Part of USS Triumph: No Designation and Bravo Fleet: We Are the Borg

1 – No Designation

Starbase 93 / USS Triumph
June 2401
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Over the last few months of things going from one extreme to the next, the Triumph along with the other ships within the squadron were currently docked at Starbase 93. The crews were granted some relaxation before they were called out on their next assignment whatever that would be. Zhayva had changed out of her uniform and decided to head to the Sulais, a Romulan restaurant that was located at the station.

Zhayva was walking down the corridor towards the docking ramp that led from the ship to the station. She had just been given a promotion to chief engineer after Commander Aarven had been stripped of her commission after her court martial. She was honored and shocked and was still processing everything when she heard her name being called from off in the distance behind her.

“Wait up,” said Zain Kraha waving at her to wait for him to catch up. Zhayva stopped turning around to see him almost running down the corridor. “Where are you going?” Zain asked between taking breaths.

“I was heading to the Romulan restaurant on the station, think the name of it is the Sulais?” Zhayva replied as he had his hands on both of his knees taking in some slow deep breaths until he was able to regain his composure. “Why?”

“Wanted to see if you wanted to have company?”

Zhayva smiled at him. “Sure why not.”

Zain smiled as they both walked down the corridor until they reached the docking ramp. Once on the station, they made their way towards the promenade where the restaurant was located. They had not said one word to each other during the whole walk there and when they arrived she had noticed others from the senior staff were there as well. She raised her eyebrow as if something was up, though she initially shrugged it off as a coincidence.

The pair had walked up to the others just as they joyfully said their congratulations on her promotion. “We decided to throw you a little bit of a party of sorts,” Zain admitted with a huge smile.

“How did you all know I was coming here?” Zhayva asked, confused though she wasn’t ungrateful and was very happy at the surprise.

“Well we didn’t,” Zain said with an innocent smile on his face. “When I caught up to you in the corridor, I was going to see if you would join me but when you said you were already coming here things just worked out.”

“You didn’t have to do all this,” she said as they both sat down with the group.

“Well you deserve this promotion and we wanted to celebrate with you so what better way than a party,” Zilan spoke up with a grin. “After everything that happened with the previous chief and all the hard work you did to help get the command and control center operational on Nasera II.”

The others nodded in agreement to what Zilan had said which caused Zhayva to almost blush. To her she was just doing her job, it wasn’t anything all that special as she was sure others would have done the same thing. “Thank you all, this is lovely,” Zhayva said finally after a moment of silence.

“So do you know who is going to be your assistant?” Zann Raro asked before taking a drink of her Risian Sunrise.

“I have requested that Saru be given the position,” Zhayvu replied as the others looked at her with concern. Many of the junior officers had turned to Borg drones during Frontier Day, she was one of them. She could see a bit of concern come from them. “I know she is young but she was instrumental in helping get things operational on Nasera II. I believe with my guidance she will do just fine in the position,” said Zhayva.

The Frontier Day catastrophe had taken a toll on the crew as they were all at ground zero onboard the Gagarin. Having to witness junior officers being turned into Borg drones, hunting down many of those that were not assimilated, and killing them. They had lost some good crew members that fateful day on top of the Lost Fleet invasion that had taken place before that. While the younger crew were still coming to terms with what they had done the rest of the crew were still processing everything as well.

“I know we are still dealing with what happened even on a new ship, we are still a crew and a family. They need the support just as much as we do, and we must help them.” Zhayva reminded them that we are not just a crew but a family that needs to stick together.

“You are right,” Kriia replied with a smile as Zhayva noticed the others nodded in agreement.

“Now this is supposed to be a party right?” Zhayva asked, wanting to change the subject back to why they were all there, to begin with.

“Indeed,” Dedre Rar replied.

Zhayva had noticed the food began to arrive at the table that had seemed to have been pre-ordered before their arrival. Picking up her glass from the table and raising it in the air, “to new beginnings.” Zhayva said as she saw the others pick up their glasses, bringing them up and repeating what she had said in a toast before each taking a drink.

