Tour De Table
Posted on Thu Sep 5th, 2024 @ 8:52pm by Commander Hikari Karibuchi & Yulena Shastakar & Commander Fan Shuren & Lieutenant Commander Ashlynn Regan & Lieutenant Commander Sakaan & Lieutenant Naoe Kanno & Lieutenant Fran & Lieutenant Paisley F'rar & Lieutenant Minerva Zephyrin & Lieutenant Halcyon Attixx
4,550 words; about a 23 minute read
Mission:
Season 1, Episode 0: "A Time To Heal"
Location: USS Yorktown (NCC-91781), Commander Karibuchi's quarters, Deck 5
Timeline: June 21, 2403, 0952 Hours (Stardate 78015.32)
It had been a long, drawn-out week that had seen next to no shortage of mind-numbing paperwork, but at long last, the time was finally upon them:
Launch Day.
Hikari had already scheduled a formal debriefing at 1000 hours that morning; she had already met with her senior staff on a one-on-one basis, but she felt it would be helpful for everyone to get to know one another in a formal work setting. In addition, it would behoove everyone to be brought up to speed on the recent socio-political situation with the Annexari, as well as outlining the Yorktown's mission parameters, long-term goals, and a few policies they would need to adhere to in order to maintain stable relations with the Romulan Star Empire.
This being her first staff meeting as Commanding Officer, Hikari wanted to make sure she at the very least looked the part, so after quickly freshening up in the Sonic Showers, Hikari grabbed a slice of toast from the replicator and stepped outside her quarters to find General Shastakar waiting for her.
"You ready for this, General?" she asked as she took a bite out of the toast.
Yulena furrowed her brow. "I am prepared, though I cannot exactly say that I am looking forward to it."
"You'll do just fine, General," Hikari assured her as the two of them began making their way towards the turbolift. "Just follow my example, alright?"
Yulena looked at her strangely, but shook her head and proceeded to fall in directly behind Hikari.
"Not entirely sure if that's what I meant..." Hikari muttered.
[Briefing Room, Deck 1]
The First Officer was the first one in the briefing room. She had reviewed the written background material, organized it, put copies on PADDs, one for each senior officer, and arrived early to set them out on the desk.
She had not had a chance to formally meet each of the senior staff, though she had spoken and mingled with most of them after the concert. This would be a good chance to make sure that everyone knew the role and experience of everyone else.
Organizing it all was something of a Yeoman's job, but she had not yet picked someone from the crew to work for her directly. There were too many variables, and in truth she didn't yet know how she wanted to work, how she wanted to manage the crew. So for now she didn't mind setting out PADDs or putting coffee, tea, and water pitchers on the table.
When everything was just right, Commander Fan Shuren stood by her seat and waited for the officers to trickle in.
At last, launch day was finally here. That meant that Naoe would finally be able to see for herself what the Yorktown was capable of. Of course, before the fun could begin, there was a briefing scheduled for 1000 hours. One where she was likely going to be beaten over the head by the woes of the Annexari by that bitch from the holodeck. Naoe already couldn't wait for the briefing to be over.
However, to keep up appearances, Naoe took the time to iron and press and her uniform and polish her shoes so that the Yorktown's flight control chief looked crisp and sharp as she arrived to the briefing and wordlessly took her seat.
Paisley hurried in, stuffing the last bit of her breakfast into her mouth as she did. Launch day was always a hot mess for certain departments- Operations among them. She'd already had to put out several small proverbial fires, but things were going more smoothly, the Computer core was on, fired up, and ready to go, her new staff was briefed in and prepared, and she was raring to go. Breakfast had had to take a backseat to work, but she didn't mind. It was a waffle with no syrup, half a yogurt, and some coffee. The rest of the yogurt was...somewhere. Oh well. She placed her coffee, PADD, and a variety of tools that were in her hands down on the table, and sat. "Hello!" She said, with a friendly smile. She glanced down-her uniform was still ok. No stains yet. Good.
Minerva breezed in carrying both a PADD and a notepad made of paper carried in the crook of one arm, a large cup of something with a top on it held in the other, the bright blue uniform and crisp clean skirt overlaid by a white doctor's jacket that had a pencil and a stylus tucked neatly into one pocket, but not buttoned in any way, shape or form. The two shining pips on her collar belied the look that she'd graduated from high school a couple of years ago and must be in the Academy, not a real doctor, while her strawberry blonde hair cascaded down her back. She smiled at everyone as she entered before picking out a seat and sliding into it. She set up her paper and PADD side by side, placing stylus and pencil down precisely next to each one, "Good morning, Paisley, how's everything treating you?"
