USS Larius – Docked at Deep Space Nine

Captain Bates sat there behind her desk as she went over the reports on the ship’s resupply. It had been a long time since her and her crew had some shore leave, and now that leave was coming to a close, it was about time to get back to the routine. That is, until her concentration was interrupted by her Comms Officer from the Bridge. “Ma’am, you have an incoming transmission, coming from the Aquarius. It’s your son.”

Olivia smiled, “Thank you, Emily. I will take it in here.” Then she waited for her holodisplay to come to life only to show her son’s face. “Zane. It has been a while.”

USS Aquarius – Zane’s Office

Zane smiled, “Yeah, sorry about that, mom. Been hectic for the past several days.”

“What about the past several months? Haven’t received a transmission from you then.” She pointed out.

Zane chuckled and nodded his head. “Yeah, last several months been hectic too.”

“This something to do with your new posting?” She asked.

Zane smiled, figured his mother would know about that. “Yeah, something like that, among the last few months on the Ajax.”

“I heard about what happened to the Ajax in the Archanis Sector, and that you received a commendation too. Quite impressive what you did there.”

Zane shrugged his shoulders, “I did what anyone else would of have done, mom.”

“Maybe. But if it had been anyone else besides a Tactical Officer, they probably wouldn’t of been able to hit the right place to disable that Klingon vessel and prevent them from boarding the ship.”

Zane nodded his head, “Yeah, probably not.”

“So…tell me about Sarah.”

Zane sighed, “Well you were right. She chose the job over it.”

“I did warn you.”

Zane nodded his head. “I know you did.”

“Either way, you got what you wanted, right? Chief of Security and Tactical on board the USS Aquarius. Not a bad posting at all. Nothing like the Ajax but still.”

“A ship is just a ship, mom. I will go wherever Starfleet wants me or needs me. In this case, I got this assignment because I was being kicked off the Ajax because of how things turned out. Just wouldn’t work.” Zane explained.

“Probably for the best.” She told him.

“Probably. So I heard you’re at Deep Space Nine. Getting resupplied already?” He asked.

She smirked, “Now how did you find out about that?”

Zane shrugged, “I still have people on board.” He grinned.

She chuckled lightly and nodded her head. “Yes, we finally finished our lengthy exploration assignment about a couple weeks ago. We were ordered to get our resupply at Deep Space Nine, which gave me the opportunity to give the crew some shore leave. Our next exploration assignment is in the Gamma Quadrant.”

Zane raised his brows. “That explains why you’re at Deep Space Nine then. Well I do wish you the best and a uneventful assignment.”

She nodded her head again. “Quite perspective, I expect nothing less. And what? You think the Dominion would violate the treaty?”

Zane shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know what to think. They’ve been pretty good on following the treaty. But the Cardassians sure weren’t before.”

She sighed and shook her head, “No. No they weren’t and they paid the price. Price that I’m sure they have not forgotten. But do not worry, the Larius may be old but she’s in tip top shape. Got our upgrades two months ago. She’s not going away any time soon.”

Zane chuckled and then leaned forward on his arms on his desk. “How come you’re still a Captain, mom?”

Olivia smiled, “Just like a few from the Okinawa, Zane, I believe I can do more for Starfleet as a Captain than as an Admiral.”

“Do you still talk to them? I mean, Zemaa, Shasi and the others? What about Hayes?” He asked.

Olivia’s smile grew even more. “Yes, we do keep in touch, Zane. Especially Hayes. He is enjoying his retirement with his wife, Margaret.”

“Is their son, Dimitri, in Starfleet?”

“Of course! I believe he’s a Lieutenant Commander right now. Forgot which ship but that’s something anyone can pull up.”

Zane nodded his head, “Yeah.” He then leaned back into his seat and sighed.

Olivia knew that sigh all too well. “What’s up?”

Zane shrugged his shoulders, “Oh just a sudden course change. Apparently it’s something big too, because we’re traveling at maximum warp.”

“Oh? Where to?” She asked.

“Caldos apparently.”

Olivia raised her browse. “Interesting.”

“Don’t suppose you could shed some light on it?” He asked.

Olivia shook her head, “Not my place to go around your Captain, Zane. You know that. If your Captain hasn’t told you what it is about, it is either above your grade or it has nothing to do with your department.”

Zane nodded his head with a sigh. “I suppose you’re right.”

“Of course I am. I’m a Captain, and most of all, your mother. I’m always right.”

Zane scoffed then chuckled, “You’re going to be playing that card a lot, aren’t you?”

“All the time.” She smiled. “So what else is going on over there at your new assignment?”

Zane got up and left her screen for a moment, only to return with a mug in his hand, which he took a sip. He sat back down just after having placed the cup on his desk off screen. “Well for starters, I don’t have an Assistant yet but I do have a very enthusiastic Ensign who wants the job. Having done quite a few jobs for me without asking me for my approval or waiting for me to give her the order to do so.”

“Mmmm. Yeah, sounds like she’s quite eager to take the position. Though a little too eager.”

“Young and green, but quite eager indeed. Although, she does know what she is doing, so I may be considering it.”

“Just as long as you consider others and not just her.” She told him.

“Oh of course. Oh and she’s Klingon and reason I bring that up is because the Chief of the Strategic and Intelligence Department is also Klingon, and nearly seven foot tall.” He smirked.

“Oh dam. Got your hands full, don’t you?” She grinned.

Zane laughed a little, “Apparently so. I don’t know too much about her, the seven foot tall Klingon. All I know is, she’s a Lieutenant Commander, and she knows her stuff. Though upon first meeting her, she was in full Klingon getup. So I have zero clue as to what’s going on in that area but I’m sure it’s being handled. If it was to be my concern, someone would of told me about it.”

“Precisely. Anything else in particular?” Olivia asked.

Zane shrugged again, “I met someone who I had only known for a couple weeks…which was how long they were on board the Ajax for but that was back when I was an Ensign and they were just getting a ride. Interesting conversation we had. Kind of made me bring up you and dad.”

Olivia blinked, “Oh? How so?”

Zane sighed, “Oh we got into the whole conversation about relationships and keeping it separated from the job, stuff like that.”

“Ah. That would do it.” She smiled.

Zane nodded his head, “Yeah, yeah it would.” There was a bit of an awkward silence for a moment. “Well, it really was good talking to you again, mom. You know when we will be able to do this again? I mean, with you going into the Gamma Quadrant, wouldn’t communications be tricky?”

“You would think so but remember, the wormhole isn’t completely closed anymore, remember? And we got subspace relays all set up.. We’ll be fine.” Olivia smiled at him. “So no more being late on our calls, got it?”

Zane chuckled, “Yes, mom. Take care of yourself.”

“You too. Love you.”

“Love you too, mom.” Zane then pressed the button on his end and his holodisplay disappeared before him. He leaned back into his seat and sighed some. ‘Time to go see what I can do to help out with whatever it is that is going on at Caldos.’ he thought to himself as he pushed himself up out of his seat with his hands on his desk, grabbed his mug and headed out to find the Captain or First Officer.