I Might Pronounce You...

Posted on 06 Oct 2023 @ 2:29pm by Commander Morgan Tarin & Ensign Mimi & Petty Officer 3rd Class John Hollenday

2,687 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Location: USS Galileo-A - Deck 2, Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: MD 19, 0802 hrs

[ON]

Being back on board Galileo was a welcome change of location for Commander Morgan Tarin. Regula I and its confined spaces had been her home for almost two years while she'd served as the local strategic operations officer, but now that she'd received her new official command, the interior of the even-smaller Nova-class starship felt more like home...a permanent home which she would now be occupying for a long time. Here, there were fewer introverted civilian scientists to deal with on a daily basis and she welcomed the opportunity to go out and explore; to go to warp and do what she'd spent the majority of her career doing.

As she sat at her desk in her ready room surrounded by PADDs, her excitement was present yet muted. Galileo wasn't quite ready to deploy again and today's schedule included a simple 'walk around the park' for the small vessel. It was a chance to test the ship's systems following several days of repairs in the hopes of identifying any further work needed to return her to 100-percent mission capability. On top of that, however, Morgan was juggling a plethora of other administrative issues. Her yeoman's diligent work had been invaluable in helping her organize the chaos of starship management, yet there was a new personnel issue which had recently come to her attention which needed addressing.

She sipped her glass of ice water then tapped her commbadge. "Tarin to Hollenday and Mimi. Report to my ready room."

There were certain bonuses to not having a roomie aboard the Galileo, you could have as many guests as you wanted over for as long as you wanted them to, Mimi had certainly taken advantage of that after the party had ended. Clothes were discarded across the room, a few empty glasses adorned her bedside table and despite the single bed her small frame left plenty of room for both of them.

Her ears twitched as Tarin's voice came over the comm system calling their names, slowly she rolled over and started gently shaking John. "Hey, we need to get up. The boss wants us."

"Shit. Let me guess why." He stretched and got up. "Tell you what, let me get out of here by a couple of minutes, and then you come on up. The two of us showing up together might be suspicious enough."

He tossed on a dirty pair of Fleet coveralls. "Might as well make it look like I was working."

Staying in the bed Mimi sat up covering up her naked lithe form with the sheets as John dressed. "Alright I will see you there." She watched him leave before slowly clambering out of the bed and into the bathroom for a quick freshen up

John arrived first, as was the plan. He ran a hand through his hair, not to straighten it but to make it look like he'd been crawling through Jeffery's tubes once more. He pressed the announce button. "Petty Officer Hollenday reporting."

"Enter." The captain's distinctive dry inflection betrayed no hint of emotion and was stated matter-of-factly.

John squared his shoulders and went in coming to attention.

Morgan looked up from her console when the door hissed open then shut. The tall brown-haired and brown-eyed junior engineer was now present and she gave him just a hint of a formal smile. "Petty officer, have a seat," she gestured to one of two vacant chairs arranged in front of her desk. "How's your department holding up? Are we ready for the systems test in a couple hours?"

"Yes, ma'am, thank you ma'am. I believe we are. A lot of work, but we combed through every square centimeter of this ship."

"Excellent. Your long hours below decks and out in space don't go unnoticed in my reports." She observed his messy hair and less-than-clean engineering coveralls before giving a satisfactory nod.

Having spent a little while freshening up and after deliberately walking slowly towards the Captain's ready room Mimi eventually arrived, she tapped the chime and waited to be admitted.

Tarin raised her eyebrows ever-so-slightly when the chime sounded. "I think your friend is here," she commented to Hollenday with a subtle reveal regarding the purpose of their joint summons. "Enter," she replied to Mimi.

Hearing Tarin's voice from the other side of the door Mimi stepped inside. Seeing that both she and John were seated was a good thing, it hopefully meant not another telling off. "Captain." She greeted Tarin, keeping her eyes on her rather than glancing at John.

Morgan watch the the familiar Nekomi enter, possessing her distinctive appearance - felinoid ears, green eyes and dull black fur adorned by a gold-collared Starfleet uniform. A formal smile came from the captain when she greeted the junior officer. "Ensign, thank you for coming. Have a seat." She gestured to the vacant chair next to Hollenday. "Petty Officer Hollenday tells me Galileo will be ready for the systems test in two hours. Do you concur from an Operations perspective?"

