Coming Aboard

Posted on Mon Dec 13th, 2021 @ 7:59am by Captain Devin Hadenbeer

3,193 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Into The Void
Location: On Board The Lionheart
Tags: Initial Briefing

I allowed the hanger bay controller to grab control of the runabout for my landing. I was confident I could do a manual one but… Star Fleet regulations clearly indicated that manual landings were an emergency sort of thing.

The face on my one man welcome comity was so cute when the runabout door opened and a small grey “cat” wearing a Star Fleet uniform trotted out. I know I’ve mentioned it before but Humans are SOO cute when they are confused.

The Ensign assigned to welcome me stood there looking uncomfortable and cleared his throat. I gave him a standard Leth’aan salute and mewed at him. Causing even more confusion. I then sat there and stared at him. It was clear that he wasn’t fully briefed on who I was or what my species was so I figured I must be being used for some newbie hazing. It wasn’t the first time it had happened and it probably wouldn’t be the last. I wondered if the Captain knew about it. Probably not and I sure wasn’t going to tell her. Last thing I wanted to do is make enemies that quickly among the crew. I know all of the crew who was still here from my last stint on board would know me though.

I was just about to let the poor guy off the hook when I was proven right about some of the crew knowing me. A Vulcan who’s name I couldn’t remember but who’s face and smell I did came over from where she had been organizing some boxes that had been stowed in the hanger for some reason broke the ice by saying “Mell’ana welcome aboard and congratulations on the promotion.” I was pleased that unlike most humans she pronounced my name properly with the ‘ana being separate.

It was hard to slip any details by observant Vulcans and she had no doubt noticed the change in pips on my uniform. I spoke up “Thank you. Lieutenant Mell’una reporting. Permission to come aboard?”

The Human Ensign to his credit recovered quickly and said “Permission granted. Um… but…”

The Vulcan raised her eyebrow at the poor Ensign. “She is Leth’aan, her species very closely resembles the standard Terran house cat. Your obvious lack of being briefed would suggest a joke being played at your expense.”

“Not the first time I’ve been used for that, probably won’t be the last. I really don’t mind if he doesn’t” I said.

“No! No I’m fine!” he replied quickly.

“Could I get your help getting my things to my room? Normally my hover platform could manage but it’s out of commission at the moment until I can get it charged up again.” I said to the Ensign who still hadn’t introduced himself and was still far, far too red. Humans are so cute when confused and embarrassed. I’d seen this sort of thing play out many times. Ensign Lisa Maywether and I had, had a LOT of fun with it on my initial trip to the Academy as a cadet. Once I was settled in on a ship the novelty of my species tended to ware off quickly as folks just started to focus on not stepping on me in the hallways.

The poor guy never did tell me his name and I was far to embarrassed to ask for the Vulcan’s name because I had forgotten it. He did however trip over him self to get my belongings to my quarters.

I was settling in nicely into the new quarters. The self assembling cat tree was still working perfectly… I was also still of two minds on that practical joke. It did however spark a kitten like quality in me and the engineering team at the Academy had also made my custom hover platform so, using the cat tree was also a way of honoring them. I did have it setup in my bedroom though so only the most trusted people would ever see it.

The quarters here were a bit smaller than my last ship but still way more space then I could figure out what to do with. I was getting use to the giant ways these giants did everything. It was nice having quarters that were as big as some of the lower end housing buildings I use to live in. I was also pleased to note I was given the same quarters I had on my last assignment to the Lionheart.

I had a few hours to kill before I had to be at the initial briefing with the Captain so I settled in to check on the paperwork I’d filed for changing my Pride name. I was purring when I saw it had gone through. My Pride name was now officially 'una instead of 'ana. Ana meant zero or nothing. Una meant one. It was a Pride name that had been dead for a few generations at this point but was a traditional pride name for runts like my self who had managed to earn our title as Warriors. It was a rare event but it did happen and I was very proud to be among the few runts who had ever done it.

That taken care of, I sent off the official paperwork to Star Fleet about my name change and made a call to Kya’ana.

“Settling in on the new ship then?” she said when she saw me on the screen.

“Yes.” I purred. “I have great news! I’m officially Mell’una now! I have even better news! I’d like you to be Kya’una. As a Star Fleet officer I can’t fulfill all of my duty’s as matriarch of a new Pride and I need a second who can help. I can’t think of anyone who would be a better fit.”

I swear she almost passed out and I had to adjust the audio on the call to screen out her purring so I could hear her clearly after that. “I’ve already sent the paperwork in. All you should need to do is accept and sign the documents to make it official.”

“I… I… I… I’ll get down to the Council building and get that done right away!” she said, almost giddy with her happiness.

“Wait… I’m going to have a Pride name. That means… my implant…” she said with awe in her voice.

