The Starfleet Way (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 13 Dec 2012 @ 6:56pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Jesra Moore

4,371 words; about a 22 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: Vega Colony - Binary Diner
Timeline: MD 08 - 1320 hrs

Previously, on The Starfleet Way (Part 1)...

Taking a seat next to her XO in the cockpit, the Orion captain tapped several commands into her console and brought the shuttlepod's power systems online. The interior of the craft illuminated and the LCARS displays came to life with a bright display of colors. Tapping her green fingers against her console, she brought up a map of the nearby colony and selected one of her favorite diners, then sent the coordinates to the commander's console for him to follow. "Ready?" she asked him.

"Course laid in, flight plan cleared with suborbital control...engaging thrusters"

John replied without so much as batting an eyelid, before tapping a few more controls himself to begin their short journey.

Stretching out her legs, Jesra crossed them at her ankles as she studied the commands she could manage to see the XO entering. It was very rare she entrusted the piloting of a vessel to someone else when she was there but she realised there would just have been more arguments if she tried to argue her corner. Catching Lirha's eye, she flashed the Captain a quick smile.

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

It was a rather brisk flight to the designated coordinates, after which the XO touched the ship down at a nearby parking lot ever-so-delicately as to not scratch the paint against the other shuttlecars and bikes.

After a quick power down sequence, the inside of the pod went dark and the aft ramp deployed. Lirha climbed out of her seat and exited the craft, then paused once she was outside to look around.

Even though they were on the outskirts of the commercial district, several tall skyscrapers lined the horizon and blocked their view of the rest of the colony. All around them were a plethora of shops and eateries, and all sorts of various types of humanoids wandered about, some casually and others with a sense of urgency. The smell of fresh baked bread seeped into Lirha's nostrils and she let out a happy sigh, grateful to be back near civilization after two weeks of solitude in space. Looking back, she checked to make sure John and Jesra were with her before she began the walk to her desired diner.

Unable to stop herself, Jesra watching Lirha closely as the woman walked, more so for reassurance than for the more obvious reason. She noticed the confidence which the Orion walked with. Her steps were sure and her back straight but there was something which made the freighter Captain worried. The Orion seemed to be showing tiredness which for someone recuperating wasn't a good thing.

John on the other hand was a little less impressed to be in such an expansive area. Having grown up on the much more sparsely populated Martian colonies, he was less looking forward to being around thousands of people at once. His mind was constantly wanting to check the surroundings for anything that might have been a danger to his captain. Eventually the XO had to reassure himself that this was a Federation world, not some lawless outback.

After rounding the block, they finally arrived at their destination. Located on the ground floor beneath a large mining corporation's office suites, the bright blue holographic sign read 'Binary Diner', and Lirha promptly stepped through the doors as they swished open to allow them entrance. The scent of breakfast food and sandwiches was quite delightful, and the captain motioned to her comrades for them to follow. She found a small booth table in the corner and promptly sat down, scooting over to allow her XO the courtesy of sitting next to her.

Smirking as she slid into her seat across from Lirha, Jesra found that she much preferred this angle. Picking up a few menus, she showed courtesy by giving one to each of the Starfleet officers. "So Captain..what would you recommend?"

Lirha retrieved a menu from Jesra but didn't bother to open it. She already knew what she wanted, and ultimately simply wasn't a very picky eater. She would eat almost anything put in front of her but at the moment she had a rather severe craving for some eggs and meat. "The omlettes here are quite good...as is the, um..." she paused to think of the words, "...oh yes, the French toast. And there is a dish called 'eggs benedict' which I am rather fond of as well." she offered.

Taking up his captain's offer, Holliday slotted into his space and quickly began to peruse the menu. However much he might have been less than impressed with being trapped in a social situation such as this, he had to admit he would definitely feel better with a meal inside him. There were plenty of standard Earth dishes on the menu, as well as a few other dishes such as Plomeek Soup from Vulcan."

"Eggs Benedict you say ma'am? The staple breakfast of my Academy days."

