A Fond Farewell (Part 2 of 4)

Posted on 12 Mar 2012 @ 3:40pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Amara Damian & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Lieutenant Commander Chauncey Remington III (KIA) & Lieutenant JG Robin Hilyer MD & Lieutenant JG Drusilla McCarthy & Lieutenant Commander Evelyn Coleman & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Tarishiana Barel

4,300 words; about a 22 minute read

Mission: Episode 00 - Pre-Deployment
Location: Starfleet HQ, Banquet Lounge
Timeline: MD 05 - 1815 hrs

After the crew arrives at the official banquet, they begin to settle in and mingle amongst each other...

[ON]

Upon seeing her two immediate superiors enter the room, Lirha politely excused herself from her XO and wandered slowly over to the first, a dark haired Betazoid woman who she recognized as Commodore Damian, her Task Group Commanding Officer. With a drink in hand, the Orion stopped in front of the blue-eyed woman and gave her a smile. "Commodore, it's good to see you again. I hope you weren't inconvenienced by our little gathering?" she said with a sweeping motion of her hand to indicate the large and festive lounge.

"Not at all. Victorious needed to make a stopover for supplies anyway," Amara replied extending her hand to greet Galileo's Commanding Officer. "Besides gatherings like this one is just part of my job." Looking around the room, "You've done a nice job."

The Orion captain grasped the commodore's hand and gave it a firm shake, accompanied with a nod of approval. "Thank you, Ma'am. I agree, this reception is shaping up to be better than I had planned." she said with a small gin. "Are you enjoying your time in San Francisco, so far?" she asked.

With a smile Amara replied, "I'm enjoying it as much as I can. Victorious only has a short 48 hour layover. They're keeping us deployed more often than we get a chance to be home or at a starbase lately. Do you have your initial mission orders yet?"

"Yes," she started in a subdued voice as she moved closer to the commodore, "They are somewhat...complicated." she said in her best attempt to hide her reservations about the assignment. "I would have preferred some time for a shakedown cruise, but as our orders currently stand, we will be departing tomorrow evening."

"Keep morale up and your crew will do fine. Believe me we all feel like that our first time out its normal," Amara responded with a smile.

Lirha smiled back and squeezed the commodore's arm, thankful for the reassurance. "Glad to know I'm not the only one... I'll be sure to remember that." she said, then glanced around the room at the various personnel wandering about. Wasting no time, she emptied her drink down her throat and looked back towards the bar. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, I think I need a refill of this delicious brandy." she said, then squeezed her thin yet curvy green frame through the crowd in search of the bartender.

"Well"" the commander began, watching as his CO headed off to hopefully distract and delay the senior officers in the room.
"I guess it's time I met the team....wish me luck Chief" He nodded to Quinn before heading off into the room, a freshly refilled glass in his hand. There were certainly a variety of species, ranks, and specialties here tonight, with everything from security right through to xenobiology being represented. He had to admit though, most of the faces he wasn't familiar with. After scanning the crowd for a few moments, he noticed their new Counsellor had finally arrived, one of the few senior officers he had been given the chance to meet recently.

"Nice to see you again Lieutenant, I trust the engineers managed to get your office up and running? I passed along your..thoughts, to the dockmaster directly and it seemed to have the desired effect"

Dru turned suddenly as she heard a voice behind her, trying not to splash her drink, suddenly glad she had taken a white wine. "commander! Sorry, you caught me by surprise there." Dru smiled up at Jonathan, suddenly glad to speak with someone she knew, "Apart from some gel packs which seem to have taken up residency on my desk, it is pretty much finished up. You didn't have to go to so much effort, I'm sure there are more important areas of the ship you needed to look after first."

"Nonsense!" he replied with a sense of humour in his voice. "With a crew this small, and after our chat in the mess hall, if anything I can vouch for us needing a counsellor on more than one occasion before this first mission is complete!"
He smirked at her reference to the gel packs, his desk in the XO's office hadn't been in a much better condition when he first arrived.
"You'll get used to the gel packs, either a sheepish looking engineer will come to retrieve them, or you'll have to keep them as pets!" he joked, before looking around the room.

