Lt. Cmdr Robin Hopper: Up Close And Personal
Robin Hopper
((Bridge – USS Independence-B))
The interim bridge officers vacated their seats and returned to their other postings, while Blackwood and Ylvor took their seats at the conn and the tactical terminal. Robin pointed Sam to the science officer’s terminal, right between the other two. The upgrade viewscreen allowed a wide view of the terminal around them, but soon enough it would be filled with the glittering purple vistas of the solar nebula.
Since the plan for the day didn’t involve much combat, the secondary tactical terminal had been temporarily adapted to serve as a guest’s terminal – allowing the Talaxian to access peripheral ships systems and sensor reports. It was also, conveniently, right beside the commanding officer’s seat. She turned to Rexia.
Hopper: Representative, welcome aboard the USS Independence-B. Please allow us to show you ‘round.
Their Talaxian guest did exactly that – seeming quite charmed at the notion of sitting on the bridge with them as they made their way out into the great purple yonder.
Robin happily plopped herself down in the center seat, crossing her right leg over her left and resting her hands on her knee.
Hopper: Lieutenant Blackwood, take us out.
Blackwood: Aye, aye, Captain. ::to Comms:: =/\= Blackwood to Ops, requesting permission to undock. =/\=
Operations: =/\= Confirmed, Lieutenant Blackwood. Safe flight. =/\=
Hopper: Lieutenant Ylvor, Miss Richards – how’s it looking out there today?
Ylvor: Clear horizons currently Captain. Waters look calm.
oO Two “Captains” already? Oo Robin did her best to remain calm and ‘stoic’ – as a Commanding Officer ought to – but there was a fluttering giddy feeling in her heart at the sound of it. Truth be told, she’d never really considered the prospect of Command when she first set out on this journey into Starfleet; She was a scientist, an explorer – but time and experience had also been molding her into a leader, she supposed. Now, here she was, in a red dress uniform commanding a Defiant class starship.
oO It’s just a tour, Oo she reminded herself, trying to keep her head out of the clouds.
S.Richards: Short and long range scans show all clear.
Sam’s confirmation – and the gentle rumble of the docking clamps disengaging – helped refocus her thoughts. Clearing her throat, Robin looked to Nathan’s sister with a slight smile.
Hopper: Thank you, Miss Richards. Lieutenant Ylvor, I’m anticipating a smooth and easy cruise, but out of an abundance of prudence…?
Ylvor: All tactical systems standing by at full capacity.
Robin nodded. It never hurt to be ready for the unexpected. Especially not in Starfleet. And especially not out here in the Delta Quadrant. She’d already seen firsthand how quickly a “routine mission” could go entirely off the rails and she intended to be ready on the off chance fate dealt them such a turn today… But, she was still going to remain optimistic. The ship passed out of the bay on thrusters, before Harrison prepared to engage impulse engines.
Blackwood: Increasing speed to quarter impulse, just until we clear the station’s perimeter.
Hopper:: Nice and easy, Lieutenant. We have a lot of visiting ships in the area right now. We don’t want to spook anyone.
Rexia: I really don't want to rush you, but don't take too long! We have things to see, you know!
Hopper couldn’t help but chuckle at the comment. It was good that Rexia was so eager. She could only imagine how the Crewmen in the Mess Hall were keeping up with their other guests – no doubt just as enthused about their little cruise. oO All in good time… Oo she thought to herself.
S. Richards: ::Quietly to Robin:: So.. if we see the Hawlat Angels, do you think if I find a small pocket sized one I can just take it home? ::Looking around:: I wont tell if you wont.
Hopper: ::Leaning towards Sam:: Miss Richards, while that sounds adorable, I’ll have to deny that particular request. ::Wink:: Even out here, we’re still beholden to the Federation Wildlife Conservation Charter – so, unless you plan to start a Stellaesirenia nature preserve…
Her answer, which was a blend of both fact and humour, nonetheless provoked a curious question from Rexia regarding the structure of Amity’s hierarchy.
Rexia: So you do hold authority, despite Samantha's position as a scientist?
Turning back towards the Talaxian diplomat over her shoulder, Robin considered her answer for a second before answering.
There was no doubt that Amity’s situation was somewhat unique. While the Federation Diplomatic Corps, a civilian agency, was ultimately responsible for Amity Outpost – and Rivi Vataix, as the Ambassador, served as the director of all civilian and Starfleet priorities in the area – Starfleet Officers still maintained a pivotal role in the station’s operations, in addition to its defense.
Hopper: That’s right – at least in some matters. As Amity’s Chief Science Officer, it’s my responsibility to supervise and support the civilian science branch and support their research initiatives, though I don’t direct what those initiatives are. ::Indicating the bridge around them:: However, the USS Independence-B remains a Starfleet vessel and, as the ranking Officer aboard, I’m in Command.
