Testing The Waters

Posted on Tuesday June 7th, 2022 @ 9:04pm by Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Walking Bear
Edited on on Saturday August 6th, 2022 @ 5:50pm

967 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: 01 - Ad Astra
Location: Shuttlecraft Colorado - USS Venture
Timeline: Mission Day 01

Three years had passed since the last shots were fired during the war with the Klingons, formally at least. No governments involved had much control over the overzealous Houses who insist on firing a few stray shots in the name of glory; however, Q'onoS would act swiftly to deny any such acts as being officially sanctioned by the government. It is the flagrant violence that is quelled and snuffed by the swift palms of peace. Where these accords failed have been the prejudices that seeped into the uniforms of the men and women who fought on the front lines.

Friends, what a peculiarly foreign social construct. Lieutenant Commander Walking Bear had acquaintances, contacts, and yes, a rare friend or two. Family was of course a given. Friends: however, were not something he had in abundance. Once upon a time, he had a few friends, but the war all but took that concept away from him and stripped him down to nothingness. Though the fighting may have stopped and a ‘peaceful, exploratory Federation’ was being built as the reconstruction period continued, there were still people who all too well remembered the militarization of Starfleet.

Jonathan was not just any Starfleet Officer though. He was the Chief of Security freshly assigned to the USS Venture, a starship focused on exploration. That was right, a starship that had nothing to do with patrolling borders, foreseeably engaging in combat or the Klingons for that matter. No, it was a ship with a five-year mission and he had applied for the billet with all the enthusiasm and muster he could provide. And he had been accepted for the position and earned the promotion as well.

So as the Cheyenne sat in his seat sipping a mug of warm coffee, having nursed it for several minutes now, it had lost its steam. He; however, was still wide awake and full steam ahead. The shuttle was traversing at an appropriate speed. Jonathan had been on the shuttle long enough to hear all about the pilot’s life. Typical cushy shuttle pilot lifestyle for the most part. Though he felt slightly less agitated by him surprisingly. He was an Andorian, young too. Too young to have had any taste of war. By his rank and age, he surmised he had been at the most a cadet during the final years of the war. Being an Andorian, he wagered he had a chip on his shoulder about missing out on the fighting.

Jonathan was studying the personnel file he was able to acquire containing Captain Winchester's service record. It; of course, was more than just the woman's Federation service record he got his strong, burly hands onto. His fellow human officer was not much older than he was and her service record was appropriately long with billets befitting of someone with four solid stripes and command of her own. The Venture was her first. Lt. Walking Bear was able to acquire access to some old wartime files about the Captain when he had been aboard the Starbase waiting for the shuttle. Hm. Intriguing woman, he thought as he sipped his coffee and sat a PaDD aside.

“Commander, we are running ahead of schedule and will be arriving shortly. Shall I transmit a message to the Venture informing them that we will be arriving soon?” the Andorian asked.

Jonathan stood from his seat and wrapped his fingers around the warm mug of coffee. “That would cost us the element of surprise, Ensign” replied the Chief of Security. “No, no, no. Never give up such an advantage in any situation, tactical or otherwise. Proceed to the coordinates. Let them hail us when their sensors detect us.”

The Andorian turned slightly in his seat. “Sir, with all due respect it’s the protocol to give them some advanced notice of our arrival. We’re a Federation shuttle, and the Venture is a Constitution-class starship with advanced sensor systems. They will detect us with ease.”

Jonathan slid into a seat next to the ensign. He finished off the mug of coffee and handed It over to the Andorian. “Be a friend and get me some more from the food synthesizer, would you? Black coffee with creamer, extra sweet please,” he said. The Andorian looked offended and his antennae twitched.

“That’s an order, Ensign” Jonathan added sharply. The Andorian followed his ‘order,’ and vacated his seat which Jonathan quickly scooted over and into, occupying it and harnessing the flight controls and making them do his bidding. “Let’s see how good those sensors are,” he muttered to himself as he laid in a direct course bringing the shuttle closer to the aft of the Constitution-class Venture.

He used whatever tricks he had learned over the years and was successful in getting closer to the Venture than anyone probably would have desired before the console in front of him illuminated and his attention was drawn to notification of an attempt to establish a comm channel. “Federation shuttle identify yourself.” was the crisp message from a woman.

“USS Venture, this is Lieutenant Commander Jonathan Walking Bear” he responded after connecting the comm. “Requesting permission to come aboard, Venture. I will transmit my transfer orders from Starfleet Command momentarily…. please stand by.”

The Andorian returned with Jonathan's coffee and an unamused expression on his face, finding he had accelerated their speed and had commandeered flight controls. “That was unnecessary, Sir.”

He offered nothing in return except accepting the mug of coffee and gesturing for the pilot to take a seat in the chair next to him. “Relax, Ensign. I am more than qualified to pilot a shuttlecraft.” A few moments later, the USS Venture had authorized the shuttle to approach their shuttlebay as the bay doors began to open.

 

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