Ensign Vesela Pace - Head in the Dust Cloud
C Souers
((Astrometrics, Deck 17, USS Gorkon))
Vesela’s mouth opened and closed like an Elaysian Giant Koi, and she was relieved that Taelon spoke next. She knew her first day would be emotional, but she had no idea that it would also involve getting stuck in a new timeline with Borg.
Taelon: You – um, you look better than before, Miss…?
Sevo: Lieutenant Commander Ayiana Sevo. Mission Specialist by occupation, scientist by trade.
Pace: And I’m Ensign Vesela Pace! Very new here, just graduated, happy to be here despite… everything.
She mentally kicked herself. She wished she could stop making poorly timed jokes, but that day would obviously not be today. Although it was always nice to meet other scientists! She was glad Lieutenant Commander Sevo had joined them.
Taelon: Ah, Taelon – nice to meet you both. I just transferred, so – this is, um, hopefully not the norm…?
Pace: Well, Starfleet is all about exploring, but I agree that I was… not entirely prepared for the mission to take this particular turn.
The two younger officers looked to Sevo hopefully. She had been there much longer than both Vesela and Taelon, who had only been there for about a standard Earth day now. It somehow felt like much longer.
Sevo: ::She smiled, trying to put the two at ease.:: Well, I won’t lie and tell you this is an isolated incident – it’s not. We’ve had our fair share of galactic emergencies and encounters, but just as many good things, too. Remember, when you put on those uniforms – ::she pointed to the pair:: – you accepted the risks of being in Starfleet. This is one of them.
Vesela’s grandmother’s voice rumbled in her mind.
Why go to Starfleet and put yourself in harm’s way? Elaysia has stars in the sky just like everywhere else! Keep your head out of the clouds, Vesela. The stars aren’t going anywhere.
She looked at her science blue uniform and bit her lip.
oO This is why. In Starfleet, differences can be made. People can be helped. Entire timelines can be helped. Oo
She had joined Starfleet to study science. Now, she was discovering that it was also to help others with her discoveries and skills. Even though she was scared out of her wits right now, she knew she wasn’t alone. The Gorkon would fix this because that’s what Starfleet does. And she would see her family again. She realized her eyes had gone misty again and shook her head.
Pace: S-sorry, I was just thinking about… ::Beat.:: Well, about how we can get out of this, I suppose.
Sevo: I know it looks daunting right now; even impossible. How can one ship make a difference and change everything? It’s not the ship; it’s the crew on it. We make the impossible possible.
Taelon: I hope you’re right, Commander.
Pace: Although, from what I’ve seen so far, there’s no other crew I’d rather be stuck in a Borg-dominated universe with… so there’s that at least.
Sevo: ::Ayiana took a sip of her coffee and smiled again.:: You’ve no idea. This crew is my family. You do anything for family.
Vesela understood that feeling well. She was glad that this crew seemed to be so tight-knit. Family was incredibly important on Elaysia, which her grandmother had accused her of forsaking. Here… maybe she could find another way to ground herself now that Elaysia was…
Sevo: It may look daunting right now, especially if you’re right out of the Academy. ::She nodded to Pace.:: Remind me to tell you about *my* first day on the Victory sometime.
Vesela watched Taelon’s eyebrows raise. She had no idea first days in Starfleet were so apparently dangerous!
Taelon: It was, um, instructive, I take it?
Vesela was always the bluntest of her siblings. She continued to be blunt at Starfleet Academy.
Pace: What happened?
Sevo: Extragalactic horrors bent on eating everything. Talk about “trial by fire.”
Taelon: Extragalactic – ::A pause; he’d been typing as he listened, but now stopped that completely as he tried to imagine. Had he heard of such things? Hard to tell; for all his memory, the ranks of ‘horrors from beyond the stars’ had more creatures in it than he’d prefer (which was none).:: That’s, ah, quite something to face.
Pace: That sounds horrifying! ::She paused, wondering whether to ask about the data that they’d gotten from the extragalactic creatures. While cell biology was one of her specialties, cell biology also had a place and a time, which was probably not now. She could scour the database later.:: Well, I’m glad you’re here with us on the Gorkon now, that first day probably helped prepare you for anything!
Sevo: The point is, we’ll get through this. We’ll get broken and banged up, but we’ll get back up and try again. Just remember your training, and if you have any questions on anything, feel free to ask around.
Taelon: Thank you, Commander.
Pace: Thank you, Commander, this has been helpful ::Beat.:: and calming. It’s been nice to decompress a bit.
Sevo: Response
Taelon went back to work, and Vesela watched for a moment before going back to her station as well. Time to get back to work. The faster they worked, the faster they could find answers hopefully.
The green planet still glowed almost malevolently on her screen. She took a few more minutes just to stare at it. As Taelon had said before, these Borg were different from their Borg. This was a brand new timeline, so they had plenty of time and potentially even Commodore Johnson’s help to become something new.
Taelon: Mmm. They’ve been here for some time, certainly. Enough to have stripped most of the surface. Look, here —
The big display of New Cyndriel zoomed into a spot on the northern hemisphere and they could see the Borg influence on the planet in detail. Vesela almost wished the sensors weren’t as top-of-the-line as they were.
Sevo: Response
Taelon: If we overlay the planet’s scans from our timeline, you can see — ::He had the computer do so; the contrast was frightening. Where they now knew Borg had littered the surface was a pine forest, a village, a beautiful lake — all now rendered dull and black-brown. The Borg had drained the lake, stripped the trees, and now what was doubtless a drone center sat where the village once had.:: They’ve had plenty of time to get settled in, but haven’t stripped the planet completely.
Vesela hadn’t ever thought she would see the Borg’s destructive abilities first hand, but there they were on screen for the three scientists to see. She shuddered at the sight.
Pace: That would put the estimate closer to 13 to 15 years then. That they’ve been like this.
Sevo / Taelon: Response
Vesela stared at the screen a few moments longer, then wondered aloud.
Pace: If they were going at the Borg’s normal pace. In this timeline though, it seems as though they’ve had no resistance. Or… ::She paused, hoping that this was wrong. She willed this new universe to prove her wrong.:: resistance stopped early on. Could these Borg be slower now that they seem to be present almost everywhere?
Vesela wished that there were signs of life, but at least they might have the element of surprise against the Borg if they weren’t expecting resistance.
Sevo / Taelon: Response
—
Ensign Vesela Pace
Science Officer
USS Gorkon (NCC-82293)
G240106VP4