Posted by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in The Advent of New Directives

Posted by Commander Shedda Mal’athar (Executive Officer) in The Advent of New Directives

Posted by Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in The Advent of New Directives

(snip)

Shedda gave a brief but clear nod, “Aye Sir.” Standing between the science and engineering stations, the doors for turbolift 2 and the main briefing room behind her, and the comm station in front of her. She choose, on purpose, to walk over the engineering station. She knew herself and she’d get lost in conversation with the science officer. She glanced over the readouts. There was no areas of damage to the ship needing repair, but engineering was always busy. Small things that were constantly required to keep the ship running. Shedda pointed to a section on the display of the systems power systems where power had been routed away from the area. “What’s going on here, Lt?” Her tone conveyed curiosity. There were no alarms going off so nothing serious, but it was her job to know.

Mal’athar, XO

“Thats the auxiliary bridge, Commander. Full system wipe and reinstall being prepped, Ma’am.” they replied. The Lieutenant looked at her said “If I may, Commander… is it true? You got so fixated on excavating single piece of tile that you forgot the planet you were on froze over every night and missed your shuttle? And they had to do an emergency teleport and when you arrived you were still on your hands and knees scraping away?” Another voice, from the helm this time, said “No no, that was the planet with nocturnal tornadoes she forgot about. The frozen one was when she was arguing with a civilian archeologist and he called her a name and she threw a rock at him. Except it wasn’t a rock, it was 12,000 year old skull.” “Thats not right!” said the comms officer. She turned and looked at the helmsman. “The skull was on the pleasure planet colony. You know, where the only way she was allowed to go to the excavation site was to strip down? They had to glue her commbadge onto her-“ “Wrong.” said the Operations officer. “That was the Risian cultural exchange between the Ferengi and the Holstruk Clan of the Dotulans… you know, where she inadvertently proposed to the Clan’s matriarch.” “No, that was when-” and the bridge conversation devolved into a convoluted mash-up of many of the more ‘colorful’ segments of the new XO’s Star Fleet Career.

Manhattan Bridge Crew

Shedda took it in stride. Some of the stories that followed her were amusing, others irritating, and some insulting, and some - the reality was a better story. Shedda leaned back against the corner of a bulkhead, arms crossed listening, her face expressionless and let them talk. When they finally settled down she uncrossed her arms and moved around the edge of the bridge where she could be seen. “No that isn’t quite true. Was I so fixed on a dig I was beamed aboard still working? Yes. Was it on Yuvn IV? No. Did I miss the shuttle? No. The shuttle was blown up. And that single piece of tile was actually a full cartouche depicting the location of a royal archive that helped settle peace between to waring factions. That piece was worth every single phaser shot aimed at me.”

“It was not a skull it was a mummified baby, and I didn’t throw her. The cave was collapsing and I didn’t want to leave her there and he wanted to get out. Or was it just that he called me a name? I can’t really remember. And nocturnal tornado isn’t quite right. That was a different planet and tornado doesn’t translate well. It’s actually an animal. Think a cross between a tarkazian razor beast and a terran cheetah.”

“Muyha II was the frozen planet. Our team was working on in depth excavations and rebuilding when the ship got called away. They forgot to send down my inhibitor before they left. It was 2 weeks late returning. The pleasure planet…they didn’t use glue, I wore it as a head band. And the Risan Cultural exchange is an event I look forward to it every year. The Deltan representative and I have a long standing friendship.”

She turned her gaze on the Operations officer. “No the Ferengi were not at the cultural exchange. They always try to acquire ‘souvenirs’ that aren’t theirs. You’re thinking Dotula 6. The Holstruk Clan required a mediator to dispute the wrongful procurement of precious historical documents and heirlooms with the Ferengi. In order to represent the matriarch of the Holstruk Clan one must be considered a prime choice as a suitor. I was more than happy to propose to her - Brilliant woman. We aren’t likely to run into her here but be sure to review customs of the cultures we encounter, Lt Cmdr.” How much was true and how much she was making up was anyone’s guess. Her face was too stern to know.

Mal’athar, XO

“Listen, if you are going to be the XO of the Manhattan Commander, first lesson is we may mock our own… but nobody outside of the ship gets that privilege.” Cochrane said from the door to the Ready Room. “Now then… Introductions are in order.” and Cochrane nodded to the comms officer. She stood up and smiled. “Commander. Lieutenant Junior Grade Kiamara Hollis, Comms Officer. Graduated second overall at the Academy and was selected by Captain Cochrane for the Manhattan a year and a half ago. I also made out with my boyfriend in the transporter room and ended up beaming my uniform top to bridge.” and she blushed slightly and sat down. Next the helmsman stood up. “Lieutenant Grt’jad, Commander. Helm operations officer. Qualified to helm every class of science vessel with combat endorsements in over seventy-five percent of them. I can make a shuttle or runabout dance a jig as well. Oh, and I once fell asleep at an awards ceremony where the citation was being awarded by the Commanding Admiral of Star Fleet. I was asleep when the awardee was called to receive their commendation. Yeah… I was the awardee.” He sat back down and one by one each and every member on the bridge introduced themselves, told a fact about them that set them apart from the norm… and something that brought them right back down to reality. When they finished, Cochrane smiled and said “Captain Alexander Cochrane. I graduated second in my class at the Klingon War College, first human to achieve that high a mark. And I once mistook a Takaren ambassador for a server and ordered a drink from them.” and he chuckled.