“Well mine isn’t coming out until I retire from Star Fleet. Heat would just be too much of a distraction off world. If you can find some one worthy of our Pride though you will probably be the first between us to have a litter.” I said, poking fun at her new realization.

“Oh I couldn’t possibly think about getting mine removed yet… I’ve got far, far to much work to do as Pride second, along with the new job I recently landed at the Federation Embassy. You are right about humans, so cute when confused.” She replied.

“Wait, what? What job did you get at the Embassy?” I asked curiously. I had managed to get her cleared to visit the Embassy when I went there myself to check if my runabout would be needed for any of the supplies that the Lionheart was bringing when they picked me up. Sure I could have just called them but… why waste the opportunity to meet up with them in person?

“I’m working on the genome project to get neural implants working on humans and to help get our two technologies working together better.” She said. I had known she was a specialist in bio-tech genetics but I hadn’t honestly realized she was THAT good at it.

“That’s excellent news!” I said back.

“I’ll let them know what’s happening. I’ll need at least a few days to get ownership of the traditional ‘una Pride lands sorted out. The buildings I’m sure are all overgrown or dead. We’ll likely be starting over nearly fresh but still… I’M GONNA HAVE A PRIDE!” she exclaimed.

The rest of the call was mostly just sorting details and her getting my official authorization on file for different things she would need to do in order to get our Pride started up properly. It was regularly punctuated with her giddy exclamations about not only being in a Pride but at being the Second in that Pride. Something neither of us had ever though would happen.

Once the call was done I took some time to unpack a bit more and noticed my hover platform had finished charging. I also noticed the time. I was due for a briefing with the Captain. I wondered if it would be a one on one or a full staff briefing as I hopped up on the hover platform, nestled into the comfortable padding and made my way to the briefing.

The confused stares of some of the crew on my way there were quite entertaining. It made me miss Lisa again. I hadn’t heard from her in a while, I knew she was promoted from Ensign and reassigned a few times but I had no idea where she was serving at the moment. I made a mental note to fix that and let her know the good news about my recent change in status as well.

Arriving at my destination I-

"She's not in," a young ensign said from the captain's chair, a bemused look on his face as he regarded the Chief Science Officer, "Lieutenant..." he consulted a PADD, glanced up again, "...Mell?" there was a chirp, he looked down again, "Oh, Mell-Una! Right, okay," he looked up again, "Captain's down in the pub."

"Why doesn't she get a riddle?" another young ensign asked from the tactical station. He paused and looked at Mell, "It is 'she' right? I didn't just insult one of my bosses, did I?"

"It's she," the first ensign affirmed, "And apparently the lieutenant's served here before."

The second ensign blinked, "Wait. You served under Hadenbeer...and you came back?" a paused, then he added, "Ah, sir. Sorry, sir."

"No problem ensign." I said. "And yes. I did return. I was pulled from this assignment early for another one and that one... didn't have the ending anyone hoped for. I guess the powers that be decided it was better to bring me back here where I can only confuses some of the crew with my existence rather than a whole new crew. Unfortunate really, I do enjoy confusing you giants. I'll head to the pub then. Thank you."

Guiding my hover platform back to the turbo lift I told it where I was headed and soon was headed through the doors into the "pub". I hadn't served very long on the Lionheart before I was transferred to the Rogers to test out sensor integration. Honestly there was a lot more work to be done on that front but maybe the for the next round of live tests I could convince the Captain to let them do it on the Lionheart rather than being transferred again or who knows... some other Leth with high enough spec. neural implant could come along in Star Fleet and take over the role they wanted me for. There I was... mind wandering like a week old kitten again.

I spotted Captain Hadenbeer and hovered over to her. "Lieutenant Mell'Una reporting." I said sitting up more formally. I would have stood on my hind legs but the hover platform wasn't really designed for that.

Hadenbeer was seated in a rear booth, a glass of something dark in front of her as well as several PADDs. She glanced up and a genuine smile crossed her face.

"Lieutenant," she said as she set aside some of the PADDs, "Please, have a seat. I hear congratulations are very much in order."

She glanced at the platform and frowned, "But...where are your trophies? I would have thought you would have them prominently displayed?" It was difficult to tell if Hadenbeer was joking...

"I will be setting up a display in my quarters for them. I understand that most Federation cultures are not as welcoming of displays like that. Honestly I'm still surprised I have them to display. I don't know if you've read the reports or viewed the recordings of the battle but... I got lucky a few more times then I expected." I said.

"So, this is an unusual place for a first briefing." I said looking around.

