September 2385
Stardate
62712.4
Starbase 719
Rear Admiral Val’ri Raiajh sat in her
office. It was late into Gamma shift aboard
the starbase.
At Utopia Planitia, in orbit of Mars, they
were ending Alpha shift and beginning Beta.
On the comm was Commodore Shrav,
the new commanding officer of Utopia Planitia. The pair were
talking about how they were settling into their new assignments, finding crew replacements
and settling staffing issues. Raiajh’s call was to tell him that she wanted one of his
ops officers from UP for 719. After the typical pleasantries, Raiajh decided to broach the subject.
“Commodore, I’ve
been considering Ensign Ashari Pel
for Gamma Shift Ops Duty Officer. From
her record I find she’s knows her stuff and is extremely capable of the job. She would definitely make an excellent
addition to my staff here aboard the starbase.”
“I agree,” Shrav said.
“However, she’s been late for her shift once this week and it appears
she’s late again today. She’s been a bit
depressed and moody for the last few weeks.
If it continues any further, I’m going to order her to see one of the
counselors.”
“Commodore, my Chief
of Operations is having the same problem with my daughter, Charissa
Xaran. I do
happen to know that Ashari and Charissa
have been involved with each other for a while.
However, I’m bringing Ensign Pel here because
she’s the best person for the job. If she
and Charissa wish to continue pursuing a
relationship, they will have to learn that sometimes Starfleet does separate
families when necessary.”
“Admiral, I have
no doubt that Ensign Pel is the best person for the
position you have available, and I would certainly hate to lose her talents
here. But she does deserve this
promotion. However, I happen to know
that Ensign Pel is under the impression that you are
unaware of her relationship with Ensign Xaran.”
“My knowledge of
their relationship is unofficial. I know
about it, though Charissa has not said anything to me. However, despite the fact that my daughter
believes otherwise, I am not blind.”
“Understood, Admiral.
Please hold while I get Ensign Pel in here.”
Shrav got up from behind his desk and crossed the
room. When he reached the transparent
doors that separated him from the control room they parted for him. He crossed just over the threshold and, in a
loud voice not typical of Andorians, called out,
“Ensign Pel! My
office! Now!”
Pel quickly stepped up to her commanding officer and followed
Shrav back into his office, the doors sliding closed behind
them. Shrav
offered the young Trill woman a seat in front of his desk as he returned to his
own chair. What happened next was the
last thing in the entire universe Pel was expecting.
This was the
second shift this week Pel had been late arriving
for. It did not reflect well on the
young ensign, and she fully expected to be disciplined for it. Instead she was informed by both Shran and Rear Admiral Raiajh,
who appeared on the Commodore’s desktop monitor screen, that Raiajh wanted Pel for the Gamma
Shift Ops Duty Officer position aboard Starbase 719.
“Admiral,” Pel began. “May I
speak freely?”
“By all means,
Ensign,” replied Raiajh.
“Admiral, I’m not
sure if I’m the right person for this position.
There are things about me that you do not know about. Things that you might not
be happy about if you did know.”
“Ensign, believe
me, I know more than you think I do about subjects some believe I have no
knowledge of. However, I’m not
requesting you for this position for that reason. I’m requesting you because I know you can do
the job.”
“Ensign, you
really should consider taking this position,” Shrav advised.
“Admiral Raiajh
never makes a decision concerning the members of her crew strictly based on
personal decisions. She’s asking you to fill
this position because you are the best person for the job.”
Pel appeared to consider what Shran
had said for a moment before finally looking directly at Raiajh’s
image on the screen.
“Admiral, I
accept your offer.”
“Thank you,
Ensign Pel,” Raiajh
replied. “I will see to it that
Starfleet Command transmits your new orders as soon as possible, and I will see
you when you arrive at 719 in a few
days.”
As the conversation
finished and Admiral Raiajh logged off, Shrav turned his attention to Pel.
“Congratulations
on your new position, and the promotion that comes with it. I know you had your reservations about the
position because of the Admiral’s daughter, Ensign Charissa
Xaran, is likewise assigned to Starbase 719. However, from what
Admiral Raiajh told me, Ensign Xaran
has been having the same problems you have of late. I have a feeling this transfer will be good
for both of you. And despite what Ensign
Xaran might have told you, I don’t think you will
have any problems. With
the Admiral at least. Now go
pack. There’s a transport leaving for the
Typhon sector tomorrow morning, and you need to be on
it. Dismissed.”
