Last Voyage (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 30 Jun 2018 @ 12:00pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Lieutenant Amaranai Franklin & Lieutenant Lake ir-Llantrisant & Lieutenant JG Tris Shizn & Lieutenant JG Rizil Chaya & Lieutenant JG Manuel Lucero & Chief Petty Officer Crispin Snow & Commander Scarlet Blake & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Commander Marisa Wyatt & Ensign Mimi
Edited on on 21 Aug 2023 @ 2:55pm

2,568 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 16 - A Far Sun
Location: Rigel II - Avondale Shipyards, USS Schofield
Timeline: MD 19, 1329 hrs

[ON]

Bridge

Mimi raised the pipe to her lips and tried to replicate the noise of the piping the computer had shown her for the ceremony, after several tries all she’d managed was a feeble toot.

CPO Snow, in dress whites as pristine as his name, put his head round the door. He looked perfectly comfortable in them. “The bell is in place in the docking bay, already to muster.” He saw Mimi’s exasperated expression, and the bosun’s pipe. “Having problems ma’am?”

“Just a few.” Mimi replied. “I can barely get a sound out of this thing, I do not think they are made for non-humans.”

“Oh, there’s a trick to it. One we enlisted don’t tend to share with officers. If you’re desperate I can break my sacred oaths as a crewman and show you how it works?

“With the way I am going with this I will need all the help I can get.”

Snow came into the small operations officer and took the bosun’s whistle. “You can use your breath and the hole.” He blew a note, fluttering his finger over the hole to change pitch, sounding a Haul. “Easy. Want to try again, or just skip to the cheat?”

Mimi’s ears twitched as the shrill noise barraged her senses “I only have to do this once so, tell me this cheat.” Mimi told him, she was surprised that Allyndra had asked her to do it instead of someone like Snow who clearly had more knowledge of the subject.

“These,” Snow turned the bulk of the whistle, showing her a number of buttons. “Are the officers’ excuse me. Presets. This one, press once for All Hands, and twice for Pipe Down. This one, once for Haul Away, twice for Away Galley. This one Still, and Carry On. And that one is General Call. Got it?”

“I had wondered what those were for.” Mimi said, the buttons were extremely small and blended very well into the shape of the pipe.

“Got to have something so the officers can keep up, eh ma’am?” Snow smiled. “Press a button and blow. So simple even a child could do it.”

Mimi smiled and took the pipe, covering the rest of the buttons with her hand she rested her thumb against the one she wanted then took a breath and pressed it. The pipe sounded a perfect ‘all hands’

“See. Easy. No need to worry about anything. As long as you can breathe in your dress uniform you’ll be fine.”

“Just about.” Mimi said. “Thank you for your help Crispin.”

“You’re welcome, Ma’am”


Port Airlock

Allyndra stood with the rest of the senior officers in front of the docking bay with the rest of ship's crew. Her uniform itched a little as her wings were growing back out again. Still it was quite a sight to behold seeing everyone in their best and all lined up. She caught a glimpse of Lirha heading with the rest of the crew that had stayed behind including Commander Ban. She wanted to wave but refrained. Instead she formally turned and commanded, "Ensign Mimi pipe the senior officer"

Alongside Klingons on Mimi's hate list were what she was facing now; wearing dress whites and hearing the horrible shrill noise of a bosun's pipe, she hoped her hours practise and CPO Snow's help would pay off otherwise she would be very embarrassed. Standing at attention she took a breath and sounded the pipe.

Waiting behind her, Snow murmured quietly, "See, ma'am? Easy as breathing."

Chaya dug her finger under the collar of her white lieutenants' uniform and discreetly scratched underneath before anyone could take the time to notice. When anyone looked at her, she snapped to attention with her hands behind her back, whistling a tune.

Marisa quietly slipped into place and glanced around to see who else was there. With all the ceremonies she'd attended over the years, this was her first decommissioning ceremony.

Making his way down the reception line, Lieutenant Lake ir-Llantrisant paused his progress to offer individualized pleasantries to each of the officers he passed. He paused long enough to share a bon mot, and he paused long enough to strike a pose in his uniform. Oddly, the dress uniform hugged his form better than his duty uniform. The white jacket looked crisp and sharp; those weren't words that could be used to describe the intensity of his gaze. His words were all smile and charm, but he didn't pause long enough to let anyone see his diffident expression.