Cochrane, CO

Shedda listened, impressed. Cochrane had certainly put together an impressive crew. One or two officers on a ship with such outstanding accomplishments was normal, the whole bridge crew? That was hard, Shedda would take the bet it wasn’t just the bridge crew either. She didn’t laugh at their misfortune, but there was a good-natured shared understanding in her gaze. “Commander Shedda Mal’athar. I am the first non-Federation member and science officer to be named a permanent Honor Guard for the Star Fleet Memorial Garden. I was on a dig on Golana and they have these huge, size of a Klingon fist huge, flying insects. Look like a cross of a dragon fly and a scorpion and they’re deadly poisonous. We were using a repulser beam shield to keep them out. Well one got inside the shield, and I grabbed a metal collecting tray to swat at it. It landed on the forehead of the the Bajoran Archeological Chancellor, who had come to inquire on our progress…I smacked him so hard in the head with the tray I knocked him unconscious. I killed the bug…then found out that one wasn’t poisonous, the venom sacks had been removed…it was the chancellor’s ‘pet’.”

Cmdr Mal’athar, XO

Several eyes went wide, but then everyone chuckled. Grt’jad smiled and said “No worries, Commander. I’m sure he had it coming.” and everyone laughed a bit harder. Cochrane even chuckled and shook his head slightly, looking down and shaking his head. “Okay… enough hazing of the new XO for now. Back to work. Grt’jad, ETA to the comet?” Grt’jad spun back and said immediately “Rendezvous in twenty-six hours, eleven minutes, Captain.” Cochrane nodded and looked at the Science officer who immediately said “Probes set and ready for launch. We’ll send as soon as we are firmly in range, Captain.” “All scans of the area show zero vessel traffic at intercept point, Captain. But it is known Bislid territory, so I let the Diplomatic Attache know to be ready.” said the Tactical Officer. Cochrane nodded and said “Good work. Alert me when we are three hours away. Commander, if you please.” and he gestured into the Ready Room.

The office was organized, but had the feel of both authority… and peace. Two bookcases on one wall stood with shelves lined with actual books behind their glass doors. Pictures had been mounted around the room showing both places and people, many of them featuring the same person. Various odds and ends graced places here and there. Displayed prominently, however, alone on a shelf high up on the wall directly behind the desk that sat opposite the door, was the lone figure of a gold Ox. Lighting had been directed so that it drew the eye of anyone who came through the door almost immediately. Directly below that hung a coat, obviously on display and not being worn. It was a ridiculous combination of black and the kind of red only seen where intimate services were bought and sold. A truly obnoxious fur collar crowned the neckline… it was truly the kind of coat that would… could… only be worn by people going by aliases like ‘Velvet Jones’, ‘Iceberg Slim’, or ‘Smooth McGovern’.

Cochrane took a seat at the desk and said “Please, help yourself to something to drink if you like Commander. And then you can tell me what brought you to the Manhattan.”

Cochrane, CO

Shedda looked around the office, she liked it. She considered the room from an anthropologists’ point of view. In centuries to come what would they make of this room if found amongst the ruins? The items seemed to indicate a man of intelligence and self assurance and compassion. The coat…would raise questions, it seemed so out of character based on her very brief interactions with Cochrane. But then again, maybe not. The possibility of an interesting story and puzzle there. Shedda stepped over to the replicator, “Earth Mixed Berry juice, cold.” She picked up the chilled clear glass filled with a clear purple liquid and took a sip as she made her way over towards the chairs.

“One does not go into the command track to sit stagnant in their career. I saw the opening and put my name in as it were. As I said before I’ve followed the development of the Manhattan ship design. To work on the science vessel of the fleet was an opportunity I wanted. Even though I’m not here strictly as a scientist.” For the first time there was an unguarded smile, reflecting her passion and excitement for her work. “So few have actually been to the Delta Quadrant. New species and cultures to learn about and document, ancient civilizations that no one knew existed before, to be the first to discover them. To map areas of space and encounter new and unknown phenomena. All reason I decided to try for the executive officer position.” There were of course much more personal reasons, but Shedda kept those strictly to herself and a few select confidants.

Mal’athar, XO

Cochrane chuckled. “Oh I think you will be very surprised at the amount of cross-traffic there is here. So far I’ve met as many species that I already knew as I have new ones. But we have made some new friends… met a few old enemies. But we have really just barely scraped the surface here. We still have a lot of area to cover. And with that… how long do you see yourself here, Commander? And what do you hope to achieve while you are here?”

Cochrane, CO

“Here on the Manhattan? Years. There is a lot to learn, a great deal of experience for me to gain, and when I make a decisions about my career I look at long term. Outside of that, eventually, when Event Horizon is complete, Star Fleet is going to want more than one ship in the Delta Fleet. My goal is to be the captain of that ship.”\

Mal’athar, XO