Space,
the Final Frontier…
Star
Trek: Fifth Fleet
“Rules and Acquisitions” By Nadine B. Bach
Starbase
719
Admiral Raiajh sat alone in the Captain’s Mess at the start of
Alpha Shift, waiting for Ensign Xaran to join her at
the end of her shift in the engineering spaces.
Raiajh was up early that day because of her subspace
meeting with Shrav at Utopia Planitia. Due to the time differential between the Typhon Sector and Sector 001, as well as other reasons, Raiajh decided to make the call during Gamma Shift here
because she wanted to judge her daughter’s reaction when she told her the
news. She had left word with Ops that
any incoming messages to Ensign Xaran should be
delayed several hours, just in case Pel tried to
contact Charissa.
She also left orders that if Pel called
immediately after the shift ended, she was to be told that Xaran
was in a meeting for at least an hour after her duty shift.
Charissa Xaran walked into the
mess hall seeming happier than she had in days.
The telepathic read Raiajh received from Xaran confirmed that she was happier. Charissa had always
been good at keeping what she wanted hidden hidden, at least on a preliminary read. If Raiajh had dared
to probe further, she would be able to confirm that Charissa’s
new-found happiness had everything to do with Ashari Pel.
“Hiya, Squirt,” Raiajh greeted Xaran with the pet-name Sylvan had given their daughter
years ago. “I see you’re feeling better
than you have for the past few weeks. Happier, at least.”
“I guess. I just feel happier today.”
“I can probably
guess why too. You’re happier because
you can feel that Ashari is happier too.”
Xaran looked at her mother in disbelief, then spoke, the
questions coming out quickly, “You know?
How long have you known? Does Dad
know?”
“I’ve known for
over 4 years now, when I felt the bond between you and Ashari
develop and solidify at the Academy. As
for your father, you are going to have to talk to him about this. Much of the time he still sees you as the
little girl we brought with us to the Arcturus-A when
you were five. I do have one question. Why didn’t you come to us sooner and tell us? Your father and I love you more than you’ll
ever know. We would never turn our backs
on you. The decisions you make about
your life are your decisions.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I was always afraid either you or Dad
wouldn’t be so accepting.”
“Do you remember
when you were younger and I explained the principals of the Vulcan philosophy
of IDIC to you?” Raiajh asked. Xaran nodded. “Those principals apply as much, if not more,
to the family dynamic as they do to the world beyond. You are my child. As I said, your decisions are yours to
make. As long as you are happy with
those decisions, then I’m happy.”
“Mom, how do you
know that Ashari is happier now?”
“I know because Ashari is on her way here.
She will be leaving Utopia Planitia within the
day. I have requested her to fill the
position of Gamma Shift Ops Duty Officer.
Mind you, not because of your relationship, but because she was best
qualified for the position. The fact
that I knew it would improve both your spirits was only an added bonus.”
“Thank you for
being so understanding. I guess I should
go talk to Dad now?”
“I suppose you
should. He’s in the infirmary, but don’t
you think you should wait until later, once he’s off-shift?”
“I probably
should, but I need to talk to him while I still have the courage to do it.”
“Just be honest
with him,” Raiajh advised. “Everything else will fall into place.”
Xaran nodded and quickly hugged her mother before leaving
the mess hall.
* * *
Charissa Xaran made her way to the
main infirmary to find her father, Dr. Sylvan Xaran. The area was strangely quiet this particular morning
as there were no transports docking at the station carrying new crew, and there
were currently no patients admitted to the infirmary. She found her father,
the starbase’s acting Chief Medical Officer, in his
office working on computer files.
“Hi Dad. Do you have
some time? I need to talk to you about
something.”
“Hey,
Squirt. I have about an hour to kill. Sit.
What’s so important that it can’t wait for later?”
Charissa sat down across from her father as she said, “Not
so important that it can’t wait. I just
don’t wish to lose my nerve to tell you.”
“What’s on your
mind?”
“Love,” Charissa replied.
“Love? Do you mean in
general, or are you trying to tell me you’ve found someone?”
“I’ve found
someone. But I’m not sure if you would
approve.” Charissa
looked nervous as she took a deep breath.
“It’s Ashari Pel.”
Sylvan appeared
to take a moment to ingest the information before speaking.
“As long as she
makes you happy, then I’m happy for you.”
“Are you sure you
are ok about this?” Charissa asked, still looking
nervous.
“Like I said, if
you’re happy, then that’s good enough for me.
I can’t made decisions for you about who you love.”
