You Want to Find What?

Posted on 01 Apr 2018 @ 1:40pm by Ensign Mimi & Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm

2,037 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Rigel II - Avondale Production Facility Administrative Complex
Timeline: MD 101, 1502 hrs

[ON]

With her belongings stashed in temporary quarters on the shipyard Mimi made her way to her interview with the still unknown Captain of the new USS Galileo. Entering the administration complex she walked into a large area where the information she had told her she needed to wait until someone came for her. Slowly she paced around, nervous but excited at the same time.

Across the cramped waiting area where the Nekomi ensign and several other candidates were seated, a small door opened and out stepped a junior administrative yeoman charged with processing those in the waiting room. PADD in hand, she looked down then glanced back up to check who was next, and then saw the unmistakable form of the feline woman. "Ensign Mimi?" she called out to verify, her eyes looking towards the junior officer.

Mimi's ears twitched when she heard her name called, looking over she saw a young woman looked at her. "Yes?"

"It's time for your appointment. Come with me," replied the woman who gestured for the ensign to follow her as she began to walk down into the private corridor where several office doors were located. "Galileo, huh?" she then added, turning to look back at Mimi while she small-chatted. "She's a fine ship. Seen her yet out in the docks?"

"Only a quick look, I hope I will get to see her much closer than that." Mimi replied as she followed the yeoman down the corridors.

The red-collared woman stopped in front of the last door on the right and tapped the chime. "Captain, I have an Ensign Mimi here for your 1500," she said into the intercom.

"Yes yes, enter!" came a rushed reply from a female voice within the office. The yeoman stepped aside and the door swished open, presenting the ensign with the opportunity to go inside the sparsely-decorated administrative office.

Inside the room, a youthful-looking olive-skinned Orion woman sat behind the large desk with her console and several dozen PADDs strewn across the top of the counter. The four solid brass rank pips on her collar revealed her to be the captain in question, and when she looked up at Mimi from her screen, her light green eyes were unmistakable. "Hello, ensign," said Captain Lirha Saalm.

Mimi's nose picked up the familiar scent of an Orion woman moments before she saw her. "Ad...." Mimi started before noticing the 4 pips rather than the admirals insignia, how could she be hear after the outcome of the trial. "...Captain Saalm."

"Please sit," Saalm instructed with a motion to the nearby chair across from her desk. She could hear the ensign's momentary confusion after seeing her back in uniform, much the same as several other applicants.

Sitting as instructed Mimi examined Lirha trying to make certain it was definitely her. Everything seemed right, her appearance, voice and scent were correct, it was either 100% her, or another female Orion that looked exactly like Lirha.

The captain watched Mimi stare at her and took notice of the subtle expression on her furry face. "You look like you've seen a ghost, ensign," she remarked with a small private smile. "I promise it is me."

"With respect Captain, the last time we all saw you, you were being put on a transport to go to a prison." She squirmed a little speaking so freely without any permission. "You were the last person I thought I would be talking to."

"Yes... It's been a strange journey, but here I am again. Starfleet's apparently short on convicted reckless and renegade captains," she smirked. The time and place to explain her unique circumstances would eventually present itself, but the captain didn't think now was the time. "So," she changed the subject, "What brings you here to Galileo-A?"

"I want continue to serve on the Galileo, I know it is not the same Galileo but that ship was my first home since leaving my foster mother and now there is a new one I want to make it my home again." Mimi said. "I think a lot of the old crew will feel the same way."

It was a good assumption and one that the Orion captain privately shared. "I think many of them do. Yet this is a new assignment, different from our last. And there will soon be new members of the Galileo family. You've read over the deployment details, yes? You understand we won't be returning to Earth anytime soon?" Approximately three-point-five years, if Saalm had done her math correctly. Possibly even four or five if Starfleet decided to extend their mission.

"I understand that Captain." Mimi replied. A very long cruise on a small ship like a Nova would be an interesting thing and over 3 years would be plenty of time to get to know all the new crew and get to know all the old ones even more.

"And aside from your nostalgia...what do you really want out of this assignment? Why are you really here, and what do you hope to find?" the captain continued with eyes locked on the Nekomi sitting across from her. Wanting to be reposted to a starship with a familiar name and crew was one thing, but wanting to take a posting so far from Earth and for such a long period? The Orion began to search for the answer.

"Do you remember your offer to help me find my homeworld?" Mimi asked, a lot had happened since she had first met Lirha and told her about her search for her species homeworld, she wasn't sure Lirha would remember.

Saalm raised her eyebrows with curiosity while her thoughts regressed to her time aboard Du'JaQ in the astrometrics lab. "My offer?" She wondered what, exactly, the ensign still held her accountable for.

"When we first met and I came to fix the enviromental controls in your quarters, you offered the help of the ships astrometrics department to find my homeworld." Mimi said hoping to refesh Lirha's memory.

