Getting Up To Speed

Posted on Tue May 4th, 2021 @ 1:25pm by Captain Michelle Bartlett & Commander Rostra Tang

Mission: Arriving
Location: Ready Room

Michelle sat back in the chair she was slowly adjusting to. Even her old chair wasn't as comfy back on the Cape Town but I guess that came with a few extra pips. It seemed to have been quite a day, and she hadn't even got to her quarters yet. "Coffee." she called out to the replicator. "Two milk, one sugar."

As the replicator finished its task, the door chimed.

"Come." Michelle called out, taking her seat.

The door swished open, allowing the binary form of Rostra Tang to enter into the Ready Room. She offered Michelle a pair of smiles, "You know, I'm always happy to see a familiar, friendly face in that seat. Makes me feel so much more at ease." she offered. Security and safety to a Dalacari? Those were among the most important things in life.

"Settling into the chair nicely?" her twin asked as the pair approached.

"Sort of. They make these things a bit more comfortable than I remember." she added. "I might just never want to leave it." she chuckled. "I wouldn't have blamed you for taking the chair for yourself to be honest."

"I would, but the Federation still never figured out tails. I could have just requisitioned a chair from Dalacar through the Buoys, but then I'd need to have Starfleet..."

"... make TWO chairs, and then there's the awkwardness of spacing behind that desk. Then I'd need a bigger desk, hence a bigger office, and before you know it my ready room..."

"... is Cargo Bay Three." she giggled, then settled down, "As much as you are my friends and neighbors, I don't know enough about how single instance life works to feel comfortable..."

"... giving an order that could result in someone getting hurt, or worse. Drones are easy. People? I couldn't."

"Are we even using it?" Michelle asked. "I kid. I don't think Starfleet would be happy with converting a cargo bay to one office. Pity though. So... As I might have mentioned when I came aboard. I... need to know where things are at. I've read the briefings but... I mean... You folks are actually out here. Who are our biggest threats? Are there concerns in this sector? How have the crew been holding up?"

"On my personal list the biggest threats are always the Koldaran. Highly aggressive, highly expansionist, with a birth rate that allows them to easily recoup..."

"... losses. They constantly seek out worlds to turn into spawning pools, and their methods of terraformation often leave the world useless, short term, to other..."

"... races. They specialize in fighter tactics, hence why the Ts'usugi and the Dalacari enforce them as well. Deal with them ship to ship." a pause. "As for threats, aside from the..."

"... races you came across through the travels of Voyager, you've seen most of the local neighborhood. You missed the Trilarians, though. They aren't a threat. They're..."

"... just, well, unique. Certainly not the standard form of life one would expect." a pause, "They're fluidic."

"Fluidic?" Michelle asked. "Now I'm intrigued. How did you encounter them?" She would have to ask about these Koldarans as well... Hopefully they weren't too much of a threat. She saw that species name come up in initial briefings, but nothing about the capabilities Rostra mentioned.

She gave a pair of nods, "Fluidic. Macroscopic protoplasmic amino constructs. Their technology is beautiful, lots of pipes and valves and a real unique feeling to it." a pause, as her focus shifted, "But fluidic. They interact with solid space through encounter suits, handed down or replicated as needed, but personalized."

"Each of those suits is their home, after all. Might as well make the most of it. They're brilliant, in their fields. Warp theory and transdimensional physics. See, they're..."

"... not from around here. They came originally from fluidic space, like Species Eight Six... no, no Eight Seven... oh, you know." she said, flustered. "But they weren't in a rush..."

"... to go back, since they weren't being preyed upon out here in solid space. So, they stayed."

"8472" Michelle said. "Yeah... I remember hearing about Voyager's encounters with them. I'm relieved that this species is nothing like that. Hopefully we'll encounter them again. IF they'll let us. And the Koldarans... I read about them a little in the briefing. A very almost assimilative species. How have your people kept them at bay for so long?"

"As the Ts'usugi would say, endless vigil and constant readiness. Though truth be told, we're getting very good at keeping the cost to fabricate drones as low as possible." she responded. "There's..."

"... never been a successful bid for peace with them. Never even a non-aggression pact. Nothing. They need space to breed, so they breed to conquer new spaces. We ..."

"... don't know much about their society, but we do know that service in their military is mandatory, and if they live, they literally evolve into adults." she pointed out. "I don't think ..."

"...the Federation will find them any more receptive to peace. In fact, they'll likely view the Federation as just another threat to their expansion."

"Great." Michelle replied. "It doesn't sound like it. What about any bands of raiders or mercenaries? ANy threats there?"

"Well, lower down on the threat scale there's the Cho'Tegra. Roving gangs, sometimes more like roving... I don't know, Big Gangs? Is there a word for when they get..."

"... really popular? I don't know, but those. They have an odd fixation with the number three. It's almost fascinating the lengths they go through to reach their blessed..."

"... number. Not a real issue, unless they outnumber you." she paused, "There used to be a ... group?" that question mark was audible, "They ran around, cutting people up and..."

"... grafting their tissue to their own bodies. Surgical addiction, but to a whole new level." a pause, a wigged out shiver, and then she continued. "Haven't heard from them in a long..."

"... while. Rumor is their environments got too sterile, and a pathogen got onto their ship. When they convened to rescue their fellow patients, and by that I mean..."

"... scavenge for parts, I guess they all systematically caught it. No one's seen one in a while, but just to be safe, if you get a distress signal from a medical frigate..."

"... that's putting out way too much heat or reactor power, just keep on moving by."

Michelle raised an eyebrow... "I take it you encountered both while serving aboard?" she asked.

She gave a nod. She didn't really want to remember some of those encounters.

Michelle pondered the report, and listened to what Rostra said. "I've had the chance to start reading some of your reports. They're rather... detailed. I must say, I'm rather impressed. The previous Captain must have expected a lot."

"Thank you. I take pride in my role as advisor. Also taking notes is a hobby of mine." a pause, "Wow, that sounded worse then I did in my head. Ummm, I take really good..."

"... notes, is what I *wanted* to say." she recovered nicely. "I wanted to make sure that we all were as well informed as possible going into any dangerous situation."

"It's something you do quite well." Michelle replied. "Captain Reynolds had you as his Second Officer, I would like you to remain as next in command for the time being. Although, honestly... it will probably end up being permanent. I just want to get the crew a bit more settled before making it official. Assuming you have no problem with that?"

"No problem what-so-ever." She said, a smile on each form. "I think that a familiar face, or in my case faces, might help settle the crew." she offered.

"And yeah, I did take a training course in counseling when I was going through academy. Never worked out though, everyone I practiced on said the same thing. They..."

"... felt that there was someone else in the room with them, when it was just us. I guess chalk it up to Dalacari Issues." she smiled, never let down for a moment. "But no, I'm pleased and..."

"... proud that you'd choose to keep me, and Dia as my witness I'll do my best."

"From anything I've seen or heard... Your best shouldn't be a problem for you at all. Now... I guess I'd best tend to this meeting, hmm?"

"You can only put it off for so long." Rostra advised with a pair of smiles.

"And I suppose so long has arrived." Michelle said. "Well... On we go!"