USS Akira

The console near the door provided the only light in the room. In dramatic contrast to the blackness surrounding it, the current time, ‘23:59’, was displayed on it. The time altered in a split second, and a faint chime resonated into the darkness.

A woman sat up in her shared bed, groaning quietly. Vausees leaned down and kissed her wife on the cheek, saying softly, “Morning, sweetheart, time to get up.”

As she turned to leave the coziness of her bed, a hand reached out and seized her wrist. Vausees returned her sight to Debrah, who bore a deadly glare. As she felt Debrah bring her back into her warmth, she grinned down at her and asked, “Yes?” in a playful tone.

“You know,” Vausees said softly between kisses from her wife. “This is unbecoming of an officer and an XO,” she remarked as she returned the kiss.

“Then it’s a good thing I’m married to the captain and commanding officer,” Debrah mocked as she wrapped her arms around Vausees.

“This is treason,” Vausees cried as she collapsed on Debrah. The warmth of Debrah’s body made Vausees want to stay in bed, but she knew she had to get out before her wife pressed her into obedience and made her fantasies a reality.

She kissed her once more before reluctantly stepping away and putting her feet on the chilly floor. A solitary shudder ran up her spine as she exited the bedroom and entered the adjacent bathroom.

Vausees stood in the bedroom, correcting her outfit in the mirror, while Debrah came in from the bathroom with her towel wrapped around her. Debrah threw her a look as she placed the towel on the bed and picked up her trousers. “If you keep fidgeting with your tunic, you’ll have to replicate a new one.”

Vausees sighed quietly as she realized Debrah was correct. Regardless of how hard she tried, the tunic always felt out of place, at least to her.

USS Wolf

Cody commanded the Aquarius class frigate, which was patrolling close to the Cardassian frontier.

It had been about a month since he had been awarded his own command and ship, and he sat at the helm still overjoyed. He could have done it all from the captain’s chair, but this felt more natural.

As someone entered, the sound of the door opening and closing pierced the silence of the bridge. Cody didn’t need to glance to see who had come in. “You’re early,” he whispered, switching the ship to autopilot, rising from the controls, and turning to greet Zyvia.

As she stood in front of Cody, who was not only her commanding officer but also her fiancée, the slightest flush could be seen against her Andorian species’ blue skin. It was beyond her comprehension that she felt this way about a person, but she assumed it was because he wasn’t actually human and had cast a spell on her. Even if she couldn’t prove it, she knew she had feelings for him.

She noticed the bridge was unoccupied, so she swiftly leaned in and kissed him before anyone else arrived. It didn’t really matter, but she disliked the stares and the possibility of rumors.

As Zyvia took her place at the tactical station, Cody momentarily held her hand in his before releasing it. He slid into the command chair as the sound of the bridge door resounded and the bridge crew began to flow in and to their stations. As Cody sat there, he couldn’t help but note that the only post he couldn’t find a qualified candidate for was his XO.

He had interviewed dozens of people, but none of them seemed to match all of the criteria he had set for the post. Some had come close, but he saw them as more of a hindrance to how he intended his ship to work.

Zyvia texted Cody’s armchair when she observed him glancing to his right at the empty space. ‘Do you still have trouble finding someone?’

A slight chirp brought Cody back to reality as he peered down at the display on the arm of his chair and saw the message from Zyvia. He shook his head and returned his focus to Zyvia. Zyvia nodded and lipped out, ‘Talk to me later.’ Cody nodded and returned his focus to the view screen and the passing stars as the USS Wolf cruised near the Cardassian border. 

USS Akira

Vausees sat in her ready room, the door closed and the room silent, as she was not needed right now. Debrah had taken leadership of the bridge at her request since she needed to complete a few items in the engineering backlog. She takes up the PADD on the desk and groans as she reads the proposal.

When Debrah heard a chime behind her, she turned to face the operations station.

“Commander, there is an incoming message from the Fourth Fleet,” Jonton informed Debrah.

Without hesitation, she tapped the intercom for the prep room. “Captain, we have received an incoming message from the Fourth Fleet.”

“Send it to my ready room,” Vausees replied as the Fourth Fleet emblem appeared for the first time on the holographic monitor.

She reached over and tapped an icon on the desk, thereby closing the door. She wouldn’t typically have stood guard, but a sudden communication from the fleet headquarters was not something anybody needed to hear, let alone see.

The emblem changed to a bolt and shield when she opened the transmission, and she recognized right once that this was a fleet-wide engagement.

‘Akira Squardon, you have been told to prepare for an unknown engagement; further messages will be issued in due course.’

Before vanishing, the signal faded back to the Fourth Fleet symbol.

The message and its significance astounded Vausees. By tapping on the bridge icon, she invited Debrah to join her.

A few moments later, the door chimed again, and Vausees unlocked it. “Enter,” she said as she heard the sound. Debrah entered as the door slid to one side. Vausees relocked the door and motioned to the commander to take a seat. Debrah did what she was told.

“I have received a very mysterious transmission from HQ,” Vausees says, displaying it to Debrah.

Vausees looked at her wife as the image faded away again. “What are your thoughts?”

Debrah paused for a moment before responding, “I’m not sure, but it did mention the squadron rather than just you, so Cody must have received it as well. “I believe it is time for us to regroup.”

“I think we need to find out what he thinks as well,” Vausees remarked, nodding.

Debrah nodded in agreement.

“Very well, have ops find the Wolf, and if we can contact Cody, do so,” Vausees adds as he settles back in his comfortable chair.

Debrah stood up and was about to leave when she stopped at the door and looked back at her wife. “What about the rest of the crew?” she asks.

“Not a word yet,” Vausees stated.

Nodding Debrah walks out of the room and over to Jonton. “Lieutenant, locate the Wolf,” she instructed.

Jonton gave her a brief glance before returning to his task of locating the USS Wolf. He responded a moment later. “Found him, commander.”

“Put it up on the viewscreen.”

Debrah saw the Wolf was within range of their communication array as she looked around. “Jonton, establish a connection with the Wolf and send it to the captain’s ready room.”

Debrah then returned to the prep room after leaving the bridge.

As the intercom in the room engaged, she nodded to Vausees. “Connection established, commander,” said Jonton.

As Cody’s figure appeared, Vausees safeguarded the room. “Captain,” he addressed Vausees.

“Cody, meet us here,” she said, sending him a set of coordinates. “And be prepared to be transported to the Akira.”

Cody nodded before the holo turned off.

Debrah and Vausees both made their way to the bridge. As soon as the door slid to the side, Vausees sent orders for the Akira to change course for the Wolf, using the coordinates she had given Cody.