A Fond Farewell (Part 3 of 4)

Posted on 12 Mar 2012 @ 3:49pm 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

2,987 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 00 - Pre-Deployment
Location: Starfleet HQ, Banquet Lounge
Timeline: MD 05 - 1845 hrs

Thirty minutes later...

[ON]

With a few drinks now inside of her, Lirha was beginning to feel better about the evening. She had loosened up and as she looked around the room, noticed that her crew seemed to be finally enjoying themselves...at least somewhat. She took a quick detour back to the bar table and acquired another glass of Saurian brandy, then moved through the crowd until she met her operations chief, Commander Remington.

As Will left Tarishiana's side, he saw the captain and had a feeling he was her next target. He watched her as she approached and sure enough she was headed his way. His vibrant expression faded as she approached, to a more neutral but still pleasant smile.

"How is your evening turning out, Commander?" she asked as she stood close to him, and looked up at him with light green eyes.

"Oh, quite well, ma'am, thank you," he said, raising his second glass of champagne towards her. "To the Galileo."

The Orion captain raised her glass of brandy and clinked it against the commander's. "To the Galileo" she said in a soft voice with a happy smile.

"I just met our chief science officer," he told her, "and I believe our chief engineer is also a warrant officer? That is a touch unusual." He gave her a polite laugh, "Not just trying to annoy the brass, hm?"

"Oh yes, they are both NCOs, but some of the best and most experienced whom I have seen in Starfleet. At least, in my experience" she replied. "It's funny." she began as she looked up into her ops chief's eyes, "Our ship's enlisted personnel seem to have twice the experience of many of our junior officers." she finished with a glint in her green eyes. "I think our new ship is in very capable hands."

Will caught her gaze and smiled a bit more genuinely for her, something of a twinkle in his grey eyes. "I'm sure it is," he agreed readily. The atmosphere and champagne had loosened him up a bit. "Is this your first command, captain?"

"Yes, it is." she replied, then narrowed her eyes at him. "Am I that obvious, Commander?" she asked with a grin. Lirha knew that she did not behave like the typical Starfleet officer, especially captain. She had always thought of herself as a rather outgoing and genial woman, but she had an uneasy feeling that the stresses and pressure of command would somehow change her over the upcoming months.

"Perhaps not..." Will replied, only partly kidding now. "But with my time on a Starbase you get to know a lot of captains. You are... unique, if I may say so, ma'am."

"Oh?" she replied with a raised eyebrow. "In what way?" she asked. The question wasn't indignant and she agreed with his assessment, however she wanted to hear his particular opinion. Hearing the various crew member's impressions of her was always interesting, to say the least.

"Ah, well," he began, "you are a newly promoted captain, aren't you? And young, an Orion woman... your people are not members of the Federation. I imagine the brass would put a bit of pressure on you?" He spoke openly and honest with her, offering an understanding smile.

Lirha smiled back at the lieutenant commander. "You are very perceptive, and also correct." she began as she briefly thought through her Starfleet career. For the first two years of her service, it had been an uphill battle for her to be trusted and treated as an equal amongst certain members of her department. "I settled on Earth when I was sixteen and turned my eyes towards Starfleet. I come from a space-faring family, and I wanted to continue to explore the galaxy but in a more professional career. Fortunately, I seem to have done a fair enough job at my post that I was recommended for command several months ago. So far, Starfleet Command has been encouraging, if not a tad demanding." she finished with a big grin.

Will nodded his head slowly as she spoke. "I suppose it is to be expected. But there have been plenty of Orions in Starfleet before. Though... I admit, I don't know of any becoming captains."

She took a big drink from her glass and paused before responding, savouring the taste of brandy on her tongue. "I am the first. And a woman, nonetheless." she said simply. Despite her best attempts to break the stereotype, there was still a negative stigma in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants regarding Orion women. Being a Starfleet officer definitely helped bolster her species' perception, but there were times when she still felt objectified.

Will seemed to share some of her thoughts, but he kept them to himself. "Ah, yes, well..."he laughed softly, "I'm sure you will prove yourself, despite the doubts others may have."

"Thank you, Commander." Lirha replied with a genuine smile and a nod of approval. "It's always nice to have the support of my crew. I have the feeling we will be relying on each other a lot throughout our upcoming assignment." she added, then finished her drink with a final swig. "Would you like another drink?" she asked, wondering if he needed a refill of his champagne.

"Oh, I think two is quite enough for me, thank you. At least for now." He finished off what was in his glass upon saying that. "I always support my captain. It is my duty."

