A Change of Direction

Posted on Sat Aug 6th, 2022 @ 9:59pm by Captain Mikoto Misaka & Lieutenant Commander Lurath, Son of Grogori & Commander Eila Juutilainen 'Illu'

1,573 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: The Search

[Bridge]

The Ermiana majestically cut through space at a steady warp six, cruising along between star systems. It had been several weeks since the ship finished the clean up of the USS Enterprise NCC 1701 D and the crew had been enjoying a bit of downtime between assignments. The bridge was fairly quiet that morning as Captain Misaka stepped out of her ready room, a fresh hot cup of coffee in her hand.

She looked around at her crew endearingly as she made her way towards her chair. She took the few steps up to the command level. "We have received new orders" she announced simply as she stood in front of the three chairs. "Helm, change course..." she said simply. "Set a new course for the Bajor System. Take us to Deep Space Nine"

"Aye Captain, course laid in, speed?" Responded Lt Henderson sat at the CONN station

"Warp Eight, engage"

The Ermiana rotated around and jumped to warp. As soon as the Warp Field has stabilized, James turned to the Captain and said

"ETA at present speed is approximately...Thirteen Hours"

The Ermiana's new First Officer, whom had come aboard a few days ago, had been in charge of the bridge overnight. As she finished her most recent energy drink, the captain walked onto the bridge and the smell of her coffee caught Commander Juutilainen's nostrils.

Eila waited until the captain finished giving her orders before speaking:

"Morning, Captain:" She greeted. "Is that Finnish light roast?"

Mikoto shrugged. "No idea. Its whatever the replicator classes as 'coffee'" she said in reponse simply.

Eila got up from the first officer's chair and yawned, stretching.

"I think I'm gonna go make myself a cup." She muttered. "I just need to get through a few more hours and then I can go take a nap."

The doors to the turbolift opened as a half Betazoid and half Klingon stood there for a moment. It had been only a few days of being on this ship and he had yet to step onboard the bridge. He spent his time getting his quarters together and organizing his department to his specifications. At the moment, the only thing left, was to step onto the bridge.

Lurath finally stepped off the turbolift and onto the bridge deck. He adjusted his Klingon Baldric, decorated with a few Klingon awards and his fathers family crest, before walking over to the security console behind the Captain's chair. As the ensign stepped aside, he tapped on it, bringing up the current status of the shields and weapons, before nodding to the ensign and walking off leaving it to the young tactical officer. He finally made his way do to the lower part of the bridge to the Captain and First Officer's area.

Mikoto took a sip of her coffee and turned to the Half Klingon half Betazoid that had joined them. "Ah, Commander Lurath I presume? First day on the job?" she asked with a smile.

"First day on the bridge, Captain." Lurath replied in his slightly deep voice as he put his hands behind his back. "I appreciate you giving me the last two days to get my quarters and department in order."

The Captain nodded. "Well, we were all enjoying a little down time. So there was no rush. I would rather have a crew thats rested and familiar with the ship before having to attend to their duties" she explained. She held a hand out to the man. "Welcome aboard the Ermiana Commander. While I am here, Commander Cayne left the position of not only Chief of Security officer open, but that of second officer. You're more than qualified, will you step up or should I consider another candidate?" she asked her hand still outstretched for him to shake.

Lurath gave an odd look, being caught off guard by the offer to be Second Officer. He wasn't expecting his first time meeting the Captain to lead to this, but he wasn't about to pull away from an opportunity if she was asking him personally. He extended his hand and took a hold over hers, being careful not to squeeze it. "I... would be honored, Captain. I will do my best to fill the former Commander's shoes."

Eila returned with her own cup of replicated Finnish light roast. As she sipped it, she noticed Commander Lurath standing by the command area.

"Hello there;" She greeted. "Did I miss something important?"

"Ah Commander Juutilainen..." she paused for a moment. "I did say that right didn't I?" she asked, she had been secretly practicing pronouncing the commanders name as it was a complicated surname. She shook it off. "This is Commander Lurath, he's our new Chief of Security and as of this moment he will be filling the Second Officer role"

"Close enough;" Eila responded. She was used to having her name mispronounced; Scandinavian surnames were always trickier to get right. Eila placed her coffee in her left hand and extended her right in Lurath's direction. "Pleasure to meet you, Commander; I'm Commander Juutilainen, the new First Officer. I'm sure we could use someone of your talents as our Second Officer."

Lurath extended his hand, gripping the Commander's small hand gently so as not to break anything, before releasing to put his hands back behind his back. "My talents?" He questioned as he raised a slight brow. "Which talents, may I ask, are you referring to?"

"Oh, I was referring to the fact that you probably have a unique perspective, given how you've served in both Starfleet and the KDF." Eila shrugged. "Or how you managed to get your department in order within two days. I mean, all I seemed to do was show up and take over for Commander Taylor."

He gave a slight smirk, nodding his head, to ensure the First Officer there was no offense taken. "Yes, as most Klingon children, I began my service in the Klingon Defense Force to follow in the footsteps of my father and step brother. However, my fellow warriors began to take offense when they learned I was not half human, but half Betazoid. In the Klingon culture it is considered a dishonor to be able to read the minds of your opponents. They consider it cheating in battle. Even when I wasn't doing it they would be convinced I was. My journey was not completely lost. I did make some allies who saw past my natural gifts, but not enough to keep me there. So, I came to Starfleet, to begin my service here. My father was not pleased, but he understood, with my mothers guidance."

Eila nodded.

"Well, back in the Academy, things were the exact opposite for me;" She explained. "I was one of the few non-telepaths in my counseling class, and I had to get a little creative to get good grades. So I could see where the Klingons are coming from on that note, even if the rationality is a little... Extreme."

"Creative?!" Lurath said with a raised brow as he continued. "Are you implying some kind of cheating?"

"No, not at all!" Eila spluttered. "I was just saying that I lacked the ability to read people like a telepath would be able to. So, I had to find success in other methods of counseling: Methods that weren't cheating, but rather were different approaches than my telepathic classmates would have taken."

Lurath nodded his head. She obviously didn't clarify, only repeated herself in a different fashion, which made him feel there was something she was holding back, but he knew enough not to push or poke. It wasn't his way. Especially when it came to fellow officers. Even in the KDF he never pushed or poked when he sensed someone was lying or holding something back.

Mikoto watched the exhange between the new two command officers. "Well..." she said as she stepped around them and sat down in the center chair. "Commander, arrange for a staff briefing at..." she glanced at the chronometer on the arm of her chair. It showed the standard ship time being at 08:12. "0900 hours in the observation lounge for all senior staff" she said before taking another sip of coffee.

Eila nodded.

"Yes, Captain." She said, deciding that she would probably need more coffee if she were to make it through the meeting.

Lorath felt that they were done with him and he proceeded to walk back up to the Tactical console, taking it over from the ensign. He saw no reason to be anywhere else since the staff meeting wasn't that far off.

Mikoto sat back in her chair relaxing slightly. The ship had altered course and was now en route to Deep Space Nine at warp eight.

"Well then" she said outloud after taking a sip of her coffee. "Status reports" she asked looking around the bridge, she wanted to know the general status of her ship and its systems.

As officers around her began to report the status of their stations, Mikoto sat back and smiled. It felt nice to be back out and on track again, especially after spending the majority of their first few months in one place.

Posting by

Captain Mikoto Misaka
Commanding Officer

Commander Eila Juutilainen 'Illu'
Executive Officer

Lieutenant Commander Lurath, Son of Grogori
Chief Security/Tactical Officer

Lieutenant James Henderson
Chief Flight Control Officer

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