"I do." Mimi replied with words she hoped to be saying to John sooner rather than later. "A few last minute checks should be all that is needed before we begin."

Nodding to herself, Tarin afforded the same compliment to Mimi as she had for the engineering officer. "Good. I've been reviewing your reports ever since Galileo returned to Regula I. Your entire department's been very efficient throughout this repair and resupply evolution. Excellent work."

"Thank you." Mimi replied, she wasn't sure Tarin's words were actually a genuine compliment but they did sound like one. "Everyone has put in a lot of work to get the ship ready...." 'within your ridiculous time frame'

"I can see they have. You have my compliments." Tarin clasped her hands in front of her atop her desk and scanned both of her guests' features with judicial hazel eyes. "Now, about this meeting...I assume you both know what this is about?"

This time Mimi couldn't restrain herself from glancing over to John. Did she know? They'd kept the relationship pretty hush hush until very recently.

John shrugged. "Not absolutely sure, ma'am. However, I'm a 'guessin' that it's becoming less of a secret that I've asked the Ensign here to marry me. I was hoping to do it on the base but gettin' the ship up to snuff and heading out, well ma'am, guess then that leaves here and askin' you to officiate."

Tarin's eyebrows slightly rose at the proposition. Officiate? No... No... She recollected her thoughts then spoke in reply, "Galileo is a small ship. Very small, and people talk. I learned of your engagement last night at the banquet. Gossip happens whenever alcohol is consumed, in my experience," she explained before leaning back in her chair and presenting a subtle smile to both of them. "You have my congratulations. When's the date set?"

Mimi blinked several times, this wasn't the reaction she was expecting. "We are not sure, if we had more time here we would have done it while we were here." She told Tarin. "We can wait till a more fitting time."

"I think that would be prudent. Regula I isn't the most jovial venue for a marriage celebration," agreed the captain. She continued to regard the two officers in front of her with a neutral expression before cutting through the air of joviality. "Are you both familiar with the term 'fraternization'?"

"Here it comes." Mimi thought, she gave Tarin a slight nod "As an officer I am not supposed to fraternize too much with enlisted crew."

Tarin extended a palm then slightly wiggled it from side to side. The ensign's response certainly fit the criteria of basic knowledge but didn't quite answer the question. "Not exactly. What I'm asking is if you understand the concept and its meaning. Its Latin etymology, for example?"

Mimi's faced twitched, Maria had tried to show her some Latin but it was even more confusing then learning English had been. "To form a friendship with someone, someone you should not, such as an enemy."

"Yes," nodded the captain, her features remaining calm while silently pleased with the ensign's answer. "It derives from the word frater which means 'brother'. Originally - in it's antiquity - it referred to inappropriate bonds between rival Earth armies, but it evolved to describe establishing intimate relationships between people that are considered unethical, controversial or problematic."

John sat back. He knew this might have been coming, and what was going to be next would be a surprise. "Thought so, ma'am. I asked around some, and well..." He fished into a big pocket of his coveralls and pulled out a PADD. "I got a transfer to the station. Thus, we are technically no longer serving on the same ship. However, ma'am, if you please, I've been given TAD back to the Galileo if you approve. However, in order for things to be up and up, before I take that duty up if you could marry the two of us, then it is perfectly acceptable under code for a married officer to an enlisted man to serve on the same ship."

Tarin did a double take at the PADD, then to the brown-haired engineer. An incredulous laugh escaped her slim lips. "Petty officer, am I to understand you transferred yourself to another command, requested temporary assignment back to Galileo to serve with your fiance, and are now asking me to marry the two of you so you can skirt non-existent regulations?" The captain had seen a lot throughout her years of service but this was a first. She held up a firm palm to stop either of them from replying before she was finished with her original train of thought.

"This isn't the 20th Century, Hollenday. We've evolved as individuals and as a society. The term 'fraternization' was used to enforce interpersonal relationships in a different time period based on concerns about compatibility...specifically within ancient militaries. This is why I'm discussing the terminology with you - to give both of you context for my standard of conduct aboard Galileo. No legal code of regulation currently exists within Starfleet to govern crew relationships." Tarin waved her hand casually around the room. "Our assignments take us all over the galaxy for months, sometimes years at a time. Intimate relationships are bound to occur and they're not discouraged."

