Bad News, People Part I

Posted on Mon Dec 2nd, 2024 @ 11:38pm by Captain Alistar McKeon & Commander Isabella dei`Silvisi & Lieutenant Commander Zodrac Kosh & Lieutenant Jera'turak Ros & Lieutenant Keira Heartly & Lieutenant Ayana Varón & Grace Winters PhD

1,795 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Relics of War

Alistar stood before the view port in the conference room and stared out at the view. Normally, he would be able to enjoy the imagery of Earth and his home system in general, but the news of the morning had dulled his mind somewhat. His mind had been too busy racing through the endless possibilities and reasons why the attack had happened, and he always came back to an incomplete answer due to incomplete information. So without anything else to do for the immediate moment, he stood and stared out into space.

Keira had barely had time to pack her things and dress in a clean uniform before the shuttle that had picked her up had taken off. The pilot had clearly been rushed, along with the other officers that had shared the nightmare inducing shuttle ride with her. When the shuttle had finally seemed to skid to a stop on the shuttlebay deck on board the Endeavour, Keira was certain that she didn't ever want to take another shuttle ride again. The deck officer, along with everyone else aboard the Endeavour, seemed rushed, harried, and no one knew why. After being checked into the ship's manifest and finding her assigned quarters, Keira dropped off her bags and hurried to the bridge. Along with the rest of the ship, the bridge was a nest of busier than usual officers. One paused long enough to point Keira towards the conference lounge before he rushed off. Stepping into the conference lounge, Keira braced to attention.

"Sir, Lieutenant Keira Heartly reporting for duty," she said.

Alistar turned away from the view port and took in the young lieutenant standing before him. He had been informed that Starfleet would be finding officers to fill the Endeavour's ranks, and it seemed that they were doing exactly that. He hadn't had time to read through Heartly's service record, but he had at least been informed that she would be taking over operations. It was one less worry, hopefully. "At east Lieutenant," he said with a stiff almost formal nod. "Everyone else will be arriving shortly, so until then try to make yourself comfortable."

Grace walked into the room and smiled at the others present. She wasn't sure what the meeting was about, but she was determined to be cheerful. "Hello, everyone." She went over to Keira. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Grace. Grace Winters."

Keira smiled towards the woman wearing civilian clothing. She wasn't sure if the woman was an actual member of the crew or a Federation liaison, but she was present at what was to be a meeting of the senior staff, so Keira accepted it without question. "No, Ma'am, I just came aboard a few minutes ago. I'm Keira Heartly. I've been assigned as chief of operations," she said.

"Excellent." Grace smiled warmly. "I'm the ship's counselor and diplomat. Welcome aboard."

"Thank you, Miss Winters," Keira said with a friendly smile. "I really appreciate the welcome."

Ayana entered the room and took stock at who was here, then gave everyone a polite nod of greeting.

Zodrac entered the room and immediately stood there at the opened door. He wasn't sure what to do, surrounded by several people he didn't recognized. Even more so, how they would respond to a Cardassian in Uniform, let alone one who was a department head. He cleared his throat and walked over to the replicator. He stood there for a moment, taking in a deep breath, before ordering his drink. "Jumja Tea, please. Hot."

Grace turned when she heard Zodrac's voice and smiled. "Good to see you again."

He turned to look at her. Zodrac let out a sigh of relief as he took his tea mug and approached her. "Miss Winter. Nice to see you again." He remembered there encounter at the lounge when he first came onboard. The woman seemed pleasant which put Kosh at ease as he smiled back at her. "How are you?"

"I am well. How is your family?" She hoped they were still with him. She liked his wife and was charmed by his daughter.

"Great. They are settling in nicely, Thank you." He replied as he took a sip from his Jumja Tea. As he lowered his mug, he continued, placing his other hand under the mug. "Arna is preparing herself for kindergarten and my wife got a position in security with me. So, I'll be her boss for a while, until I get home. Then she's mine." He added a slight smile, resisting the urge to laugh loudly so as not to draw attention.

They sounded like a great family. Probably why he was doing so well in Starfleet. Grace knew it wasn't always easy for a Cardassian--especially one with a Bajoran wife. "Wonderful. I will leave you now, but please, let me know if there's anything I can do for you and your family."

