On The Way to Starbase 54

Posted on Fri Jun 26th, 2020 @ 1:00am by Captain Taliserra Tigran & Lieutenant Commander Radak

1,362 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: The science of stars
Location: Ready Room
Timeline: 28th March 2395

ON:

Lieutenant Commander Radak stepped through the door into the Captain's Ready Room, his PADD clutched under one arm. The last month had been an interesting one. It had been a long time since he had done any sort of research, so the gathering of samples had been exciting. He was, however, glad to be headed back to Federation space. It would be nice to relax for a moment before they went off to the unknown again.

"Good morning Commander." Taliserra said looking up as Radak entered the room.

He set his PADD down on the table and looked across it at Captain Taliserra Tigran, his face a mask of Vulcan stoicness. "We are nearing the border, Captain. From there it should not take us long to reach Starbase 54. Do you know how long we will be staying? I know a resupply is necessary."

"As long as it takes us to resupply and get some new orders," Taliserra replied. "A few days at least. If we can arrange it though, I'd like to get us to stay there longer, give the crew a little leave on the base, if they want it."

Radak nodded and looked around at his choice of seating, picked a chair and sat. "I agree. I think it would be good for crew morale if they had a little... down time?" He lifted one eyebrow, almost as if he was amused by this saying in some way. "Hopefully, they will not be quick with the reassignment. I believe that we had good results with our surveys though... of the planets."

"It's a shame we were forced to cut our surveys short. From what I read, it was a most interesting system, worth further investigation, if the Tzenkethi allow it, but it's very unlikely they will. Do you think they would kill them all?" she asked, though from the tone of the Tzenkethi Commander, it was very likely.

Radak tipped his head a little, thinking her question curious. "They said they would. I do not believe it is not in their nature to say one thing and do another. I believe that they will indeed kill them all. If they haven't already. We will have to be satisfied with what we were able to gather." They were fortunate in many ways to have had the chance to gather anything at all. At this point, and at this distance from the planets, what they had gathered was possibly the only information anyone would ever have on those planets before the Tzenkethi changed their landscapes forever.

"I hope the federation does something to remind them they can't just fly into an occupied system and claim it for themselves, but I doubt they will do anything serious. We don't want another conflict with them, and more death." She sighed slightly.

Radak nodded in agreement. "Starfleet is not, however, the galactic law. As much as I appreciate the establishment and what they represent, not everyone agrees. Unfortunately, I do not believe that they have much say in this matter. As difficult as that might be for us to accept."

Taliserra sat back in her chair. "Unfortunately that does seem the more likely outcome. The Tzenkethi will wipe out a load of helpless pre-warp people and the Federation won't even send them a sternly worded letter."

Radak nodded again. "Their hands are tied, I believe is the expression. It is not their territory. Unfortunately, the Tzenkethi have the last say about what happens to those people. It does not make it right or fair, but it is simply what it is, I am afraid. Do we have any ideas what our next assignment might be?"

Shrugging slightly Taliserra sipped at her tea. "No idea, the Kurai assignment was a something special, other ships have no doubt taken over the other assignments we had lined up. We will have to see what Starfleet has in store for us when we get to Starbase 54."

"Do we know how long our leave will be?" Radak asked. He wasn't sure where the conversation was going, but he felt the captain had more to say to him. He might be mistaken, that happened sometimes as well, other species could be hard to read.

"I don't even know if they'll give us any," she told him. "They might give us something to do as soon as we're finished with the resupply. We could all do with some time off though."

Radak tried to keep his face impassive, but he couldn't stop the arching of one eyebrow. "Surely, they must know how hard this crew has worked."

"They do," Taliserra replied. "I expressed that we've had a hard few months and could do with some leave. Hopefully, we'll get a reply from command soon and they won't make us wait until we get to the base."

"Captain... may I speak freely?" Radak asked. This probably wasn't a very normal Vulcan request, since most spoke their mind honestly whether anyone wanted them to or not. Radak, however, had always been a little different in that regard. He seemed to care if anyone wanted to actually hear his opinion.

"Go right ahead Commander," Taliserra told him, she was a little surprised it had taken this long for him to ask to speak freely for the first time.

"I know you might not feel it at times, but you are an excellent leader. I believe that you set a fine example for this crew." He nodded once, as if this information was more fact than opinion, his face impassive.

"Thank you for the vote of confidence Radak." She smiled slightly, he was certainly right though, it didn't always feel like she was.

"You are welcome. I believe that every Captain needs to hear it from someone that they are doing a good job. I find that people perform much better and with more confidence if they know that their crew and officers have confidence in them. Your crew trusts you and appreciates you."

"I'm glad they do." She got up from her chair and headed to the replicator. "I'm proud of how they have handled the situations we've gone through the last few months."

"I am too," he said honestly, with a little smile. "Very proud of them. They have served with distinction." He nodded and watched her at the replicator. "Could I perhaps pester you for a cup of tea as well, please? A Vulcan spiced tea would be fine. No sweetener necessary." He nodded again, although to what he was nodding to at this point was a little unclear. "I am... proud to be part of this crew..." he said softly, as if it were some sort of admission that shouldn't be shared.

Taliserra added Radak's order to her own. The replicator whirred and the drinks appeared. Walking back to her desk, she handed Radak his tea and sat down. "You have done well yourself, Radak. Even though you have only been here a couple of months."

Radak nodded, more of a head bow in appreciation than an agreeable nod. "Thank you, Captain. I strive to serve with distinction." He took the tea from her and held it in both hands, as if warming them. "It means a lot to me. I think the crew will benefit from this break though."

"Definitely, they've earned the rest." Taliserra sipped her tea. "How is morale in general?"

"It's honestly a little low, but I think this break will be just what it needs. To hopefully get them back on track." He wasn't so sure. He felt there were changes on the horizon for the USS Wolff.

"And after that a nice easy assignment. A supply run to a far flung research outpost or something like that, no drama, no shooting." Taliserra chuckled ever so slightly. Nothing so far in the Wolff's career had been easy.

"Well..." Radak said with a tip of his head, looking at her over the rim of his tea cup. "One can hope." The little smile played across his lips again. "Whatever it is... I'm confident we will prevail."



OFF:

Captain Taliserra Tigran
Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Commander Radak
Executive Officer

 

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