“I thought this
would be much harder. It’s why I hesitated
for four years to tell you.”
“Four years?” Dr.
Xaran remarked in surprise. “That’s a long time to keep such a big
secret. And you were able to keep it
from your mother for this long?”
“I thought I had. However, it appears she already knew and was
waiting for me to say something.
However, she finally got it out of me this morning when I met up with
her in her private mess. I walked in
happier than I have been in weeks, and she actually knew why I was happier;
because she offered Ashari a position here on the station
and knew that I was picking up on Ashari’s
happiness.”
“That does not
surprise me, your mother already knowing.”
“I should have
known better than keeping this from both of you. I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you
about me and Ashari.”
“No problem. Just don’t wait four years to tell us about
any other big news in your life. Okay, Squirt?”
“I promise,” Charissa said as she got up and went around the desk to hug
Sylvan. “Thanks for being so
understanding.”
Sylvan returned
the hug. Then as Charissa
turned to leave, her father added, “That’s what I’m here for. If you want, come by our quarters later for
dinner.”
“Sure. I’ll see both of you then. But for now, I’m going to bed.”
“Have a good rest.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Charissa said as she walked out the door, heading toward
her own quarters and bed.
* * *
Later that day, as
the end of Alpha shift neared, Raiajh was once again
in her office, this time putting in a subspace call to her former first
officer, Captain William McLeod of the USS
Besiege. There were days when Raiajh still thought of the Besiege as her ship, despite being its first skipper for only just
over a year more than a decade before. She
had been her only command before becoming a flag office for the Beta Sector
Fleet when the Klingon Empire pulled out of the Khitomer Accords.
“Good Afternoon,
Admiral,” McLeod said through the desk monitor.
“Afternoon,
Captain,” Raiajh replied. “How’s the battle wagon holding up?”
“She hasn’t let
me down yet. We appear to be the only
ones who call her what she is. Most of Starfleet
prefers to call her an escort ship.”
“True. But remember, she can escort anything she wants too,” the admiral
joked.
“I take it this
isn’t just a social call?” McLeod commented.
“Alas, no. I’m
contacting you as a courtesy. I just
wanted to inform you that I’m going to be speaking to Lt Commander Cathryn
Pearson and offering her a position aboard my starbase.”
“Thanks for the
heads up. I’m going to miss her around
here. Cath has
been an excellent tactical and second officer.
She’s off shift at the moment, and is probably in her quarters. If you can hold for a moment, I can put you
through.”
“That would be
wonderful, William.”
The monitor
screen changed to the image of the Starfleet insignia. A few moments later, Lt Commander Cathryn
Pearson’s face replaced the insignia on the screen.
“Val’ri! It’s been a
while! What have you been up to lately?”
“The usual. However,
I wasn’t calling to catch up on things with you today. Unfortunately, I sometimes do have to act
like the Admiral that I am.”
“My apologies, Admiral Raiajh. How
can I be of service today?” Pearson replied, albeit with a touch of sarcasm in
her voice aimed at her long-time friend.
Raiajh noted the sarcasm and decided to address
Pearson in a very formal fashion, as if she was reading off orders from a padd.
“Pearson, Lieutenant
Commander Cathryn Elisabeth; As of this stardate, you hereby offered
the position of Executive Officer of Starbase 719. Do you accept this position?”
Pearson blinked.
“You called me,
pretending to be all Admiral-y, just to ask me if I want to be your executive officer?”
Raiajh laughed.
“Like I said,
this position does require me to work once in a while. You know that I need someone that I can trust
in the position. I trust you, and you’ve
been a great asset to Captain McLeod all these years. And I believe it would be wonderful to work
with you again. So, would this be a
position you would be interested in?”
“It is! How soon do you need me?”
“How soon can you
make your way to Starbase 719?”
“It may take a
week or two,” Pearson replied. “We’re
going to be docking at DS9 for
R&R shortly. I can catch a transport
from there.”
“Sounds good. See you
when you get here, Cathryn.”
* * *
October 2385
Starbase 719
It had been two weeks
since Cathryn Pearson had arrived at the starbase,
and the day had finally arrived when she would officially assume the position of
Executive Officer of Starbase 719.
