Meeting the Captain

Posted on Thu Oct 10th, 2024 @ 8:49am by Lieutenant Commander Eden Corwin & Captain Piraa sh'Zamhlass

2,122 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Project EDEN
Location: Captain's Ready Room
Timeline: July 23, 2401

Eden could feel her nerves build with each step she took as she made her way to her new Commanding Officer's ready room. Who would be greeting her? Would she be friendly? Would she be intimidating? There really was only one way to find out the answer to those questions.

What the security officer did know was that Captain Piraa sh'Zamhlass was Andorian, and fairly young given her position, but some thought that about her as well considering she joined the academy much later than most. Security Cadet Freshman Grade at twenty-one and a Starfleet Academy graduate just shy of her twenty-fifth birthday. She had a lot to prove in her eight years, and that was exactly what she set out to do. In fact, she planned to continue to do so.

Before she knew it, the Captain's ready room door was in front of her. This it is, the Valiant's new Security and Tactical Chief thought as she straightened her uniform. With a deep, steady breath, Eden tapped the chime that would alert her new CO of her presence.

Captain sh'Zamhlass barely flinched at the sound of the chime. Door chimes were nothing new, especially to those who wore red. What amazed her, however, was the amount of times that it went off during a single shift. She had thought it was excessive when she was a Commander and a First Officer. Now it seemed that she really had no idea.

"Come in," she called out, still sitting at her desk, reviewing EDEN's schematics for the umpteenth time.

Taking another deep breath, Eden stepped forward and through the door once she triggered the sensor. It wasn't until it closed behind her that she approached the desk and cleared her throat. "Lieutenant Commander Eden Corwin, Chief of Security and Tactical reporting, Captain."

Piraa looked up when the blonde woman entered the room. Her antennae perked up slightly, detecting an unusual scent coming from the new arrival, likely a perfume of sort. It was just as well, especially since each species had their own particular scent and electromagnetic field. The Captain affixed a smile to her face and deactivated her desk terminal. "Have a seat, Commander. Welcome aboard the Valiant. I trust your transfer and transit treated you well."

"Thank you," the Security officer said as she took a seat. "It was uneventful, which was welcome. I only arrived a couple of hours ago."

The Captain leaned forward in her chair and folded both hands in front of her on the best. "Glad to hear it. I take it you've been settling in then." She paused for a second, studying the woman's face as if she was trying to jog a memory. "You'll have to forgive me, Commander. I know it's been a while since we were on the same ship together, but I was trying to remember if we might have ever seen each other there before."

For a moment, Eden appeared confused, but then she recalled seeing that the Captain had once served on board the Black Hawk-A while she was on board. A smile formed on her lips. "Former engineer, yes? I think that might be possible. When I first boarded the ship, I was taking myself on a tour and accidentally ended up in Engineering," she said as she smiled from the memory. "I wasn't there long before Commander di Pasqule's drone found me, fired a transporter tag and put me in the brig."

Piraa couldn't help but chuckle. "Oh, yes. I remember those drones. You know, one time, I was trying to locate a troublesome EPS relay in one of the Jeffries tubes. Reports had come in saying the relay was buzzing, yet every time I went to that section, the sound was moving. Took me twenty minutes to figure out I was chasing one of her drones."

Eden smiled again. She recalled the same buzzing around different parts of the ship. "They certainly worked. I remember being so scared when I realized where I was. Commander di Pasquale was very understanding. Of course, being related to the Chief of Intelligence, and the ship's CO by marriage, certainly helped."

The Andorian had forgotten that little tidbit regarding her familiar connection to two former senior officers. "I haven't encountered many drones on other ships since then, and I suppose it'll be up to you should that be necessary. Project EDEN, however, seems to have some similar functionalities though."

"I haven't been able to familiarize myself with Project EDEN yet, but it's on my list of things to do, and soon," the human woman stated. "As for drones, I would like to consider something like that, among some other protocols Commander di Pasquale had implemented."

"I'm happy to entertain plans of any sort," Piraa said. "Though the implementation of plans may depend on how it would affect the EDEN testbed. Our first mission is to take the system out for a test drive and see how it performs. I'm sure Commander Mariwat will insist on maintaining a lot of standards in order to establish a proper baseline."

"Project EDEN should definitely take priority, and anything else should be circled back to once all the aforementioned has been determined."

The Captain nodded, finding that her point had been clearly made. "Excellent. Speaking of the program that bears your namesake, have you had a chance to review the mission and program parameters before coming aboard?"

"I haven't yet," Eden admitted. "But, I can be up to speed completely before my first official shift begins."

"Please do," Piraa encouraged. "EDEN was mothballed for some time, and while the project has received several updates due to how much technology has evolved since it was reactivated, I personally feel many of these updates were hastily applied. I would like your evaluation on its security protocols and if anything may pose a threat or hinderance to ship's security and defense."

"I can certainly do that. When does the test drive begin?" The human woman found herself asking.