"Hey! Everything is good," she said. "No major problems. We're set to launch," she said. "How are things in your department? How are the kids?" She asked.
Naoe stole a quick glance in the doctor's direction. While she didn't intend to judge Minerva's priorities, Naoe was at least expecting to hear a thank you in regards to a recent delivery she had made to Minerva's niece: A Twingo plushie autographed by the Yellow Rider herself. Naoe had dropped the special parcel outside the quarters where Lavina resided in a touch and go delivery and that was the last she had seen of it. Naturally, Naoe had a nagging curiosity as to whether or not Lavina liked it.
Perhaps that was the consequence of sticking to her friend circle that night at Moonlight Oasis...
PADD clasped in both hands at the small of her back, Sakaan walked in to the Briefing Room, eyes darting hither and thither, taking in the crisp, cool style Starfleet seemed to have adopted for the twenty-fifth century. No carpet beneath my feet still takes some getting used to. Spying the Doctor and First Officer, she favoured them with her 'friendly' nod, and allowed the other Senior Officers, to who she had not introduced herself, her 'professional' nod. Not that non-Vulcans would be able to tell the difference. Seeing the First Officer stood behind her chair, Sakaan selected her own, and stood behind it.
Paisley smiled at the other woman's cursory nod. "Hello!! I am Lt. Paisley F'rar, Chief of Ops," she said, by way of introduction.
A flash of purple entered next as Halcyon kept mumbling to himself while looking at his PADD, as if he was trying to get his mouth around some unfamiliar word. He nearly felt around for the chair in front of him so he wouldn't have to look up as he finally nodded at his pronunciation of whatever it was he was trying to say, then looked up and around, smiling at Minerva and then Paisley before recognizing someone else, "Lieutenant Kanno, my sister-in-law tells me that you're responsible for making my daughter extremely happy. She's already put that plush at the head of her bed where she used to have my Equinox gift from four years ago. I never thought she'd get something that could take that spot!"
Naoe looked up at Halcyon with a smirk.
"Your daughter has great taste in content creators." She said.
The doors of the room opened and in trotted the small Asobi chief engineer. Her tail swished behind her as she made her way towarda an available chair and sat down.
Ash rushed into the room shortly after the chief, out of breath. She stood for a moment before starting towards the closest empty chair. "Sorry I'm late, I got bogged down on reports."
Right as everyone was getting settled in, the doors to the conference room opened and Captain Karibuchi entered, followed closely by General Shastakar.
"Captain," Shuren said from behind her chair, "the senior staff is present and accounted for." She nodded to the general and then took her seat.
"Fantastic," Hikari smiled as she took her seat. "Well, then, now that everyone's here, let's go around the table for a quick introduction. I'll start this off; my name is Commander Hikari Karibuchi, and I am the Commanding officer of this vessel; my sister and I have lived and breathed this organization since we were in diapers, so it should come as no surprise that we have very lofty expectations as to what we expect out of our crews. But on the same token, I don't want any of you here thinking you can't take your concerns to me just because I hold the center chair; if you've got something to say, then my door is always open."
She glanced over at Shuren. "Commander, what's say you go next?"
Shuren nodded. A full set of introductions was a good idea. Not everyone necessarily had met everyone else yet.
“Good morning, my name is Fan Shuren. Commander Fan when on duty, but Shuren when we’re not. I was a security officer from 2390, and fought at Hobson Delta II during Gatecrasher. I was Second Officer on the Phobos for a while but this is my first real command experience. I’ll do my best not to let you down.”
So, the Captain had opted to go for a round of introductions... Naoe knew that it would be detrimental to wait until last to go, so, as the first officer finished speaking, Naoe made her move:
"The name's Lieutenant Naoe Kanno. I'm not one for big, long-winded speeches, so I'll keep this simple and give you 3 tips to not get on my bad side: " She said, retracting two of her fingers and leaving one to begin with. "1: Don't ever ask about my bandage: That's none of your business. 2: If you wish for your shuttles to be maintained properly, do not ask me to turn down the music. 3: That weird thing I've seen a few of you ogling in shuttlebay is called a Twingo. It's not currently authorized for official ship's use, and paperwork will be required to use it in an official capacity."
Shuren bit her lip to hold in a laugh and hide a smile. “Is that an official request to work with me to start the paperwork?” she asked, mirth barely concealed.
Naoe turned towards Shuren, the pilot clearly not amused.
"What's a 400 year old automobile worth to you?" She said in a low tone, agitation clearly present.
