USS Sojourner; Transporter Room – Deck 5

Crewman Trisim Floxan stood nervously by the controls within the main transporter room. She had just received word that the Captain was on her way down to welcome the captain of the USS Crazy Horse. Though she had interacted with the new Captain of the Sojourner on several occasions she always felt nervous, “No not nervous,” she thought, “uneasy, maybe….” being alone with her and well any high-ranking officer. Especially when they were so nice to her.

With that thought, she went back to the quick check of the systems to make sure everything was in order when the door slide open with a slight ‘Whoosh’ and in walked the Captain in her dress uniform. Trisim turned to face her, smiled and said, “Captain, I will be ready to transport Captain Murphy over in one moment.”

Kirin smiled back as she brushed a couple of strands of hair from her face, “No problem Trisim. Whenever you’re ready.”

A few moments later Trisim finished her checks and opened a comm link to the USS Crazy Horse. “Sojourner to Crazy Horse, we are ready for transport.”

“At your discretion,” a voice replied back on the comm channel 

Trisim glanced at Kirin who nodded in approval. “Energizing” Trisim said. A second later the pad lit up the transporter’s engaged.

The transporter cycle completed and Captain Órlaith Murphy and Commander Kevan Torin materialized on the pad wearing their dress uniforms. “Crewman,” Órlaith acknowledged. 

Trisim nodded, back to Captain Murphy, “Captain Murphy, welcome aboard the Sojourner.” Unsure as to what to do next she then turned to Kirin and held out a hand, “May I introduce Captain Kirin Tarken.”

Kirin glanced at the Denobulan and smiled, “Well. Thank you for the introduction Trisim; that was unexpected but not unpleasant. You’re dismissed.” Trisim blushed slightly and nodded and hurried out of the room.

Kirin turned to face both Captain Murphy and Commander Torin. “Welcome, it is a pleasure to meet you both in person. I am Kirin and welcome to the Sojourner. I wanted to thank you for coming to bail us out of our fuel issue. It has saved us days of travel and the bureaucracy of getting it handled at the Markonian Outpost.”

“We’re one big happy fleet,” Torin said with a grin.

“Yes, well it isn’t a big deal.  I am glad we were able to render aide.”  She looked around obviously impressed,  “Quite the ship you have here captain.”

Kirin smiled at that and tried to hide her nervousness about hosting another Captain on a ship she still wasn’t quite sure how she got command of. “Thank you. The Sojourner is quite the ship if I say so myself. If you like I can give you a tour before we head for dinner. My XO Lieutenant Commander Thanen Th’zalnar will be joining us shortly. He is just finishing the oversight of the refuelling on our end.”

“I would like that,” Órlaith raised.  “The Crazy Horse is a bit of a living history museum.”

Kirin let out a little chuckle at that, “I would think of her as a classic myself.” She then turned and gestured to the door, “Shall we?”

“Of course Captain,” Órlaith responded. 

As they walked down the corridor Kirin couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride for her ship. They passes several crewmembers who all gave way to the senior officers and all nodded in greeting. Turning back to Captain Murphy and Commander Torin Kirin asked, “Are there any areas you would like to see? Engineering? Medical? The Defector Controls?”

“I’m an engineer by trade,” Torin replied. 

Órlaith shrugged,  “Pilot myself.  I don’t have a burning desire to see anything in particular,  but I am fascinated by you.   To captain a ship like the Sojourner so early in your career.  You must be something special.”

Kirin shifted nervously at that, “Oh, well. You know how it is. Right place right time I figure. We were at DS9 and the Sojourner needed a senior crew I guess.” She turned to Torin, “We can swing by engineering if you like, I suspect Thanen will be there along with the assistant chief, Anahis.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Torin said with a grin.

Murphy and  Torin fell in step with Kirin looking around and taking in the still-new smell of the ship. “Not as big as the Crazy Horse, but I bet Sojourner could run circles around her.  But,” Órlaith grinned, “Your ship doesn’t have our history.”

Kirin laughed at that, “ I don’t think there is much in the fleet that is faster than the Sojourner. Top speed of warp 9.98, she can definitely move but the trade-off is size and some amenities. But as for history, you have us beat hands down. She was only commissioned a few months ago. This is her first mission. We have been dealing with all those new ship issues as well. System failures, faulty EPS relays, you name it and it has had to be tweaked.”

Several minutes later and a turbo lift ride later they stepped through the large double doora into engineering. “May I present engineering. I am not sure if you are familiar with the layout of the Intrepid-class but the basic layout is the same though with only a single warp core.”

Torin whistled, “That’s a warp core.”

A moment later a tall Andorian walked over, his hair in its standard dishevelled state. Nodding to Kirin he smiled, “Kirin, what can I do for you in the hallowed halls of engineering?” 

“Thanen,” Kirin smiled back, “I was just showing Captain Murphy and Commander Torin around. Torin is an engineer by trade and asked to see engineering. So here we are.”

Thanen nodded and turned to the to guests, “Welcome, I am Lieutenant Commander Thanen Th’zalnar, the Chief Engineer and XO. I am happy to answer any questions you have either here or over dinner.”