"Mmm...yes, I remember. In fact, it wasn't until I got to the Academy when I tried it for the first time." she mused to her XO with a small smile.

A young Bolian waitress quickly made her way to their booth and flashed them a friendly smile. "Welcome to Binary Diner...officers," she said as she took a moment to correctly identify John and Lirha's Starfleet ranks, then turned towards Jesra, "and guests." she added. "Would you like some more time to look over the menu before you order? I can get you started with something to drink in the meantime?" she offered.

Lirha shook her head, declining the request for more time. "I'm ready if you all are?" she asked, looking around the table at John and Jesra.

"At your leisure Captain. I'm ready when you are." John replied, knowing that there was no way he could pass over his breakfast of choice from his youth regardless of what anyone else might have chosen to order for themselves.

Having watched the interaction between the Captain and her right hand man, Jersa smiled up at the waitress, "I tell you what darlin', I'll break the mould and try one of the infamous house specials with your omelette. Let the chef know that there's no reason to be stingy on the ham." With a wink, the freighter Captain folded over her menu.

The Orion captain was next to order and couldn't help but notice how delicious Jesra's order sounded. "I'd like an omlette as well; cheese, bacon, ham, peppers...onions..." she paused to think if she was forgetting any ingredients she liked, "...yes, that would be wonderful. Thank you." she said with a smile to the waitress, then handed the woman her menu.

"I'll take the Eggs Benedict - thank you."

"Very good." replied the waitress as she collected the rest of the menus from the table. "I'll bring your food right out as soon at it's ready." she added in a cheerful voice, then scurried off back towards the kitchen.

Leaning back in her seat against the cushion, Lirha glanced across the table at Jesra. "So, captain...how long have you been in the freight business?" she asked casually, doing her best to break the ice and engage the three of them in a non-confrontational argument. She didn't get the impression her XO was very fond of the woman, but Lirha actually liked her. There was something refreshing about her upfront personality that the Orion couldn't quite put her finger on, but found rather attractive.

Sitting back against the plush back of the booth, Jesra tilted her head to the side as she gave Lirha a charming smile, under the table her foot playfully tapping the Captain's leg. "Hum...in the business I'd say 16 years now. I started out abit late at 20 as a sort of bell hop for a ship. Anything that needed doing, I got sent to do it. Hit the warp core with a spanner, clean up cuts in medical...I must admit I definitely got a feel for how a freight ship runs...helped me to where I got to now...a very hands on woman."

"I see." Lirha replied, resisting the urge to grin as she felt Jesra's foot playfully teasing her leg. "And how long have you been in command of Nautica? Do you own her?" she asked curiously.

"About two years now. I inherited her from her last Captain, an old spaceman by the name of Tomas Hartright. He took me under his wing, brought me up to the woman I am now." A very brief flash of sadness entered Jesra's eyes as it disappeared as quickly, the smirk return to her lips as she turned to Jonathan. "You're being very quiet there Commander. Something on your mind?"

John had to admit that he had stayed rather silent, being happy to divorce himself from the conversation and simply act as an observer rather than as an active parcipant. He had always been interested in how civillian ships managed to survive without the order and regulations that Starfleet provided.

"Not at all Miss Moore...I was simply fascinated by how you can manage a ship without the same sets of rules that a Starfleet vessel operates by - it must be rather...chaotic."

Studying the man, Jesra tried to figure out if that was just a straight forward observation or if it was actually an insult. Her foot under the table stalled as she drew her legs back under her seat, leaning foward to lay her crossed arms on the tabletop. "Well now...I am the Captain of my ship, I lead my crew. There's organisation there my dear Commander. After that, just because I trust my crew to do their jobs, not needing to micromanage them, that doesn't mean it's chaos. We managed to tow your ship well enough."

"I would hardly classify locking a tractor beam onto a starship as a particularly taxing duty, but very well. I myself prefer the effiency that comes with a more military-associated command structure."

John replied with a matter of fact tone. Whilst locking a tractor beam and then towing at warp could be sometimes rather complicated, he valued it as simply a standard task - especially for a cargo vessel who more than likely performed towing manoeuvres such as these more often than not.