"I can see some use cases for it," Shuren replied. "And the Captain's insurance is paid up." She looked to the next person in the table to move the topic along.
'Lieutenant Commander Sakaan, Chief Intelligence Officer,' Sakaan spoke softly, but firmly into the silence following the two's interaction. 'Starfleet veteran of fifty years. I've faced many situations, seen a few sights that would make non-Fleeters quail, but this is my first mission not directly related to combat in many years.' She looked around the table, 'I'm looking forward to getting to know the next generation of Starfleet better.'
The purple uniformed officer took up the challenge next, "Lieutenant Halcyon Attixx, Diplomatic Officer." His light purple dyed hair and lavender eyes went very well with his uniform, "I've been here and there during my career, consider me a font of knowledge about the inner workings of most of our major potential adversaries and even many of our major member worlds and some of our more obscure allies." He gave a slightly cryptic smile, "Of course, speaking of which..." He gestured to Minerva, who rolled her eyes.
"Fine, fine. What Hal didn't mention is that I'm his sister-in-law, from that 'obscure ally' world of Roma Nueva." The redhead shook her head, looking even younger than she already did, "Despite what it looks like, I'm not a teenager escaped from the Academy, I'm thirty-six and a full Lieutenant as well as the Chief Medical Officer on board, Minerva Zephyrin. I know most of you were there at the opening of the lounge with my younger sister Beatrix, plus you'll find my older sister Octavia around on board because she followed Halcyon here. It's a relative older and younger, because we were born eighteen minutes apart from first to last." The young-looking woman shrugged, "But as for me, I'm a very hands-on doctor and prefer doing things the old-fashioned way, but in no way will that affect your level of care in my hands. I've seen most everything of what people do to themselves and what one being can do to another, so you are in good hands, I promise."
Paisley laughed a little. "Nice to meet you," she said. "I am Paisley. Chief Operations Officer. I hope we can work together a lot," she said. "I am half Bajoran, half Cardassian. I was raised all over, but most recently of Cardassia Prime," she said. Her childhood was still a bit of a sore spot, really. "So just let me know if you need anything at all," she said. She opened her mouth to go on, but realized she was in a staff meeting, so she immediately shut her mouth again. Paisley could TALK, left to her own devices, and while she was generally friendly and well-intentioned, if one was more introverted, they could be easily bombarded by her bombastic personality.
"Don't let my children hear you say that, or you'll be bombarded with messages and requests twenty-four hours a day." Halcyon got out with a chuckle, "Lavina for sure would demand, very politely of course, some sort of go-cart that she could drive around the corridors late at night, to 'practice' she'd say." He shook his head with a grin, "Kids, what can I say?"
Fran was quietly observing. Finally she spoke. "Lieutenant Fran. Chief Engineer," she said simply. She wasn't one of many words, so she kept it sweet and simple.
Shortly after Fran spoke, Ashlynn realized she was the last person who still needed to introduce themselves. She spoke up, "Lieutenant Commander Ashlynn Regan, Chief Science Officer. If you have any questions regarding science or the past, I'm your girl" she quipped. "I also happen to know a thing or two about intel, like Commander Sakaan."
The First Officer, having heard everyone, nodded, and looked to their invited guest. "General Shastakar. We would welcome some words of introduction from you as well."
General Shastakar appeared somewhat skeptical as to whether or not this was at all necessary, but after quickly glancing about the room and realizing that everyone was looking at her expectantly for an introduction, she rolled her eyes and let out an audible sigh.
"General Yulena Shastakar, Ground Forces Sub-Commander for the People's Revolutionary Army of Annexar," she stated gruffly. "That is all you need to know."
And, when it became clear that General Shastakar had nothing further in which to share, Hikari turned back to the assemblage and continued.
"Now, as I'm sure you're all aware, the Yorktown is the latest addition to the Constitution III family, and the first such vessel to be assigned to Starfleet's prestigious Seventh Fleet; I won’t bore you with her illustrious history, but I will say she was designed to be the perfect balance between a science vessel and a battlecruiser- big claims, coming from a vessel that very nearly skimped out on the science facilities during her construction, but in my personal opinion, she is an ideal fit for our upcoming assignment..."
She looked over at Shuren and nodded. "Commander, if you'd care to take it from here?"
“Yes, ma’am.” Shuren stood and walked to a monitor on the wall behind the Captain, who had to shift her chair to the side to see it properly. “Bottom line up front, our mission is to provide assistance and support to the Annexari people, who have until quite recently suffered under first a totalitarian regime and then a violent civil war.” The monitor displayed images shared by the provisional government, showing the worst the war had to offer. Brutal repression, starving masses, killing in the streets.
