Burying the hatchet

Posted on 08 Jan 2015 @ 2:07am by Commodore Da`nal of the House of Varal & Commander Travis Stone

1,877 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: M13-A: From the Old to the New
Location: Earth

Having accepted Admiral Burke's offer he now had to find a crew for willing to go on a mission that could possibly mean never seeing their homes or families again. He was of course lifting any restrictions on the bringing of immediate family, not that that would make the decisions to be made any easier.

Before sending out the call for volunteers he needed an Exec, one that wouldn't hesitate to do his duty. He had reviewed file after file but his mind kept returning to one name. Tossing the PADD onto his new desk he spoke; "Computer, display the locate of Commander Travis Stone."

"Scanning."

A holographic monitor activated displaying the western hemisphere with a blinking light indicating the Commander's location and he be.


[Isle of St. Lucia]

The residence was multi-leveled, and had the feel of a well maintained, older structure. Windows were visible, but most of them were set to a very heavy tint. There was a walkway leading to and from the beach, and the front door was tightly sealed. The interior, what could be seen, had a dark and unused appearance.

Da`nal had approach the residence but there had been no answer at the front so he moved to go around back to see if he was around back.

The back was almost as well maintained as the front, only there was a bit more overgrowth in the plants than were allowed to grow mostly naturally. Off to the side, there was an area set aside in what was clearly for outdoor exercising, and there Travis was, running laps on a sandy track.

After watching Stone run along the small yard track, "Do you get dizzy running that small of a track?"

That brought him to a slower walk to begin cooling down. "Commodore. No actually, I tend to just zone out and pay more attention to the environment. What brings you here, and did you want something to drink?" He hadn't actually expected to see the man again, much less here at his home.

Shaking his head at the offer. "No thank you. I have an offer for you. I took the liberty of contacting personnel before coming and saw that you had not been assigned another posting nor had another captain considered you for their XO. For that I most appologize for I put you in a difficult position. You had no knowledge of the history between my house and Toran's nor where my children were at and that they where in extreme danger. However I did not come her to rehash an old issue..."

Travis literally smiled at that one and chuckled before address Da'nal again. "Commodore, it's hardly your fault alone that the ship was sacrificed. That was a decision I made as well, and honestly, I'm glad we did do it before the actions started another war. As for the lack of a selection, as long as they don't put me back in the classroom teaching, I'll deal with it. I had been recently considering calling in a few favors owed though, and looking into a transfer back to the Corps." He paused a moment to think over what had been said. "I'm sure you have important enough things to be doing, so if you didn't come to talk about the past, what did bring you all the way out here?" A note of curiosity came through now as his face contorted a bit in thought.

"I came here to offer you an assignment...of historical proportion." He handed Stone a PADD containing the detail...ships, destination, everything.

Travis took the PADD, read it over briefly once, then again more thoroughly. "Either this is a really odd attempt at a joke, or you've got more lives than a cat Commodore. For the moment, assuming you aren't more insane than normal and this isn't someone's idea of a really bad joke, what exactly are you asking here?"

"It's no joke and the mission is exactly how it reads; a 70 plus year mission of exploration. The ships and personnel under my command will see things that no one in this part of the galaxy has ever seen and I need an XO. You did your duty, based on the information you had, without hesitation. That's why I'm here, because out there we will be on our own...and hesitation could cost lives.

Besides with the two of us on the same page; starting at the same point should prevent any...issues."

"Well, 70 years is a long ways off, and it's not like I have any other plans. So, I'll accept the posting. When're we leaving, Commodore?" Travis asked with a grin. Looks like the vacation was over, thankfully.

Da`nal stood with a grin. "There are still preparations to make and and crews to assemble. Make whatever personal arrangements you need to make and let me know when you are ready and we will head up to our new home."

"Two hours. Any restrictions on what I bring with me?" The residence would be easy to mothball, again. He did have two critters he wanted to bring, which was the crux on this question.

He was honestly surprised at the short duration being requested, but then again he had been a Marine and was no doubt ready out of habit. Another reason that reinforced his selection of Stone as his Exec. "Very well I have a shuttle standing by to load your personal effects. There will be no restrictions, as for many this will be their last voyage simply due to age."

