First Officer Reporting In

Posted on Sun Oct 13th, 2024 @ 3:56am by Captain Rylan Gray & Commander Zhaan D'Sai

1,181 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: A Silence of Friends
Location: Captain's Ready Room, Deck 1, USS Thunderbird
Timeline: MD001 - 0800

Her gear would be sent directly to her quarters and that left Zhaan D'Sai free to report in to her new commanding officer. Nothing about Zhaan spoke of a commanding presence. At 5'7" and a bare 120 pounds, she was often underestimated. She looked delicate, almost frail, until they met her steely gray gaze which was alive with intelligence and deeply perceptive gaze. Short she might be, when compared to many of her crew mates and almost always underweight but what there was of her was pure muscle, born of necessity of Freecloud and honed in martial arts training once she entered Starfleet. Polite and well-mannered, allowing others to enter the room before her, she was often under-estimated and that was fine with her. Freecloud had taught her about turning things to advantage.

At 0800, she pressed the door chime and waited for the Captain's permission to enter. When it came, she walked up to the man's desk and said, "Commander Zhaan D'Sai reporting for duty as ordered, Captain."

Rylan rose to his feet as she entered and gestured for the commander to take a seat. "You pulled off something of a miracle getting to us so quickly," he said as he resumed his own seat. "We're on a short layover here so I appreciate the effort."

"Honestly, it was a relief," Zhaan said as she sank back in to the seat her brand-new captain had indicated, relaxing all at once. "Been waiting for a ship for close to a month now, living out of suitcases, and taking surfing lessons on the beach. Pleasurable for some but ..." she shrugged, a bare lift of the shoulder, "I itched to go back to work. Space is addictive."

"Yuri Gagarin," Rylan said, "was quoted as saying, I could have gone on flying through space forever. First human in space and that was ..."

"... a little over four hundred years ago," Zhaan supplied, nodding enthusiastically. "First year at the Academy, I did a lot of reading on the space program. Interesting stuff. A bit primitive compared to what we have today, of course, but still, I admire the courage it took to make those first steps."

Rylan nodded. "Indeed," he said. "I read a lot about the overview effect. A cognitive and emotional shift in a person's awareness, their consciousness and their identity when they see the Earth from space. They're at a distance and they're seeing the Earth ... in the context of the universe. In those days, it was relatively common to have an emotional or mental reaction strong enough to disrupt that person's previous assumptions about humanity, Earth, and/or the cosmos."

"Do you remember your first trip into space," Zhaan asked, leaning forward slightly. "How it felt?"

"Couldn't tear myself away from the view port," Rylan said with a slight shake of his head. "My home world, Earth, looked so different from space. For the first time, I really saw the planet, not by what divided us, but as a whole. Really changed my perspective on a lot of things. How about you?"

"My parents were forced off Nicati Prime but I was too young to remember. So, my first memory was when I left Freecloud and what I remember feeling was this sense of ... peace. Of not having to look over my shoulder or worry about where the next attack was coming from. I felt free in a way I never had before so mostly, I just felt joy."

Rylan nodded. "Freecloud has a strong criminal element."

"It does," Zhaan answered. "Some would say its ninety percent criminals but I'm sure that's the case. There are good people they're just remarkably adept at going unnoticed. Survival trait. But that was ... what? ... twelve years ago and I haven't been back since. These days, home is the ship I'm stationed on. I'm more interested in seeing what's out there. I don't need to go back."

"I read your file," Rylan said, his expression turning serious. "Your work with Starfleet Intelligence resulted in your captain being removed from command."

"Yes, Sir," Zhaan answered at once. "He was passing classified data to the Maquis and had, as we found out during the investigation, sabotaging Starfleet operations. Will that be a problem, Captain? My part in him being arrested?"

"Not at all," Rylan said. "In fact, I approve. Your loyalty should be to the ship and its captain but only if the individual is worthy of it. Captain Milford committed acts of treason. If I had been serving on that ship, I would have done the same thing. No question."

Zhaan nodded, released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. A part of her had feared that she would become a sort of pariah in Starfleet. That her actions would be seen as a betrayal. And while she'd wrestled with her decision, she realized in the end that she couldn't work for a traitor. And once the decision was made, she knew, in her heart of hearts, that she would accept whatever happened afterwards even if meant serving on some remote station in the middle of nowhere until the memory faded. The fact that she had gotten a posting at all she counted as something of a miracle.

"Thank you for saying so, Captain," Zhaan said. "Have to admit, I felt a bit as though I were on trial as well. There are more than a a few sympathizers in Starfleet."

"I'm aware," Rylan said softly. And for a moment, he was back in the conversation with Possum; he shook it off and returned to the matter at hand. With a diplomat's skill, he steered the conversation toward their upcoming mission and the two spent some time discussing both how thing stood on the ship at the moment, the away team's questionable actions on Quasinon III and their upcoming assignment. Once they were finished, both had a better understanding of the other and it felt to both that they had made a good start.

"Commander Zhaan D'Sai," Rylan said, "I am officially accepting your transfer to the USS Thunderbird as its First Officer. Computer please make note of this and accord the Commander the rights and privileges that go along with the transfer."

"Noted," the computer responded. "Effective this date, Commander Zhaan D'Sai is now the First Officer of the USS Thunderbird."

"Welcome aboard," Rylan said. "I'm meeting with our new Chief Medical Officer in a few minutes and there's a meeting of senior staff at 9 in the Conference Room. You can continue with on-boarding after the meeting concludes. And this," Rylan added as passed over a packed PADD, "should help. Reports from Quasinon III, briefing summary for Guran III and more."

"Thank you, Sir," Zhaan said as she rose, with liquid grace, to her feet, PADD in hand. "See you at 9." She turned and walked out of the Ready Room, a feeling of hope suffusing her slim frame. Maybe, she thought, this will be the fresh start I need.

A Post by

Captain Rylan Gray
Commanding Officer
USS Thunderbird

and

Commander Zhaan D'Sai
First Officer
USS Thunderbird

 

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