First Meetings

After leaving the captain's ready room, Aron'Son strode out onto the bridge of his new home and stopped. He examined the bridge noting layout, entrances, exits, Jeffries tube hatches, and tactical advantage points. No soldier ever expected their ship to be boarded, but Aron'Son knew that it was better to be prepared for the unlikely than to be surprised by it. As he scanned the area, he noted the giant Andorian female that had met him in the transporter room standing at the tactical station, and a Romulan sitting at the engineering station. The Romulan was a curiosity, and perhaps he would speak with him, but at the moment it was the Andorian he was concerned with and he approached her.

"I do not wish to interrupt you, Lieutenant, but I would like to be informed regarding all current security procedures, and any issues that require immediate attention. As I understand you have been running my department it is a necessity that I secure all applicable information and current standing orders from you." 

Coming to her towering height, Tyvya nevertheless spoke with all the deference due to a fellow officer.

"You are Chief now, Sir. You are not interrupting me; you are sollicitating my attention for the next task at hand."

She then ran her fingers on the console and the data screen besides the tactical display showed the ship's security manual.

 It is true that I have been running the tactical and security department on and off since I first came under Captain Kheren, back on the days he took the same responsibilties as you do now, on the flagship Lotus; and then again when he became commanding officer of the Artemis. But you are here now, obviously because you have what it takes; I'll be happy to second you from now on. In fact, it will make things somewhat easier; being one of his wives sometimes complicate professional rapport with some officers. But in your case, and with you now giving the orders, I beleive it will be no problem at all." 

Her long, nailess finger pointed to the display.

"Everything you need to know is right there, Sir. The captain himself is a former officer of our line of work, so his security and tactical requirements are rather... stringent and quite elaborate. more than a few in your place broke teeth and nails over them... Take the time to review them. I am as well  available to answer any question you may have."

Then she looked at him with eyes like blue ice under the sun.

"Our immediate concern is the upcoming boarding of nearly three thousand civilians and their colonization material, ensuring that said cargo is safe and secured and that they have only access to appropriate but non essential sections of the ship and necessary facilities with no connection to any vital area, personnel or ressource while they will be on board."

Her gaze then shifted momentarily to the door of the captain's office.

"Expect to have to implement yellow alert internal condition for the whole trip."

"Such a fun trip this is going to be..."

The off-hand command was whispered by the copper-skinned, dark-haired Human at the next station, that of the helm, who was apparently finishing some simulation exercise of piloting through what had vaguely appeared to be a strange mix of nebula and wormhole conditions. Realizing that he had interrupted their discussion, the man nodded in apology.

"Sorry, Lieutenant, didn't want to interrupt; I'm Lieutenant Aguk Snow, chief helmsman on this boat. Welcome aboard the Horizon. Don't worry, you'll get used to my grumblings; pay no attention to them... unless the captain does, that is."

The human's attempt at sarcasm and a joke, at least that's what Aron'Son believed they were, were all but lost on the Jem'Hadar, who focused his yellow eyes on Snow.

"Having three thousand non-combatants aboard this vessel does not seem like...fun." he remarked bluntly "It sounds intrusive to the normal operations of the Horizon."

Snow's smile froze on his face as he returned his attention to his helm readouts about his last exercise.

"And I thought Mister Syntron was too serious..." he grumbled.

Aron'Son looked again to Tyvya.

"If we have not already, restricted spaces including the bridge, should be placed under guard by armed personnel, with phaser rifles. While not as effective as Jem'Hadar weapons, they will suffice in this  situation as a deterrent. The colonists and their equipment should be quarantined under guard as they come aboard until their identities are verified as mine was when I boarded the ship. I presume the ship's computer will be able to assist us so that individual tricorder scans are not necessary. We will also want to establish patrols of the ship by small fire teams to further deter any potential sabotage. I will make further adjustments after I have read the current standing regulations. I have not seen our mission orders, but I will not allow the security of this vessel to be compromised." 

"Well, you pretty much gave the broad lines of this ship's standard yellow alert security measures," Tyvya said to her new chief, "which includes tighter security checks on boarding this ship than what you went through. And that is the tip of the iceberg. Would you care to try to activate this console, Sir?"

As Aron'Son did, not even one light flashed on the board.

Tyvya then touched it and it came alive. She tapped her personal code and then spoke to the computer.