The group would spend the next hour or so talking amongst themselves and eating before they all departed the restaurant. Zhayva made sure she thanked them for the party before she headed back towards the Triumph to make sure things were good in engineering before heading off to her quarters for the night.


The bridge was empty except for a few officers who would remain on watch even with the ship being docked at the station. Tilana was in her ready room working on reports that needed to be completed from their last mission. She had a cup of coffee in her hand while reading a PADD with after-action reports from the different departments. Tilana had requested the computer to play soft music in the background in hopes of assisting her with focusing on getting these finished before turning in for the night.

Just as she was getting started the door chime went off, letting out what seemed to have been an annoyed sigh she composed herself before answering. “Enter,” she spoke up as the doors opened to reveal her first officer entering. She could see that something was bothering her, “is everything alright Commander?”

She took a seat at one of the vacant chairs that were located in front of the desk before handing her a PADD. While Tilana had taken a glance at it, “Zhayvu has requested that Savu become her assistant.” Aleish spoke up after a few moments of silence.

“Is there a problem with that?” Tilana asked, unsure of where she was going with this.

“Well not exactly,” she began before she waved her hand as Tilana gave her that look as if she knew better. “Well I mean it’s just that she is a bit young for a position like that,” Aleish said.

Tilana looked at her for a moment before looking at the information on the PADD. She knew that she was a bit young for such a position, though with them being so short on officers due to Frontier Day events they didn’t have very many candidates to choose from. Placing the PADD back down on the table she looked at Aleish, “while I understand your concerns as they are valid. Though I believe with Zhayvu’s help she can grow and become just as good as anyone senior.”

Tilana could see by the look on her face that she was thinking. “If you look at the events of the Lost Fleet and what role she played in bringing down Lungurn Fleet Yards command and control center. How she played a role in getting Nasera’s command and control center operational so their defense grid would remain operational.” Tilana countered prompting Aleish to sit there and think.

“But what about the events of Frontier Day? She was one of the junior officers that was assimilated.” Aleish countered which caused Tilana to see why Aleish was on the fence about Savu. “I mean I know she had no control over the situation but it still happened and it’s still fresh on everyone’s mind.”

“I understand that but we can’t be singling them out for not getting a promotion due to that.” Tilana fired back, “Zhayvu has faith in her abilities and being able to do the job we should too.”

“Very well, I will get this approved,” Aleish replied while Tilana smiled. Aleish stood up from her chair and began to walk toward the door when she was stopped by the sound of the comm channel.

Bridge to Captain Tilana,” Khadija said.

“Go ahead,” Tilana replied.

Commodore Dex would like to see both you and Commander Trol over on the Saratoga,” Khadija answered.

This caused both Tilana and Aleish to look at each other for a brief moment. “Understood thank you,” Tilana said before ending the channel and getting up from her chair.

“I wonder what this could be about?” Aleish asked.

“I am sure we will find out soon enough,” Tilana said as they both headed out of her ready room heading for the transporter room to beam over to the Saratoga. Tilana hoped that it would be a simple mission though nothing lately has been anything but simple. They would just have to wait and see what this meeting would be about when they arrived, she could tell it was something important due to the nature of the late-night summons.

Comments

  • For what looks to be Triumph's first full mission on her own, you're making some strong choices here to set the crew up for a compelling mission. I like the tension between Aleish and Tilana. Aleish's bluntness in the face of Tilana's diplomacy was particularly amusing. Otherwise, you've got the makings of a solid camaraderie among the crew from the start. Although, it does seem like there's a bit of hidden rot at the core in their prejudices against the Borg. In a mission about the Borg, I have to imagine we'll be seeing a lot more of that!