"Just be certain your trophies can be quickly hidden," Hadenbeer replied with a wry smile, "Our new chief of operations is an Orion and he might not appreciate what you went through to earn them, or what they mean to your culture. I did not see any video footage but I did read the reports. They were rather sanitized but I gleaned enough from them to tell things got...rough."

She took a sip from her beverage, then said, "The carpeting in my ready room is being torn out. It was cranberry. Cranberry, lieutenant. It's this...shade of red or purple, it...Look, I wanted tan. I requested tan. Multiple times. If a person can't-"

Jones, the bartender, moved like, well, a cat. He set down a tiny cup before Mell and said, "Welcome back, lieutenant! Is our Captain telling tales of the criminal carpet? The repulsive rug? The malodorous mat? The reprehensible runner?"

He smiled at Hadenbeer's annoyed expression, "Remember, Captain; every conquering hero needs someone behind them to whisper reminders of their mortality in their ear."

Hadenbeer glared and murmured, "Speaking of mortality, publican..."

I sniffed at the drink in front of me then eagerly lapped at it. Human style eggnog, no synthehol. I know it has historically been considered a seasonal drink but when Lisa Mayweather turned me onto it years ago... I was hooked.

"It's always wise to be aware of one's own mortality." I said, successfully avoiding purring lightly at my amusement at the interaction.

"Speaking of things related to mortality, I've got my Pride's second working on getting a functional Pride setup. I hope I won't need leave anytime soon to deal with things but I'll keep you informed on that front. It's hard to believe that not only am I a Star Fleet Officer but now I'm Matriarch of a fledgling Pride. I don't really see it interfering with my duty's here but again, I'll keep you informed about what's going on." I followed up, hoping to head off that line of questioning before it started. Being the head of a Pride, even a small one is no small thing among my people but... with a Pride of only two Leth it shouldn't be a big deal. Hopefully my Pride would grow but I had no illusions about it ever being big enough to challenge for a place among the Great Prides on the Council or even large enough to be part of a more local City Council. Still... {FOCUS Mell! No mental wandering} I thought to myself.

"Family is always important," Devin murmured, her expression unreadable. She took a breath, the smile returning, "Well, it is good to have you back, lieutenant."

"Yes," Jones noted, "With all the new faces that wander in and out of here it came as quite a pleasant surprise to hear someone had opted to return."

Hadenbeer grimaced, "All right, Jones. I've been reminded of my mortality quite enough for one day," to Mell'Una she said, "I have to complete an appeal I am writing to insure another old friend is able to return."

"May I ask who would that be?" I asked. I lapped at the eggnog some more.

"I would rather not say until I know for certain they will be coming aboard," Hadenbeer replied, "Call me superstitious but the chances of him coming are slim as it is."

I then continued. "Also, do we have an Operations Officer yet? I didn't see a regular schedule for me when I checked the computer." I was hoping to meet the rest of the bridge crew soon. Hopefully we would all gel together as a good team. I suppose time would tell.

"Uncertain at this time," the captain said after a moment. She smiled slightly, "In an emergency I may see if lieutenant Varga might be available to come out of retirement."

Varga was an...interesting person. While all medical records confirmed he was human it always seemed as if the temperature of any room dropped ten degrees when he entered. Rumor had it he had muscles in his face severed to prevent from smiling. Smiling slightly, Devin returned to the here and now and said, "Oh, and about your trophies; best keep them hidden; some people on board may have...squeamish sensibilities."

"I'll be sure to setup the display in bedroom then instead of the living room." I said.

"Good! Now if you will excuse me, you can take your...beverage with you while I wage war with my pile of PADDs..."

"Thank you for your time then. I'll get busy getting settled into my room. Good luck with the PADDs. I understand this time of year they can be exceptionally hazardous because it's their breeding season." I joked as I directed my hover platform away from the table.

I headed back to my room, finding the confused stares of some of the crew quite amusing. Keeping my trophies "hidden" wasn't exactly an option traditionally but I didn't have to have them out where they would be casually viewed. I spent the next few hours finishing up settling into my room and replicating platform and walkways to fill my bedroom with. I would leave the living room mostly unchanged and only hang walk ways and platforms along the walls and up next to the replicator to make access easier but leave room for various giants to visit. My bedroom however had no such restrictions and I was sure I would enjoy filling it and making as much use of the space as I could. My trophies. In the far corner along the same wall as the door into my bedroom. Some one would have to make their way into the room to see them and given that the room was almost full of platforms and walk ways, or it would be before I was done, some one seeing it was not likely. So, not hidden as anyone of the proper size could come in and see them but giants would have to really work at seeing them. Hopefully that would be an acceptable compromise.

It took a bit but I did get my duty schedule. Fortunately I had time for a bit of a nap before I was expected anywhere else. I wondered how many people in the science department were the same and how many would be confused when I trotted in and started to meow at people.

 

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