"Computer; recognize Tyvya, Lieutenant J.G., Security Chief USS Horizon."

"Authorization code, vocal, visual and genetic identification confirmed," the disembodied female voice of the ship's main computer answered, having analyzed her genetic markings from the residue left by her fingers on the controls when she had tapped her personal code.

"Record my status as security first assistant and transfer my authority as security chief  to Aron'Son, Lieutenant J.G."

"Authorization code, vocal, visual and genetic identity, Aron'Son, Lieutenant J.G. ready for transfer  to security chief status. Please input verbal and tactile command code to confirm."

As soon as the Jem'Hadar did so, the computer confirmed the procedure as complete. Tyvya then sumrized it all.

"Ship's computer is programmed so that doors and access panels will not open and systems, even weapons, won't operate for anyone not authorized by one's duty and rank for the given area and duty shift. Of course, you, like any chief officer, now have unrestricted access; in your case, even to personal quarters like our CMO in case of emergencies... The same way, turbolifts will refuse access to restricted decks, including the bridge where no one below Ensign rank is admitted... except Governor Sufra obviously, since she's the Federation Council official on board. There is always one guard at all accesses of any sensitive area of the ship, inside and outside; that guard contingent is doubled and given phasers II and security suits at yellow alert, and again and with rifles and full combat armor during red alert."

She showed him the black-furred Caitian woman already standing next to the turbolift door, the only person on the entire bridge with Tyvya wearing a phaser.

"As for rifles, they will do fine, Sir; our standard security people are all cross-trained either as technicians or medics and nearly as well trained as Starfleet Marines on this ship... captain's requirements...  and we do have marines on the Horizon as well; and they all can effectively implement crowd control with their rifles... without cutting anyone open."

Aron'Son was, for the second time in recent memory, impressed with the security precautions the beings of Lotus Fleet had undertaken. They superceded anything he came across on Earth, and were even more stringent than what Starfleet Intelligence had imposed during his brief captivity. To a normal being, even a Vulcan, such far reaching measures would probably be a lot to keep up with and to comprehend, but Aron'Son was processing all the information as Tyvya was presenting it to him. 

"That is impressive, why are these procedures not standard throughout Starfleet? Even the security during my brief captivity on Deep Space Nine and Earth was not so restrictive. I could have easily escaped at the time."

"Ask Starfleet Command," simply answered the giantess. Then, she elaborated; "most of Lotus Fleet ships and of course the starbase itself do apply those protocols since the Horizon Children incident on board Captain Kheren's first command,  prior to Operation Horizon. Lotus Fleet is the elite of Starfleet and we are located in what is probably the hottest spot of Federation Space, right next to the Klingon Border, the Romulan Neutral Zone and the closest access point to the Delta Quadrant and even to Fluidic Space from our side of the galaxy; we are therefore quite motivated, comfortable and rigourous in applying those rules thoroughly, smoothly and efficiently. Where danger is far less felt, such measures might feel too... extreme. But they do have a copy of our manual. Funny thing is, most of them are in fact very simple to implement, like transporter autoscanning cross-referenced with medical files; many change very little of current procedures, like appointing security to all accesses; and some even unobstrusively go unnoticed, like the genetic scan and encoding of weapons and controls. Sooner or later, they will spread. This universe is unfortunately not getting more peaceful as of late, despite our bests efforts."

Aron'Son nodded "That is true. Our enemies are plentiful. I will read the procedure manual, I will then conduct an inspection of the procedures though I am certain you have been thorough. It will help me learn to navigate the ship. Also, I would like to requisition a weapon for myself. As I do not sleep, I will be able to respond to any incident no matter when it happens during the ship's cycle." 

"Security follows a four-shift schedule so as to be out of synch with the rest of the ship to thow off any timed attack plan. And it allows more officers to be better rested, alert and available at any given time. With you available round the clock, that will sure keep everyone sharp and on their toes."

On the security screen she brought up deck schematics and highlighted where the chief of security office was, right next to the imposing brig.

"Now that you are the security chief on board, you have access to the small armory in your office. You'll find all classes of phasers in there, power packs, even stun grenades and an old TR116, along with the combat knife that is standard issue for every security officer aboard. like the big armory, yours is protected by a forcefield and now will open only to your genetic code and that of your assistants, just like the weapons themselves; even the knife locked in it's sheat. Like all department heads and senior officers, you are entitled to your own personal weapon and, as security chief, the only one allowed to wear one at all times. And in case of sudden trouble..."