Naoe remained silent and emotionless. The images of death and destruction that flashed before her were of a similar kind of hell she had experienced in Crimea, though her left pointer and middle fingers subconsciously moved up to her cheek to touch her bandage.
Paisley watched as the images appeared. She lowered her eyes a moment-a lot of memories of what she'd learned about the Occupation, plus the beginning of the Dominion war to decimate her own people (perhaps a bit...earned. No. Definitely). Still, she simply nodded. "Peacekeeping, then," she said, quietly.
Ashlynn stared at the screen with a blank expression. She had left Earth before things back home had gotten real bad. She was grateful for this, but it still affected her. The history of the Annexari was very similar to Earth in the mid-21st century, and she didn't like that one bit. It was a fate she would never wish on anyone.
Minerva grimaced at the images and made mental notes to make sure that she had large amounts of medical supplies ready for whenever they landed on the surface. And an expanded medical team, if at all possible. Disasters had been a part of her makeup even before joining Starfleet, after she'd graduated, she'd gone on to help with even more of them.
General Shastakar, for her part, was eerily silent; though it was impossible to say what exactly was running through her mind without walking a mile in her shoes, but a certain emptiness that resonated in her eyes as the images of death and destruction flashed across the screen indicated that these were painful memories for her.
The images were replaced by a map of Annexari space. “The territory of what used to be called the Annexari Socialist Republic is located in Sector 5591, on the far side of Romulan space. The former regime rejected diplomatic relations with the Federation after first contact nearly one hundred and fifteen years ago, but the provisional government has made overtures, requesting aid in stabilizing their situation. Helping restore food security, law enforcement, that sort of thing. Any questions so far?”
Paisley shook her head no. She had no questions just yet. She'd have more when they got closer, she knew...like what kind of services she could expect out there. She didn't have high hopes.
"Sounds like quite a lot for one ship to handle alone." Naoe piped up. "I assume we won't be the only ship out there? One ship society building is generally set aside for the Enterprise."
"And you would be right, Lieutenant," Hikari agreed. "And so to that end, Starfleet is in the process of organizing a task force with which to coordinate relief efforts. We hope to eventually expand our presence in the sector to at least 30 ships, but due to... external factors, we have to be careful in how quickly we grow our operations there..."
She turned to Sakaan and Ashlynn. "...Which brings us to our next point; Commanders, since you've been looking into this matter, I believe the two of you should take it from here?"
Paisley nodded her understanding. Perfect. She preferred the mighty force of the Fleet, rather than being a sitting duck, personally, but on the other hand, she was half-Cardassian and probably could handle it herself. She didn't want to, though-she never did.
'The Annexari border runs up against the Romulan Empire,' Sakaan continued, voice devoid of emotion. 'As we well know, the Romulans are suspicious of Federation motives. Simply put, they will simply not believe that our intentions are philanthropic and neighbourly in intent. Their lens will distort our motives and point towards the further undermining of their Empire. Though they have been greatly concerned with their own internal matters for a number of years, the arrival of a Starfleet vessel in their near abroad will put them on alert, and there is always the risk of adventurism from amongst their Naval contingent.'
'That is the general situation. There are always backchannels, and work to minimise risks, but it cannot be guaranteed, of course.'
Sakaan paused, looked around the table waiting for any questions.
"And in part, that's where I come into play." Halcyon pointed out, "Relations with the Romulans are still balanced on the same razor's edge that they always are and they do believe the Annexari are within their own natural sphere of influence and not that of the Federation." He glanced around, then back to Sakaan, "Do we happen to know who they have in command of their Fleet units in the area, Commander? I'd like to do some research into anything we know about them prior to running into them."
'Admiral Belol Jalem,' Sakaan replied after consulting her PADD for a moment and bringing up the relevant entry. 'From a prominent military family, Jalem is a middle-aged Romulan officer and, as with most of his generation, achieved distinction during the Dominion War. Managed to survive the Shinzon coup by dint of being far away from Romulus and Remus and has thrived in the chaotic decades since.' She shrugged, 'that's the intelligence that we have. Barebones, no indications as to his political inclinations, but he seems loyal enough to the current regime.'
Ash looked at Sakaan before turning to the rest of the group. "I believe I can also help a little. "An old contact of my former CO in the Cardassian Government may know some information regarding the Romulan fleets, but it will take some time to reach them" she offered.
