Meeting the XO

Posted on Sun Oct 27th, 2024 @ 3:08pm by Captain Jonathan Reynolds

1,292 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Mission 1 - Half and half doesn't always make one
Location: Captains ready room
Timeline: MD1

ON:

Jon nodded at the Ensign who had informed him his new XO was onboard. He expected she would be reporting in so left for his ready room.

Li Arja was already on the bridge, sleeves rolled up and sitting in an open access point below what would have been the command chair had it not been moved aside to allow the engineering teams access who were putting the finishing touches to the Luna Class Starship.

"Reroute the ODN line" she called from the small pit, only the top of her head visible "The charge the capacitor to thirty five percent... Lets bring her back up slowly from there!"

"Aye sir" can the reply from the young engineer now moving towards the operations console. "Captain" he greeted as he went.

The lights brightened in the pit. "That's it, now bring the power up incrementally until its running at one hundred percent and don't forget to reconnect the chairs navigational access but that looks to have done the trick!"

"I'll be the judge of that," Jon said walking over. It was after all his chair.

Blond hair started to emerge from the pit followed by a striking face, Bajoran ridges running the length of the bridge of her nose, surrounded by a pair of intense crystal blue eyes. She seemed to have been caught a little off guard but she recovered quickly as she lifted herself from the small pit before standing and extending a hand to shake that of her new Commanding Officer.

"Captain Reynolds. A pleasure. I'm Lieutenant Commander Li Arja".

Jon took the offered hand and shook it firmly. Then sat on the chair. Shuffling right in he deliberately took his time to make himself comfortable as the entire bridge watched on. He worked through a few screens on the chair interface before saying, "Well number one. I'll agree it did the trick."

Around him a few green behind the ears ensigns suddenly dropped some hunched up shoulders.

Jon was up and out of the seat again before anyone else could say anything. "Ready room. We have a mission brief already," he indicated walking back towards his office. "Everyone else as you were."

"Aye sir" she responded tossing the EPS conduit she was holding at the young crewman and fell into step besides the Captain. She had been briefed on some of what he had been through of late and for all that, he seemed well adjusted and well rounded. She did wonder if this was just a façade, a thin crust covering a turbulent mantel and core, and from what she had been told, she would half expect that to be the case.

She stopped for a beat to allow him through the door first, it was after all his new office, before stepping through herself. She felt no need to stand to attention given how he had found her but she did start to roll her sleeves back down so she could at least appear the model officer.

"Tea?" Jon queried ordered his personal programme num 1. Good old Yorkshire tea.

"No thank you... I'm currently fasting. Bajoran Time of Cleasing" she said. She was only a few days in and still had over twenty days left before the fasting would come to an end.

Jon took his seat behind his desk and indicated the one opposite. "Have you ever heard of the Nen number one?"

"I can't say that I have" her mind fixed on the offer of the tea, imagination taking on a life of its own as she realised water had no flavour. If she was like this now, what would she be like in ten days time let alone on the final day of the ritual.

She sat across from the Captain, noting his desk was as empty as the rest of the ship. She knew it would soon change but there was something very magical to her about the new ship feel.

"The Nen reside on ..." Jon looked down. They had one of those holo displays in his new desk. A small one but one none the less. It would be rude not to take it for a test drive. This ship really was upgraded. He pressed a few buttons and found what he was looking for. "Nen Prime. Its about 6 light years out on the rim of a sector of space the Federation explored about 20 years ago and made first contact on."

The image of the planet came up. "You will notice its quite unique. Two continents. Similar sized. But what's even more unique is one is suited to food stuffs and the other to materials. Ecze and Itte they call them. The species there have never managed to figure this out so we left Federation Scientists trying to help them terraform Itte so it would be better to grow crops and help investigate Ecze as to why the materials are in higher proportions that side of the planet."

"I would imagine the formation of the star system would be a major contributor to the planetary make up and composition, I look forward to the investigation, but I have a feeling there is another reason for our visit?"

It was good to see the holodisplay being put to use in an older ship, even if they had started to retrofit the ship to modern specs.

"Yes we have been asked to ferry an ambassador over," Jon said. "All we know in the orders are tensions have been rising between Ecze and Itte. And that one of our scientists has gone awol."

"Possible cultural contamination?" she scooped up a PADD sitting on the edge of the Captains Desk and started pulling up the biographical, cultural and linguistic data they had on the species.

"Well that part," Jon shrugged, "I'm not so sure. The Nen race is not known to be very open in its communications with the Federation at the best of times. Must be pretty big if they have requested we bring an ambassador. So Number one I want you to meet and greet," he looked down at his PADD and read the chaps name. A Bajoran. "Jadu Tren. Get him settled in one of the diplomatic suites and lets do something nice. We have lots of new senior crew coming on. I'm not big on Captain Dinners - I'm terrible at picking menus and all that stuff .... but in the spirit of bonding I'll throw on something."

"Understood sir" the Ambassadors name catching her off guard. Could it be the late Husbands father? Torr had not seen his father in a decade before his passing, she had never met him. She contained her errant thoughts and became all business again. "I will set the Ambassador up and then I will have a word with the lounge staffing to see if they could offer us a buffet space and catering!"

"Sounds a plan. Number one your face at the ambassadors name. Do you know him?" he asked. He needed an XO who would be fully transparent. Melody had always been.

"It won't affect my performance sir" she said without thought but could see from her Captains expression he was looking for more than just the expected placation. "It could be my ex-husband".

"Ahhh," he said completely understanding. He had an ex-wife after all. "Would you prefer I assigned someone else or are you amicable?"

"Prophets blessing we are civil... Even if I see him as the Kosst Amojan incarnate!" she joked.

Jon smiled slightly. "Good to hear. Right well I will let you get on with that and speaking with the lounge staff. I will call a proper briefing as soon as we have everyone onboard and all the upgrades sorted."

OFF:

 

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