Captain Roshanara Rahman: Pulse of the Crew

[r.rahman]

((Chief’s Mess, Deck 10, USS Veritas))

Drys: The ship seems to be in good condition at least. 

Rahman: A testament to her crew.

Drys: And you? I hope your new yeoman is keeping you from skipping meals. 

Rahman: He’s all right. I think he’s still in the “too frightened to push back” yet phase of our relationship.

Drys: That can take time. You never knew me when I was Captain Carrero’s yeoman, but it took a lot of trial and error to get the feel for the job.

Rahman: How long did it take with you?

Lunat considered as she sipped her tea. 

Drys: I’d say it was about six months in, but it was really extenuating circumstances. I assume you’ve read the Veritas logs from before you took command. Do you recall the patrol mission in the Sappora sector? 

Rahman: The one that ended in “Captain Crimson”’s capture?

Elliot McClellan, aka “Captain Crimson”, was one of the most fearsome pirates in the Shoals of the late 2380s and early 90s, on the short list with his rivals Jilor and Snorlan. He’d earned his nickname for his brutal tactics and needless cruelty against prisoners.

Drys: That’s right. It was about a week into the mission and we were in a system known to be frequented by pirates. Veritas suffered a massive power failure that required us to shut the warp core down to prevent a breach. We spent five days adrift on limited emergency power while the engineering crew tried to find the cause of the problem. 

Roshanara nodded as she recalled the mission details.

Rahman: A power failure still unexplained…

Drys: We were all on edge, expecting something or someone to come take advantage of the situation. Captain Carerra went the first three days without sleep, and the ration packets I left for her were left untouched. Finally, after the third day, I cornered her in the ready room, pushed one of the rations into her hands, and told her that she would eat and sleep for at least three hours, or that I would report her to the CMO. 

Rahman: Hmmmph. And evidently, that rest was enough to give her the energy to hunt down one of the region’s most notorious pirates. Funny, though… she never mentioned *that* little detail in her report. 

Drys: I half expected to be asked to transfer. But I guess it made an impression. 

The chief’s current captain raised her eyebrow.

Drys: She promoted me. Not that I recommend that kind of stunt for your new yeoman. 

Rahman: Well, believe it or not, I may have already been threatened to be duct-taped to a chair once already…

Drys: Response

Rahman: The details aren’t important… the point is, it’s good when subordinates know they can confront their CO about an important issue without fear of retaliation.

Drys: Response

The captain folded her hands together.

Rahman: So speaking of which, chief, I want to know the pulse of the crew. How have they been holding up?

Drys: Response

Rahman: Our mission in the subspace void with the vipers wasn’t without loss. And I know our entire stay around the Ketar system hasn’t been exactly a vacation.

Drys: Response

The captain took another sip from her glass before responding.

Rahman: I’m going to take a personal trip to Krios Prime once the ship gets to Cait. But I’ve already received word from Starfleet that our upcoming patrols are to take us along the Tholian border. It means more danger—potentially more loss.

Drys: Response

Roshanara looked over at the Risian with a curious glance.

Rahman: Do you have any suggestions on what we can do, then?

Drys: Response

TAG!

Captain Roshanara Rahman

CO, USS Veritas

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