"So these are the people we'll be serving with, I don't think I recognise any faces at all as of yet...anyone you know?"

"Hum...I wonder how much feeding a gel pack would require if I did take one on as a pet." Dru smiled softly as she surveyed the faces around her, "Well I've met our Doctor over there for my medical and a few of the faces I recognise from either running into them in corridors or seeing them early for their psych evaluations." Dru paused slightly as she chose her next words carefully, "I seem to have run into our new Captain more than anyone else over the last few days. She's been good with helping me to settle in. From our conversation the other day, I think you understand, it's been unsettling trying to readjust coming from such a large ship and crew. People would think it easier, less space and less people, but it really isn't that easy."

"You'll get no argument from me Lieutenant, this first cruise is going to be pretty interesting. From what I've read of our launch orders, we won't even be getting time for a proper shakedown cruise...so if anything breaks down, we'll have to fix it ourselves, real flying by the seat of the pants kind of exploration."

He took a sip of his drink and decided that it was probably time for the pair of them to mingle. As he looked around the room, he saw the doors part, and another lieutenant step in, this time wearing the markings of the Operations division. This face however, wasn't exactly one he didn't recognise, as an ex-tactical instructor, he had made sure to read up on the profile of their new Chief Tactical officer.

"That's someone I need to get to know...would you care to accompany me Dru?" He motioned towards the doors and the recently arrived officer.

Dru takes a small sip of her wine before moving to walk after the Commander. Dru was curious to meet this new person the Commander seemed to be very interested in. As she followed the Commander she noticed a small group containing two Andorians and a Bajoran. Going back through her memory, she recalled information on a one Admiral Talla H'RHar and her son Ayden H'Rhar who were to be accompanied by a Commander Kentar Chinari. Dru smiled and nodded her head. She made a note that once she was finished here, maybe she should go over and introduce herself, make herself seem more sociable.

Heading towards the doors, John made sure he caught the attention of the new arrival's eyes before he got close, preferring to get within earshot rather than simply bellowing across the room.

"Lieutenant Scuito I presume?" He spoke in a low voice, waiting for a reply before continuing. Although he was pretty certain this was indeed the correct officer, he would rather be safe than sorry!

Amber Rose looked around and nodded when she saw who it was.

"Jonathan Holliday, First Officer, this is Lieutenant McCarthy, our ship's counsellor, I'm glad you could make it, the way this mission had been shaping up so far I was concerned we were going to depart Earth with an unmanned Tactical station!"

Amber Rose gave a small smile. "Well you don't have to worry anymore, Commander. I'm actually glad to be here." She was unsure of what to do next, but she held out her hand in a greeting. A handshake wasn't bad. It was a sign of respect or at least it was a more adult like greeting that spoke wonders.

Dru took Amber Rose's hand smiling at her gently, she noticed that the girl couldn't have been much younger then herself. "It's nice to meet you Lieutenant."

Waiting for Dru to finish, John too extended his hand to greet the young officer, her sense of politeness earned her a few points in his book at the very least, and it was always a good idea to have a tactical officer that you got on with, at least as far as John was concerned.

"Well that's good to hear, how was your trip back to Earth? Uneventful I hope?"

Amber Rose nodded. "Yes, sir. No problems." She shook his hand as well and smiled. It seemed this crew was going to be a fun one.

"Excellent, just what I like to hear. Tell me, what are you expecting from this assignment? Was it one you requested, or just the orders from Command that brought you to our little ship?"

Amber Rose pondered the question for a moment. She needed to gather her words just right to provide the right answer, "I expect nothing but good things from this assignment. Each assignment has their own pros and cons. As for the second part I was transferred by orders, but I look forward to seeing how my time here goes." She smiled at the man.

"Looks like we're in the same boat then Lieutenant, here by the command of our superiors rather than by our own choice. From what I've seen so far the ship is pretty tough for a science vessel, just make sure you keep an eye on those targeting scanners though, in case anyone decides that a bunch of scientists are too easy a target to pass up" he said with a wry smile on his face

Amber Rose laughed, "I'll be sure to do that." She grinned at the man and felt completely at ease around him. Her time with this crew should be VERY interesting.