Rexia nodded, seemingly understanding the logic of what Hopper had said. The question actually made Robin wonder how the Talaxian government and military was organized. It was something she would look into more sometime soon.
Hopper: As for the Stellae, we actually may have some trouble finding them. As I understand it, they incorporate basic elements from the nebula gasses they feed on into their, um, ‘shells’. This can make them almost invisible to passive scans. ::A nod to Ylvor:: Might as well ready the targeting scanners to help us locate them once we’re in proximity.
Ylvor: Response
S. Richards: ::Mostly to herself:: I would take really good care of it…
Robin shook her head and held in her chuckle, a little snort of air from her nose the only indication that she was actually quite amused at the idea of a pocket-sized ‘space cow’.
Blackwood: We are now at half impulse, Captain.
Hopper: Good. Adjust your heading to 315-mark-45. That should take us around the outskirts of the benamite field. Once we’ve cleared the mining routes, we can increase to full impulse until we’re within range of the Stellae ‘paddock’.
As Blackwood made the necessary adjustments, Robin continued.
Hopper: And open a channel to our guests in the Mess. ::Once the commline opened:: =/\= This is Lt. Commander Hopper, from the Bridge. If you look out the portside windows, you’ll be able to observe the benamite asteroid fields. Each glittering ‘dot’ you see is an asteroid rich in the mineral and, due to the unique properties of the protostar nebula, these crystalline forms are constantly regenerating. =/\=
She looked to the others in the Bridge.
Hopper: Anything else to add?
Ylvor: Response
S. Richards: I was just joking, by the way.
Blackwood: Uh-huh ::Nodding his head with an amused smirk::
Rexia: I don't know, do the stellae come pocket-sized?
Before Robin could answer that the juveniles of the species were practically the size of a work bee, a gentle beeping tone from the conn demanded her attention.
Blackwood: Captain, we’ve just received a transmission from the Hawlat.
Hopper: ::Slight concern, furrowed brow:: From the Hawlat?
To Robin’s knowledge, this little tour had been run past the Hawlat council of Luminaries well before they’d set out. She couldn’t imagine they’d had second thoughts now. In fact, they’d always seemed pretty open to the Federation taking interest in their Angels – perhaps because they were taking such pains to keep them safe and happy, given the Hawlat’s long history of persecution by other Delta Quadrant species.
Rexia: And? What have they said?
S. Richards/Ylvor/Rexia: Response
Blackwood: It’s the most recent coordinates for a pod of Stellaesirenia amicus, several of which are reportedly juniors too. What’s our heading…?
Robin’s worried expression quickly melted into one of relief, then joy. That would make finding them much simpler – which meant more time could be spent amongst the joyful creatures, rather than searching for them.
Rexia: If they're just there, then why not pay a visit?
That was precisely what Robin intended to do.
Hopper: ::Relieved:: Ah, yay! ::Patting the arms of her chair happily:: Adjust course to match and kick her up a notch. Full impulse, Mr. Blackwood. Once we locate the swarm, we’ll drop to thrusters only to avoid startling them.
With Torvi monitoring tactical sensors and the ship’s targeting scanners, and with Sam running her own active scans, Robin was sure they’d find a suitable flock of the creatures in no time.
Sam/Ylvor: Response
Blackwood: Right away, Captain. Increasing to full impulse.
The field of benamite-rich asteroids began to rush by the windows much faster, as they increased speed making for a dazzling display that almost resembled a sequin-studded purple gown draped over the cosmos.
Hopper: ::Admiring the view:: Beautiful, isn’t it? ::To Rexia:: This is what Starfleet and the Federation is all about, Representative. The simple joy of discovery, exploration – and ensuring that such wonderful natural phenomena are properly understood, so they can be protected.
At least that was how Robin saw it – why she had submitted that application to Starfleet, all those years ago. What more could anyone really ask for from a career? From a life?
Sam/Ylvor: Response
Rexia: What is our ETA, Mr Helmsman?
Robin glanced at Harrison, expectantly.
Blackwood: Response
Rexia: ::clasping her hands together:: Then we have that long to get to know each other!
Robin shifted in her seat, ever-so-slightly. Suddenly, she was very conscious of how the pants of her dress uniform felt against her skin, and how restrictive they felt on her movement. This was meant to be a tour of the nebula, not an examination of each individual member of the bridge crew, and while she respected and liked them all as people, and as officers… not one of them had really undergone the diplomatic training a member of the FDC would have.
oO Careful you don’t step in it… Oo she told herself, trying to remain poised.
Hopper: What a nice idea… ::Glancing to the others:: So long as we remain attentive to our duties.
S. Richards/Ylvor/Blackwood: Response?
Rexia: Well… what's a good get to know you question then?
