[ACT 1] Capt Roshanara Rahman & LtCmdr Tristam Core: Passion Project (Part 1)

[richyulin]

//Captain’s Log, Stardate 239410.18

Veritas has arrived at Outpost 3, a small way station just under a week’s travel from Antor. The station was heavily damaged after a Klingon pirate raid earlier this year, and despite several months of repairs, it looks to be in a dilapidated state. I’ve beamed over to conduct a tour of the facility with the engineer in charge of the repairs to see just what exactly he’s supposedly been doing for the past sixty days.//

((Outpost 3 - Day 61, Veritas arrival))

::On one hand, Roshanara sympathized with what Tristam had been forced to work with for the past two months. It was somewhat of a miracle that he hadn’t lost any members of his repair team during the reconstruction efforts.::

::On the other hand, the station was still a death trap.::

::She’d been guided by not only the Rodulan himself but his other Starfleet engineer he had on staff, a young crewman who seemed a bit nervous to be walking next to a full starship captain. Perhaps even moreso knowing that this captain was an engineer herself and affiliated with the SCE. The man was pointing out some of the additions the repair crew had made to the station’s structural supports and power systems.::

Selrus: ...the primary and secondary systems on these two decks are back up and running - I-uh, I managed to hook up a temporary computer core so we could run the- um..

::He coughed, glancing at the Rodulan - for guidance, it seems. Tristam continued for him..::

Core: Sensors and stabilizing thruster controls. ::He gave a somewhat amused look to Rahman - over emphasised, as usual.:: We’ve had a few setbacks, but things are running smoothly.

::Roshanara smiled and nodded. She noticed that there was a bit of pride shining through behind Tristam’s words. Pride not just of his own work but of the young man standing next to him.::

Rahman: Good work.

::She glanced over at the crewman, who still looked a bit petrified.::

Rahman: Truly.

::He returned an appreciative nod, his shoulders finally relaxing a bit. She turned back to Tristam.::

Rahman: Your report mentioned that you’ve just reclaimed a section for habitation?

Core: Deck four, yes. Partial reclamation. Compared to the deck we’re on at present, it was spaced. ::He coughed.:: Properly spaced. So only half has gravity and breathable air.

::That and most of them had been too paranoid to go back up onto the deck after Selrus had a piece of bulkhead had fallen onto him.::

Rahman: Can we see it?

Core: If you’d like.

::With the station being so small -- tinier even than the Syracuse  -- it didn’t take long to reach the “recovered territory.” Tristam hadn’t been exaggerating on the condition of the upper deck. It looked less like a station compartment than it did a torched junkyard of scrap metal and wiring.::

::As she looked around the room, she felt a new sense of dread. The pride Tristam had shown earlier had been so heartwarming to see. As tired as he appeared -- though she hadn’t overlooked that he was wearing a freshly pressed uniform compared to Crewman Selrus’ scruffed jumpsuit -- this was his baby now. And she was going to shut it down.::

Rahman: Crewman, thank you. Would you give the commander and I a moment?

::The Idanii-skinned Terran glanced at Tristam’s black eyes.::

Selrus: Uh-

Core: Kolby.

::Eyebrows raised, the Rodulan pursed his lips as Selrus shuffled on his feet, pointing towards the ladder hatch.::

Selrus: Right. I’ll . . . I’ll be-

Core: Yup. Lower deck.

::Selrus nodded profusely, awkwardly pushing between the officers to leave the deck and Tristam took a deep breath, facing Roshanara, clasping his hands behind his back with a coy smile.::

::When the crewman arrived back down on the lower deck, one of the civilians, Paxton, who’d been working on realigning a power coupling looked up.::

Paxton: So what’s her Highness think so far?

Selrus: Oh, she’s not done. She’s finishing up with Core.

::The other engineer chuckled.::

Paxton: I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Commander quite on his toes like this. Mei caught him trimming his beard earlier this morning.

Selrus: Well . . . yeah. She’s a captain. She outranks him - probably oversees the sector or something.

Paxton: ::shaking his head, laughing:: You don’t know?

::Kolby frowned, taking a seat at the temporary computer set up to run another diagnostic on the sensor grid.::

Selrus: Know what?

Paxton: She’s not just a captain. ::He leaned in -- as if there really was a need to be discreet! On a station this small, everyone talked.:: Apparently they’re… “good acquaintances.”

Selrus: Well yeah. He served with her on Veritas.

::Paxton nearly brought a hand to his forehead.::

Paxton: Sweet Bird of the Galaxy, do I really need to spell it out for you, Kolby?

::He frowned again, eyes glancing up to the deck above them.::

Selrus: You- ::He hummed.:: You don’t mean . . .

::Paxton chuckled again before letting out a whistle.::

Paxton: All I’m saying is, I wouldn’t go back up there for a while.

TBC...

Capt. Roshanara Rahman

Commanding Officer, USS Veritas

I238705TZ0

&

LtCmdr Tristam Core

Components Engineer

C238803SB0