"Well Lieutenant, my glass is getting empty, I feel a trip to the bar is in order, enjoy your evening" He said, excusing himself from the conversation, and heading for a reloading of his quickly consumed drink.

As Dru watched Holliday and Amber speak amongst themselves she smiled softly and excused herself, looking around the room to see who might want some company.

Markum took notice of the Rear-Admiral and her small entourage. If memory served him right, she was the Task Force Commander, and skippered an Ambassador- Class. He also knew the Chief Engineer fairly well. Markum stood and approached the Andorian Admiral.

"Admiral Talla H'RHar , ma'am. I'm Senior Chief Warrant Officer Markum Quinn, Chief Engineer of the Galileo. It is nice to meet you." He nodded to the younger Andorian, then addressed her escort. "Commander, sir. Nice to meet you as well. I understand you have a Kovartii that can be a tad bit over-technical with his speech. Nice guy, the Lieutenant just needs to let loose a little. You know how us engineers are a tight group. no one understands an engineer, quite like another engineer."

"He does get a bit technical," the Andorian commanding officer replied with a smile. "Allow me to introduce my company. Commander Kentar Chinari, my chief intelligence officer and partner, and my son Cadet Ayden H'Rhar."

The younger Andorian smiled politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you sir. But uhm, does the Galileo also have a chief medical officer yet?"

Talla smiled again. "Ayden's soon graduating from Starfleet Medical," she clarified before her son could respond.

Markum looked brightly at the Cadet. "I have a son that is a Cadet studying Health Sciences at the Academy too. He's in his second year. Not sure if you know him. His name is Marcus Quinn. As far as a Chief Medical, yes, Doctor Holliday is a fine physician. Maybe you can get your Cadet Cruise under him, or once you graduate and do your internship with us."

Markum returned his attention to the Admiral and Commander. "It is a pleasure to meet you Commander Kentar. Admiral, I always loved Andoria. I graduated from the Andorian University of Structural Engineering, back in 'fifty-five."

"I see. I haven't returned to Andor since my husband was killed." She felt Kentar pull her a little closer in an attempt to offer comfort, and Ayden looked downright uncomfortable. "Why don't you show us around, and introduce us to your shipmates?"

"I'm sorry ma'am." was all he could think of to say regarding the Admiral's loss. "Please, this way." Eying Saalm, he guided the Admiral, and her guests, over to the Orion CO. "Excuse me, Commander Saalm? Let me introduce you to Admiral Talla H'Rhar, her son Cadet Ayden H'Rhar, and her partner and Chief Intel Officer, Commander Kentar Chinari. This is Commander Lirha Saalm."

The captain turned around at the mention of her name and looked at the entourage of people standing before her. She smiled at her chief engineer then focused her eyes on the two tall Andorians and the Bajoran man accompanying them. She nodded respectfully at the three of them.

"Admiral, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," she said in a soft voice, "Thank you for joining us tonight, I hope it wasn't an inconvenience for you."

"Not at all, it was only a small detour." The admiral smiled, though to the keen observer it was clear she wasn't feeling up to staying around for too long.

Lirha turned to the young blue-skinned man who's facial features resembled his mother's. She held out her hand for him to shake. "Cadet, it's a pleasure to meet you. I take it you are enjoying your time in Starfleet so far?" she asked with a smile.

"I'm in my final year ma'am," the younger Andorian answered politely. He was unable to keep his eyes off her, even though he did try not to stare. "But my professors told me my grades are such that I can afford a slight delay to do an internship on my mother's ship."

"Well that's great news." she responded enthusiastically, "What is your field of study?" she asked, unsure if the cadet's blue-trimmed dress uniform meant that he was a future science or medical officer.

"Medical ma'am. I'm already a qualified coroner, but once I graduate I'll be the first one in my line to be a medical doctor." The young Andorian smiled proudly. "Mother used to be a tactical officer and my father...he was intelligence. I think. I don't really remember my father."

Lirha was slightly unsure of how to respond, as she wasn't certain of the young man's family history or dynamics. "Well congratulations," she said with a smile as she delicately stepped around the subject. "I can tell you from experience that doctors are a hard commodity to come by these days. I'm sure you'll make your mother proud." she said, then looked up at Talla and winked.