Representative Rexia smiled, staring out at the nebula shown on the viewscreen as formulated a query. Robin pursed her lips, wondering just what sort of inquiries Rexia might make. If the Talaxian was just interested in learning about them as individuals, they might have little to worry about – but even then, they’d have to remember that what seemed innocuous to them could well be of substance to what remained a foreign power for the time being. After all, the Talaxians weren’t members of the Federation just yet.
Rexia: How many cousins do you each have? I have twelve. Plus one hundred and nine second cousins.
Well, that could’ve been worse.
S. Richards/Ylvor/Blackwood: Response
Come to think of it, Robin actually did find her crew’s various answers to the question rather interesting. She wondered just how Ylvor went about keeping track of that sort of thing, across various hosts – or just Torvi’s family. Realizing it was her turn, she stopped trying to figure out the Richards family tree and answered for herself.
Hopper: Well, Centauran family trees are notoriously hard to keep track of given the loose familial structure on Velestus, so any number I gave you would be a pretty wild guess… But my human side is simple enough. My mother, Melissa, had a brother. He was a Security Officer, posted aboard the USS Saratoga… That ship was lost, in a battle, many years ago – not long before I was born. He never had any children, so I don’t have any cousins on Earth.
Realizing that was a bit of a downer to end things on, she did her best to redirect the mood.
Hopper: Actually, I’m named after him; his name was Robin. ::Tilting her head:: It’s a good reminder never to forget those who risked everything to make this current era of peace and prosperity possible.
Rexia nodded, and Robin found herself wondering just how many Centauran ‘cousins’ she had. Probably several, given that as far as she knew, her grandmother, Phoenyra, had siblings – not to mention all the “crechemates” that she probably thought of just as closely. If one counted them, she could even have hundreds of second cousins too, not unlike their Talaxian guest!
Rexia: So. The United Federation of Planets. Obviously you all know about it and love and enjoy it, but what does it mean to you?
The Talaxian raised her hand suddenly, cutting off anyone who wanted to get a word in. For a brief moment, only the gentle hum of the engines and the whirs of bridge equipment could be heard. Robin raised an eyebrow at the drama.
Rexia: I don't want a textbook definition! I want to hear it straight from you. The best things about the federation, and some of the worse things.
Now that was a more worrying question. Some of the worst things about the Federation? Hopper certainly didn’t want this whole Talaxian bid for Federation membership to come crumbling down on account of some offhand comment that she’d made during the tour – or worse yet, something one of the people under her command had said.
Then again, it wouldn’t exactly do to be disingenuous either, would it?
Hopper: Representative, I’m sure you can understand that, given the circumstances, that’s a rather challenging question to answer, spur of the moment…
Rexia: Response?
She raised a hand to her face, cupping her chin, and tapped her index finger against her lips, pensively. After a few such taps, she decided on her answer.
Hopper: In a word, for me, the Federation is ‘choice’. Each and every citizen of the Federation has a choice about who they want to be, how they want to live, what they want to make of themselves. Over millennia, across hundreds of worlds, countless people lived and died without ever experiencing the kind of freedom we’ve all had to choose our own path through life. I come from pretty humble beginnings, on a small colony world, but I always knew I wanted to see so much more… ::Sitting back in her chair, gesturing out towards the viewscreen:: There it is.
Taking a short breath in appreciation of the spectacle, she looked around to the others, nodding in approval that they should speak their minds – though she was not prepared to force anyone to speak if they didn’t want to.
S. Richards/Ylvor/Blackwood: Response
Rexia: Response?
Hopper: What about you, Representative? ::Leaning towards Rexia, chin resting on fist:: I think it’s only fair exchange to ask what the Federation means to you. Not for New Talax, but for you personally.
Rexia: Response
Well… Robin certainly felt like she knew Rexia a little better… And the others, Harrison, Torvi, and Sam… Maybe even herself.
Hopper: It was a great question. Thank you.
Just then, all three consoles began beeping as new telemetry and sensor data made itself known.
Hopper: Report.
Blackwood/Ylvor/S. Richards: Response
And there they were – right on the edge of the Stellae Paddock, their long-range sensors picking up what Robin had to figure was the reported swarm of Hawlat Angels they’d been tipped off to.
Hopper: Well! Who’s up for a closer look, hmm? ::Small sigh:: Lieutenant Blackwood, once we’re within 100 kilometers, reduce speed to thrusters. ::Cheeky smile:: Lieutenant Ylvor, can you adjust the polarity of the hull to attract vented plasma particulates – see if we can draw the creatures even closer? Perhaps Miss Richards can help identify the most ‘appetizing’ blend of gas and plasma…?
Blackwood/Ylvor/S. Richards/Rexia: Response
TBC