For Allyndra, Lake offered thanks for her leadership; for Mimi, he offered her blessings and called her Wind Dancer; for Chaya, he recalled their earlier joke about wishing to be anywhere but here, especially if it could be with a weird drink in hand; and for Marisa, Lake only offered a knowing look, because their only meaningful time spent together had been of a confidential nature. Lake took up the space beside Marisa and he approximated a parade-rest stance, awaiting the Captain's next orders.

Marisa flashed Lake a smile of understanding.

Chaya gave Lake a secret smile in return, somehow knowing but not expectant, and offered him a wry two-fingered salute.

Azra arrived, wearing her dress whites. This was the second decommissioning ceremony she'd been to at Avondale. It was far from a rare occurrence. She stood at attention, as was expected of her. She had no connection to the ship being decommissioned, or to the people aboard except that she'd be serving with many of them in the future. Commemorating service was always a good thing, though.

Manuel walked in briskly with a formal demeanor, his dress uniform no more or less white than the others. Once he actually got to where the rest of the crew stood, he noticeably relaxed. He decided to greet everyone who had already arrived with a genuine smile that non-verbally read, "looks like we survived another one, huh?" The Lieutenant stood on the other side of Lake, at-the-ready for the call of 'attention to orders'.

Ens. Shizn arrived in his dress whites to find most of the senior staff already present. He made his way over to the formation, catching a few eyes on him as well as a few acknowledging quiet nods.

The tight-fitting dress uniform Lirha wore was unforgiving for her hips, but the pearly white vested jacket perfectly complimented her chest and shoulders. Her emerald green skin, green eyes, and black hair contrasted strikingly against the clean whites while she stepped forward and surveyed all of those present.

As the shrill whistle was sounded in started the ceremony. The first part would be Blake welcoming the senior officer.

Blake stood to attention as she looked to Lirha. A part of her wanted to smile in greeting, but there would be time for that later. Another part of her had to resist the urge to salute. It had become so instinctive to the ex-marine. Instead, she remained upright, her expression calm and focused. This was the first time she'd had to do something like this. "Welcome, Captain Saalm, crew. We are here to mark the end of service of the USS Schofield. A ship which had the honour of a final cruise that saved countless lives." She turned to Lirha at that, pausing for just a moment as she gathered her words. "Captain, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for the service of your crew in that final mission of the Schofield. Without them, a great many lives would have been lost," she bowed her head slightly before motioning for Lirha to move up and speak.

"You are the one to be thanked, Captain Blake." Saalm let a private smile curl at the corners of her lips after hearing the sound of Scarlet's recent duty promotion play across her tongue. "They are your crew just as much as mine. We are all Galileans."

The Orion captain then turned away from Blake and towards the assembled officers and NCOs. "Crew of the Schofield... I know it has been some time since I've served with you. In my absence, you have all upheld the highest conduct and morals of the Federation aboard this fine vessel. USS Schofield has been in service for over 100 years, longer than most of us have been alive. She has explored the quadrants before Galileo was ever commissioned, and her knowledge and journeys are the foundation upon which we now stand. Honor this vessel and those generations of Starfleet explorers before you who made our mission possible."

Blake let a moment of silence fall before taking a slight step forward. "Attention to orders. By order of the Admiralty of Starfleet and confirmed by the authority of the Council of the United Federation of Planets, the USS Schofield is to be retired from active duty." She looked across to Allyndra, giving a slight nod. "First Officer, make preparations to decommission the USS Schofield."

Allyndra nodded and said, "Aye aye captain." She then turned formally. "Reports!"

Amaranai stepped forward at her name being called. She was all business. That's what this was - business. No need to casually notice that Lirha looked beautiful in her dress uniform (and the sudden chill of thoughts of what Lirha looked like without her dress uniform.

"All decks have been secured, ma'am," she began. "All phasers have been disconnected. All weapons from the Armory have been removed. Torpedoes have been offloaded to the station and targeting systems deactivated. Running lights have also been extinguished."

The security officer paused to consider her statement and then nodded.

"That is all, ma'am."

"Warp, impulse engines and all reactors shut down, antimatter pods secured ready for removal, Sir." Donald announced.

"Replicators are offline, remaining stores are offloaded." Mimi gave her report.

Allyndra made a formal one eighty turn saluted and said, "Captain, USS Schofield is ready for decommissioning."

Blake turned stiffly to Lirha, shoulders pulled back and her body rigid. "Captain Saalm, permission to decommission the ship?"