"Your thoughts on the matter Captain?"

The brown colour of Jesra's eyes darkened to almost black as one of her hands formed into a fist. Now she remembered why she'd never involved herself with Starfleet, they were all a bunch of paper pushing idiots who thought if they clicked their fingers, everything would be done for them. Leaving her eyes on Jonathan, she could see that he would never have to worry about the cost and labour involved in the repair on her engines due to the strain of towing their vessel. The freighter was old and not used to towed the weights involved with a starfleet vessel, no matter how small she might have been.

Lirha wasn't a sociologist but she knew well enough when someone was getting upset. Judging from the subtle hints on Jesra's face as well as her changing body demeanor, she guessed that her XO had struck a nerve with the freighter captain. Resisting the urge to shake her head in disapproval, Lirha once again returned to diplomat-mode, only this time a bit more forceful. Beneath the table, she discretely lashed out with her foot and kicked John on the ankle, a not-so-subtle hint for him to relax a bit. Then, she turned her attention back towards the conversation. "Well to my understanding, Nautica is designed to tow freight, not entire starships...usually. So I think we owe our civilian friend a bit of gratitude." she said to John, then looked back at Jesra.

"And it's important to remember that we are not civilians, captain. As friendly as I might seem, I too must follow Starfleet protocols...they are a part of our daily lives, and are what keeps our ship glued together when we face adversity." she explained, referring to her and her XO's military routine.

Not a woman to be easily irritated, Jesra decided to let the situation slide. Jonathan had been the one to bring it up in the first place and she had a funny feeling he wouldn't be the one to move on. Giving Jonathan a smile which could only be described as sickly sweet, the Commander would clearly see that it wasn't reflected in her eyes. Moving her focus back to Lirha, there was a visable change in her body and face as she allowed herself to relax as her eyes scanned the parts of the Orion above the table. "So tell me Captain...how are all your injuries getting on with their recovery?"

"I am feeling better." Lirha answered rather simply. She briefly wondered if Jesra was referring to her injuries sustained in the crash, or those prior during Project Sienna's recovery. Of course, there was no way that the woman could know about her abduction and torture. Or did she? Jesra seemed like a savvy woman and without knowing her too well, Lirha decided to play her cards conservatively. "My concussion symptoms are gone but I find myself getting fatigued at times." she explained, declining to mention any of her other sore body parts. "My XO and I have been very busy the past few days tending to our vessel."

Jesra knew well that the Captain was too clever not to have gotten her meaning. The freighter Captain had seen the medical report when she'd taken Lirha home. It didn't allude to what had happened but the extent of the injuries were clear. Casually tapping her fingers on the table, she suddenly smirked. "You must get time off at some point...allow your XO to do some work. You'll have to let me show you around."

"Yes, perhaps." Lirha answered, "But no promises. There never is truly such a thing as time-off when you are the commanding officer of a Starfleet vessel." she added. It was the sad truth about being in command, but Lirha was more or less joined at the hip to her ship. Ultimately responsible for almost every aspect of Galileo's operation, she had become quite attached to the small Nova Class over the past weeks and didn't want to pry herself away for too long.

Just then, the blue-skinned waitress returned with several plates in her hand. She stopped in front of their table and passed out the three dishes accordingly; eggs benedict for the XO, a house special omlette with extra ham for Jesra, and a bacon, ham, pepper, and onion omlette for Lirha. "There you go!" the Bolian replied in a chirpy manner. "Can I get you anything else right now? Hot sauce for your eggs, ketchup, coffee?" she offered.

The Orion captain shook her head. "Just a glass of orange juice, please."

"This is just fine thank you miss" John replied before picking up his cutlery and breaking into this meal, savouring the chance to get something to eat without having to worry quite so much about a report that was due in, or a requisition request interrupting his free time.

"An excellent choice Captain...I shall have to remember this place next time I'm on Vega."

Ignoring Jonathan, Jesra looked up at the waitress. "Coffee, black. If you don't mind." Jesra flirted slightly with the Bolian server as the other two started into their own food. "Say...I think this is the first time I've seen you around this area. You new to the colony?"