Turning towards the Bajoran commander, she held her hand out and offered a smile. "Commander, it's always nice to meet a fellow Intel chief." she said happily, in reference to her previous departmental background.

The Bajoran merely smiled, while taking the offered hand. His keen eyes had already spotted the minute movements the Orion made and had already deduced that she must have a background in intelligence. That, and of course he'd done his homework. "The pleasure is all mine commander," he answered quietly. "Please excuse me while I go walk about." He squeezed Talla's hand, then quietly disappeared into the crowd.

"You must forgive him, he's not really used to being in the spotlight, he prefers to stay anonymously in the background, so he can do his job. When do you sail out?" Talla asked while Ayden too walked off to go off on his own.

"Tomorrow evening." she answered while staring into the Andorian's eyes. "Our departure date has been moved up by twelve hours so we now have a midnight launch scheduled." she said with a shrug and a sigh. "The crew and I completed our inspection and systems check earlier today and I'm quite impressed with the state of the Galileo. I know the engineers and dockworkers will have her ready to go, but I wish I had more time for a shakedown cruise." she admitted.

"Sometimes, you make do with the time you have, and you make sure your crew believe they are miracle workers. A night launch is good training for the gamma shift, I've had to do my fair share of them. The Sarek will be departing soon again too, in a few days in fact. So we don't have too much time to linger around because I have briefings to prepare."

"Well I just hope we don't run into any unexpected problems in the middle of the night." Lirha replied with a cautious smile. "How long have you been here in San Francisco for, Admiral?"

"Not for very long, as I said we do leave in a few days. Sooner rather than later, in fact." She waved Ayden off, suggesting he go mingle on his own. Kentar merely smiled, but didn't stray from her side that far. It was almost, as if he was watching her.

Will finished off a bit of his champagne and picked up a second glass. He started walking across the room until he feel in beside Tarishiana. "Good evening, warrant officer," he said with a pleasant smile, offering her the second glass of champagne.

Tarishiana was loving the party. That wasn't a surprise. She felt her smile grow as the Lieutenant Commander approached her with a drink. "Good evening, Sir." She replied smoothing with her standard flirty grin. "Thank you." she said motioning towards the glass. "Enjoying the party?" She asked as she took a sip of the newly delivered champagne.

The human raised his glass slightly towards her and inclined his head towards her. "Oh, I am, very much," he assured her, "Commander Remington, chief of operations. But please, call me Will, or William if you really must be formal."

"Ok Will, I am Tarishiana Barel... Chief Science Officer" she started, "Feel free to call me Tarish, or Tarishiana...Just not Ms. Barel" she paused somewhat for dramatic effect. "She is my mother." She finished with a laugh. "So do they do parties like this for every new ship and her crew?"

From the human, her Betazoid senses picked up his previously tight and concerned emotions relax, even daring to let a sense of enjoyment creep in. He felt far more comfortable with this woman he had just met than with most people. Why, however, was hard to tell, but he seemed to feel a sense of familiarity towards her.

"Not that I know of," he said to her words in reply, giving her a subtle wink, "only the important ones with beautiful science officers aboard. I should know, I've seen a few ships launched and a lot of science officers in my time serving space stations." He paused to take a sip of champagne then leaned forward to whisper conspiratorially. "Mostly Vulcans, all cold as ice and half the time those frowns make them look ridiculous." He stood up straight and made a 'snobbish' face, looking down his nose at her and raising his hand in the Vulcan salute. "Pleasant conversation is illogical, Ms. Barel," he solemnly decreed.

Tarishiana let out a loud but light laugh at the impersonation. Her hand moved to her lips and she tried to quit her enjoyment. "I had that exact conversation with a Lieutenant on the Kodiak Island." she said through a large grin. "He couldn't understand my need for conversation. You should have seen his face when I told him it was a pleasant way to pass the time." she took a sip of her drink while the smile remained permanent on her lips.

Will was unable to keep his Vulcan look much longer and he broke out into a wide grin. "Well, that's Vulcans I suppose." He gazed at her while consuming the remaining contents of his glass. "So, non-com scientist, got all the way up to warrant officer, and now you're a bridge officer? Impressive."