Taking a soft breath, the captain clasped her hands together again atop the desk. "I don't care if members of my crew marry or develop intimate bonds. Starfleet affords its captains a very strong element of personal prerogative to accomplish the missions they're assigned. And as your captain, I'm more concerned with specific conflicts of interest rather than a wider-ranging antiquated concept. Do you understand?"

"Understood ma'am, and while Fleet and yourself might be forgiving. I thought it best to make it formal like that so there is absolutely no question." John leaned forward ever so slightly. "So ma'am, if I may, I would like you to marry the two of us."

Tarin twiddled her thumbs together, still not quite comfortable with the idea. It wasn't unheard of within Starfleet tradition but...she'd never been asked to participate in such a personal and life-changing event before. Certainly not one where she was expected to administer the proceedings. Her thoughts raced and she finally replied after a short moment of pause, "I suppose that depends, petty officer. I won't approve your temporary assignment duty; Galileo needs every crew member available on permanent duty and your excuse for transferring to Regula I is one I won't accept. The needs of the ship, the crew and our greater mission out here supersede personal convenience. I'll consider your request and approve your transfer back to Galileo...if you can work it out with Administrator Frost. I assume she won't be thrilled to hear of your rapid change of mind."

Mimi remained silent while John and Tarin talked, he had clearly thought much more about this 'officers and enlisted shouldn't mix' problem than she had and all their back and forth had confused her, especially as he hadn't discussed it with her.

"Actually, ma'am, it was her idea. I went to talk to her about the 'problem'. She'll be more than happy to transfer back if you would accept, ma'am. She even offered to do the officiating but her extent only goes as far as the station, and the ship is scheduled to depart soon." He made a small shrug. "At least that's the scuttlebutt I've heard."

Frost...again. The captain rolled her eyes. The civilian starbase commander was going to send her to an early grave at this rate. "Fine. I'll accept your re-transfer, but under two conditions." She opened her palm then touched one hand to the index finger of the other. Her voice turned hard. "First, don't ever go over my head again. If you want a transfer off my command for any reason, you come speak to myself or Commander Blake first. Try this stunt again and I'll make sure the next five years of your career are spent manning a subspace relay station next to the Klingon Neutral Zone. Far away from Ensign Mimi."

Tarin then tapped her middle finger. "Second, I will...marry the two of you, but not until we complete our next mission from Command. I don't know what it'll be or how long it'll take, but I can't allow either of you to emotionally compromise your departments right now. And I need to know that both of you understand your current duties are more important than your relationship." Her eyes drifted between the ensign and the petty officer to gauge their implicit reactions.

John looked over to Mimi. "What do you think?"

Mimi looked first at Tarin then across to John. "It has not been long since you proposed, I can wait a little longer."

"Good. Because there's no alternative right now," replied the captain whose voice then turned stern. "Neither of you addressed my last comment." Her sharp hazel eyes switched between the two lovers. "Ensign, can you do your duty to Galileo and sacrifice your personal feelings if the time comes?" she repeated, this time directly. "If the warp core is going critical and your husband's trapped on Deck 7...will you be able to seal his compartment and eject the core, knowing he won't survive?"

Hesitating for a moment Mimi looked at John. She knew what answer Tarin was expecting and she knew what she should say even if it wasn't what she felt. "If that was the only option.. Yes."

"I'd close the doors myself, ma'am. Look, I love her, want to marry her, but I ain't no smitten farm boy. My crew mates come first."

Silently judging the two gold-collared crew members for a lengthy moment, Tarin finally took a breath then exhaled through her nose. A subtle nod acknowledged their convictions as truthful and genuine. "Good. Let's hope it never comes to that. I can't afford to lose either of you." She glanced at the nearby chronometer then back to one of the PADDs on her desk. "Well, that's all I have for the two of you. Let's get Galileo ready for the systems test and if all goes well, you can enjoy your evening together. Dismissed. And once more, congratulations."

"Thank you ma'am." John stood and saluted.

"Thank you Captain." Mimi stood up and headed for the door, her tail twitched excitedly about how the meeting had gone. As they got out into the corridor she turned to John. "That went better than I was expecting."

"Yeah, but I'm keeping Frost as a backup."

[OFF]

--

CMDR Morgan Tarin
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo-A

PO3 John Hollenday
Engineering Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Warraquim]

Ensign Mimi
Deputy Operations Manager
USS Galileo-A

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