Pomp and Circumstance

Ceremonies...Jureth hated them, always had. He even tried to find a way to skip his Academy graduation ceremony, but Professor Tuvok had found out and had Academy security escort him to the parade ground. He looked at the chronometer on the desk of his assigned quarters at Starbase Ten, and then tugged at the collar of his dress uniform, he hated the blasted thing. Jureth stood up and glanced in the mirror one more time looking at the lieutenant's pips that had replaced the four captain's pips he'd worn when in command of the Alsea. It wasn't that Fleet Captain Samji had told him his promotion was no longer in effect, but he assumed that once the mission was complete he would go back to his previous rank. He adjusted the phaser on his belt, refusing to even go to an awards ceremony without it, and then his door chime rang.

"Come in." he called

Catherine Steele walked in, dressed similarly to Jureth complete with phaser.

"Are you ready yet," she asked

"Do I have to go?" Jureth replied

"Yes, you have to go, and since Tuvok isn't here to have security escort you I guess I'll have to do."

She grabbed his arm and Jureth feigned resistance before allowing her to pull him out the door.

"You look good without the scar Oseno, dashing even" she said with a wink

"I don't know about that but I'll take a compliment where I can get it."

The two security officers rode the turbolift to the appropriate deck, exited and followed another group of attendees into the banquet hall. Jureth took in the holograms of the ships of Lotus Fleet his eyes settling on the hologram of the Alsea. It was going to be a shame to leave her, but from what he had heard she would fly again...someday. He saw Fleet Captain Samji making rounds and greeting guests, and then from behind him he heard a familiar voice.

"Lieutenant Oseno, it's good to see you again."

Jureth turned and came face to face with the always striking Rachelle Rivers. He had heard that she had recovered from her injuries, but he hadn't had the opportunity to seek her out until now. Her red hair was tied back into a perfect tight pony tail behind her head, and her features showed no signs of the trauma she had suffered in the battle with the Romulans.

"Captain," Jureth replied warmly "I"m glad you're up and about."

"I hear I have you to thank for that, and for bringing the Alsea home as well."

"It was my job Sir." Oseno replied remembering that Rivers was not keen on being addressed as Ma'am.

"Still, it couldn't have been easy," she said "I read some of the reports, and your tactics against the Undine were superb."

"Thank you Captain, that means a lot coming from you."

"You're welcome Lieutenant,"

Jureth saw her gaze begin to drift and he followed it and saw Fleet Captain Samji heading their way..

"Good to see you up and about and back in charge of the Alsea, Captain," Samji said to Rivers.

"Thanks, Fleet Captain, it's good to be back. I'm just sorry I wasn't able to help when you really needed me, but I'm anxious to return to duty."

Fleet Captain Samji put his hand on Jureth's shoulder and said, "You had a fine stand-in who is sure to work his way back up to the position quite soon. Come speak to me later, Mister Oseno. and we can figure out where you'll be best suited. I think you've earned at least the ability to choose your own posting even if a position of Captain is no longer available."

Jureth nodded "Yes Sir, I will do that, and thank you for giving me that option, I know you don't have to. If I have to leave the Alsea I wouldn't rather see her in any other hands than Captain Rivers."

"Thank you, Lieutenant, Fleet Captain," she said to each, nodding in turn, and then said, "I will take my leave of you, there's someone I'm anxious to speak to."

She turned away and walked toward the Starbase 10 table, where Lieutenant Commander Joseph Daystrom Sisko was seated.

He had not felt like speaking to anyone since his return from the Horizon's Children, so he kept alone to himself, hoping to just get through the ceremony and back to his quarters where he had been trying to piece together what had happened.

He then saw his friend who he had previously worked with in the Borg War and had developed feelings for at one point, walk toward him, her beautiful milky face framed by stunning red hair, and donned in a white uniform with the white vest portion denoting the Captain's rank. It was odd... the last time he had seen her, she was a Lieutenant, still at a lower rank than him, and now he stood before him in an authority that made him shift uncomfortably before standing up at attention, as was typical when meeting a Captain for the first time or after a prolonged time away.

"At ease, Commander," she said with her typical sheepish grin, that belied her wish to be a Tactical and Security Lieutenant again.

"Captain," Joey said in response and then took his seat after she did. "Congratulations are in order, I guess. The last time I saw you you were a Lieutenant."

She gave him a look of slight irritation and said, "Call me Rachele, please." She then said, "Thank you Joey. But... I still haven't had much experience with it. My real first command put me in a coma."

"Hopefully your next one will go smoother. Do you know where they're sending you?"

"Patrolling the Klingon border. It should be relatively quiet; it seems they have taken heavy losses, and are fearful of Undine retribution. It is good to have someone else on our side, for once. We owe it all to Lieutenant Oseno there," she said, nodding in his direction. "He showed them mercy and made them realize the error of their xenophobic ways."

"Quite an impressive achievement," Sisko said. He then turned and directed his gaze squarely and wholly into her eyes. "I'm sure you will prove yourself equally capable, Rachele, as I have always known you would."

"Thank you, Joey. That means a lot... really."

She then shifted out of his gaze uncomfortably so he couldn't see a slight tear begin to form in her right eye and cleared her throat. "How about you?" she said, with a greater vocal dynamic so as to make it clear to those around her that she was maintaining distance as a Captain should. "Have they assigned you to a vessel yet?"

"Not yet," he said. "I hope to just continue on as an Engineer or Science officer." He had been an engineer by trade, but studied science, specifically cybernetics, at the Academy. His grades in both fields were excellent, so his options were quite open.

"Hopefully it is quiet so I can continue working on the project I started before the Borg War," he continued. "I want to integrate the neural matrix of a hologram into the positronic body of an android. It would allow a hologram to temporarily take complete human form for away missions. If I am successful, it would provide even more freedom and equal rights to the hologram than is even afforded by a portable holoemitter."

"That would be quite an impressive feat, Joey," Rivers responded, impressed. "You'd be a Soong and a Zimmerman combined if you could pull that off."

"Well maybe," Joey said, modestly. "They are the ones that created each piece from scratch. I'd just be putting them together. It's not quite as impressive as either one individually."

"Regardless, every vessel nowadays contains an EMH and even sometimes an ECH and ESHes," he said, referring to the lesser known Emergency Command Hologram and Emergency Security Holograms. "What I hope to do is to request that one of the android Starfleet officers be on my team and would agree to help me with the project."

"Well I just know if you do, you'll succeed," Rivers said, confidently. "Excuse me Joey, I think I will rejoin the Alsea table. It looks like Fleet Captain Samji may be itching to start the ceremony soon. Take care, my friend."

"Be safe, Rachele," Joey said, standing up as she did. She hadn't mentioned anything about the incident and his role in the Horizon's Children group, whether brainwashed or not. He was thankful for that, because it reminded him that he should only look forward, to the future, not back. He would stop feeling sorry for himself, and prove himself as an officer and a scientist.

He watched her walk away with a slight longing before taking his seat again to wait for the proceedings to begin.

Jureth watched as Rivers walked away and observed as she interacted with the man Jureth only knew as the one the Cardassian had rescued from the Horizon's children.

"Something between those two.." he said quietly to Cat Steele

"Ya think?" she said sarcastically "doesn't take a warp theorist to see that."

"We might as well sit down," Jureth replied "I'm sure the Fleet Captain will want to begin soon."

Cat nodded and the two security officers moved casually through the crowd towards where the crew of the Alsea was seated.