"Hmm... Yes, I remember," the captain nodded. "We made progress using the Klingon star charts if I remember?"

"Some progress yes. I found data that showed a possible location for the Bespiri, friends of the Nekomi." Mimi paused before speaking again finally summing up what she was leading to "That area is close the region the Galileo is going to."

Close was a relative term, especially in the vast expanse of space. A world tens of lightyears from another could be considered a neighbor if there was nothing along the path. "You mean to tell me you're searching for a planet and Galileo is to be your instrument?"

"If you will allow it." Mimi said, finding the homeworld itself was a very long shot but finding any more clues would be good. "I will not let it stop my from my duties or any orders you give me."

The honesty was good to hear, the captain admitted to herself. She could only try at best to relate to how Mimi felt being isolated from the rest of her people and not knowing her true origins. Such an existence would have drove the Orion into a deep pursuit years ago, and so she gave the young woman a comforting smile. "I'm sure you won't, and I'd be deceiving you if I said I didn't have an interest in your world as well. Finding and charting new cultures is one of our missions, afterall."

"Thank you for understanding Captain." Mimi said with a smile of her own, internally she relexed several notches glad that Lirha didn't shut her down immediately.

"Of course. But having said that," the Orion began with a shift in her tone to a more serious nature, "When you are aboard my ship and on assignment, I expect you -- everyone -- to honor your obligations to the crew. Should we find anything out there, on the frontier, we'll chart it and investigate as necessary. But our primary mission will remain our priority." She hoped that made sense to the ensign, for she'd always felt her style of command had been a good balance between duty and personal exploration.

"I understand, I will follow your orders." Mimi said, to her the interview was going well so far.

"I hope so," the captain lightly laughed. "It's a long trip to our new AO and most people find the brig quite boring," she jested before looking back to her PADD. "I don't see any medical evaluations on record from you since we returned from Kreanus. I assume you haven't felt the need for any counseling to deal with your...experiences?"

"I have not needed to see one no, my last medical check was on the Atlirith on our way home. Doctor Warraquim said I was recovering well." Mimi said, true she had not had a medical check up in a while. "If you want me to have a new check I will."

"You'll need to get cleared for duty." Saalm was more concerned with a mental evaluation as opposed to a physical one. "Our new counselor will be arriving soon and I'd like for you to arrange an appointment in the next two days before we leave spacedock." She then looked down at the rest of the information on her PADD which was mostly familiar to her. And then another question surfaced in her mind. "What have you been doing during your shore leave? Business or pleasure?"

"Both." Mimi replied. "Commander Ban, Allyndra and a few more of us went to her homeworld Akkadia, we were doing the...... ground work for a small base on one of the moons."

Frowning slightly primarily from a lack of knowledge, the captain wondered what the ensign meant and was curious about the details. "Akkadia? A base? A Starfleet base?"

"A Starfleet base on one of the moons around Akkadia called Ryn, it was a beautiful place, Allyndra even took some of us to her homeworld, it was even more beautiful."

"Hmm...the doctor had always told me her homeworld was extremely xenophobic and not interested in outsiders," the captain remarked more to herself than to the furry ensign. "What were they like?" Saalm then asked, wondering what an entire civilization of Allyndra-like people might resemble.

"They were very nice." Mimi replied. "Very polite, I do not know if that was just because we were guests of Allyndra's their 'house mother' but I met some outside of Allyndra's home and they were very polite too."

The captain tilted her head slightly to the side. "Kindness to strangers can be deceiving when visiting new cultures. ...What were they really like?" she dug further, wanting the ensign to both articulate her experience as well as become more aware of her own perceptions.

"Just as I said, very polite, hard working and... very good with their hands." Mimi said remembering her experience at the irsemia house.

Shrugging mildly with a soft sigh, Saalm gave a single nod. "Well, it seems you enjoyed your time. That is the most important part." Her thoughts drifted back towards the final stages of the ensign's onboarding interview. "Before I authorize you for assignment, do you have any questions for me?" she then asked, giving the woman a chance to voice anything that might be on her mind.

Mimi thought for a few seconds then shook her head. "No questions Captain."

Saalm reached down to open one of her desk's drawers and retrieved a small silver passcard which she then handed out for Mimi to take. "Here, this is your temporary personnel keycard while Galileo is still in dock. It will give you access to all necessary areas aboard the ship except those that are still restricted by the yard engineers. You can report to your new quarters whenever you're ready," the captain explained.

Taking the passcard Mimi smiled widely. "Thank you Captain."

"Welcome aboard Galileo-A, ensign," Saalm replied, returning her smile with a small one of her own. "Dismissed."

[OFF]

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CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

Ensign Mimi
Operations Officer
USS Galileo-A

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