Meeting the XO

Posted on Fri Oct 11th, 2024 @ 2:54pm by Commander T'Zara & Lieutenant Commander Eden Corwin

1,627 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Project EDEN
Location: Bridge
Timeline: July 23, 2401

Commander T'Zara was young, Eden noted mentally since she'd gone over some of the personnel files a bit before these meetings took place. Sadly, they didn't say much for one's personality. Only a face to face meeting would do that.

Eden stepped onto the bridge after her meeting with Captain sh'Zamhlass, but there was still the matter of introducing herself to her new Executive Officer, and according to the computer, Commander T'Zara was on the bridge. That worked out well for the Security Chief as she had not been on the bridge of a Duderstadt class vessel in person before.

It didn't take long for her to spot the XO, and though her uniform hadn't been messed up from the last time she'd straightened it, she did it again before approaching. With her hands at her sides, she approached, stopping a few feet away before coming to attention. "Commander T'Zara?"

The Menthian Executive Officer in her custom cryonics suit was sitting in her chair by the Captain's, looking over a PADD in her hand. She looked up when she heard her name addressed and turned her blue skinned head that way. "May I help you?" She asked as she looked at the young humanoid woman standing before her. She took note of the rank pips denoting a Lieutenant Commander and wondered if she were new crew or a assistant to Commander Mariwatt.

"I just boarded not long ago, and didn't want to waste any time introducing myself to you and Captain sh'Zahmlass," Eden began. This assignment was sure to be a lot of firsts for her as she hadn't had the privilege of meeting a Menthian in person before now. "I'm Lieutenant Commander Eden Corwin, Valiant's Chief of Security and Tactical."

T'Zara came to her feet and offered a hand. "I am Commander T'Zara, and I welcome you to the Valiant." she said, a cold puff of air coming from her suit, but only a few inches around her.

Eden took his hand and shook her hand with a polite smile. "Thank you, Commander. It's a pleasure to be here. Do you have any questions for me?"

"I assume since you've met that Captain that she's briefed you on Project EDEN. Do you have any feelings that it might replace the need for Security?" T'Zara asked as she motioned for the new Security Chief to have a seat at a nearby station.

"No," Eden answered as she took the offered seat. "Project EDEN is quite impressive, and while it's designed to do quite a bit in different areas, I don't think it's capable of doing everything that I, or any other member of the crew, can do. If it were, then there wouldn't be a need for physical bodies to be on board."

T'Zara smiled. "An excellent answer. The need for Security personnel will never become obsolete. What inspired you to go into Security? I saw in your record that you attended the Academy on the USS Black Hawk." She smiled, the Black Hawk being the ship that had made first contact with her people.

"I did. Being aboard the Black Hawk is what inspired me. Well, that as well as my cousin, Joey, and the ship's Chief of Security and Tactical, Camila di Pasquale. They both took me under their wings and trained me, or taught me outside of my official teachings via the academy if that's how you wish to look at it," she replied. "Now that I think about it, the Black Hawk is who made first contact with your people."

"It was and I am pleased to find you are now a Chief of Security here on this ship, Commander," T'Zara said. "Were you on the ship when my planet was discovered?"

The blonde haired woman nodded her head. "Yes, but I wasn't lucky enough to get to meet your people at the time. I consider it an honor to be able to do so now."

"I was the first of my people to go to Starfleet Academy on New Bajor after we were accepted," T'Zara said. "I was not at the meeting with your people when they made contact, but it influenced my entire life."

"I suppose we have that in common. I was twenty years old and boarded the Black Hawk as a civilian to help my cousin and her husband with their young twins. I had no idea what I was going to do with my life," the security officer admitted. "I witnessed a lot first hand. Things most civilians couldn't even dream of. It made me want to make a difference, and at twenty-one years old, I enrolled into the academy."

"That's a bit later in life than most," T'Zara noted. "Why so late?"

"Fear," Eden responded without hesitation.

"Fear of what?"

"Of the unknown mostly," Eden answered. "I had it in my mind that I wanted to be a teacher. It was safe and steady, but then when I got to space for the first time. It was pretty scary in some situations, but that's what helped me discover there was so much more I could be doing."

"Space definitely isn't for those without a measure of courage and determination," T'Zara said. "I've been in a number of situations where I thought I was going to die since I joined Starfleet, but I love the experience of meeting new civilizations and people."

"Even as a civilian, I needed that aboard the Black Hawk. It definitely changed my life. And made me realize just how small the galaxy is. Captain sh'Zamhlass and I were on the ship for a while together even if we didn't know one another personally."

T'Zara smiled. "I wish that I had been present when the Federation and Black Hawk first came, but I am glad that it bore such wonderful people that I would one day unite with and serve side by side. I look forward to getting to know you, Commander Corwin."

Eden returned the smile. "I'm looking forward to that, too, Commander T'Zara, and I am very happy that you were able to achieve your goal of serving."

"Do you have questions for me?" T'Zara asked.

"I do," the blonde haired woman replied. "Is there anything crucial that I should know about you? I know you hail from a very cold Class M planet, and that your cities were underground, but other than needing the cryo suit to maintain your temperature, is there anything else I should know that will help me keep you, and any Menthians I encounter in the future, safe?"

"If I'm ever without it and the temperatures are above twenty Celsius, I'll begin to dehydrate immediately and have symptoms like that of a heat stroke and enter into a coma after six hours if my body temperature is not brought back down to fifty Celsius," T'Zara said openly. If Commander Corwin was to protect her, as she said, she should know that important fact. "As for anything else, don't try to hug us, but a handshake is acceptable. Your bodies are burning up to us."

"All very good things to know," Eden said. "Of course, I don't make it a habit to touch anyone unless given permission to or a situation warrants it from a security standpoint. One other question, and this is about your suit. Does it require charging of sorts, or is it self sustainable?"

"It uses standard power cells that I switch out every eight standard hours, and the cryo suit has two hours of its own power before needing to be charged again," the blue skinned woman said. "If necessary, I can use the power cell from a phaser to power it. Starfleet Research and Development thought of that when they designed it for my species when I applied to the Academy."

The security officer nodded her head, making sure to store that information away for the future. "That's exactly why I was asking. Should we find ourselves on an away mission in the future, I would like to be as prepared as possible."

"Do you have any special requirements for Security?" T'Zara asked. "We're going out rather bare bones to test Project EDEN, but you never know what you may encounter out there or need."

"I might at some point down the line, but for now, I think our focus should be on Project EDEN. Captain sh'Zamhlass knows a bit about them, but if you're able to, maybe we can discuss things in further detail in the future."

"Very well," T'Zara said. "Is there anything else you may require?"

The human woman shook her head. "No, but we can meet to discuss things at your earliest convenience, but as I said, there won't be any real rush."

"Until then, I wish you Serenitas," T'Zara said.

"May I inquire what Serenitas is?" The blonde haired woman asked out of sheer curiosity. She did appreciate learning new things about the other species she shared life among the stars with.

"Serenitas teaches that true strength comes from understanding, compassion, and cooperation," T'Zara explained.

Eden smiled. "Then, I wish you Serenitas as well, Commander. It has been a true pleasure meeting you, and I look forward to serving aboard the Valiant with you."

"As I look forward to serving with you, Commander Corwin. I'll let you get to your department until then."

"I'll do that, thank you," the ship's new Security and Tactical Chief asked as she rose to her feet. As she made her way off of the bridge to check out her new department, she couldn't help but smile. It certainly was a small world.

 

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