Time to Move

Posted on 25 Sep 2023 @ 4:58pm by Commander Morgan Tarin & Lieutenant JG Rafe Caradec

1,836 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Location: Regula I - Level 16, Senior Office Module
Timeline: MD 17, 1519 hrs

[ON]

"Commander Tarin to Lieutenant Caradec," said Morgan into her commbage after a quick slap across her left breast to activate the small device. "Report to my office module on Level 16." The new Galileo captain had a mountain of administrative work to process in the coming days and one of her first priorities was replenishing the science vessel's crew. The small Nova-class starship had been operating under-staffed for almost two months, which degraded its mission capability and effectiveness. This new conn officer who they'd discovered aboard Cold Station 31, however, could potentially make a worthy addition to the crew - if the man desired the opportunity.

Rafe heard the call from his comm badge. He tapped the badge, "Caradec here, Captain. I'm on my way. Be there in 3 minutes." Rafe dropped what he was doing, getting his neglected room tidied up. The beginning of down time was welcomed for sure. And he couldn't wait to forget what they had gone through. Even though it had been traumatic, to say the least, even this little bit of time away from it had given him some perspective. Even in the absolute worst of times, while some powerful forces were at work, the rank and file of Starfleet came together, survived, and made their escape happen. It was good to know the team, even though new to him, came together and welcomed him.

Rafe walked to the office containing the Captain and chimed the door panel.

"Come!" responded curt reply. The door swished open to present the interior of the captain's office containing all of its sparse glory. The senior officer module was a temporary circular chamber in which Morgan could conduct her personal administrative duties, but it held no sentimental value or personal amenities. What it did have, however, was a gorgeous view of the nearby planet, Remidia, across several large and expansive window viewports. The planet's bright white cloud cover and blue oceans were accentuated by its purple continental foliage and atmospheric glow.

"Mister Caradec," greeted the commander, formally rising from her chair. She gestured to a seat in front of her desk. "Please sit. I hope life on this station is treating you well? Better than the cold station?"

"Absolutely, Captain, much better than the cold station. I'm just glad that experience is behind us." Rafe sat down thanking his lucky stars that this captain seemed to be experienced and knew what she was about. Not everyone who carried the title had the wherewithal to effectively wield it.

"I think we all are, lieutenant," she replied in agreement. "I can't begin to speculate what you encountered there within the facility before our away teams arrived. From what I hear, you're lucky to be alive..." She lightly raised her eyebrows in conjunction with her last statement. He was the only Starfleet officer they'd managed to recover from the cold station among a long list of dead and MIA research personnel.

"I'm thankful to be here, Captain. You can't imagine how thankful I am. There were times I thought my time was up. Before meeting up with the scientists, I was alone for about 18 hours, escaping, being silent, waiting for what I didn't know would come. To be honest, it was hell. And at the same time, it was a miracle to get out." Rafe said in a matter of fact tone.

"Starfleet always comes for our people, even in the darkest and most hopeless moments. I'm glad you never forgot that," she replied with a small smile of reinforcement. "You're a survivor. In both the mental and physical definition. And if you're open to the opportunity, I'd like for you to join Galileo's crew as the senior conn officer within the Command department."

It took a moment for it to register. And then it hit him. His head bowed. "Captain, I am honored that you would consider me." Rafe looked up and directly at her. "I thank you for that and I will do my best to uphold the finest of Starfleet traditions and ideals. I accept, Captain, but I will put this ship through the test to make sure she comes out in top flying order."

She slightly tilted her head at his last statement while recalling his accidental impulse engagement during routine asteroid navigation on the journey to Regula I. "Maybe let's run some of those tests in holodeck simulations before you actually need to stress the structural integrity field to its limit?" It was a dry half-joke, but a serious consideration.

"Yes, of course, Captain. I completely agree! I always like to test them in the holodeck before actually getting the feel for the ship. They always come out of the space dock, especially after repairs, with a different way about them. Some not so much at all if the repairs were minor. However, our repairs are not minor." Rafe concluded, "After all is said and done, I want to make sure that I know this ship and what it can do and, more importantly, what it can't. Any crew that I serve with, especially this crew, I want to be able to say that I, or my flight team, were able to bring us home. I want you to be able to depend on us, Captain. I want you to know that if you give us a command that, come hell or high water, we're going to make it happen."