"Next week," the Captain said, her tone a bit nervous. "In two days, we'll have a briefing with the project's supervisor, a Commander Haxin Mariwat. He's... a different personality, but don't let him block you from asking any important questions. After Frontier Day, I'll be damned if I let a digital construct cause havoc with another ship."

"I will have everything gone over and reviewed by then and come up with any possible questions," the Security Chief said. "Let's hope there's no havoc. Do you have any questions you wish to ask me?"

"Questions? No." Piraa shook her head as the smile vanished from her face. "I suppose none other than making sure it's clear that I expect everyone to perform their jobs adequately. I have no time for micromanaging. As a member of the senior staff, your opinion is always valid, especially when it comes to matters of security. Don't hesitate to share any point when you feel the security of the ship could be compromised. My door is always open to you."

The Captain leaned back in her chair and added, "What about you, Miss Corwin? Do you have any questions for me?"

"When did you realize you wanted to command your own ship?" Eden found herself asking.

Piraa smirked, realizing that was the first time she'd been asked that question since she made captain. "I never really wanted the red uniform, to be honest. In my last life, I was an engineer. I loved to fix things and work with people. My CO back on the Ross was really impressed with how I ran the engineering department, and somehow he convinced me that my people skills were greater than my engineering prowess. I won't admit for a second that he's been right, but I have enjoyed my short command career thus far. I wasn't supposed to make captain for another couple of years, but it seems the Borg accelerated a lot of things."

The Andorian's antennae drooped slightly, but remained alert. "What about you, Commander? What got you into security? You and I both know that Geisler was an interesting and dangerous fellow, so it couldn't have been him."

"It wasn't," the human woman confirmed. "I suppose my interest was piqued when I landed in the brig for making that wrong turn. And, hearing some of Joey's stories. Of course, most of them should be a deterrent. I'm capable of thinking on my toes and can handle high pressure situations. It felt like the right next step for me. It's certainly a far cry from teaching."

"Teaching?" Piraa asked, intrigued by the mention. "Were you a teacher prior to enlistment?"

Eden shook her head. "No, but I was considering it for a while. It's what I thought I wanted until I joined Joey and Harvey in space to help with their children."

The mention of children stuck like a knife in Piraa's side. She'd done well over the last few years to look past her history, but somehow this one stung her. "Don't think for a second that I'm judging you, Miss Corwin. I spent my formative years being prepared for conception, only to find out that I will forever be unable to have biological children of my own. I think we'll discover together that were it not for Starfleet, the lives on just about everyone aboard this vessel would be very different."

The human woman frowned. Her heart broke for her Andorian Captain, and a part of her wanted to hug her, but the other knew that would likely be frowned upon. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said. "But, I think you might be right. Starfleet seems to have a way of bringing people together whether those people realize it or not."

"Indeed it does," Piraa murmured in agreement. Though she couldn't help but think the terrible things Starfleet officers had been through, especially recently with Frontier Day. In many ways, she was glad that she didn't have to suffer with the Borg-altered DNA, but she couldn't begin to imagine the trauma going through the minds of younger officers. "Regardless, we are both here now. And as such, we get to explore new frontiers. A small price to pay for wearing the uniform, I think."

"I think so, too," Eden said. "I will study Project EDEN in detail over the next couple of days and come up with any questions before launch day. Until then, and aside from the usual duties, do you have any expectations of me?"

"There is one thing outside of the norm." Piraa picked up a nearby padd and tapped a few things onto it. "I'm sure you've seen your fair share of strange computerized or holographic circumstances. Our XO, Commander T'Zara, suggested we add an override to EDEN, which I thought was a great idea. The override will take two authorizations, which right now are myself and the XO. We need a backup in case either one of us is incapacitated. I'd like that to be you."

"Of course, Captain. Having an override is definitely smart, and safe. These days, we can never be too careful. Do you want to generate an authorization code for me, or would you rather that I do it?" The human woman asked.

The Captain leaned over and extended the padd. "That's what this is for. We'll need your handprint, authorization code, next of kin, and a blood sample." She grinned, adding, "Well, really just the first two."

"One step ahead. I can provide those," Eden said with a laugh, placing her hand on the screen for the print, then put in her authorization code.

The padd chirped, satisfied with the input it had received. Piraa entered a command of her own into the screen in order to commit the information to the ship's security grid. "There we go. I promise the blood sample would have been just as painless."

"That's comforting," the human woman said with a smile.

Piraa chuckled, finding the security officer's willingness to lean into the absurd a little bit quite reassuring. It remained to see what Eden would be like when an actual threat or situation arose, but the Captain had no doubt that the woman could handle not just herself, but a team as well. "I think that pretty much covers it for now. If there's nothing else, then there's nothing left to say for now, except welcome aboard!"

Eden rose to her feet. "I look forward to working with you, Captain," she said before offering the Andorian woman a smile and exiting. There was still much to be done, and she had to meet the Executive Officer.

 

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