(USS MILLENNIUM: Commander David Rogers answers the call.
Posted on 03/12/2017 @ 11:28am
Edited on on 03/14/2017 @ 5:06pm
Mission:
When no One Has Gone Before
Location: Star Base Lotus: Promenade
Timeline: Stardate 88969.7
Just over half way toward the bottom of the massive Capitol class star base Lotus, the Promenade deck, composed of shops, diners and a few bars, encircled the entirety of deck one sixty three. Commander David Rogers waited complacently for Shelly to meet him prior to his departure, scheduled for zero seven hundred hours, thirty minutes from now. As he waited and sipped a black coffee he watched the crowds come and go. No matter the status of the fleet or the time of day, the promenade was always busy. Just as he finished his coffee Shelly appeared just down the way, coming from the nearest turbo lift obviously. Standing briefly David gestured toward the vacant seat across from him and, re-seating himself, nodded at his sister while she also sat.
"How did it go Shel?," he questioned worriedly.
Her slightly dishevelled looks suggested a harried and probably taxing meeting with the CMO's staff up on deck twenty-four. She had needed to be cleared for her posting to the Horizon, and David knew all to well the thoroughness of Lotus fleet's medical team, having to go through it himself every damn time he boarded a new ship. Smiling back at him, Shelly tugged gently at her new uniform; Its red stood out starkly compared to David's own yellow highlight. She fingered the single pip on her collar and, glancing briefly at her brother's three pips, looked at him directly and answered nonchalantly.
"Quite well Dave. As they already had a genetic profile on you, my processing went quite fast, being family and all. Must say though," she finished with a shrug, " They certainly didn't need to give me a field commission just to run a bar, did they?"
David laughed gutterally, showing his disdain for star fleet protocols that usually got in the way of daily life, and smiled back in return.
"As a Diplomatic aide, you need the commission to allow for your duties ... above what a bar maid would need on a starship."
Playing with his empty cup again, David glanced at the passing crowd's briefly, then back at Shelly.
"You know, I have to leave right away, and I have no idea where I am going. You'll be ok on the Horizon, she has a great crew, and Captain Redding is a fine officer ..."
The comm badge on Shelly's chest chirped out a directive, cutting David off.
"This is the Horizon; to all crewmembers and officers of the flagship, report immediately to your station for departure. Confirm your readiness to your department head. Department head officers, confirm your section's readiness to acting first officer Nasaro-Myth. All bridge officers will report directly to Captain Redding. We depart at nine hundred hours. Horizon out."
"Time to go," David nodded, rising from his seat.
As she also stood, David placed a hand on her shoulder before she could turn away.
"A word of advice sister. After you've reported in, see that damn doctor immediately. I've had many, many confrontations with Nasaro-Myth, and he seems to enjoy repeating every damn physical the star base just put you through, with more thrown in for perverse pleasure."
As they started toward the turbo lift, David laughed again, adding to his statement.
"Of course, that may just be my personal grudge, but just the same, get your onboard physical out of the way right off the bat. That way, you won't be hounded at every turn until you do."
Arriving at the lift, David allowed her to trigger the sensor for admittance, and with aparting look of worry, simply added a brief goodbye.
"Take care Ensign. You'll do great."
The closing lift doors swooshed shut, cutting off the smile of his sister. David sighed once, then awaited the next lift. He needed to get to docking bay one.
The lift paused briefly as he rode down to docking bay one, admitting the lithe form of a blonde, blue-eyed woman in a Lieutenant jg's engineering uniform. As he moved slightly to the side to allow her admittance he gestured at the comms panel and allowed her to state her destination.
"Docking bay one," Patricia Blakely stated.
David glanced at her and spoke in what he hoped was as friendly a tone as possible.
"Same destination. Can I assume we share the same captain ... a certain Andorian of infamous repute?"
As the woman glanced at him Rogers included his lapse of an introduction.
"Sorry Lieutenant. I'm Commander David Rogers, late of the USS Lotus. Going to bay one myself," he smiled warmly.
The slightly shorter woman, who couldn't have weighed more than one hundred and twenty pounds, looked at him expectantly, as if guaging his designation on some other matter entirely. Then responded amicably.
"Lieutenant jg Patricia Blakely Commander. Computer systems specialist. Yes, I am told to report to Captain Kheren in bay one as well. Any idea what's up Commander?"
David responded as the lift surged to a halt and the doors opened to reveal the large, mostly empty expanse of the Capitol class docking bay. As he allowed the young woman to preceed him, his answer came with a short chuckle.
"I know as much as you do Lieutenant, which is absolutely nothing. I presume we'll find out when we reach our commanding officer ... over there!", he added as he spied the the three Andorians gathered with a group of about twelve others at the extreme right of a line of class eleven shuttles, each with a similar sized group of crew assembled before each.
Taking a stance to her side, neither in the lead nor trailing, David accompanied the engineering woman toward Captain Kheren and the assembled group.
"Lieutenant Blakely," said the Andorian captain as they came. "you will be pleased to know that you are to be at last reunited with your fiance."
"Robert is part of this assignment too?" the blonde woman said with a bright smile and exchanged a glance with science officer Norbert Baoule, twin brother of the man she had fallen in love with years ago on the Artemis.
"He was involved even before I was," Kheren answered before turning to the half-Romulan with the three pips on his gold collar.
"Commander Rogers, we meet at last. With all that is known and not so well known about the both of us, I understand that we were bound to do so sooner or later. Seems that now is the time."
