wasn't aware that you didn't know about my transfer. I suppose that probably doesn't give you much faith in your intelligence analyst that I didn't even know that you weren't told about my assignment." She grimaced. "I also talk a lot when I'm nervous, which probably doesn't make you feel great either. But I promise I'm actually really good at keeping secrets, even if I do like to talk."
As he listened to Stevenson's words, Drell momentarily found himself taken back to a conversation he'd had the previous week, one which had to do with a situation involving Lieutenants Vodaan and Mitchell. Whatever this whole communication thing had been, Stevenson was just as innocent as the two of them had been. And so, rather than dwell on it any further, the El-Aurian simply turned and offered the younger woman a reassuring smile.
"Walk with me, lieutenant..."
OFF
Fleet Admiral Emily Quinn
Commanding Officer
Eleventh "Pegasus" Fleet
Captain Aviram Drell
Commanding Officer
USS Vesta (NX-94200)
Commander Temperance Zachary
Executive Officer
USS Vesta (NX-94200)
Lieutenant Remi Stevenson
Intelligence Officer
USS Vesta (NX-94200)
