Commodore Kalianna Nicholotti - Of Ghosts and Men

[Marissa Jeffrey]

(( Captain’s Ready Room – Deck 1, USS Artemis ))

Kalianna felt, in a roundabout way, as if she had come full circle and returned home. Home was subjective to be certain, but too many things seemed to return to her life to be a coincidence. Perhaps the saying that history repeated itself had some inkling of truth to it...in ways she could never have expected.

MacKenzie: ::gesturing behind her with her thumb:: …and Dakora blew a hole in the wall behind me. Sucked that beautiful desk right out into space.

Kali smirked. At one point in time she had wondered if it was her bad luck that kept getting holes punched in ships, but now she was starting to come to the conclusion that maybe Addison's threats to airlock people weren't a joke to the universe. Where she went, it seemed that holes in starships followed.

Then again, the universe was full of coincidences.

Nicholotti: What is it with you and people blowing holes in starships?

Kali chuckled as the door chime saved them both from running down that particular thread of thought. Some things were best left to the nether - like the particulars of Addison MacKenzie's place among the universe's whims. While one ruled the other, the raven-haired commodore couldn't help but put her money on Addison being the ruler.

MacKenzie: Come in!

Even before the words were said, Kali felt the presence of one she'd not felt in some time. Seen, sure, but there was only so much one could do over subspace, and the way his mind touched hers was something that could only be felt in person. It still wasn't something she subconsciously accepted as real until his dark eyes met hers as he entered the room. Though his face was as professional as ever, she didn't miss the wink, nor the way his voice resonated in her mind.

Adea: ~ What a surprise, my love. ~

The corners of her lips almost imperceptibly turned upwards.

MacKenzie: ::smirking:: I believe you all remember Commodore Nicholotti?

Jovenan: ::nods:: Commodore.

Adea: ::raising an eyebrow:: No, you’ll have to remind me… ::grinning:: It’s good to see you, Kalianna.

After which he added more, just between the two of them.

Adea: ~ Like, really good. ~

Kali let her smile show now as she dipped her head towards them. The gesture could have had nothing to do with the way she felt when he spoke her full name, but that was probably not the truth.

Nicholotti: Likewise.

To which she added her own addition.

Nicholotti: ~ It's been too long.~

Which, with the Frontier Day mess, was true on so many levels, but neither of their faults.

Dakora: Response

The red-headed woman broke up the reunion with a gesture to the empty chairs.

MacKenzie: Please, have a seat. (beat) Did you all have a chance to read the briefing I sent?

Adea: Read, understood, but still confused. The Da’al? Klingons? The Resolution? ::not smiling:: It’s like a greatest hits of our time together.

Another universal coincidence or something.

Nicholotti: All we need now is that obnoxious Q. 

Kali let her eyes drift to the empty parts of the room, half expecting CloQ to pop in. The whole thing started off like it was a joke, even though she knew that it was far from one.

Dakora: Response

MacKenzie: The Da’al are going to beat us to the planet. Hopefully we’ll be right behind them, and we’ll be able to prevent any potential altercation between the Klingons and the Da’al… Commander Dakora, you and Commodore Nicholotti will head to the planet and intercept the Klingon science team. Figure out why they’re here and what they’re after.

Dakora: Response?

Nicholotti: I would say 'science', but I think the word Klingon before it takes that out of consideration.

After all, did Klingon and Science really belong in the same sentence together? Certainly it had to, because they had advanced tech, but out on the frontier it didn't seem real.

A subtle wave of dark red washed through her mind before fading to a dark blue. As nonchalantly as possible, she turned her eyes towards the man who was now the CMO of the Artemis and sent back a calming wave of her own. They would have time before she left - of that she would make certain. Commodores had some pull in these matters still...

MacKenzie: Commanders Adea and Jovenan, while Starfleet has technically designated this planet a no-fly zone, we’re here. It would be interesting to know how life on the planet has evolved… I would imagine this will be a scientific mecca for your teams, and I don’t intend to pass up the opportunity to take our own look around.