"What, I thought the idea was to live forever Commodore. I'll see you in two hours if you'll send the shuttle down. Anything you need or want me to handle once I report aboard?" Travis asked, thinking how he was going to herd both Thomas and Lacey into their carriers. The house and personal effects would take one comm after he packed what was needed.

[Some time later...]

Da`nal had spent his time on the island while he waited. He had had several bottles of native rum transported to the ship along with several items for his children. His commbadge chirped indicating that the shuttle had been hailed and he returned the shell to table and departed.

The shuttle landed on the beach and the loading ramp lowered and he swiveled his chair to see how much the Commander had packed.

In all, there were two pet crates, three duffel bags, and one larger size cargo crate occupying the shuttle. From the pet crates, there was a soft snoring and then an occasional yip. While it didn't seem like much, it was far more than Travis usually brought along. "Commodore, ready when you are, unless you want me to fly this bucket." He commented with a grin.

"No need." He nodded to the pilot and they lifted off and left the sun and surf of St. Lucia behind. The shuttle left Earth's atmosphere and approached the massive spacedock but instead of entering the station it flew beneath the dome. As it flew on the framework around their new home grew larger sat their approach.

"There it is"

Ok, so his jaw hit the floor and he was gaping at the window like a first year cadet. He challenged anyone to get a view of this, and not have the same reaction. "Commodore, you must have a really good friend, or a really powerful enemy on your hands. So this is what we'll be using for the next few years, amazing. Crew fully assigned yet?"

As the ship grew closer Da`nal answered. "Not completely. I have contacted a few...select individuals and had intended on giving our old crew first crack at the key positions first. At this point the mission is still need to know as the moment the mission is announced the Federation is going to have a diplomatic nightmare to deal with."

Looking back out the window he grinned knowingly. "Oh, I think you will find this interesting as well...". As he trailed off the shuttles flight path took it up over the top of the saucer section as it approached the ships name and registry number.

"Ok, so someone in the fleet has a sense of humor. Still, for the next seventy years or so, at least we'll get a chance to try again and do better. Let's just hope we don't need to blow this one up to stop a war. I don't think a star could survive that." Travis quipped as he looked at the registration and name. In the back from the crates, a soft grumbling that lasted until he said a sharp "Quiet Thomas".

Cocking his head slightly in agreement at the comment, he ignored the Commander's chastisement of his pet. Moments later they landed in the shuttle bay and as they disembarked the deck chief approached.

"Welcome back Commodore," peering into the shuttle, "I see you have guests."

"Hello again Chief. This is Commander Stone, my exec."

The Chief extended his hand. Nice to meet you sir; I can get your things tagged and transported to your quarters for you."

Travis reached out and took the hand, shaking it firmly before letting go. "My thanks Chief, that would be very welcome. And ignore the sounds from the pet crates, they're not too thrilled about the move yet. They won't break out and injure anyone though." Looking around the size of the bay, he couldn't help but let out a whistle. It was bigger than some cargo ships he'd been on. "Commodore, if you don't mind, let's get to the offices and get to work. We have a lot of do before we push off."

He nodded. "There is no shortage of things to be done prior to departure. I will be drafting a release to the Diplomatic core for the ambassadorial posts we need to fill, Starfleet Personnel for the open crew positions, contacting the CO's of the USS Berlin and the USS Freedom, as well as letting our old crew know they have a place if they want it.

I'm sure that as soon as word gets out you should be getting not only transfer requests but commercial inquiries for the promenade areas."

He held in a groan at that. "Right, so paperwork, paperwork, paperwork, and a bit more paperwork. Thomas and Lacey are going to kill me for this one. Least most of it will die off once we launch. Oh, and that reminds me Commodore, how do you want to handle internal issues? Traditionally I'm supposed to keep them away from you, but I get the feeling you prefer to at the least know about it."

"The more the department heads can handle within their departments the better, which will reduce your load as well. As to everything else...lets just play it by ear for now. If you think I need to step in let me know, if there is an issue I find out about that I should have known about I'll let you know. We will have plenty of time to fine tone everything. Beside, going on this long of a mission, on purpose, is really new territory for everyone."

 

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