Her hand touched the base of the console and a hidden panel slid open to reveal inside a phaser I, a med kit, a small repair kit, a respirator and even rations and something that looked like a belt buckle. That last item she took out and offered it to him.

"The latest version of our PIDs; sorry, our Personal Inertial Dampeners. The first chief engineer of the Artemis came up with these years ago and Chief Sangliar of Starbase Lotus made them more compact recently. Although one is integrated in every combat armor and EV suit aboard, I suggest you wear this one with your uniform; if ever the life support or the dampeners of the ship fail, at least you will not suffocate immediately or splatter at warp speed against a bulkhead."

She then turned her white-haired head to the Romulan engineer at his station.

"Not that I expect them to fail anytime soon, Chief. but better safe than sorry."

The Romulan grumbled something about phase coils in response without turning around. He was wearing a headset with an optical input, he was clearly focusing on the data being displayed.

Aron'Son nodded with approval and examined the device "This is an ingenious piece of technology," he commented while fastening it to his uniform. Even a soldier such as himself could admire a unique tool that could mean the difference between victory and defeat. He then looked at the Romulan that Tyvya had spoken to:

"You are the chief engineer? I am Aron'Son, chief of security." 

Another being might have been surprised to find a Romulan serving aboard a Federation starship, but given Aron'Son's current position it was not surprising to him that one of the Rhiannsu spieces would be here. It seemed that the Federation and Starfleet would accept more than just one former enemy into their units. He suspected it was something that would be perceived as a weakness by many, his own former people included though the Romulans were another people the Dominion had underestimated when they invaded the Alpha Quadrant. The Founders believed the Romulans would remain neutral during the conflict, yet they had not and were drawn into the war by the Federation. Their intervention had allowed for the eventual defeat of The Dominion. Aron'Son had heard tales of the species who specialized in deceit and misdirection, but he never thought he would actually meet one.

"Yes, Hello..." The Romulan said as he spun his chair around, taking his headset off of his head. He paused for a moment when he saw the Jem'Hedar officer. "I had heard whisperings of your placement. I am impressed you survived your ketracel-white withdrawal. I once was witness to a prisoner going through withdrawals. Nasty Business. How can I help you?"

"It is not that I no longer require The White, my body now produces it naturally. Doctor Bashir was intrumental in allowing that to happen, if not for his genetic modifications I would likely not have survived, as was the intent when I was exiled from my squad. I find it strange that you would have witnessed such a thing, all Jem'Hadar would rather die than be captured by the enemy. I do not need anything, I  wanted to make myself known to you as we will be working together. If the security in engineering is inadequate please let me know."

The Romulan smiled, "Produce it naturally? Well now you're going beyond my expertise, as long as there are no moving parts in there, I fully expect to never have to know how he did it. As for my former adventures, being fully restrained after being knocked unconscious prevents most suicide techniques. As far as I am aware, I do not need anything in engineering. Though I haven't seen our briefing yet, so I'll let that happen before I make any final judgements."

"Doctor Bashir simply restored that which the Founders took away. Before we were 'programmed' by the Founders Jem'Hadar produced the enzyme in ketracel white naturally. Some even began to do so again after time. Doctor Bashir found that I was beginning to show signs of this and was able to speed the process up, to put it in his own words. There are no 'moving parts' as you put it...and perhaps we could discuss further your ability to ambush a Jem'Hadar soldier...these are tactics of which I should be aware should our enemies attempt to use them against me."

"Sadly, there isn't much of a tale to tell. I am an engineer, so while I got to 'enjoy' the front lines, I was never involved with the special operations the Navy was using. All I had to make sure of was that the force field around him was enough to keep him in place, but not enough to kill him. I believe a nerve agent was used, however. But as I said earlier, I understand the wizzing of machines, not the beat of a heart."

"hmm..." Aron'Son said "nerve agents, chemical warfare, much less honorable than face to face combat. It is unfortunate you do not possess detailed knowledge, such information would be useful. I must take my leave, I have information to read and spaces to inspect for security purposes."

"Very well Lieutenant. I'll see you at the briefing." The Romulan bid farewell to the security chief and turned back to his readings while he awaited their briefing.