SD 241603.19 Joint Log: Commanding and Executive Officers

Posted on Sun Mar 20th, 2016 @ 6:12am by Captain Alistar McKeon & Commander Isabella dei`Silvisi

1,061 words; about a 5 minute read

Isabella was still feeling mesmerized by the warp core as she left engineering. She had heard of the effects that some warp cores that were activated had had on some people, but she had never experienced any of them before. The effect wasn't dangerous, but it was unusual. She knew that the effect wouldn't be so strong the next time she visited engineering, if she felt anything at all. If anything, she might be able to completely ignore it next time.

Clasping her hands behind her back, Isabella strode down the corridor at a steady pace. Her mind was racing over what the Endeavour would be assigned to do next. So far, they had been sent on two survey missions that had ended with the surveys being interrupted and left incomplete and a patrol mission that had ended with the Endeavour stopping a renegade politician from starting a war. She was hoping that the next mission would be far less exciting, but with the Endeavour's history so far, she highly doubted it.

It was her curiosity that finally won out. She knew that the Endeavour had a time table in which the ship was to depart Starbase 201 soon, but nothing had been released as to what the Endeavour would be doing and where they were going. There wasn't much time left before they departed, and Isabella felt that she should at least check in with Commander McKeon and find out what was going on. Walking from engineering to the corridor access door to the captain's ready room, she paused outside the door before she reached out and tapped the door chime.

Alistar had replicated breakfast and coffee and been thankful for his insomnia ever since he had returned to the Endeavour. He had been going over the endless piles of paperwork that had awaited him as well as the incoming stuff from both Starfleet Command and the department heads. He had really wanted to restock the ship's compliment of quantum torpedoes, but that would require hard docking to the Starbase that was crawling with reporters trying to get interviews and time that the Endeavour simply didn’t have. Hostile threats to his ship or not, Alistar knew that they couldn't take the time to dock and restock. He was busy going over an intelligence report when the door chime rang. With a frown, he looked up. "Enter," he said.

Isabella smiled as she walked into the ready room and noticed the pile of padds on McKeon's desk. She had thought that he had gotten caught up on the paperwork, but clearly she has been wrong. Her smile almost froze when she realized that her own paperwork was probably piling up on her as well. The thought didn’t settle too well with her.

"Captain, I was wondering if you could give me any idea as to what our next mission is," she said.

"Have a seat, Isabella," Alistar said. "I was about to call you. This," he held up the padd he had been reading "Is just the beginning of our next mission."

"What is it?" Isabella asked as she gracefully settled into one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"Ever heard of the Y'Vara system, or two species known as Y'Varn or Krivaldi?" Alistar asked.

"I vaguely remember hearing something about the Krivaldi," Isabella said, frowning as she tried to fully recollect from memory what she did know. "The Breen used them as shock troops for ground campaigns during the Dominion War if I remember correctly."

"Correct. After the Breen were beaten back and lost their empire after the war, the Krivaldi, like some of the other aggressive races, took advantage and started to become a galactic power. The Y'Varn inhabits the same system, and the two have been at war for longer than Starfleet has been exploring space. Both sides have requested a Federation mediation to officially end the blood war and if we're successful, both sides have petitioned to join the Federation."

"Did both sides issue this in a joint statement?" Isabella asked.

"No, separate statements," Alistar said. "This concerns me. Both sides have agreed to mediation talks in a neutral system, but the Federation had to initiate the deal. And both sides are avoiding including the other in setting the meeting up."

"Sir, I'm not a diplomat, but that doesn't sound like they're serious about peace talks," Isabella said.

"I fully expect one of them to withdraw before we're done with the first meeting. In fact, I bet these talks go nowhere," Alistar said.

"I say we should proceed with extreme caution," Isabella said.

"I'm going to meet with Lieutenant Sato and go over our options later. I've also requested additional personnel for security. One of these days we'll get fully staffed," Alistar said. "In the meantime, I want you to coordinate with medical and science, see if we can get emergency response teams prepped and ready. Also, get with engineering and see if they’re ready."

"I just checked in on engineering. I went ahead and promoted Mister Walker to lieutenant," Isabella said.

"Good," Alistar said. "Alright, that just leaves you science and medical. See if Ensign Niatra can go over the telemetry data we have on the system we're heading to and write a report on it. If it comes down to a fight, I'd like to know my battle ground."

"I'll go find her right now and get with medical after that," Isabella said as she stood. "Are we having a brain storming session after we depart?"

"I'll call for a briefing once we're underway. Hopefully Lieutenant Valenar has learned the helm by the time we depart," Alistar said with a light chuckle.

Isabella smiled at that. There was no doubt in her mind that the new lieutenant would be able to pilot the Endeavour in any situation that might arise. "I'll let Fe'cia know that you need that report as soon as possible," she said before she turned and left the ready room.

Alistar nodded and watched his XO leave before he picked the padd he had been reading back up and started reading again. With any luck, this mission wouldn't turn out as disastrous as some of the Endeavour's previous assignments, but he still wanted to be ready for anything. After all, expecting the unexpected was how the Endeavour survived.

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