"And we may just take you up on that offer, Commander," Hikari nodded before turning her attention back towards the assemblage. "So by now, everyone here should understand our predicament- we have at least 3 dozen worlds that are relying on us for vital aid, and yet we have to be careful about how quickly we grow our operations in the sector, lest we jeopardize our relations with the Star Empire. That means- at least for the first few weeks- that the Yorktown will be the only ship operating out of Annexari space. I won't sugarcoat it for you guys, this mission is going to be a tall order- and certainly not one for the faint of heart; but if Starfleet didn't have the fullest confidence in your abilities, then you wouldn't have been hand-picked for this assignment."
She leaned back in her chair. "Any other questions?"
Fran raised a hand. "I should mention that we have a new device built into this ship that can help us with providing this aid." She stated. She reached out and pressed her own controls on the table. "The Yorktown is the first ship to carry the new type of Industrial Replicators. Capable of replicating anything from bulk food rations to shuttlecraft. However it does require a lot of power."
That seemed to get Hikari's interest. "About how much power are we talking, Lieutenant?"
Fran seemed to ponder for a moment. "Not enough unless we all want only soup to eat for a couple of days," she stated.
"Well, I could see how that could potentially be a problem..." Hikari surmised.
"Ugh, soup?" Naoe spoke up, strong disgust evident in her tone. "Is that really the default emergency power setting?"
Fran looked over at Naoe. "Soup can be an essential for survival." she stated. "All of my children enjoy soup."
"Soup is good for the soul, Lieutenant," Shuren said to Naoe, agreeing with the chief engineer. "I assume stabilizing power reserves and energy resources on a given planet would be a relatively high priority. Food and health security come easier if we aren't operating in blackout conditions. How would the replicator fare if plugged directly into planetary scale power generators?" In the XO's experience, planets with stable energy sources tended to produce in the excess, with maintenance and distribution being much more serious challenges than wattage.
Fran pondered for a brief moment. "Fine" she said. "It would work fine. Modifications to our power network would be needed however."
'That shouldn't be a problem for our Engineers,' Sakaan observed. 'Particularly if the Annexari are willing to share their specifications ahead of time so that we may study them in good time for our arrival.'
"Just one more thing, Captain." Minerva raised one hand slightly, having been making notes on her PADD, clearly numbers for anyone who glanced at it, "If we rely on only the replicator aboard Yorktown, with a conservative population of 300 million, give or take, per planet with a minimum of 36 planets.... If all we pump out are the most basic ration packs with a volume of a hundred in a cubic meter, we would need a volume of nine million cubic meters of rations per planet per day if we go for three meals a day." She scrolled up to verify her numbers, "So replicating thirty-two point four Billion per day, not counting the distribution of same. Realistically, we would want to set up regional manufactories surrounded by shuttle landing pads for distribution to cities and villages. I've got the design for that from my time aboard the Ayanami and I can coordinate with Lieutenant Fran regarding them. Disaster relief is what I was doing on Ayanami and Richelieu. Sheer numbers are doable, distribution is the hard part."
Shuren nodded, "Distribution is indeed the hard part. The more local we can work, the better. Beyond replicator stations attached to shuttlepad-equipped distribution centres. I propose developing plans to putting food replicator infrastructure in as many communities as possible. There will be areas where the population is too sparse for it to be practical, but even smaller towns should expect some kind of local food production." She looked Minerva, then Fran, then Paisley. "We will make logistical plans together while on route."
"Well, then," Hikari nodded. "I think that about wraps up the briefing; we're scheduled to launch at 1200, so this meeting is hereby dismissed."
“Yes, ma’am,” the XO said, the first on her feet after the dismissal. “We’ll all be ready.”
Posting by (In order of appearance):
Commander Hikari Karibuchi
Commanding Officer, USS Yorktown (NCC-91781)
General Yulena Shastakar
Annexari Special Representative
Commander Fan Shuren
Executive Officer, USS Yorktown (NCC-91781)
Lieutenant Naoe Kanno
Chief Flight Control Officer, USS Yorktown (NCC-91781)
Lieutenant Paisley F'Rar
Chief Operations Officer, USS Yorktown (NCC-91781)
Lieutenant Minerva Zephyrin
Chief Medical Officer, USS Yorktown (NCC-91781)
Lieutenant Commander Sakaan
Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Yorktown (NCC-91781)
Lieutenant Halcyon Attixx
Chief Diplomatic Officer, USS Yorktown (NCC-91781)
Lieutenant Fran
Chief Engineer, USS Yorktown (NCC-91781)
Lieutenant Commander Ashlynn Regan
Chief Science Officer, USS Yorktown (NCC-91781)
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