06-02-2024, 01:19 PM
Sipping her juice, Black looked over at where Chertstone had entered and was being, well, Chertstone. She'd read his jacket, and would be having words with him later.
Once more people had arrived, the Captain called for them to be seated. The little cards at each setting designated their places. The Captain took the head of the table, and the senior staff followed by the rest along the line.
Black found herself sandwiched between Commander Qi and Doctor Beinn. Opposite her were the Commander and Lieutenant d'Tor'an. The empty space directly opposite was for Lieutenant Hydish who was still to arrive.
"Ladies and Gentlemen,” The Captain began. “Thank you for coming. I arranged this dinner for us to get to know each other better on a more personal level, but before we eat I also wanted to share news of our assignment so you can distribute it among the crew. The good news is, we managed to go twelve hours in our brand new ship without anything breaking or exploding."
There was a small titter around the table.
"The bad news is our new mission hardly warrants the attention of Starfleet's newest ship, no matter how unorthodox her construction or crew. We're assigned to update star charts along the Federation/Talarian border; accurate charting has fallen off since the Cardassians invaded and the Starfleet presence in the area was pulled back to prevent upsetting the Cardassians. Fortunately, someone at HQ has finally fired up the brain cell that all Admirals share, and they're sending us to correct their mistake. We're also to ensure the integrity of the border and prevent any unauthorised crossings in both directions. I'm sure you've heard rumours of the Talarian Resistance using Federation tech to fight the Cardassians, some of you may even agree we should be helping them, but our job is to prevent smugglers crossing the border with anything that might make the Cardassian Union claim Federation aggression. Any questions?"
That's when the doors opened and Hydish arrived and took his seat.
So Cardassians. Again. She mused. And we're going to fly the flag. The Ant to the Boot. The hummingbird to the hurricane. That's our job now.
Out of the corner of her eye as she thought, she could have sworn there was a glimmer of something in the Commanders face opposite. Had he too made the same conclusion?
Whatever the meal was going to be, Black had lost her appetite.
Once more people had arrived, the Captain called for them to be seated. The little cards at each setting designated their places. The Captain took the head of the table, and the senior staff followed by the rest along the line.
Black found herself sandwiched between Commander Qi and Doctor Beinn. Opposite her were the Commander and Lieutenant d'Tor'an. The empty space directly opposite was for Lieutenant Hydish who was still to arrive.
"Ladies and Gentlemen,” The Captain began. “Thank you for coming. I arranged this dinner for us to get to know each other better on a more personal level, but before we eat I also wanted to share news of our assignment so you can distribute it among the crew. The good news is, we managed to go twelve hours in our brand new ship without anything breaking or exploding."
There was a small titter around the table.
"The bad news is our new mission hardly warrants the attention of Starfleet's newest ship, no matter how unorthodox her construction or crew. We're assigned to update star charts along the Federation/Talarian border; accurate charting has fallen off since the Cardassians invaded and the Starfleet presence in the area was pulled back to prevent upsetting the Cardassians. Fortunately, someone at HQ has finally fired up the brain cell that all Admirals share, and they're sending us to correct their mistake. We're also to ensure the integrity of the border and prevent any unauthorised crossings in both directions. I'm sure you've heard rumours of the Talarian Resistance using Federation tech to fight the Cardassians, some of you may even agree we should be helping them, but our job is to prevent smugglers crossing the border with anything that might make the Cardassian Union claim Federation aggression. Any questions?"
That's when the doors opened and Hydish arrived and took his seat.
So Cardassians. Again. She mused. And we're going to fly the flag. The Ant to the Boot. The hummingbird to the hurricane. That's our job now.
Out of the corner of her eye as she thought, she could have sworn there was a glimmer of something in the Commanders face opposite. Had he too made the same conclusion?
Whatever the meal was going to be, Black had lost her appetite.