Jovenan: Aye, Captain. Despite all the other factors, I would be lying if I said the opportunity doesn’t intrigue me.

It had been some time since Kali had visited the planet, leaving behind a picture of them together as they had been aboard the tiny Nova class before it had taken a dive into a nearby rocky body. It was then that she had said her farewells to her friends and colleagues, most of whom were now in this room. In a way it seemed surreal.

Adea: What’ll you be doing, Captain?

MacKenzie: ::flatly:: I’ll be responsible for making sure everyone keeps the peace… ::more optimistically:: But I’m sure we won’t have that problem.

It was all she could do not to laugh out loud. Peace? Them? The universe almost always had other plans.

MacKenzie: Questions?

That was a loaded question as it always was, though Kali looked around and waited to see what others had.

Jovenan: Do we know yet if the Klingons are on a private venture, or if they are part of the military or other official operation? ::look at Nicholotti and back to MacKenzie:: Have we reached the Klingon authorities about this?

But it was Genkos who asked a better question - though 'better' was of course subjective.

Adea: How happy will they be to see us?

Nicholotti: I'm going to wager not. ::Shrugging slightly.:: Just a guess.

Dakora/MacKenzie: Response

Nearby, the once-ensign that had grown since having been under Kali's command spoke up.

Jovenan: In theory, the planet can be unstable or even spawn animal life, or it can be entirely peaceful. Do you happen to know anything about the matrix of the Genesis device? If the Klingons are the only known danger out there, focusing the security to your team ::looks at Nicholotti and Dakora:: would make sense. They could turn out to be aggressive.

There were almost as many aspects of this in the air as there had been when the mission that brought them here originally went sideways. Some starship crews got to explore the unknowns of the galaxy out there. This particular group of people go to explore the unknowns of the messes they found themselves in - sometimes years later.

Adea: I am intimately familiar with this Genesis Device - I’ve got my notes and readings from when it was discovered and detonated. I can go through them with you.

Nicholotti: And I'm always willing to say lean on the side of caution. While I hope we find peacefulness, I'm not willing to stake anyone's safety on it.

Particularly not that of flag officers. She wondered if the Artemis was sufficiently briefed on General Order 15, and what kind of security was invoked on account of that knowledge. Could she get away with just going somewhere without putting more people in harms way? How did Addison deal with that?

Dakora/Jovenan/MacKenzie: Response

Adea: Can we block book out some therapy sessions after this? I feel like this is going to raise some ghosts for, well - ::he pointed between the three of them except Jovenan:: the three of us, and Vitor.

Kali raised her eyebrows and leaned her head to the side. He wasn't wrong, though she was hoping to get out of this without the visit of too many ghosts.

Nicholotti: Haven't I raised enough ghosts in my time to satisfy the universe's desire to haunt us? I think I have.

She said it almost flatly and wondered if there was any truth in what she had spoken. The repeat of her earlier life had, at one time, cause her to run into walls among other things, resulting in a broken mind and a very bruised body. Thankfully Addison had figured out a way to cure her, but not before she'd experienced more than her fair share of ghosts.

Dakora/Jovenan/MacKenzie: Response

Nicholotti: All jokes aside, very little is known about the surface. There is life seen in the latest scans, but Starfleet never sent a team out here to really look at the planet. They just blocked it off after we left.

Dakora/Jovenan/MacKenzie/Adea: Responses?

Kali shrugged.

Nicholotti: I visited once on my way to the Tholian border. There were beautiful trees and the sky was a unique and beautiful shade of blue, but I don't believe at that time there was any other life. That was years ago though, and I think I might have been the last to visit before now.

Dakora/Jovenan/MacKenzie/Adea: Responses?

TAG/TBC

--

Commodore Kalianna Nicholotti

Commanding Officer

USS Eagle

R238605KN0