"Permission granted," Captain Saalm answered with an affirmative nod to the commander.

Allyndra turned again, “Crew attention!"

Blake waited for the slight shift in the crew to still before lifting her chin slightly. "Strike eight bells!" she called. "Haul down the colours!"

Turning to her side Mimi rang the ships bell in four sequences of two strikes.

The United Federation of Planets flag that had been hung for the ceremony was brought down and folded. At that point Allyndra turned to face the crew one more time. "Secure the watch!"

Blake turned back to Lirha, finally meeting her eyes with a slight nod. "The USS Schofield has been decommissioned. I hereby relinquish command of the ship."

As that part of ceremony came to an end there was one last bit of ceremony. Allyndra motioned to Mimi to come forward with the plaque. She took the plaque from Mimi and then handed it to Captain Saalm for formal presentation. She gave to it Captain Saalm with a nod of her head.

Galileo's captain accepted the piece. Holding the ancient vessel's dedication plaque in her green hands was one of the most humbling experiences Saalm had now encountered in her life. The tactile feel of the wood frame and cold metal composites was a relic from the past; it was the feeling of Starfleet's history personified into a single object. She looked it over several times while noticing the weathering on the inscriptions, then presented it back to Scarlet.

"Thank you, captain. I hereby receive and present this commemoration of USS Schofield back to you, as final commander of this vessel, to be retired." Saalm then stood at attention, her feet spread shoulder-width and chest high with her hands clasped behind her back in traditional Starfleet fashion.

Blake held the plaque in her hands, her fingertips moving over it with awe. Her throat tightened at the prospect of being able to keep something so precious. She finally allowed a soft smile to reach her features, nodding gently to Lirha.

At that last bit of ceremony. Allyndra again turned to the assembled crew. She came to attention and said, "It has been a pleasure to serve with you. Carry out your last orders, dismissed." Everyone present had gotten orders to basically have leave at the shipyards until the commissioning and launch of the new Galileo.

Ensign Shizn had enjoyed the ceremony, as ceremonies go. He guessed that he had not seen Allyndra in dress whites before. The complexion of the Akkadian reminded him of his own ‘blueness’ in contrast to the white uniform and how he found that color combination to be striking and appealing.

"Whew, well, she had a good run," Chaya tapped the rail behind her fondly. She'd been aboard for like, a month, but whatever. Something something bonds forged whilst on the run from crazed pre-warp aliens. "Anyone fancy a drink? The weirder, the better," she nudged Lake.

Allyndra relaxed now that the final bit of ceremony was over. She overheard Chaya talking to Lake and it sounded like a fine idea. She sought out Tris. "So Tris, can a out of a job Executive Officer buy a good helmsman a drink?"

The corner of Tris’ mouth turned up finding the thought appealing and appreciated. “Yes Commander,” He said in a relaxed way. “Absolutely.” He looked about at the remaining officers as they began to make their way out. Tris cleared his throat gently as he walked with the Akkadian and said, “ ‘Out of a job’ Allyndra? I’m sure they will have something for you.”

"Indeed, back to a sawbones again. Anyway just before we left I heard there was this lounge on Deck 48 that served this concoction called A Far Sun." She laughed a moment, "I know almost sounds like the beginning of a joke, an Akkadian and an Andorian walk into this bar together...."

Marisa was slow to leave. The Schofield had given her so much on its last voyage. She would never forget it. She carefully wiped a tear off her cheek and headed to the Galileo to change out of her dress whites and go to the science department.

Azra left the ceremony without any real delay. She'd already been to one of these, and she had no connection to this ship. She planned to get to work on the ship she'd call home for the foreseeable future.

[END EPISODE 16]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

Cmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lieutenant Lake ir-Llantrisant
Chief Counselor
USS Galileo-A

Ensign Tris Shizn
Helmsman
USS Galileo-A

Ensign Mimi
Operations Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lieutenant Amaranai Franklin
Assistant Chief Security / Tactical
USS Galileo-A

Crewman Draia Thero
Engineer's Mate
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC ir-Llantrisant]

Lieutenant Marisa Sandoval
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lieutenant (j.g.) Manuel Lucero
Asst. Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

Cmdr Scarlet Blake
Second Officer
USS Galileo-A

Chief Warrant Officer Azra Ghoc
Boatwain
USS Galileo-A

CPO Crispin Snow
Operations Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Derani]

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