The Orion gave him a gentle squeeze on the shoulder, accompanied by a warm smile. "I appreciate that." she replied, then turned towards the bar. "I'm going to get another drink." she said, then headed off towards the large table with many bottles of alcohol on it.

Will gave his captain a smile and watched her thoughtfully as she walked away.

Having finished his rather in depth weapons discussion with their young Tactical Officer, John had found himself wandering the room in search of further conversation, after all, when was there going to be a better time to find out a little more about the officers working alongside him than when the alcohol was flowing and those around him were at their most relaxed.

Looking towards the bar, he spotted an individual wearing the colours of the Intelligence division, something that was usually enough to send shivers up his spine, he had never trusted people who worked behind closed doors and snuck around in the shadows. Of course he entirely understood why it was necessary, as much as the Federation was trying to change the galaxy for the better, there were always going to be some less desirable elements of galactic civilisation trying to undermine everything that had been achieved in the past couple of centuries.

Picking up a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, he headed towards her.

"Good evening, I don't believe we've officially met yet, John Holliday" He stretched out his hand to greet her.

Evelyn looked at the outstretched hand and took it. "Evelyn Coleman, nice to meet you." She said politely, finishing off her glass of Tarkarian Ale.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that you're our attachment from Starfleet Intelligence? I wasn't aware that we were going to be graced with their presence on this journey?" He said with a hint of joviality in his voice as he took a small sip from his glass.

"Well you are, I hope that isn't a problem." Evelyn commented, not sure how to take his remark.

"Hey hey take it easy, not trying to get personal with ya, after all, if I had a problem with your division, I wouldn't be serving under Commander Saalm now would I? One of your ex-colleagues right?"

He realised that what he had said might not have come across as the most pleasant, but he wasn't trying to put anyone's backs out this early in the night

Evelyn shook her head, "No, while we both were in Starfleet Intelligence, I was part of a separate division." she said vaguely not wanting to disclose to much of her previous assignment.

"Ahh, classified right? I understand Lieutenant. So, are you able to reveal anything about your assignment to our vessel, or is it need to know only?"

"I think my assignment is straightforward. My job is to serve as your Intelligence officer, no hidden agenda."

"Sounds good to me, if you don't mind me mentioning it Lieutenant, you seem rather closed off, is that some kind of training thing or do you just not like me?" John asked with an inquisitive look in his eyes, he was trying his best to get on with as much of the senior staff as possible, but so far he seemed to have managed nothing more than to annoy or offend this particular Lieutenant within a few moments of opening his mouth, at least that's how he saw it

Evelyn arched her brow and then sighed, "I apologize Commander, guess you can say, I spent too much time with Vulcans." She mused, "had this same type of discussion with the Captain. My last assignment I was partnered with a Vulcan, the assignment took 1 1/2 years to complete. He rubbed off on me I suppose."

"The Vulcans huh? I never quite got my head around those guys...interesting to the point of irritating...well Lieutenant, I promised one of these Admirals here I'd buy him a drink next time I saw him so I need to attend to my duties...I'll catch up with you on board though, see if we can't get around some of those Vulcan attributes you've picked up."

Nodding to his fellow officer, John picked up his drink, and headed off into the room, intent on reminding the assembled dignitaries and Admirals that he was very much ready for this first command assignment.

Quinn grabbed another bottled beer and walked about the room, when the familiar golden chevrons surrounding a black pip caught his attention. It was attached to a young woman's teal coloured collar. The seasoned engineer approached the young lady and then realized to whom he was about to speak with.

"Master Warrant Officer Barel, I presume?" asked Quinn as he smiled. "I'm, Senior Chief Warrant Quinn. I do not believe we ever officially met before. You are our Science Chief if I'm not mistaken."

"I don't believe we have." Tarishiana replied happily with a grin. She was holding a recently refilled glass of whatever sparkling wine the servers were providing. "If I am not mistaken, you are the Chief Engineer." she took a sip of her drink before continuing, "It is nice to meet you."

With a nod, and followed by a swig of his bottled beer, "Thank-you. It's nice to have another Warrant Officer aboard the ship. Where were you stationed at before the Galileo, Barel?"

Tarishiana smiled, "I was initially stationed on the USS Kodiak Island before I was transferred to the USS Genevieve" she took a sip of her champagne, "How about you? Stationed anywhere interesting?"

"A few places." remarked the old engineer before continuing, "I did a six year deep space exploration tour. Talk about freedom. Of course, you had to get along with your crew to get through it with your sanity."

