Another New Arrival
Posted on Tue Oct 24th, 2023 @ 10:39am by Fleet Captain Maxwell Culver & Commander Lorut Vila & Lieutenant Daisheliss "Lissa" Kerr
1,799 words; about a 9 minute read
Mission:
First Contact
Location: USS Intrepid: Captain’s Ready Room
Timeline: MD2: 0800 hours
Max looked up as the door annunciator chimed. Commander Lorut was due in to talk about their new arrivals and how best they might proceed with diplomacy. One of the Helivans had been manually restrained by Doctor Gocx, the Princess’ Counsel had stabbed him and he had cold cocked her into unconsciousness. Overall a bad start to diplomacy and First Contact.
“Come in,” Max said absently.
Daisheliss Kerr, the new half-Orion Chief Intelligence Officer stepped in, her hair pulled back tightly, and her uniform pristine. "Captain Culver," Lissa stated, as she stopped and stood at attention. "Lieutenant Kerr reporting for duty." She'd at least get started on the right foot with this Captain, though no doubt he had read her file and knew of her tendency to speak out of turn at times.
Max stood and came out from behind his desk. He was expecting Lorut, but another new face had chosen to be bright and early. Probably better since yesterday was what one would call “a shit show”.
“No need to stand on tradition, Lieutenant. I’m not a straight back and salute kind of captain. Chief Intelligence Officer aboard the USS Intrepid. What intelligence do you bring with you?” Max asked with amusement.
Lissa relaxed her posture a bit, and studied his facial expression for a brief second before answering. "Normally I ask people to pick a card to get an answer to that question, but I didn't bring my deck with me," she responded, displaying her empty hands. She let her eyes reveal her own amusement, but otherwise played a straight face.
Vila swept in just then. She never bothered with the chimes-he was expecting her. Or he better be, anyway. "Ah, just who I was looking for. Counselor Campbell mentioned that the new Intelligence head was here. I apologize for my tardiness, I was...in the labs." She had actually been sleeping-she took the night shifts for a REASON, after all, and had had bit too much after her shift. Per usual. She really should harass the doctor about that medication again, but some other day. He had his hands full and she didn't trust the medical hologram.
"Commander Lorut," she said, sitting down. "An Orion, huh?"
"Half-Orion, on my mother's side, Lieutenant Kerr, ma'am." Lissa nodded an acknowledgement to the Commander. "I understand you have some unexpected guests on board. Should I just dive right in, or is there some kind of orientation you need me to go through first?" Both the Captain and the First Officer seemed rather casual in front of her given that it was her first day. She could get used to it here.
Vila cast a look at the Captain. "Half-Orion. Ok, got it." She waited for Max to sit down. "Get right into it," she said. "I'll be interested to see what the HELL is going on-the SOS came in the middle of the Beta shift yesterday, and it's' been an all-hands situation since," she said. "Which reminds me. Culver, Admiral what's-his-face has requested ten minutes. We're not supposed to be doing First Contacts out in these parts," she said, the irritation visible on her face. "Like we PLANNED it." An eye roll.
Max allowed the statement to wash over him for contemplation before talking to Admiral Albion. “I don’t see how we can be on an exploratory mission in the Beta Quadrant without making First Contact, it’s the antithesis of what we’ve been assigned to do here.”
Vila's hands went into the air. "Well. He's not the sharpest cat in this quadrant," she said. She HATED that man. "Anyway. I told him it might be a few days because of the First-Contact situation that has presented itself."
Max collected a coffee and returned to sit down. “Before we expect too much of Lieutenant Kerr, maybe we should explain what’s happened here. How can you know about our guests if we’ve barely just met them?” Max asked seriously.
"I'm an intelligence officer, Captain," Lissa responded. "I've been reviewing daily reports from the Intrepid ever since I received my orders. It seemed prudent to be up to date with the most recent missions, including present activity. It's also a useful tool to learn a little about the crew before getting the opportunity to meet everyone."
Max nodded. “We are presented now with three of the Helivan’s Royal house, it seems,” Max explained of their new guests. “Even though they’re of twenty first century evolution, they’ve made a massive push in creating warp drive to escape their dying planet. Seems overpopulation and climate change has destroyed Heliv. Is there much more intelligence you can provide on these people?” Max asked, leaning forward.
Vila interjected. "I wouldn't say they are quaint, just that their shuttles are older. They're roughly as big as one of ours," she said, meaning the Bajoran people-movers she was used to. "They were found in stasis. Really, it's a fascinating situation..." she trailed off. "You'll have to excuse me. Until last month, I was a science officer. Old habits die hard."