Tarin appreciated the sentiment from the junior lieutenant. His sincerity didn't appear to be fake and she could sense he truly cared about not only his personal duty as an officer, but also as a helmsman. "I was a conn officer myself before becoming a first officer," she revealed with a discreet genial tug at the corner of her lips. "USS Yeager, Saber-class. Six years from '77 to '83."

"No way!" Rafe's eyes lit up like a freaking beacon. He jumped out of his seat! "Are you serious?!? Oh, Captain, we HAVE to share some stories!" He realized he was acting like a high school kid who just got his first kiss. "Um, sorry Captain. I just, um, think we may have a lot in common. My apologies, mam." He thought to himself, he better sit down before she thinks he's a bi-polar moron who shot his medicine out of an airlock. He went back to his chair and regained his composure, maybe a little too late. But he was so freaking excited! He wanted to ask her questions, a million of them. But ok, he better just shut up. So Rafe sat there, being silent, just staring at her with a big dufus grin on his face.

A suppressed chuckle broke through her appearance of professionalism. "We'll have plenty of time to exchange stories. Every morning, in fact, during officer PT." She looked over his tall and muscular physique which his uniform did little to hide. "You don't seem like someone with an aversion to exercise. I require all of my crew to be in the best physical condition possible...even though this is technically a science survey vessel. I trust that won't be a problem?"

"No, Captain.", Rafe replied. "I completely agree. And my last experience has put an exclamation point on that necessity. If I hadn't been in the shape I was, I am quite sure I would have died fighting that one-bladed wraith with only blood lust for an appetite. It was amazingly quick." Caradec's body had started to tense up in the brief recollection of the mission from hell. He realized he was tensing up and stopped himself. He let himself relax and leaned back in his chair. "Sorry, Captain. That was some pretty intense negotiations we had on Cold Station 31. But I am thankful to say, it's behind us and I'm looking forward to what lies ahead. I'm really thankful to have you as my Captain, especially someone with flight experience."

"I'm glad we agree. I'm thankful to have you as my senior pilot," she returned the compliment in kind. He was an officer who appeared to become emotional and agitated at times, yet his experiences aboard the cold station were most likely a major contributing factor. Hopefully nothing some routine counseling couldn't address. Tarin let out a quiet breath then stood from her chair to begin the formality. "Stand to attention, lieutenant."

Rafe immediately stood at attention, towering over his Captain, but ready to follow her come what may.

She stepped around from behind her small desk then approached the taller officer. She, herself, was an inch shy of six-feet in height yet the conn officer's additional four inches were certainly noticeable. Clasping her hands professionally behind her back, she closed the distance between them then stopped to look into his blue eyes. "Mister Caradec, you're hereby assigned - effective immediately - as senior conn officer aboard USS Galileo with all the responsibilities therein." Tarin extended her hand for the man to shake. "Congratulations on your new assignment."

Rafe extended his hand and accepted the handshake from the Captain. "Thank you, mam. I appreciate your vote of confidence in me and I will endeavor to be an asset to the ship, the senior staff, and to you personally. If you ever need anything from me, professional or otherwise, you have only to call and you can depend on me for discretion and confidentiality. I am available to you at all times."

"Excellent," she sharply nodded. "We'll be seeing each other a lot in the coming days. After this repair and resupply evolution is finished, I intend to conduct a ship-wide systems test around the solar system. We haven't received new orders yet since returning from the cold station, but I want Galileo at maximum operational capacity when those orders do eventually come across my PADD."

"Aye, Captain. We'll be ready and I'm looking forward to the shakedown.", Rafe said.

"You're dismissed then, lieutenant. Welcome aboard Galileo." Slowly...ever so slowly, the Nova-class' motley crew was beginning to take a new shape with new officers and a new commanding officer. Caradec was a good addition, she felt, and his duty-bound and determined personality would hopefully wear off on the others.

"Thank you, Captain." With that, Rafe did an about face and exited the Captain's temporary office. He felt gratitude as he walked away from the meeting, nothing but gratitude and a profound sense of being lucky. From being but a whisper from death by the swing of a blade-armed abomination to the Senior Conn Officer aboard his new assignment, the Galileo, he could only feel thankfulness...that, and an enormous amount of responsibility to those who weren't so lucky. And, with the promotion of responsibilities, he happened to get some new private quarters. Time to move!

[OFF]

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CMDR Morgan Tarin
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

Lt. JG Rafe Caradec
Senior Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A

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