"I can only imagine" Tarishiana said lightly with a laugh. "The longest mission I have taken part of was eight months, and I was convinced we would have a mutiny on our hands."

Markum laughed aloud. He wasn't sure if it was the amount of beer he consumed, or if she really was just that funny. He decided she was just that funny. "Yeah, I had an overbearing and rather abusive XO once. Somehow he ended up in a Zero-G Suit, while strapped to the port nacelle. Not sure how he got out there, but he was a new man once we got him back inside."

Tarishiana couldn't help but smile at the Engineers recount. "I would imagine that would change just about anyone." She replied lightly as she raised her glass to her lips, enjoying another sip of her champagne. "Maybe we will have another opportunity to share some more service stories...after tonight that is."

"Yeah, I'd like that. I'm sure there will be several chances." Quinn returned the smile. "I'm going for another beer, and hopefully a way out of this place. I need to get out of this penguin suit. I'll catch ya later Tarishiana."

With a smile and a nod Tarishiana turned from her departing company. A part of her was hoping to find Commander Remington again. She set her empty glass on the table and moved into the crowd.

Amara was moving about the room. Quickly she ordered another drink. From what she could tell Galileo's crew seemed to be enjoying themselves. Making her way over to her Task Force Commanding Officer to at least say good evening. "Hello Admiral I hope you are enjoying yourself."

The Andorian smiled as she extended her hand. "Commodore Damian, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. To be fair, I think my son is enjoying himself far more than I am, and Kentar just keeps watch." She indicated her Bajoran companion before leaning forward. "I'm pregnant," she confided to the other woman.

Shaking the Andorian's hand, "Congratulations Admiral. I'm glad to finally meet you as well. Honestly I'm surprised they didn't insist on sending Security or someone with me as it's safe to say medical would probably not agree with me making a public appearance so soon after our last mission. However Victorious is only stopping over for a short time to resupply then we're headed out again so I made it clear the crew needs what leave they can get."

Talla nodded towards Kentar. "He wouldn't let me go without escort either, and I'm sure you'll be fine." She smiled. "Come let's go mingle."

As Dru looked around the room she noticed that the alcohol had started to flow very freely and it was causing everyone to be more relaxed. Dru placed her own untouched glass on a table and went out onto the deserted balcony in order to look at the nightime sky.

As she straightened out her white uniform jacket, the Orion captain glanced around the room, then through the glass window and to the balcony. A single person stood out outside who Lirha quickly identified as her counsellor. Drink in hand, she wandered casually around several waiters and back onto the balcony for the second time that evening. She took a long swig of her brandy and then walked next to Drusilla. "Enjoying yourself?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Dru stood staring at the night sky, her arms supporting her on the balcony railing, as she heard the Commander's voice behind her, "Captain. I just needed a breath of fresh air. Are you having a good night?"

"Yes, I'm enjoying myself much more that I thought I would." she admitted. Her previous conversations with the senior brass had gone rather smoothly, and Lirha felt a weight suddenly lifted off of her shoulders. "And yourself?" she asked.

Dru thought back over her conversation with Ayden earlier and hesitated a few moments before finding an answer, "I'm enjoying meeting with the rest of the crew and the different groups of people here tonight. It's a very interesting dynamic we have here, it'll make for an interesting voyage. How are you feeling about our departure tomorrow?"

"Well right now I feel wonderful." she said with a big grin, in reference to the enjoyable alcoholic buzz coursing through her head, "But I'm sure tomorrow will be a different story. The Galileo is pretty much ready for departure, just a few final supplies that need to be loaded and some minor engineering work. I'm very impressed with how smoothly our systems check went." she added.

Hearing an almost bounce in Lirha's voice which she had not heard before, Dru turned around to face Lirha and suddenly realised by her mannerisms that Lirha was bordering on being slightly drunk, "You might want to ensure you get a good night sleep tonight Captain so you've a clear head in the morning." Dru smiled softly at Lirha.

"Oh, I intend to..." she said quietly with a sideways grin, then folded her arms tightly across her chest as a shiver ran through her body. "It's getting a bit chilly so I'm going back inside. Coming?" she asked as she moved toward the balcony door.

Dru hesitated for a moment, not quite feeling ready to go back in, "You go ahead, I could do with some more air to clear my head." Dru smiled gently at Lirha before turning back to the balcony railing.

"Very well, I'll see you inside." Lirha said with a nod, and walked back inside the warm lounge. Moving past the buffet table, she spotted a group of the Galileo's junior enlisted personnel gathered near the bar table. With curious interest, the captain walked over to them and began to converse with the young personnel.

[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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