However, that did not mean she had not been busy doing the things
Executive Officers normally did. One of
the first things she had accomplished upon her arrival, beyond touring the
station and learning what her duties as first officer would consist of, was to program
the new Command Officer’s test. She had
chosen to offer the exam scenario in a format different than the norm, without any
warning. Although it played out in a similar
fashion to comparable exams offered at
Xaran had entered the holodeck as
the scenario began. Pearson was
impressed by his exceptional performance, and determined he had aced the exam,
even taking into account he had been aware it was only a simulation. Despite his reluctance, Pearson felt Xaran would have made a great command officer if he had
chosen that venue in Starfleet. Instead
she just thanked him for his time.
Xaran was not aware that he would be amongst those getting promotions
in the near future.
The base still
was not fully staffed, and even with normal crew transfers, probably would not be
until sometime in 2287, nearly two years in the future. It was tough finding competent crew, even
department chiefs, willing to serve aboard a starbase
so far away from the Federation core. At
present, both their Chief of Operations and Chief Medical Officer had the title
‘Acting’ before their names. And while Raiajh was actively looking for a Chief of Operations, a
permanent CMO was actually a very low priority on the Admiral’s list, as Dr. Xaran, despite his reluctance to assume the position
permanently, was in her opinion the perfect person for the job. However, Xaran’s disinclination
to accept the assignment was because his wife was the Commanding Officer of the
starbase, and Raiajh was
not even looking at other candidates. As
far as she was concerned, the starbase had its CMO, and
if he wanted to call himself ‘Acting CMO,’ she was not going to stop him.
The Botanical
Section, or Arboretum, aboard the starbase was the
best place for large ceremonial functions, such as the one that would install Cathryn
Pearson as the starbase’s new Executive Officer and
convey promotions on Ashari Pel
and Sylvan Xaran.
Rear Admiral Val’ri Raiajh entered the large
open Arboretum from the station’s hub and noted the crew present snap to
attention.
“Admiral on deck!” Pearson called out to the crew as Raiajh took her place behind the lectern. She looked out at the gathered crew, less
than two hundred personnel who were able to attend, before beginning to speak.
“Please be
seated. Thank you all for coming. I’m going to keep this brief, in spite of
having to conform to certain formalities. Today, I ask you to make the time to meet our newest
crew members and honor these well-deserved promotions.”
Raiajh turned toward her prospective executive officer and
said, “Lt Commander Cathryn Elisabeth Pearson, front and center!”
As Pearson moved up alongside Raiajh, Sylvan
Xaran called out, “Crew, attention to orders!”
Raiajh continued, reading from the first of three pads she
had placed on the lectern. “To Pearson, Lieutenant Commander Cathryn Elisabeth. Effective stardate
62805.5, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Commander, with all rights and
privileges accorded such rank. In
addition, as of this same stardate, you are also requested
and required to assume the title and position of Executive Officer aboard Starbase 719 in the Typhon
Sector.” Raiajh
then opened a box containing a single solid gold pip. Reaching up to Pearson’s collar, Raiajh removed the hollow pip and replaced it with the
solid pip. She then offered Pearson a
handshake, saying, “Congratulations, Commander Pearson.”
As the gathered
crew began to applaud, Raiajh handed the two
remaining pads to her First Officer, then stepped to
the side of the lectern. Pearson stepped
behind the podium and looked at the gathered crew.
“Ensign Ashari Pel, front and center!” Pearson
called out.
Ashari Pel stepped away from
where she stood with Ensign Charissa Xaran and Lt Commander Sylvan Xaran. As she made her way to the podium, Xaran again called to the crowd “Crew, attention!”
Pel took her place next to Commander Pearson on the
dais. The Commander then began to read
from the padd.
“To Pel, Ensign Ashari Tasmina. Effective stardate 62805.5, you are hereby promoted to the rank of
Lieutenant, Junior Grade, with all rights and privileges accorded such
rank. In addition, as of this same stardate, you are also assigned as Ops Duty Officer in
charge of Gamma Shift aboard Starbase 719.” Pearson then picked up the hollow pip that
Admiral Raiajh had just removed from her own collar
and moved over to attach the pip to Pel’s collar next
to her single solid pip. As the crew
again applauded, Pearson dismissed Lieutenant (JG) Pel,
who made her way back into the crowd next to Charissa
Xaran. Pearson
then activated the third padd and, reading from it, called
the next and final promotion recipient.
“Lieutenant
Commander Sylvan Xaran, front and center,” she
ordered.
Sylvan Xaran looked shocked and hesitated before his daughter
pushed him forward toward the dais. As
the doctor stepped over toward Pearson, this time Val’ri
Raiajh called out, “Crew, attention
to orders!”
Raiajh gave Xaran a quick smile
as he stood at attention next to Pearson as the new Commander started reading
from the padd.
