Captain Addison MacKenzie - Why Are You Here?

[Addison MacKenzie]

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

Addison sat behind the metallic, standard-issue desk in her refurbished ready room, but rather than be focused on work, the red-headed commanding officer of the Artemis was staring out the large viewport, her home planet just beneath them. The view was rare – with the Artemis primarily assigned to the Borderlands, Earth wasn’t a frequent stop on their list. However, being home brought a sense of familiarity and comfort, even in the wake of the Frontier Day tragedy. That none of her family was at home during the time of the invasion and attempted assimilation was a small relief.

With Starfleet licking its wounds and moving forward with repairs to various vessels, the Artemis had nearly reached the point where they’d be sent back to the Borderlands – no longer needed to protect Earth from any impending Borg threat. In the meantime, there would be various personnel transfers and reassignments – Starfleet’s attempt to reshuffle and restaff vessels who lost significant portions of their crew.

Several such people were on her list of people to arrive. The first, a known quantity to the captain.

(( Begin Flashback ))
(( Main Engineering – USS Centris ))

MacKenzie: Computer, freeze program for group 2!

The simulation froze, the corridor bathed in the eerie red glow of the red alert symbols. Addison clasped her hands behind her hips and started to pace, doing so silently without looking at the cadets, carefully considering what she might say to them. Never in the countless classes she’d proctored had she actually gone so far as to pause the simulation, but today was the day. She had been taken to her limit and beyond by the actions she’d seen.

MacKenzie: Who wants to tell me what the problem is? ::holding up a finger:: Actually, I’ll go first.

She pointed down the hallway toward the Klingon who’d originally been stunned and now medically incapacitated again.

MacKenzie: Let’s start there. My instruction was to secure the Klingon. Instead, the choice was to stun him, and now to hypospray him. ::to Cross:: You’re trigger-happy and ::to Kel:: you’re careless. What happened to “first do no harm?”

Cross/Kel: Responses

She pointed to the other Klingon who was preparing for battle with Cross.

MacKenzie: And in what universe to you think the Captain of a Federation Starship would allow for this kind of behavior as a means of extracting information when ::gesturing:: there’s a lot of other crap going on here?

Cross/Kel/Alenari: Responses

MacKenzie looked to Alenari next.

MacKenzie: You could have spoken up and attempted to stop your colleagues…

Alenari: Response

She put her hands on her hips, clearly displeased with the bunch.

MacKenzie: What do you all have to say for yourselves?

Cross/Kel/Alenari: Responses 

(( End Flashback ))


MacKenzie: Come in!

Fortunately, the Bajoran woman now making her way into MacKenzie’s office wasn’t part of the group getting reprimanded, but she’d witnessed the whole thing. That she had graduated meant that she was at least smart enough to know not to act in the way of her other cadets who hadn’t been as lucky.

The woman stopped I front of her desk.

Lyara: Ensign Lyara reporting for duty sir.

Addison took a moment to size up the new officer. It was rare that she remembered a class of cadets, but when they were as raw as the class Lyara had been a part of, they were difficult to forget. Likewise, it was difficult not to associate the Bajoran with the group of delinquents that were her classmates.

MacKenzie: ::gesturing:: Have a seat. How was the trip?

Lyara: The shuttle ride was nice, I got to visit Deep Space Nine for a small pilgrimage. And I got to meet Dr. Sadar, she was very nice.

The commanding officer nodded slowly. Dr. Sadar was, among other things, very nice. …She suspected. She looked at Lyara for a few seconds, blinking, until finally she spoke.

MacKenzie: Do you have your orders, Lieutenant?

Lyara: Response

Addison took the PADD and started reviewing the document.

MacKenzie: Denali Station, eh? Not a very long posting…

It was a question that wasn’t a question.

Lyara: Response

Addison’s eyes narrowed slightly as she folded her hands, rested them on her desktop, and leaned forward.

MacKenzie: Why are you here?

Lyara: Response


Tag, and TBC!

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Captain Addison MacKenzie, M.D., Ph.D., FASFS
Commanding Officer
USS Artemis-A

Captains Council Member at Large

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