A 'Splashing' Introduction

Posted on Wed Aug 17th, 2022 @ 5:00pm by Captain Mikoto Misaka & Commander Eila Juutilainen 'Illu' & Lieutenant Shandro & Ensign Nixie Kai

2,726 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: The Search
Location: Cetacean Operations

After the briefing, Mikoto needed to keep her promise. Stepping out of her ready room she observed the officers on the bridge carrying out their duties. She finally felt at ease as she made her way up the ramp and towards the turbolift.

Eila had settled back into the first officer's chair when she noticed Mikoto step out of the ready room and start making her way to the turbolift.

"Heading to Cetacean Ops?" She asked, rising from the first officer's chair.

"Got to keep my promises" Mikoto replied. "I did tell Lieutenant Shandro I would visit them down there"

"Mind if I tag along?" Eila smirked.

"Sure... I guess?" Mikoto replied.

"Cetacean Operations" she ordered outloud. The tubrolift hummed as it descended lower into the ship, heading deep into the large oval saucer section. After a few moments it opened onto the corridor which led down to the Cetacean Operations department.

[Cetacean Operations]

The large orange doors opened and Mikoto walked in, the room was quite spacious a large pool in the center. She could only speculate what would happen to the water if the ship ever lost artificial gravity in this area. She shook her head, that rarely happened unless something had gone very wrong and it was best not to jinx it.

The room was empty of personnel, and she slowly walked around looking at all the different consoles and equipment. It was totally different from what she was used to, her mind began to wander slightly.

"I wonder if they allow swimming in here?" she asked herself outloud, she wouldn't have minded a swimming pool on the ship, this was as close as they were going to get afterall even if the area was equipped for aquatic species.

"You mean you'd want to swim in someone else's natural environment?" Eila responded.

Mikoto jumped, she had forgotton that Eila was there she had been so quiet. "Well no..." she was caught off guard. "Its just that..." she took a deep breath. "Forget it" she said as she turned to look elsewhere.

"Mmmhmmm... I see..." Eila said, a mischievous smile crossing her face.

Shandro stepped through the doors and into Cetacean Ops. His mechanical blue eyes scanned the room and spotted Captain Misaka and... Commander Juutilainen?!?! He knew the Commander showed interest in coming to the department, but the invitation was for the Captain only. Shan was slightly concerned, not for the Captain and Commander, but for Nixie who was expecting one person. She was normally shy, and it took a lot of bravery to extend the invitation to the Captain, but to add one more to the mix push her away and she had come a long way since they first met. The last thing he wanted was for her to revert back to her old ways.

He approached the two and nodded slightly. "I'll make the introductions. Ensign Kai takes time to when it comes to new people so, I ask for your patience." Shandro approached the edge of the pool. Hiding his slight disappointment in the situation before crouching down slightly, placing his hand over the water.

Mikoto nodded. "Well, meeting the command team should be fine" she stated. "Plus, the commander here is in charge of all personnel" she added indicating to Eila.

"With respect, Captain." Shandro replied softly, and respectfully, as he turned around to look at the Captain and Commander. "You two aren't the ones who have spent a long time in a small and dirty pool to be used for someone else's amusement. To have large groups of people watching you and observing you like a side show attraction. That kind of treatment would push anyone away from wondering eyes. No matter what rank you are."

Mikoto raised an eyebrow at the explanation, she made a note to look into the ensigns past.

Shandro slowly eased his hand into the water and moved it slowly from side to side. "When I discovered her, that is exactly what they were doing to her. Treating her like she was some kind of freak. An attraction for credits. My original mission was observe and report. Collect data and move on. No interaction, but I changed it once I saw her and the other aliens." He looked back to them and added. "It was the first, and only time, I went against my superiors instructions." He looked back to the body of water and finished. "Unless you've been in that position... you wouldn't understand what it does to you."

"I can't imagine" Mikoto replied. She looked over towards Eila before back to Shandro. "Let's not bring up the past then shall we?". She didn't want her to feel uncomfortable on their first official meeting.

"I'd agree." Eila nodded.

Shandro slowly moved his hand back and forth, causing slight ripples in the water, until finally stopped. A small smile formed on his face as he began to pull his hand back. As his hand emerged, it was noticable that there was another hand holding onto it. A slimmer and feminine hand.