“To Xaran, Lieutenant Commander Sylvan. Effective stardate
62805.5, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Commander, with all rights and
privileges accorded such rank.” As Raiajh had done with her just moments before, Pearson then removed
the hollow pip from Xaran’s collar and replaced it
with a solid one from the box on the podium.
Xaran was still dumbfounded as he shook the
hands of both Pearson and Raiajh.
Once the
customary round of applause died down, Raiajh
dismissed the crew, and they began to mill about and talk to one another in a
more casual fashion. Xaran
was still trying to figure out how, after all of these years of declining to
advance in rank, he was accorded this promotion. Then it dawned on him; The
simulation that Pearson had asked him to test to see if she had programmed it properly. He leaned over and whispered in Pearson’s ear,
“You tricked me, Cathryn.”
“I was just doing
my job. It’s just how I give the command officer’s
test. If I feel a person is ready, I
don’t wait for them to request to take it.
I just have them test the simulation for me. If you pass, you pass. And you far exceeded my expectations,
Sylvan. You did exceptionally well. It’s not exactly a test you can study for
anyway. It’s the type of test that works
better when one is just ‘thrown to the wolves.’
Don’t worry, I won’t schedule you for duty in
Ops.”
“I’m going to
hold you to that, Cathryn,” the Betazoid man said.
“Sylvan, you’re a
doctor, and you best serve this station in that capacity. You will not be assigned to Ops unless you
specifically ask for it. Right now, you
are the head of the medical division. You
definitely have the qualifications to fill such an assignment, and it surprises
me that you don’t want that position permanently.”
“It’s not that I
don’t wish to be CMO. I just prefer
spending time with the kids. I also
don’t want people aboard the base thinking I got the position only because of
my wife.”
“Sylvan, no one would
think that. Besides, it’s not like you
would be the first spouse of a commanding officer to hold a command staff
position aboard their spouse’s command.
It has happened in the past, and there are even a few serving in
Starfleet currently. I can even think of
two other couples that have small children aboard their commands, off-hand.”
“I’ll have to
think about that. While Starfleet does
allow spouses to serve together on the same command, it is often very, very
reluctantly.”
“Sylvan, I
certainly understand your concerns,” Pearson assured. “Take your time and think about it. The position isn’t going anywhere. Val’ri and I have
other pressing issues, and we are quite satisfied with the person filling the
position of ‘Acting’ CMO.”
“That’s what I
was afraid of,” Xaran remarked wryly.
“Keep it up and I
will assign you a shift in
Ops,” Pearson said, only half-joking.
“You wouldn’t….!”
“I most certainly
would, Sylvan. You know that.”
“Point conceded,
for now. If you would excuse me, I’d
like to spend a moment with my wife.”
As Xaran left Pearson’s side, Raiajh
thought about it for a moment and decided to throw decorum out the airlock and
met her husband half way with a hug that was readily returned. Even after eighteen years of marriage, his
wife still managed to surprise Xaran.
“That new pip
looks good on you,” Raiajh remarked.
“Thanks. So, whose idea was it?”
“Don’t look at
me,” Raiajh said innocently. “That’s Cathryn’s
job. She’s now responsible for all promotions
through the rank of commander aboard this base now. You should know that, you’ve been in
Starfleet long enough.”
“I know, I
know. So, you and Cathryn aren’t really
looking for someone to replace me?”
“There is just no
one out there with qualifications that even come close to yours, as far as I am
concerned.”
“Bull! You just can’t find anyone willing to come
all the way out here.”
“No bull. The officers that do have similar
qualifications to yours are already CMO’s aboard
other ships and stations, and would rather not transfer. Deal with it, you’re
going to be the CMO here for a while.”
“I’ll deal with
it. Perhaps I’ll contact Julian over at DS9 for some pointers on how to handle medicine
on the frontier?”
“Now that’s the
spirit, Sylvan,” Raiajh encouraged. “Now let’s go find the kids before they find
their way into trouble.”
“Charissa and Ashari are keeping
an eye on them. They’ll be fine,” Xaran assured.
“I’m sure they
will be fine with Charissa and Ashari. However, while I have a chance, I want to
spend a few moments with the family.”
It did not take the
couple long to find Charissa and Ashari
entertaining the younger children Katrina, Julian, Elayne,
and Corrine with stories from their Academy days. Xaran and Raiajh sat down on the grass with them; just enjoying being
a family for a few minutes.
The End
Return to 2385.
Return to Stories Archive.