    October 27, 2023
  • It is a nice reflection of the things that have happened, how it impacted the Triumph in its development through its new and old crew. The interactions are warm giving and yet also a reality check. I loved the interaction of the characters with each other as they try to pick up the broken pieces. But now a mission is heading their way, how will they react and coop with the mission, I look forward to more!

    October 27, 2023
  • What a great post to start the story. Simple, but extremely clean for setting the stage and getting all the characters in place for the action. I really love the way you caught that "Previously on Bravo Fleet..." vibe with the first half of the story, recapping everything so cleanly in the form of the table convo, and the bit of character drama you set with Savu and Tilana was great for future character development! Can't wait to see more :)

    October 27, 2023
  • I really liked that you touched on the two seperate struggles being faced by the crews aboard Starfleet ships. On one side you have older officers who now have to struggle patching things back together, all the while working with friends and crewmates who did these awful things. Combine that with stepping up into roles that come with a lot of baggage and the engineering crew on Triumph has got a lot of emotional turmoil on the go already! Im looking forward to seeing how these two sides of the Frontier Day fallout come together (or possibly don't) to get the job done. Big fan, keep it coming!

    October 27, 2023
  • Great start! I love the feel of the first half, catching us up with what’s happened previously quickly and then going into the promotion celebrations. I like how you’ve woven Zhayvu’s assistant choice into both sections so we see both sides of the coin with the fallout after Frontier day, and the concerns. There’s a little tension between characters that bodes well for future conflict and I like the little note of… something against the previously assimilated younger crewmembers. Looking forward to seeing where you take it!

    October 27, 2023
  • I appreciate the way you weave the darkness of their recent experiences into what would otherwise be a normal day. This is how it is with grief. The universe moves on, but you're left still trying to process. “Now this is supposed to be a party right?” captures it perfectly, as they struggle to just enjoy themselves. I also appreciate the expose of Aleish's feelings about those who were assimilated. Logically, they all know that it was age and genetics that led to assimilation, but that doesn't mean they're just going to move past the fact that these young crewmen took aim at, and in some cases killed, those they swore to protect. It was also cool to see that little Nasera callout, the tapestry of our stories woven together making the universe feel like its a full and connected place.

    October 28, 2023
  • The interaction between captain and executive officer feels like a new working relationship and it really is for the most part. But a respectful one and with plenty of room to grow. It's a promising, compelling start and can't wait to see it grow over many more missions. Tilani's more diplomatic approach versus Aleish's more direct way of speaking is a good, solid difference to help the characters bounce off of each other in a neat storytelling way. I also enjoyed seeing Zhayva getting recognition from their team and working on those bridges with the team, no longer as one of them but as their boss. It's a good sign she's a far, far different engineer then their last chief that's for certain!

    October 28, 2023
  • What a heartwarming story! It's inspiring to see the crew of the Triumph come together to celebrate Zhayva's well-deserved promotion! The camaraderie and dedication to their "family" are a great example of the deep connection a crew develops over time. The unexpected party was a lovely gesture, and the conversation around her promotion exemplifies the importance of trust and belief in the potential of their crew. I'm eager to see how Tilana and Aleish's meeting with the Commodore on the Saratoga unfolds. Great start of the story and I sure hope the Triumph's crew will continue to face whatever challenges come their way with the same unity, determination, and sense of family.

    October 28, 2023
  • I wasn't here for the Frontier Day action so I like the way it gives me a bit of a glimpse back. I also, like some others have said, enjoy the way you are setting up the interactions between the senior and junior staff members. That is something I feel goes on with every vessel. I look forward to reading more of the Triumphs adventures.

    October 29, 2023
  • So there too is the fate of Aarven, how sad! But I do appreciate the way your characters can always be counted on to come together as a crew to support each other in their downtime as much as on the job. When the other senior staff were at the restaurant, I actually suspected something more unpleasant going on, so I’m glad I was wrong there. And I appreciate the way the characters are all struggling in their own unique ways with the events of Frontier Day. I don’t envy Captain Tilana having to juggle all that baggage!

    November 1, 2023