He was tempted. Tempted to ask her if she could talk to Arna about everything that's gone on. About how she felt about the move and if she had to deal with people, mainly the kids, treating her different because of how she looks. Because of who her father was. The temptation was there to ask, but all he did was sip his tea and smiled as he looked her in the eyes. "Nothing at the moment, Miss Winters. But I'll keep it in mind. Thank you."

She smiled back. "You're welcome. I may stop by and say hello to your family and welcome them aboard." He still seemed hesitant. Not that Grace could blame him, but she would definitely keep and eye on that family to make sure they were settling in well.

Isabella entered the conference lounge trying to not look as tired as she felt. She had stayed up late working on getting the ship prepared for departure, and the early morning time that McKeon had called for a red alert and woken the entire ship hadn't allowed for her to get much sleep. Nodding towards everyone as she entered, Isabella made her way towards the replicator and ordered a traditional Italian espresso. Taking a small drink, she turned and took a moment to check on who was present and who had yet to arrive before she headed towards her usual chair.

Jera walked into the briefing room hesitantly. She had been working double shifts in an effort to both learn about the new systems aboard the Endeavour and trying to get everything squared away for the ship's launch. The red alert and her being called to a meeting had drawn some concern from her, since she knew that it had to be a serious situation given the Endeavour's status. She instantly spotted a Cardassian wearing a Starfleet uniform in the room and she hesitated, feeling her hackles rise up at the very sight of him. Pausing at the doorway, Jera was torn for a moment, her hands curling into fists as she fought her inner demons for what seemed to be an eternity before she finally forced herself to take a single step into the room. She wasn't sure what to do next, but she made a point to remain standing beside the door for the moment.

Zodrac's eyes met with Lieutenant Ros's and his heart skipped a beat. After a few seconds, he looked down toward the Jumja tea in his mug, while taking in a deep breath. He wanted to go over there and explain how he got there. How he turned away from Cardassian the moment he freed the species at the Cardassian Camp he worked at and fled with them Federation space, but what would it accomplish? He was still a Cardassian and that was all people needed to treat him like he was the enemy. To spit in his face and call him a monster. It didn't matter who he was or even that he married a Bajoran himself. Cardassians were scum and so was he. Instinctively, he reached up to his ear to see if he had wore his Bajoran earring, soon letting out a sigh as he felt it wasn't there, believing that would have started a different mess all together with the Lieutenant. For now, he just sat down in his chair and avoided eye contact, hoping to get out of this meeting unscathed.

Grace also noticed the woman at the door and went over to greet her. "Welcome. I'm Grace Winters. Feel free to come in and meet everyone before the briefing."

Jera raised her eyebrow towards the civilian for a brief moment that passed quickly. She had heard about the counselor but had never met her before. She didnt want to be rude or mean towards the woman, but the presence of a Cardassian, specially one she didnt know, was setting her nerves on edge and she really did t want to mingle. "Jera Ros, engineering," she replied. "And thank you, but I think I'll wait and find a seat when the meeting starts."

Grace nodded and decided to say hello to the chief science officer.

Keira watched the other officers from a neutral and out of the way point in the room. There was no easy way to find the figurative back of the room without being openly obvious as to what she was doing, but she tried her best either way to stay out of the way. She watched the nonverbal exchange between the Bajoran and Cardassian officers and quietly watched the tension in the room rise while trying to remain and appear to be a neutral party.

Still standing beside the view port, Alistar watched as the senior staff mingled while waiting for everyone else to arrive. He silently hoped that it was a good sign. At least, until he noticed Lieutenant Ros enter. Of everyone else on Endeavour, he had served with her the longest, and even if that wasn't the case it didn't take an expert to see the engineer's hesitation and obvious anger. Alistar didn't even have to follow her gaze to know the reason behind her reaction, but he still glanced towards LtCommander Kosh. Of everyone else on board Endeavour, Alistar would freely admit he had issues coming to terms with the fact that Kosh was a Cardassian. But his loyalty was to Starfleet, and Kosh wore the uniform. Unless someone betrayed the uniform, badge and everything they stood form, Alistar would at least try to work with anyone. It wouldn't be easy, but not everything in Starfleet was.

Alistar finally shook himself out of his thoughts and heaved a heavy sigh as he finally moved towards his chair and sat down. "If everyone would find a seat, we'll get started," he said.


(To be continued..)

 

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