"I, um...well yes, in fact I am." the young waitress replied with a surprised look on her blue face. "How could you tell?" she asked with a light laugh as she leaned against the side of Jesra's booth.

Throwing the waitress a wink, Jesra laughed. "Now now sweetheart...that'd be telling now wouldn't it. Can't reveal all of my secrets just yet." Looking across at Lirha, Jesra leaned back in her seat in a casual manner. "Isn't that right Captain?"

Lirha happily delved into her omlette and stuffed her mouth full of the delicious breakfast food. She had been watching Jesra hit on the unsuspecting waitress with a bit of amusement, but also a bit of skepticism. The Starfleet captain enjoyed the civilian's company and alluring nature, but didn't want herself to be seen as just another conquest, a novelty because she had green skin. And if Jesra was so keen to flirt with a mere waitress at the local diner, there was no telling who and how many other people she had possibly brought to her bed. Swallowing a large bite of food and then clearing her throat, Lirha finally responded. "I have the feeling that you have quite a few secrets, Miss Moore."

Smiling at these words, Jesra threw a casual glance at the waitress with a wink before turning to her own food. The Captain didn't seem to realise that her thoughts were very clear to those who thought to study her expressions close enough. "Sweetheart...I would bet my ship on the fact that you have just as many." Turning to start into her into her own, she still watched Lirha under her eyelashes.

As the attractive young Bolian wandered off and back to the kitchen, Lirha took another bit of her food. She indeed had a few secrets of her own, but unfortunately, no one who she trusted enough to share them with. "We all have secrets, captain." she said in between mouthfulls. "If you don't mind me asking, what kind of freight do you haul?" she asked curiously in an attempt to move the conversation away from herself.

"Hum...it depends really. I have a side contract with Starfleet to provide spare parts between Earth and the Nikoral ship yards. Sometimes that can keep us away for some period of time." Taking a mouthful of food, Jesra knew when the subject was being changed but she just went with it. She'd been leading the conversation most of this time and now it was opportunity for the two across from her. "Outside of that, we have a few local runs for medical supplies. The ship is fitted with the addition of a warp 5 drive which is what helped us tow you here to the colony, this core works to our favour as we run faster then most cargo ships who's limitations might be warp 3."

Lirha nodded in understanding. "Yes, I'm familiar with your class of freighter. I spent some time aboard a similar Antares Class when I was younger." she said, then paused to take another bite. "Most of my family are traders, and I grew up on a cargo vessel. The joys of a misspent youth..." she joked with a grin and bright green eyes.

"You surprise me Captain...I wouldn't have put you down to coming from such a family. You seem to radiate Starfleet like our dear Commander here." Eating a piece of her fork, Jesra waved her fork in the air, talking again after a few moments. "Is the vessel one which I would know of?"

Raising an eyebrow, Lirha frowned to herself as she stuffed more omlette into her mouth. Of course I 'radiate Starfleet', I'm a commanding officer! she argued in her head, not at all too happy at being compared to some of the other more straight-laced members of Starfleet. Perhaps Jesra simply didn't know her very well yet, she internally justified.

"My mother owned and operated a trade ship within the Orion Empire for almost ten years, and then it was eventually scrapped and we transferred to SS Concord from '70 to '74." she finally answered in between bites. "Concord was a dilithium hauler full of miners and not enough businesswomen." she added with a small smile.

Looking up from his meal, John almost wanted to laugh at the thought of him radiating Starfleet-ness somehow just by sitting and enjoying his breakfast. Just because he had spent years of his life learning exactly how to run a starship, didn't mean that he was unable to relax and enjoy himself.

"Having a commitment to a cause doesn't necessarily mean I radiate anything Captain Moore...unless of course we missed our last decon procedure."

Shaking her head, Jesra finished her mouthful of food before looking back across to Jonathan. "Sweetheart...do you always take everything so seriously?"

