Flying Solo

Posted on Tue Mar 9th, 2021 @ 4:41am by Commodore Tyler Malbrooke & Lieutenant Commander Larim Myles & Lieutenant Paul Michael & Lieutenant Elen Diari & Lieutenant Commander Hermia O'Rourke & Lieutenant Junior Grade Mira Jayde & Lieutenant Junior Grade Mignon Mejia & Corporal Andrew Shy
Edited on on Tue Mar 9th, 2021 @ 4:46am

1,660 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 11 - Family Matters
Location: Bridge - Deck 1 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD002 1530 hrs

Tyler nodded to Schultz and had her open a channel to the bridge. "Bridge this is Oakley we are ready to depart. Do we have clearance?"

A part of Quinn wanted to say no, stay on the ship. Don't risk your career for this. He knew the point would be moot. Quinn looked over to Jayde. Signaled her to respond. "Clear him, Lieutenant." Quinn simply responded as he hovered over the command chair on the bridge.

Jayde nodded. "Oakley, this is Pioneer. You are clear to depart."

Corporal Shy sat at the marine ops board and idly worked through the routines set up for his shift. He hadn't been expecting to work the bridge so soon but, how did Tremble put it? Exigencies of the Service? though not really trying, he was nervous and that surprised him.

"Lieutenant Jayde, let me know when the Oakley, has left the area, I want to proceed with our mission." Quinn called out, trying to focus on the objective at hand. He needed to trust, that Tyler and his team would be able to carry out their mission.

Larim shifted somewhat uncomfortably in his seat next to Quinn. He watched the viewscreen, wishing that he was at his usual post at tactical.

Jayde nodded. She worked the station while keeping one small window indicating the location of the Oakley."

It took several minutes before it was out of range. "It's gone, sir," Jayde said.

Ameri stood at her station, monitoring the Oakley until it was gone. She silently wished them well on their mission, smiling to herself, glad to see that the captain had included Robertson. It was time for him to get his feet wet, so to speak.

Quinn took a deep breath before continuing on to say. "Very well, Number One let's get this mission underway." Quinn said, as he looked over to the man sitting in his chair. He had a big smile on his face, he was trying to hide the annoyance he felt, that his captain was putting himself in danger.

"Aye, Captain." the acting XO said, retuning the smile. Larim picked up on Quinns feeling of annoyance as he more or less shared it.

"Mister Michael set a course for the Jurtai Homeworld, warp 5." Quinn called out, from Tyler's chair. It felt so strange to him to sit in his captain's chair.

Paul set the course and speed into the helm computer. "Course laid in, sir." Then the ship jumped to warp 5.

A short time had passed, and Quinn stood up to address the crew. "I know we all have our reservations on the mission at hand? Why is the Captain going on vacation, right before a diplomatic mission. All I can say is, that he has the upmost confidence in us all. So to that end, I need all departments to get familiarized with the Jutai." Quinn told his department heads. It felt a little different to be given the orders as a Captain, and not as a first officer. "We will have a staff meeting at 1900 hours, right after dinner. If you or your crew have any concerns or questions address them then."

Ameri listened as Quinn spoke, acknowledging his orders with a nod, she would find out everything she could to be prepared for their orders. At the same time she felt a sense of pride in her husband. He was going to make an excellent captain and she couldn’t wait for him to have his own command.

Jayde, too, listened. Jutai, she thought. She wondered how much information she could find on them.

Ameri looked back down at her console and went to work pulling up what she could on the Jutai. Before they go to their destination each of them needed to know as much as they could so as not to unknowingly insult them. It had happened before with something so insignificant one would have never guessed.

"Number one you have the bridge, I would like to meet with the COB in the ready room." Quinn said, as he looked over to Command Chief Petty Officer Nguyen, then started to head towards the ready room.

"Aye, Captain." he said as he started to move over one seat. He then used the opportunity to use the convenient console to look up info on this new race. As acting XO it would be him leading the away team most likely anyway. "Maintain course and speed." he said as he read.

Ameri tuned out everyone around her as she did some searching on the people of the planet Jutus. There wasn't a lot out there and it was like a puzzle. They had at one point been friends with the Romulans but there was no real answer to whether they still were or not. She hoped one of the others could come up with more of a concrete answer to that, she would keep digging and see what she could find out. It did make her feel a little better that they appeared to be honorable but the question was, what was their definition of that word. She decided to look into their society as a whole instead, what they believed in and followed. What customs did they have? The last thing they needed to do was break one and unintentionally offend them. Looking around, Ameri saw everyone was busy at work, probably doing the same thing that she was.

Mejia walked onto the bridge and looked around, not sure who to give her PADD to. She didn't see Commander O'Flannagain, but she did see the Lieutenant. "Ma'am," she said to Ameri. "I was asked to bring up some information on the Jutrai."

“What have you found out, Ensign,” Ameri asked her with interest. It was a good idea to compare notes so they weren’t all giving Quinn the same information.

"What I've found is their origin is unknown, although their appearance indicates they may be descended from the Vulcans. Recent images show they look much like white-haired Romulans," Mignon began. "In the 2370s they were on friendly terms with the Romulans and shared technology. There are some reports from merchants that the Jutrai may have had more of a servile position, but that, too, is unclear. Since the Hobus incident, they've been seen more often. Some have been trading with nearby colonies."

“I have read things that indicate they may have once been friends with the Romulans but there is no clear answer to whether they are still on friendly terms or not,” Ameri said with a nod. “I was just starting a search on their customs as a society.”

"I've seen that, too. What little I've found, they're friendly, but not taking sides," Mignon said.

“That is my thought as well,” Ameri nodded. “I looked extensively and could not find them to be aggressive nor anything alarming. That being said I am certain the captain will have us go in with security protocols.”
She smiled at her. “I am thinking we need to concentrate on making certain we don’t offend some cultural tradition. We don’t want that to happen.”

"Definitely not," Mignon agreed. "I'll see if I can find additional information."
On The Planet Jutus on the other side of Romulan Space
Jaflok and Terra stood in the great hall as they spoke. They had taken a great risk reaching out to the Federation like this. However, with Romulan Empire in shambles now was the perfect time to make themselves known. The days of living under the boot of the Empire was over.

"What do you think we can expect from this Starfleet?" Jaklok turned his stern face toward Terra as he asked. On the screen the long range sensors were tracking an Intrepid Class starship en route to their homeworld.

Terra's long stark white hair had been pulled back into a pony tail. "I am not sure but if what we intercepted from the Tal Shiar is to be believed they will be miles better than the Empire. It seems that they truly wish to simply explore." Her partner has always been the more suspicious of the two.

"Let us hope that all the information that we have received is correct. That we are not making a mistake and falling in with another empire." The sensors showed that the ship inbound had its weapons and shields offline this was a good sign for the Jutrai. However, they had been deceived before.

A joint post by;

Commander Quinn Ó Flannagáin
Executive Officer, USS Pioneer