"I've been getting my intelligence from the Intrepid, sir. I'm sure much more has happened that hasn't made it to a report yet, so I'll be playing catch up. If the databases on their ship have any information, I might be able to see who their people may have been in contact with in the past, then cross-reference to see if the Federation has had contact with any of those worlds," Lissa suggested. "I mean, it may not lead to anything, but I am willing to give it a shot," she added looking back and forth between the Captain and First Officer.
“That’s a strong affirmative,” Max said as he wondered where the word quaint came from. “While you’re at it, they have two more low warp ships launched ahead of them. See what course or planet they’re headed for. If you can, determine their stores of food and medical supplies. These Helivans are well stocked in those departments, but I’m not sure the civilians will have fared as well.”
Lissa's attention perked. "Are we suspecting that this may be a society that lets average citizens struggle with little resources while the upper class lives in excess?"
Vila nodded. "Yes. We don't currently know if the planet is empty, or if there's....survivors," she said, trying to think of a better word. "Why were these three out here? There's still a lot of unknowns. I am supposed to meet with our ship's Counselor, who is also an Empath, and the female advisor to the trio, in an hour to see what we can find out. We're hoping that a little friendly "lady's chat" will help," she said. "They ARE a bit weary and scared-I think this is their first interaction with other races besides the Romulans. We know they have had contact with the Romulan empire, but to what extent, we don't know yet," she sighed.
"The Romulans? That gives me a place to start. I might know someone." Lissa looked at the two and nodded. "Anything else I should look into or know about before I get started?"
Vila nodded. "Their planet is at the far edge of Romulan space. From their language, we can determine they have either had contact with or are descended from the Romulans," she said. "Would you care to attend this meeting?"
"Meeting?" Lissa asked, looking at the two of them. "I'm not sure what the meeting is about, but if I'm being invited, I suppose I should go."
"It's just a chat, really," the Bajoran said. "Trying to see if doing it as a more..."lady's chat" type of thing would work better than an interrogation. Plus...I don't do well in combative situations. I'm sure you've read my file," she said. Of all the women to tap to do this kind of thing, Vila was still not sure *she* was the best candidate. "Essentially, I thought getting the Princess, her female advisor, and the Counselor-she's an empath-together for tea time would be a good idea to see what we could find out. Subterfuge was something I learned during my time with the Militia. Besides, so far...there's no indication that we're in danger, so why not try to be as friendly as possible? Give the Federation and Fleet a good name?" she said.
"Tea time, you say?" Lissa responded. "Sure, count me in. I would love to meet Helivans. I'm sure they may have some interesting stories to tell.
“Lieutenant Kerr, I’d also like to tell you that you have access to anything you need to complete your missions. That includes any type of vehicle we can replicate, to put you as deeply undercover as you need to be,” Max explained before the women headed off to their informal chat with the Helivans.
"I appreciate that Captain. Thank you," Lissa responded nodding to the Captain.
Vila, satisfied, sat back to listen. She simply nodded in agreement. Sounded reasonable enough to her. "Alright, it's an hour. Uniforms are optional, I want them to be as comfortable as possible," Vila said.
Lissa looked over at Vila, "Understood, Commander. I'll be there."
Vila smiled lightly. "Thank you." She said. She flicked a look at Max. "I am done here, then," she said.
“Alright, 0900 hours, Diplomat’s Galley. If I hadn’t been shanked yesterday, I think I would’ve taken Mister Rustav off and kicked his ass while you ladies talked,” Max considered aloud. “To bad the old lady got the drop on me.”
“Anyway, dismissed. Lieutenant Kerr, try to spend some time between now and the meeting on the bridge. I think you’ll like it,” Max added before he stood, ready to spend his own time on the bridge until the meeting.
"I will, sir. Thank you," Lissa responded. She nodded to both officers and left the ready room, stopping at the bridge at the Captain's suggestion.
Max followed, settling into the command chair. Brix Saad appeared beside him and handed him a PADD. “Some notes on our guests, provided by the New Romulan Republic, Captain.”
Max took the PADD and perused the the information it contained. The details were old, dating back at least thirty years. “Thanks you, yeoman. It’s a shame the Romulans haven’t kept more recent intelligence on the Helivans.”
“I guess we’re just due to update their files,” Max said with a heavy sigh. He also wondered why their new files came from the New Romulan Republic. Where was the Empire, the power with whom Starfleet had been interacting?
There was suddenly a lot of new questions that needed answers.
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