Slowly a female head emerged from the water, long and wet dark blue hair with green eyes, her upper arms and body was covered with a tight wetsuit top which was designed to look like a science uniform. She gave Shandro a smile before speaking in a soft voice. "Hey Shan... Did you come with more stories of-" The woman began before being cut off as she noticed the Captain and Commander over Shandro's shoulder. Almost immediately she let go of Shandro and pulled away, swimming back a few inches before stopping.

"It's okay, Nixie." He said, holding out his hand to her. "You wanted me to ask the Captain to come by to talk to her and she's here. The First Officer also wanted to come and meet you. Hear what you have to say." Shandro motioned his hand for her to come closer again. "Take a deep breath and relax. Just like we talked about. Remember... you're among friends."

Nixie looked back to the Commanding officers and then back to Shandro before slowly swimming forward toward him. She took his hand and allowed him to bring her closer before she let go and placing her elbows on the landing by the walkway they were standing on. She looked at Shandro again before nodding her head and looking to the Captain and First Officer. "H-h-hello Captain... C-c-c-commander."

Mikoto approached slowly, relaxing her body language as to not come across as a threat. "Nice to meet you Ensign" she said with a smile. "I'm Captain Misaka, I apologize for not stopping by sooner. This is Commander Juutilainen" she said introducing herself and the XO.

"Hey." Eila waved. The XO decided not to approach unless the Ensign seemed okay with it.

Nixie looked up to the Captain, her eyes shined slightly in the light, before replying in a soft tone. "You're very busy. I wasn't expecting a visit at all, Captain." She looked over to Commander Juutilainen and gave her a nod. However, in a slight bust of excitement she smiled brightly and asked with wide eyes. "Would you like to meet the rest of the team?"

Mikoto nodded. "Yeah, I would. I make it my business to know my crew" she stated. "Do you... mind if I join you at your level?" She asked indicating that she would like to sit on the side of the pool.

"Of course." She replied before jokingly adding. "Looking up this high is beginning to hurt my neck." Nixie let out a giggle before diving back into the water, torso first. Her shiny green fish tail came out and splashed slightly as she dove back under. She went down under the water and stopped, moving her arms back and forth to keep from going deeper, before Nixie let out a series of muffled noises. When she was finished she let out a smile and returned upwards, coming out of the water and smiling. "Give them a minute. They need to lock out their consoles."

After a few seconds a dolphin emerged from the water, then another, then another. The three dolphins let out a variety of squeaks and whistles. Each dolphin was colored differently. One was grey. Another was black and white. The last was a light blue with a lighter stomach.

Nixie smiled, looking to the three before returning to look at the Command staff. "This is Ceta 1, 2, and 3. I just call them Flip.." She gestured to the grey dolphin. "Bo..." She gestured to the black and white dolphin. "And Daisy." Finally to the light blue dolphin.

Meanwhile Mikoto had slipped off her boots, socks and rolled up her trousers. Dipping her lower legs into the water she sat on the edge of the pool. The water felt quite nice on her skin. "You can communicate with them?" She asked. "At least better than us..."

She swam toward the waters edge, placing her hands on the barrier to hold herself up, before looking over to Shandro. Nixie paused slightly, as if afraid to respond, her excitement having faded quickly. When she saw the nod from Shandro, she turned her attention back to the Commander, then to the Captain. "Zeta Prime is more water than land. We've learned to communicate with aquatic life due to sharing out existence with them. The larger ones are difficult, but not impossible. Aquatic life on my world is no different than that of Earth or any other planet really." She paused for a moment, looking away for a bit, before focusing back to the Captain. "With time I can learn their language and communicate much more fluently. I guess Zetcean brains are just different that way."

"Fascinating" Mikoto replied. "Well I'm glad we have such a diverse crew aboard. I trust it you're accommodation is up to your standards?" she asked curiously. She knew that the aquatic species had specialized quarters as the Galaxy Class had various sections which could be easily modified to accommodate all sorts of lifeforms and simulate any environment needed.

Nixie looked from Shandro, then to Mikito, a be hesitant to respond. After a few seconds she finally said. "My quarters are... okay. It's a bit... disorienting at first. Looking out through the window, into space, while being underwater at the same time. It takes a bit of getting used to. I never imagined being on a starship before, but my life wasn't exactly wonderful before Shan found me. I'm glad he did. For more than just freeing me."

"He seems like a good friend to you" Mikoto replied. "I don't know much about your species or yourself, so if you're OK with it; I'd like to come visit you more?"