Torin gave Órlaith a sly smile,  “XO and Chief Engineer.”

“Forget it,” she replied.  “I need you right where you are.  Besides Lieutenant Washington might resent getting a demotion.”

Torin chuckled,  “That he might.  So, Commander Th’zalnar.  Class 9 or Class 10 warp drive?”

Thanen smiled, “Right into the technical specs. Class 10, fresh off the line. I can send you the detailed specifications if you like? And as for the dual role, that was a throwback to our old ship. A raven-classs called the Daradax. All five of us had dual roles there which left us a few people down when we were reassigned.”

A young Bolan Lieutenant hurried over to the commanding officers, “Sorry Commander, you wanted to know when the impulse engines were ready for re-initialization. They are ready to go.”

Thanen nodded to the Bolian, “Thank you Anahis, I will be right there.” He turned to the others and smiled, “If you will excuse my duty calls. I will you in the lounge for dinner shortly.”

Kirin smiled, “Shall we continue?”

“Of course,” Órlaith said with a polite smile. “Raven-class eh?  Always liked them little ships.”

“Yeah, a part of me misses it. There was something about it for sure.” Kirin agreed as she lead them from engineering. After several minutes of idle chit-chat, they arrived in the port-side lounge. “And here we are. Closed the lounge for a couple of hours for our use. I could have had it as the captain’s dining hall but I like the idea of having it as a crew lounge instead.”

“The Crazy Horse still has a galley and mess hall,” Órlaith observed,  “a holdover from the pre-replicator era.” She glanced around approvingly,  “I think you made the right choice here giving this to your crew. I wouldn’t use something like this enough to justify its existence.  Better let the crew enjoy it.”

“Glad you agree, I really wasn’t sure when I made the call. Can easily be converted into a formal hall when needed,” Kirin said as she moved towards to large windows and looked out over the floating form of the Crazy Horse. 

“Still a fine-looking ship after all these years,” Órlaith committed.  “Nearly one-hundred. Some interesting people have walked her decks over the years. Admiral Nechayev, the disgraced Admiral Pressman, Captains Worf, Wu and Rudolfini to name just a few.  She has a history most ships will never have.  Sometimes at night it feels like I have the ghosts of past officers standing in watch over me.”

Kirin listened intently, “That is truly impressive too say the least, a strong history for a ship worthy of the Federation. The Sojourner doesn’t have anything like, yet anyways.”

A couple of minutes late the door opened and Thanen walked in, looking a little hurried. “Sorry sorry,” he said as he waved his hand and his antenna flicked around as if trying to dismiss his rushed appearance. “Had to change quickly.”

“Not a problem, I believe the chef will have something along any minute now,” Kirin said with a smile. “Shall we sit?”

Almost on queue the door slid open and in walked several crew members pushing a trolly ladened with food.

“That looks amazing,” Commander Torin announced, “I am starving.”

“No point letting it go to waste then,” Thanen remarked causing Kirin to laugh, “You heard him.” She said as she gestured to the table, “Let’s grab a seat and dig in.”

The next hour and a half passed as the two captains and their XOs traded stories and tales of their times in star fleet. After finishing their dessert Kirin leaned back and looked at the ceiling, “The was some excellent food and even better company. It is a pity we do not get a chance to meet up with ships more often.”

Órlaith lifted her glass and smiled, “To new friends, and crossed paths.”

Kirin let out a little laugh, “I can definitely toast to that.” With that, she raised her glass and the other followed suit. “To friends and crossed paths.”

There was an assemblage of agreeing cheers and grunts as glasses around the table clinked.  Órlaith smiled setting her empty glass in front of her. “Captain,  thank you for inviting us.”

“It’s the least we could do after you bailed us out and refused us. Saved us days of travel. That and it is always great to make new friends!” Kirin said, her cheeks taking on a slight reddish hint from the alcohol they had consumed. “If you ever need a hand I and the Sojourner will be there.”

Torin smirked,  “Let’s hope it’s not an emergency.”

“The offer extends to you as well my friend,” Órlaith stated.

“We appreciate that, alot. It is good to know we have friends out there.” Kirin said before looking at the display near them on the wall. “Time flies when you are having fun. I think we need to call it here sadly.”

“It is quite late, I agree,” Órlaith replied as she and Torin stood from the table.

Kirin and Thanen walked with Órlaith and Torin to the transporter room and said their goodbyes before the others were transported back to the Crazy Horse. Turning to look at Thanen, Kirin smiled as they began to walk out if the room. “I think that went well. It was nice to get to know one of the other Captains and her XO. We need to do that more.”

“Agreed, it was very nice to relax like that. Thank you for inviting me,” he remarked. “I should go check on the engineering before I hit my bed tonight. It was a pleasure Captain.”

“Let me know if you need anything I want to depart and continue on the way as soon as we can.”

“On it, I will let you know right away.” With that Thanen turned and walked onto the turbolift leaving Kirin alone in the corridor.

Less than an hour later the two vessels drifted apart and turned away from each other. Moments later their engines flared and both vessels vanished in a flash of blinding light as they speed off towards whatever their future held.