“Thank you for the update, Ensign Veenak,” Bane said, then tapped his commbadge off. Plase was relieved that everyone that was coming from and going to the Calgary had finally made it aboard. It had been a hell of a transfer of people in the middle of space like this. Usually massive crew changes happened at a major starbase. For whatever reason, Starfleet missed the mark when the Cygnus was at Deep Space 9. 

Bane was glad to hear that the last of his new Senior Officers had come aboard, Lieutenant Gore. ‘Such an odd name,’ Bane thought, but then again, Bane thought ‘Bill’ was a strange name, too. He tapped his commbadge again. “Captain Bane to Lieutenant Gore. Please report to the Captain’s Ready Room via the Main Bridge at your earliest convenience.”

——————

[Deck 8]

Gore stood at a computer panel, looking over the floor plan of deck 8 to determine which quarters were still available. Of these, he compared the various configurations, and picked the one that seemed most advantageous. One would not want to live next door to the lounge or something like that.

As he reached his destination, the door slid open. He barely had time to toss his bag on the bed that his commbadge chimed in. “Captain Bane to Lieutenant Gore. Please report to the Captain’s Ready Room via the Main Bridge at your earliest convenience”. “On my way, sir” he replied, tapping the badge.

—————–

[Deck 1, Bridge]

When the doors of the turbolift finally opened revealing the bridge, Gore was greeted by an unusual sight. The bridge design was clearly inspired by the Galaxy design, but was cooler in it’s hues than the original configuration. The wooden floor was a very nice touch. He wondered how much of this upgrade was some commanding officer’s whim. Whoever had a hand in this should be thanked profusely. Gore would never openly criticize the original design. It was a classic at this point… but it was… dated, to be polite.

Walking unto the floor, he made his way to the command center and noticed that the central chair was empty.

“If you are looking for the Captain, Lieutenant, he is in his office,” Lisald said from the forward port station, Operations. He was pointing to the door a few meters away from him.

“Thank you” he replied with a nod and made his way to the door of the ready room and buzzed to be let in.

“Enter,” Bane said. The doors swished open and revealed what had to be a Pah Wraith. The man had red eyes that were synonymous with the evil beings of the Fire Caves of Bajor. “Dear Prophets, who are you,” Bane exclaimed.

“Lieutenant Gore, Chief Tactical and Security officer, reporting for duty as ordered sir”, Gore replied, repressing a grin. He was used to such reactions, but that one was genuinely funny.

Plase relaxed visibly. “I should really look at the service jackets of people before I meet them,” he said, a half smile on his face. “Terribly sorry about my reaction Lieutenant.” Bane stood and welcomed him to the office. “Please, come in and have a seat. It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Gore. You came over via the Calgary?”

“Thank you, sir” Gore replied. He made his way towards one of the chairs opposite the captain’s desk. “I have, and count myself fortunate for that opportunity, sir. She is a classy lady. One of the last of her generation still in service” he said with a smile.

“It was nice seeing the advancements in spaceframe technology and construction, as well as being able to walk the decks of a ship from yesteryear.  I caught a ride on her too. I’m surprised I didn’t see you over there during our journey. No matter though,” he said, waiving his hand dismissively. “Tell me about yourself. Where are you from? How long have you been in Starfleet? Are your eyes natural to your species? And I’d love to know more about your implants. That is something that isn’t seen very often in our society. In fact, I think you are the only one I’ve ever encountered with such implants in my many decades of service.”

“I feel some kind of connection to older designs like Calgary, in a way. My relationship to them will become obvious quickly” he began to explain. “I have been in the service for the past 12 years, and have seen a variety of assignments types ranging from shipboard service to extended field operations, some more dangerous than others. I have had limbs blown off, been poisoned, my eyes and optic nerves damaged by shrapnel, been exposed to radiation from failing exotic warp cores… I will spare you the rest of the details, but they are in my file…” 

“Bless the Prophets,” he exclaimed hearing about all the injuries that Gore had sustained while in service. It was a wonder he was still alive to tell the tale, and something of a minor miracle that he seemed he still had a gentle soul; he had not been corrupted by anger and hatred and doubt and despair. “I much prefer to learn about people by talking to them and forming my own opinion. Those files can sometimes be misleading, Lieutenant.”

“Now… I call Freecloud my home because that is where I was born, but my species hails from Brekka, in the Delos system.  Brekkians have a peculiar biology, by Federation standards” he began to explain, removing a leather glove from his left hand, his good hand. Holding his hand up, he produced a low-intensity electric field featuring branching lightning. ”This being an entirely natural phenomenon, unrelated to my implants”.

Even though the Captain was impressed by the inherent biological advantage that allowed, he did not react to it. “I have heard of the Brekkians. Has that given you any advantages or a leg up, as they say, in your duties as Tactical and Security?”

Putting his glove back on, he lifted his gaze to meet the captain’s. “One might think so, but it has not been an advantage to me in that sense. Due the nature of my biology, my body rejected the newest generation of bio-tech prosthetics. My implants are literally antiques that are a century or so old in design. It is in that sense, I suppose, that I feel a connection to old gals like the Calgary”.

“Ah, I see,” said the Bajoran officer. “That is unfortunate. It must be an incredible disadvantage to not be able to use state-of-the-art technology for your implants.”

“Well, there upsides. The technology itself has not changed much over the last century or so. Most of the innovation has come from materials making them more natural, including their original limitations. On one hand, mine are made from ultralight but artificial materials instead of more modern biological stuff, so at the cost of exhaustion, I can use my natural energy production capacity to squeeze extra performance from the implants without fear of damaging them… but on the other hand, these eyes look like they come from someone’s nightmares” he said with an acknowledging nod.

Bane had to laugh at that one. “You aren’t wrong about that! I suppose you get the same reaction, or close to it, from most people you meet the very first time.” There was a natural pause to the conversation, so Bane continued. “I plan on holding a Staff Meeting tomorrow at 0800 in the Staff Room. Please be there. It would be a great idea to get familiar with your staff and crew in your Department. Tomorrow at the meeting I will discuss with everyone what our mission is and we can go from there as a unified force.”

“Will do, and 0800 aye sir” Gore responded, recognizing the unspoken dismissal. He rose from the chair to act on the CO’s recommendation.

“Excellent. Pleasure to meet you, Lieutenant. Dismissed.”

OFF

Lieutenant GoreChief Sec/Tac OfficerUSS Cygnus

&

Bane Plase, CaptainUSS Cygnus, Commanding