"Years of training." Holliday replied without even batting an eyelid. Ever since his first day at the Academy, John had always felt it was the first duty of any officer to respect the uniform he or she wore, and always uphold the principles for which it stood.

"I'm the first officer of a starship - that means I'm the one who has to set the example to the crew, even more so than the captain in some cases...I can't be spending my time doing something unproductive or foolish simply to try and fit in with those under my command. If I don't maintain authority, then my ability to serve the captain appropriately becomes diminished."

Taking several more bites, Lirha suddenly found herself grinning at the friendly banter which was taking place between her two guests. Well, perhaps it wasn't completely friendly, but at least they were engaging in conversation without any threats. Lirha had the strange feeling that despite their apparent differences in command style, the two of them probably had more in common than they realized. "Commander Holliday is a fine first officer." she commented to Jesra, "I'm sure your own first officer has similar qualities." she remarked, wondering just who, if anyone, was Jesra's right-hand person.

"Cathal....for a Earth human he ain't so bad. I think it gets to him sometimes that a woman half his age is his Captain." Moving her body, Jesra pulled one leg up under her body before starting back into her food. "In all seriousness though, he's a good guy. His heart is in the right place which is what I need in my other half. He runs the crew, allowing me to run the ship. We work well together."

Funny, Lirha thought, I could say the same thing about my XO, she mused to herself. Taking a few more bites from her plate, the Orion captain finished off her meal and wiped her mouth, then gently dropped her napkin on to her plate. She took several long swigs of the orange juice which had been brought to her, then leaned back in the booth and gave Jesra a small smile. "You're not very partial to Earth natives?" she wondered with a raised eyebrow.

"Some would say that I'm not partial to many natives." Finishing up her last mouthful of food, Jesra looked across at Lirha with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Earth natives are no different to those in my old place Luna...you get bored of them sometimes, end up looking for the more exotic."

"Ah, Luna." the Orion said with a small grin. "You know, several of my crew are also Lunar schooners." she joked with bright eyes, then turned to her XO. "The commander here is from Mars...seems like you two are almost neighbors."

"As far as two planetary bodies in completely different orbits can be anyway." John repled with a smirk on his face. It was nice to meet someone else who wasn't necessarily attached to Earth in the same way as most humans were. Whilst he had enjoyed his time at the Academy to an extent, he always found Earth a little overcrowded for his liking.

"Nice to see someone else who doesn't necessarily see Earth as home."

Shrugging her shoulders, Jesra saw that Lirha was trying to connect a bridge between herself and the woman's XO but after a few insults and a feeling that he was just someone she could not get along with, the freighter Captain still had her doubts. Glancing up with a slight smile, she met Jonathan's eyes. "Sometimes us outsiders of Earth just need to stick together."

"Perhaps, on occasion." The XO replied before finishing off the remainder of his meal, taking a moment before realising that the statement he had just made could have been misconstrued to his captain, who as a non-native of Earth would come slap bang in the middle of the so-called "outsiders" group.

"Not to say that I have anything against those from Earth. Or not from Earth for that matter ma'am."

Lirha shook her head, "That's alright. I admit I was not initially fond of Earth when I first arrived, but after several years of school and then my time at the Academy, I have come to enjoy it. In small doses, that it." she responded, then glanced back and forth between the freighter captain and her XO. She had hoped that a quick lunch would have allowed them to get to know each other better, but it was becoming rather clear from their conversations that they were still not very fond of each other. "Well, this was a nice lunch, thank you both for coming." she finally added, then rummaged in her pocket for a moment before pulling out three slips of gold-pressed latinum and setting them on the table.

Internally sighing as she spotted the latinum before she had a chance to put down her own, Jesra let it slide, making a note for future reference. "Well m'lady and m'lady, it was nice meeting you both. I'll allow you both off to your landside castle and perhaps see you again soon."

As they moved outside, Jesra gave a small salute of her hand before turning on her heel and heading off for her own ship, her mind on the woman she had just left behind.

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

Cmdr Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

Jesra Moore
Freighter Captain
SS Nautica
NPC'd by Pola Ni Dhuinn

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