Nixie hesitated at first, looking downward, before locking eyes with the Captain. She seemed scared at first before taking a deep breath and saying. "I would... welcome it." She gave a slight smile.

"Actually, Captain." Shandro spoke up, a big of a smile as he locked eyes with Nixie, who clearly knew what he was about to say. "She has a bit of a request herself."

"Oh..." Mikoto turned to briefly look.at Shandro then back to Nixie. "Well I'm here, go ahead"

"I.. uh..." Nixie replied cautiously, lowering her head slightly, covering the bottom of her face with her forearms. She slowly rose again speaking softly. "I was wondering... if it were possible... and with the Captain and First Officer's permission, from time to time, I could leave the ship if we reach a planet with sufficient enough water. Perhaps on my own, or with supervision, so I can see more of the universe. Maybe even on an away team... to... help. If I can?"

Mikoto pondered it for a few seconds. "I don't see why not" she said looking back to Eila. "Obviously, we'd need to ensure it's safe for you to do so; as I would with all my officers" she explained.

Nixie nodded her head in a nervous way before replying. "I understand. I may not be able to follow an away team, unless they crossed paths with a connecting body of water, but it might come in handy. If there are any aquatic life I could learn to communicate with them. Even learn more about whats going on. Whatever it takes, Captain." She looked over to Eila. "Commander, I'm prepare to help in anyway I can."

Mikoto nodded. "I'm sure that the Commander can accommodate you for appropriate away missions" she said.

"Of course;" Eila agreed. "I'd be happy to accommodate you on away missions. Although not to make this sound conditional or anything, but like the captain, I too know very little about your species, and I'd hope you'd consider extending the same courtesies to me as you would the captain. I have found that crew efficiency improves with more open communication, if that makes sense."

Mikoto nodded in agreement as she turned back to Nixie to see if she approved of their answers.

Nixie looked from Eila, to Shandro, then back the Captain. Her wide eyes expression couldn't contain her glee. She immediately nodded in agreement before replying in an excited tone. "Of course... whatever is needed."

Shandro stood there, a slight smile on his face for Nixie getting what she wanted, but also some hidden concern. There was no telling what they would face on a planet and there was no telling how she would react to a different body of water on a different planet. "She'll have to be certified for a phaser..." He paused for a moment, his brow raised. "Of course... the phaser is going to have to be water proof so she can have it under water and still be functional." Shandro shrugged as he added. "Might have to design a whole new phaser for her."

"I'll have the security department modify one" Mikoto replied. "I'm not even sure if a phaser works under water since its an energy weapon..." she pondered for a moment.

"It should work, so long as the phaser's internal components aren't exposed to water." Eila responded, stepping closer to the pool. "Unless you're referring to the effectiveness of a phaser underwater, Captain?"

"Both really" Mikoto replied. She pulled her legs out of the water shaking it off before pulling down her trousers. "Well, Ensign, Lieutenant. I'll get right to work on your requests, is there anything else you need from us?" she asked polietly.

"Nothing Captain." Shandro replied softly as he crossed his arms slightly. "I'll go through my files, and touch base with security, about possible weapons that are approved by Starfleet that are... well... waterproof."

Nixie smile one last time, nodding at both the First Officer and Captain. "Thank you again. I won't let either of you down. I promise." She replied before looking to Shandro, who gave her a bit of a smirk and wink, before she dove back down into the water and disappeared. Happy with how this meeting went out. She couldn't wait for her first time off the ship. To have her own adventure. She wasn't sure what they would come up when it came to carrying and using a phaser, but she was ready to put her all into it.

Shandro watched as she sank down and kept his smirk on before allowing it to fade away. He was happy she got what she wanted, but still concerned as to her being off world. He felt protective of her. She was his friend and they shared a lot over the years, but to know she wanted to go out on her own into a potentially dangerous situation, brought him caution. "Thank you, Captain. Commander. You've probably made a loyal friend for life."

Mikoto couldn't help but smile. "I hope so. I imagine she will become a valuable member of the crew and someone we can rely on at times" she replied. She nodded over towards Eila, she had other duties to attend to and she had taken up enough of their time down in the Cetacean Operations department.

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Captain Mikoto Misaka
Commanding Officer
USS Ermiana

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Lieutenant Shandro (NPC - Voz)
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Ermiana

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Ensign Nixie Kai (NPC - Voz)
Cetacean Operations Officer
USS Ermiana

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Commander Eila Juutilainen
Executive Officer
USS Ermiana

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