"Thanks." Tarishiana started. "I always thought I would regret not attending the Academy after I was accepted, but I like what I have accomplished." She finished the remaining sip in her glass. "Languages are fascinating regardless of rank or commission." She grinned at him.

"You're a language specialist?"

"Yes, I specialize in xeno-linguistics as well as any of the ships systems that are involved with the universal translator." She set the empty glass on the tray as waiter came to collect it. "I am quite useful." she finished with yet another smile. She was enjoying his company. Unlike most of the people she had met in her time he seemed more at ease around her. Most often people were convinced she would steal their deep dark secrets. "You are Chief of Operations, right?"

Chuckling when she declared herself useful, he nodded as she continued to speak. "Yes, I am." He said, "I have to admit that the Galileo seems a bit of a downgrade compared to what I am used to, but..." he hesitated, then gave her a smile, though there was clearly more he would have said.

Tarishiana felt the hesitation. If they had been in a different setting she might have pushed it, but this wasn't the time. She made a mental note to follow up on it later. "Well compared to the USS Genevieve this is a huge upgrade for me. I am excited to have a computer system that wasn't fabricated before my father was born." she finished with a smile.

Will looked up from her features and gestured towards a few seats by the window that were empty. "Please, why don't we sit?" he suggested, reaching to touch her arm gently and guide her, "You can tell me about the Genevieve?"

Evelyn quietly made her way out of the Banquet Lounge and stepped out onto the balcony. She had a glass of Tarkarian Ale in her hand as she leaned against the rail looking out into the moonlit night. She took a sip of her drink, and turned her gaze back to the party inside, remembering the first "New Ship Get Together." Evelyn chuckled at the memory of the crew of the Lexington. It was her first true assignment with a new crew. "Here's too ya lads." she whispers and drinks her ale.

Seeing one of her crew members standing alone outside, Lirha slowly made her way through the crowd and out on to the balcony. She stopped next to the tall blonde intelligence chief and smiled up at her. "Not too fond of parties?" she asked in a quiet and soothing voice, feeling the evening breeze on her face and neck.

"More like been to so many of them, just wanted a moment to self-reflect." Evelyn stated turning to the commander. "Hard to get excited about a new adventure when you've been through so many."

"I suppose." Lirha replied, then stood quietly next to Evelyn, not saying a word for several moments. She was a bit taken aback by the El-Aurian woman's lack of enthusiasm. "I know you've been to plenty of these events, but they are still exciting for many of us. We don't all have the privilege of living as long as you." she finally said with a one-sided smile.

Evelyn arched her eyebrow, "It was my personal opinion, not a judgement on how the crew should be behaving. Of course this is an exciting time for the crew and for you as well." She said sincerely, "I apologize for my "lack of enthusiasm," been paired with a Vulcan during my assignment at Starfleet Intelligence, guess that damn lack of personality had rubbed off on me."

Lirha shrugged, "I'm sure you have a great personality, Lieutenant. And I understand how Vulcans can behave sometimes. They're not exactly the liveliest bunch, are they?" she said with a chuckle. "Do you plan on staying for a while tonight and socializing with the crew?" she asked. "I have the feeling there will be an after-party somewhere once this finishes." she added in a quiet voice.

Nodding, "I intend to go back. I just, needed a moment alone to reflect my thoughts." she smiled, "As for the after-party, I suggest you tell the bar to provide more synthehol than the real stuff."

"I'll be sure to remember that, but no promises." Lirha said with a dry smile as she patted the tall woman on the shoulder. "I'm going back inside, see you soon, Lieutenant." she said, then made her way from the balcony and back into the festive lounge.

[OFF]

To Be Continued...

--

CMDR Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

LCDR Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

LCDR Chauncey (Will) Remington III
Chief Operations Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Amber Rose Scuito
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Robin Hilyer
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Evelyn Coleman
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Drusilla McCarthy
Chief Counselor
USS Galileo

CWO Markum Quinn
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

SWO Tarishiana Barel
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

RADM Talla H'Rhar
Task Force Commanding Officer
USS Sarek

COM Amara Damian
Task Group Commanding Officer
USS Victorious

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